As often happens at the Montreal circuit, the highly variable weather provided a qualifying session full of surprises. Once again, it was the Ferrari duo who paid the price, as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will have to start the Canadian Grand Prix from the tenth and eleventh positions.
In the case of Carlos Sainz, it was a mix of bad luck and mistakes that led to a three-place grid penalty for impeding Pierre Gasly. However, what happened with Charles Leclerc deserves a deeper analysis.
The Monegasque driver was eliminated at the end of Q2, which is undoubtedly the most challenging phase of qualifying in Montreal. While the ideal racing line was practically dry, there were still damp areas on the track, and the radar predicted an increase in rain intensity within a few minutes.
At the beginning of Q2, uncertainty was predominant. With the exception of Williams’ Albon, teams chose to minimize risks and opted for the intermediate compound tires.
During the warm-up lap, several drivers communicated via radio to inform their respective teams that the track conditions were dry enough to use the soft tires. Among them was Charles Leclerc, who asked his pit wall for a tire change. However, the Maranello team responded with a refusal, which, at the end of qualifying, led the Monegasque driver to vocally criticize his engineers’ decision.
In this case, however, we do not feel inclined to fully agree with number 16. The decision of the Ferrari pit wall, in fact, albeit conservative, appeared to be in line with those of other teams.
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Let’s take Max Verstappen, for example. The poleman of the Canadian GP was perfect in following his team’s instructions: a flying lap on intermediate tires followed by a switch to the soft compound. Upon closer inspection, even those who, like the Mercedes duo, chose to stay on wet tires for a longer period, eventually achieved a time that allowed them to make the cut.
Charles Leclerc out in Q2: the reconstruction
What went wrong for Leclerc? The Monegasque driver, in his only flying lap on the intermediate tire, did not achieve a good time, with Carlos Sainz being about two tenths quicker. Once they switched to the soft tires, the gap between the two Ferraris became even wider, with the Spaniard being over a second and a half faster.
Charles Leclerc’s second attempt with the dry tire, crucial for advancing to the next round, matched Lewis Hamilton’s time, who was in tenth position at that stage, the last of the qualifiers for Q3. However, approaching the final chicane before the start/finish straight, the Monegasque made a braking mistake, locking up the tires and running wide.
Number 16 continued to push, but by now the tires were outside the optimal usage window, and he was unable to achieve competitive sector times. Behind him, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg, and Oscar Piastri improved, sending Charles Leclerc to his second consecutive elimination in Q2.
Nothing is naturally ruled out. During the practice sessions, which took place in dry conditions, as the race is expected to be, the red car demonstrated excellent pace. Of particular note was the tire degradation, which was almost nonexistent on the two SF-23s. With these premises, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have all the tools to mount a great comeback and compete for something significant in a yet-to-be-written Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
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