Leclerc reflects on difficult weekend out in Barcelona: “I’m very disappointed in my side”

Another weekend of disappointment for Leclerc. Credits: F1

Charles Leclerc looked to bounce back following a disappointing outing in Monaco, but further heartbreak hit the Monegasque in Barcelona.

Leclerc had a weekend to forget in Monaco, as the hometown hero was forced to retire early after crashing into the barriers due to brake issues.

The following weekend adjustments had been made to his SF-26, including changes to his braking, but as the weekend went underway Leclerc faced more issues.

While practice went well, with Leclerc sealing third overall during Saturday‘s session, qualifying ended in heartbreak.

The Monegasque easily entered Q3 but crashed out, meaning he started from P10 for Sunday‘s 66-lap showdown.

As Sunday‘s race began Leclerc had an excellent start to the race, efficiently moving up three places in the opening lap. As the race entered the final stint of the race, Leclerc found himself behind Oscar Piastri in P6 and was unable to move past the McLaren.

But heartbreak hit once again as a mechanical issue hindered the No.16 car, as Leclerc ran over the gravel at Turn 2, his machinery slowed down and he limped back to the garages where his race came to an end.

"It's not only power steering, in general I had no brakes, no power steering, no shifts, so I guess it's something with the hydraulic there. I don't know yet exactly what happened," Leclerc explained about his late retirement.

While it was distraught for one side of the garage, there were celebrations on the other as Lewis Hamilton sealed his first Ferrari victory. During the race, Leclerc moved aside for the seven-time world champion, as he charged through the pecking order after his third stop strategy, which worked in his favor compared to Mercedes' two-stop strategy.

"I don't want to take any credit for today, I don't think I did much for team," said Leclerc, in regards to helping his teammate.

"I think Lewis and the team won it on their own and I wish I had been a bit more in front. Been a bit more in the mix of things but I wasn't for my fault. A huge congratulations to Lewis who has been on it for quite a bit and has been incredible.

"And a huge congrats to the team who is pushing massively on upgrades and we are showing it now. It's good to see this, I'm just very disappointed in my side obviously."

There’s now a weeks interval before Formula One return to Austria, for Round 8 of the 2026 season.