Ferrari and Leclerc rue “not doing the job” after mistakes that cost the front-row

Written by Meghana Sree

Charles Leclerc was visibly frustrated after a costly error out of Club that compromised his effort to clinch pole for the British Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton maintains that there are still “positive signs” and holds out hope for a podium.

Charles Leclerc was frustrated with sixth when a front row was on the cards | Credit: Formula One

Ferrari were off to a promising start at Silverstone, an exciting weekend for their driver Lewis Hamilton who marks his first home Grand Prix in red.

Topping Free Practices 1 and 3 with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc respectively, the Scuderia were strong favourites for pole heading into Qualifying. With McLaren’s pace not as dominant as Austria, Red Bull struggling with car issues and Mercedes dropping off, all the signs pointed towards a Ferrari front-row lock-out headed by home hero Hamilton.

Yet come Qualifying hour, hopes began to slip away. Opting for multiple runs on the used tyres and narrowly making it to Q2, the Ferrari pair were on a knife’s edge throughout the session.

After a 1-2 in Q2 that reignited the expectations for pole, both cars were still in the mix. However, it all fell apart in the dying moments of Q3.

Mistakes from both drivers on their final push laps out of the last corner meant that Hamilton and Leclerc finished fifth and sixth – far from their target.

While the session’s dark horse Max Verstappen put together the perfect lap, the Ferrari pair were left lamenting a potential 1-2 on the starting grid for Sunday’s race. The session was especially frustrating for the Scuderia, as telemetry shows that Leclerc could've clinched P2 had he avoided the mistake on his final lap.

Leclerc was understandably disappointed, letting loose an explosive rant over the radio with some colourful words that berated himself.

Speaking to the media afterwards, the Monegasque driver stated: “I’m not happy with my qualifying today. 

“The mistake in the last corner of my final lap in Q3 cost me at least one or two tenths, which in this case could have put me on the front row for the race. 

“That's disappointing, and I will focus on putting it all together going forward.”

Leclerc also stated that he is battling issues with the car, adding: " [Qualifying] used to be my strength so I am not happy with the level I am showing. We’ve got issues for sure, particularly today from Q2 onwards. We were fighting with something inside the car.

"It’s not an excuse. I need to be better.”

However, despite their scruffy Qualifying performance, both Ferrari drivers believe that their race pace still puts them in contention for a podium.

Leclerc shared: “With our car being stronger in the race than in qualifying so far this season, there is a chance we can do something tomorrow. 

“However, starting from the third row means we have to fight our way forward at the start, which we pay for later in the race due to tyre degradation.”

Lewis Hamilton still has his hopes up for a podium on home soil | Credit: Formula One

Hamilton echoed his teammate’s thoughts, and expressed that he hopes to deliver a long-awaited maiden podium in red in front of his home fans: “I’ll dream of [a podium] tonight and I’ll try and execute tomorrow. 

“[…] Tomorrow won’t be easy with the cars ahead, but there’s something special about Silverstone. The energy from the crowd here is incredible, and I’m looking forward to giving it everything out there.”

All eyes will be forward for Ferrari as they prepare to claw through the field and rediscover the performance that they displayed on Friday. With Hamilton's mighty streak of being on the podium every year at Silverstone since 2016 on the line, the Italian team have their work cut out for them this weekend.