Charles Leclerc is going through a difficult start to the weekend in Montreal, where a mysterious braking problem is strongly disrupting his feeling with the Ferrari.
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The Monegasque driver did not have the evening he hoped for during the sprint qualifying of the Canadian Grand Prix. Only sixth on the Sprint grid, Charles Leclerc was once again beaten by Lewis Hamilton, who was already faster than him during the Sprint in China earlier this season.
In Montreal, the seven-time world champion seems particularly comfortable with the SF-26 since the first laps of the weekend. Ferrari even briefly believed it could aim for the front row after the first SQ3 attempts, before finally falling behind Mercedes and McLaren.
Despite this encouraging third row for the Italian team, Leclerc admits he is not confident behind the wheel of his car.
A difficult braking problem to understand
After the session, the Ferrari driver mainly pointed out a very specific issue: his lack of feedback when braking. A particularly penalizing problem on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, known for its heavy braking and very demanding deceleration zones.
Leclerc explains that he has a lot of trouble anticipating the behavior of his car when entering corners.
“Honestly, I expected it a bit. I am not comfortable with the car” he confided.
The Monegasque notably mentions a very uncomfortable feeling when attacking the slowest corners of the Canadian track.
“I am really having difficulties with the brakes on my side of the garage. We need to understand what is happening.”
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Ferrari is still looking for a solution
Leclerc admits that Ferrari already has some leads to explain this unusual behavior. However, he remains much more cautious about the team’s ability to quickly fix the problem.
The 28-year-old driver even acknowledges that he currently approaches some braking zones with a worrying form of uncertainty.
“I enter the corners just hoping not to go straight on” he explains.
A worrying observation on a fast street circuit where the slightest mistake can have serious consequences.
Hamilton much more comfortable
While Leclerc struggles to find the right balance, Lewis Hamilton seems to be perfectly exploiting the potential of the Ferrari this weekend. The Briton was competitive from the free practice sessions and has consistently been at the front.
Leclerc does not hide his admiration for the pace shown by his teammate.
“Lewis has been incredibly fast since the start of the weekend” he acknowledges.
Ferrari now hopes to precisely identify the origin of the problem before the Grand Prix qualifying and the main race, under the risk of seeing Leclerc go through a particularly difficult weekend in Montreal.
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