Leclerc, renowned for his remarkable speed over a single lap, found himself only in eighth position during qualifying, trailing 0.589 seconds behind polesitter Max Verstappen. Meanwhile, his departing Scuderia Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz secured a fourth-place starting position.
However, the Monegasque driver struggled to comprehend the disappointing performance on his side of the garage. He suggested that it was an unusual occurrence, akin to something that happens “once in a season,” emphasizing that the underlying performance of the SF-24 car seemed solid enough.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Leclerc elaborated on his perplexity: “It’s one of those sessions maybe you get it once in a season. But it’s definitely not a good feeling.”
He continued, “Everything feels okay, the balance is not way off – we can always improve a little bit like every qualifying.”
Leclerc expressed his frustration further, stating, “If I rely on the feeling at the end of the lap, I’m like, ‘OK, this is quite a good lap’. And then you look at the [leader] board and you are a second off.”
Despite his efforts to address the issue by experimenting with different approaches, including tire strategies, Leclerc admitted that he was unable to find a solution. However, he remained optimistic about Ferrari’s prospects in terms of race pace.
Leclerc remarked, “Any of the things I’ve tried [didn’t work]. So, for now, I don’t have the answer. However, the positive thing, if we have to find one, is that our race pace looks a bit stronger.”
Nevertheless, Leclerc acknowledged the significance of qualifying position, particularly on a circuit like the one they were racing on. Reflecting on his unconventional strategy during the final qualifying session, he conceded that it did not yield the desired results.
When questioned about the effectiveness of a more conventional approach, Leclerc remained doubtful, stating, “Not many people improved… I really don’t think so.”
Summing up his disappointing qualifying session, Leclerc emphasized the perplexing disparity between his feeling behind the wheel and the actual lap times, indicating a need for further investigation into the underlying issues.