Charles Leclerc reflects on “the most difficult weekend of my career” in Canada.
26th May 2026After finishing 34 seconds behind his teammate in a highly dramatic Canadian Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc has called this weekend the most difficult of his 176-race career so far.
Feature image credit: Ferrari Media Centre
The Monegasque driver visibly struggled to get to grips with his SF-26 in Montreal, spending the majority of his afternoon locked in battle with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar. A near miss with the wall of champions only compounded a frustrating afternoon for Leclerc, who finished the race in P4 after George Russel’s retirement and McLaren’s costly strategy blunders.
Race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, was on the unfortunate receiving end of Charles’ dissatisfaction. Leclerc called for ‘no speaking until the last lap’ when informed about his teammate’s pace advantage on lap 49.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Leclerc said:
“I could never put the tyres in the right window, but it has nothing to do with the car, of course. On my side, I’ve just been struggling. I had no feeling in the car. The last 20 laps aren’t very representative as I just wanted to bring the car home, but before that I was still too slow, and it’s not good enough”
Albon says bad luck struck again in Canada
Leclerc now sits just 3 points ahead of Hamilton in the drivers’ standings and risks being beaten by a teammate over the course of a season for the first time in five years. The last time this happened was in 2021, when he was beaten by Carlos Sainz during their first season as Ferrari teammates.
Despite this, Leclerc seemed genuinely happy for his teammate, who scored his best-ever result for the Scuderia, taking home second place this weekend. Charles stated:
“Lewis has done an incredible job, and congratulations to him. The only positive of this weekend is that I have Lewis driving the same car, so I can look at what he did this weekend and try to get answers”
Hamilton encouraged after strongest Ferrari weekend yet
Across the Ferrari garage, emotions could not have been more different. Seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, called it the “happiest day of his days at Ferrari so far”. The Brit stated that he felt a much better understanding of the car and thanked his engineers for their efforts.
It has been a good weekend overall for the Scuderia, as they took more points on Sunday’s race than any other team. Ferrari sits second in the constructors’ table and extends its lead over McLaren to 41 points.
Team boss, Fred Vasseur, stated he was happy with both cars’ results, particularly considering Leclerc’s lack of confidence.
Looking forward now, it will be interesting to see whether the inter-team advantage swings back into Leclerc’s favour, as we look forward to his home race in Monaco next.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Albon says bad luck struck again in Canada
- Sainz says Williams are “building some good momentum” after Canada recovery
- Hamilton encouraged after strongest Ferrari weekend yet
- The Writer’s Verdict: 2026 Canadian Grand Prix
- Montreal Madness: Antonelli Claims Victory As Russell Forced To Retire!
- Russell frustrated after title blow in Montreal
- Antonelli: “It would have been cool to see how it ended” after Russell battle
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