'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Charles Leclerc put down his F1 Canadian GP FP1 crash to a misjudgment, as the Ferrari driver ended up missing the entire Friday. In FP1, on one of his push laps, the driver locked up into turn 4 and went on to the grass. The driver's front and rear suspension would face severe damage, in turn causing damage to the chassis as well.
According to the regulations, you cannot use more than one chassis in a single day, and that compromised Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver was then forced to sit out of FP2 as well, which meant that he did not complete any running throughout the day.
The driver has not had the best run in Canada in the past as well. His best result has been the P3 he secured in the race in 2019, but other than that, it has been a struggle in general, as he has not secured even a single podium finish in the ground effect era. The first day of running for Charles Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton did not look that good either, as the driver was quite a few tenths behind the benchmark.
Trending
Talking about the incident at the end of the day, Charles Leclerc just put it down to a misjudgment, as he told F1.com,
“It was a very stupid crash – I had a lock-up, I thought I would make the corner… I knew I would go in the grass, but I thought that was enough to not touch the wall. Unfortunately, when I then ended up in the grass, I understood that there was no room anymore. It’s just a misjudgment, but a misjudgment that cost a lot."
He added,
"The way the wheel has touched the chassis basically cracked the chassis, and we cannot use two chassis on the same day, so that meant basically the whole day not in the car. That hurts because that obviously cost us quite a few laps today, but the very positive thing is that I felt very confident with the car. I think we were very competitive at that time, for whatever it’s worth, because it was only the third [push] lap of the day.”
Charles Leclerc expects to be up to pace by qualifying
Both FP1 and FP2 are, in general, crucial to getting a feel for how the car is performing at the track. Friday's running tends to lay down the foundation of the entire weekend for a driver, as the race runs and the qualifying runs are executed on that day. Charles Leclerc, however, was not too worried, as he felt that the FP3 run would be sufficient for him to get up to the mark. He said,
“It doesn’t hurt my confidence, and I’m sure that it won’t hurt my weekend at all,” he commented. “I’m sure I’ll be up to speed in Qualifying. How competitive we will be is another matter, and then we’ll have to see. But I’m sure that personally I’ll be 100%.”
The Ferrari driver comes to Canada on the back of consecutive podiums in Monaco and Barcelona. It would be interesting to see how he performs here, as he has often not had the rub of the green at this track.
