Frederic Vasseur defends Charles Leclerc after difficult Canadian GP: “The points were what mattered”. Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur defended Charles Leclerc after a difficult Canadian GP.

A difficult weekend for Charles Leclerc

“My worst weekend since I started racing in Formula 1.” As always, Charles Leclerc was brutally honest in his self-assessment after a Canadian Grand Prix that saw him finish 34 seconds behind Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton.

The Monegasque driver endured a deeply frustrating weekend in Montreal and came close on several occasions to ending his race prematurely in the barriers. One particularly nervy moment came during a neutralisation period, when Charles Leclerc lost the rear of the Ferrari while attempting to bring his tyres up to temperature exiting the final chicane.

However, Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur preferred to focus on the positives from what was clearly a difficult weekend for the Ferrari driver.

“Charles struggled, and even in previous years he has never had a great deal of confidence at this circuit,” Frederic Vasseur told Sky. “It’s already a positive that he brought the car home and scored points, which are very important for the team.”

“We expected a difficult weekend in Montreal because several of our rivals brought upgrades while we did not, so this result is definitely encouraging.”

Indeed, Ferrari managed to significantly extend its advantage over McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, although the gap to Mercedes remains substantial as the 2026 Formula 1 season continues.

Frederic Vasseur’s supportive stance therefore highlights Scuderia Ferrari’s mature approach to managing internal driver dynamics during a highly volatile phase of the 2026 campaign. While Charles Leclerc’s acute tire activation struggles and near-misses with the Montreal barriers exposed clear vulnerabilities in sub-optimal ambient conditions, securing a dual point-scoring finish allowed the team to protect its vital constructors’ championship assets. As the engineering department coordinates final validation loops on the highly anticipated upgrade package scheduled for Spain, navigating the low-speed corners of Monaco remains the immediate priority. If the technical office can successfully deliver a more compliant aerodynamic platform that eliminates these sudden rear-end snap anomalies, Charles Leclerc possesses the precise street-circuit mastery to instantly bounce back and spearhead Ferrari’s push for outright race victories.