Charles Leclerc admitted that he had “no words” following the end of what proved to be an “incredibly tough” Qatar Grand Prix weekend, with the Monegasque crossing the line in eighth place while team mate Lewis Hamilton was outside of the points in 12th.
After lining up in P10 on the grid, Leclerc initially dropped places before gaining some back following the early Safety Car phase due to a collision between Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly ahead.
Isack Hadjar’s retirement in the latter stages also gave Leclerc another position to put him in P8 and thus claim four points at the finish, but the Ferrari driver admitted that it had been a challenging few days at the Lusail International Circuit.
“It’s been incredibly tough – a very frustrating weekend,” the 28-year-old explained. “We’ve just been nowhere from the first lap to the very last lap. I have no words. It’s just very disappointing to see that amount of performance, and I just hope that we can finish on a higher note in Abu Dhabi.”
Pushed on what his mindset will be entering into the season finale – which takes place in a matter of days from December 5-7 – Leclerc responded: “The mindset will for sure be motivated to try and turn the situation around, to at least go on holiday with a little bit more happiness, but I cannot promise that. We have not seen that anywhere today.”
On the other side of the garage, Hamilton bounced back from a P17 grid slot by climbing up the order at the start, having bolted on the soft tyre for the opening stint.
The Briton then lost out during the Safety Car period and slipped backwards, with his evening ending in a final result of P12.
“We went forwards – I had a really good start, like the first lap, and made a lot of progress,” Hamilton reflected on his launch afterwards.
“I couldn’t believe when the Safety Car came out on Lap 7, because that was the Safety Car lap where, if one comes out, everyone stops, and then I had to double-stack obviously and I lost places, so that was definitely frustrating.
“And then after that everyone’s stopping on the same lap – not a great race to be racing in.”
With just one race remaining in his maiden campaign as a Ferrari driver, Hamilton said of his approach heading into the season finale: “It’s about getting through Abu Dhabi and then making all the changes that are necessary after that for next year.”
The Scuderia’s result in Qatar means that the squad are now confirmed in fourth place of the Teams’ Championship, with the outfit no longer able to catch Mercedes and Red Bull ahead of them.
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