Jonas Leo
Montreal, Canada – Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has described the recent Canadian Grand Prix as "the most difficult weekend" of his Formula 1 career, despite securing a valuable fourth-place finish. The Monegasque racer openly admitted his struggles with the SF-25, stating a significant lack of feeling with the car throughout the event. In an unusual turn of events that saw his seasoned teammate Lewis Hamilton deliver a stellar performance, Leclerc now plans to meticulously analyze Hamilton’s data in search of critical insights and solutions.
The 28-year-old’s weekend at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was characterized by a consistent lack of pace, culminating in him finishing over 30 seconds behind his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, who claimed a remarkable second place. Leclerc’s fourth-place result, while seemingly solid for championship points, was largely a product of external circumstances rather than inherent performance. Mercedes’ George Russell, who had been leading the race, suffered a retirement, and McLaren encountered significant strategic errors with both their cars, opening up positions for Leclerc to capitalize on. Without these incidents, Leclerc’s finishing position would have been considerably lower, underscoring the depth of his performance issues.
The struggles for Leclerc began early in the weekend. He was notably outqualified by Hamilton for the sprint race, a rare occurrence since Hamilton joined Ferrari. Although Leclerc managed to gain a position over the Briton in the shorter contest, finishing fifth to Hamilton’s sixth, he again conceded to his teammate in the crucial Grand Prix qualifying session. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, started Sunday’s race from fifth on the grid, a tenth of a second ahead of Leclerc, who lined up in eighth. This strong qualifying set the stage for Hamilton’s impressive race performance, marking his best Grand Prix result since making the high-profile switch to Ferrari in 2025.
Reflecting on the challenging weekend, a visibly frustrated Leclerc stated, "It was a horrible, horrible weekend. I had already said [post-qualifying on Saturday] it was probably the most difficult weekend so far of my Formula 1 career. I’ve finished the race now and I can definitely say it’s the most difficult weekend of my Formula 1 career so far." His candid assessment highlighted a fundamental disconnect with the car, particularly regarding tire performance. "Never could put the tyres in the right window. It has nothing to do with the car of course, Lewis has done an incredible job and congratulations to him. On my side, I’ve just been struggling, I had no feeling with the car."
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The stark contrast in performance between the two Ferrari drivers, both piloting identical machinery, offers a unique opportunity for Leclerc to understand his shortcomings. "The good thing, the only positive of the weekend, is that I’ve got Lewis in the same car and I can look at what he did this weekend and try to get answers on why I was just struggling so much," Leclerc explained. He conceded that the final stages of the race were not representative of his true pace, as he primarily focused on bringing the car home. "The last 15, 20 laps of the race were not very representative as I kind of just wanted to bring the car home, but before that I was just too slow. It’s not good enough."
Hamilton’s superior performance in Montreal, a circuit often demanding exceptional driver adaptability and precise car setup, was indeed a rarity since the two became teammates. While the precise technical reasons for his advantage over Leclerc remain under investigation, a notable factor was Hamilton’s revised approach to race preparation. For the Canadian Grand Prix, the 41-year-old opted against using Ferrari’s simulator, citing a perceived lack of correlation between the simulator’s data and real-world track conditions experienced earlier in the season. This strategy had previously yielded positive results, as Hamilton employed the same simulator-free approach for round two in China, where he secured his only other podium finish of the 2026 season.
However, Hamilton’s strategic shift does not fully account for Leclerc’s profound struggles. The Monegasque driver attributed part of his difficulties to the specific characteristics of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, candidly labeling it one of his "bogey tracks." Leclerc elaborated on his long-standing challenges at the Canadian venue, where his sole podium finish came back in 2019. "Montreal is not a track where historically I’ve been particularly strong," he stated. "A bit like Melbourne, Melbourne and here are two tracks where I struggle particularly a lot with my driving style, the rhythm of the corners doesn’t fit well with my driving style."
Adding to these inherent challenges was a disrupted start to the weekend, which further hampered his ability to find a rhythm. "If you put on top of that the issues we’ve had on the brakes on Friday, I never really got the rhythm on Friday, and then on Saturday it was more about the tyres, but the tyres are the same for everybody. It’s not like I was in a much worse place compared to Lewis, but I just had zero feeling and I couldn’t take the rhythm – today was no exception!" The cumulative effect of these factors meant Leclerc was consistently on the back foot, unable to extract the performance expected from himself or the Ferrari package.
Despite the challenging weekend, Leclerc’s fourth-place finish maintains his position in the championship standings. He currently sits third, a mere three points ahead of his teammate Hamilton in fourth. In the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari remains a strong contender, holding second place, though they are now 72 points adrift of the dominant Mercedes team, highlighting the ongoing battle for supremacy in what is proving to be a highly competitive season. The team will be working intensively to understand the Canadian performance discrepancies as they look ahead to the next fixtures on the calendar.
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Author Profile
- Jonas Leo is a passionate motorsport journalist and lifelong Formula 1 enthusiast. With a sharp eye for race strategy and driver performance, he brings readers closer to the world of Grand Prix racing through in-depth analysis, breaking news, and exclusive paddock insights. Jonas has covered everything from preseason testing to dramatic title deciders, capturing the emotion and precision that define modern F1. When he’s not tracking lap times or pit stop tactics, he enjoys exploring classic racing archives and writing about the evolution of F1 technology.
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