Leclerc ‘ashamed’ after crashing again

MONTMELO: Charles Leclerc said he felt ashamed after crashing his Ferrari for the second weekend in a row in qualifying for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

The 28-year-old Formula One driver will start 10th on Sunday after plunging into the tyre barrier in Saturday’s final phase, with teammate Lewis Hamilton lining up on the front row between the two Mercedes.

At his home Monaco Grand Prix last weekend, Leclerc clipped the wall in qualifying and crashed in the race.

“I just feel very much ashamed to be here after a crash like that,” he told Sky Sports television.

“What did I do? I released the brakes earlier and I tried to carry speed. I think on the previous lap, we were close to being the fastest car on every corner apart from turn four.

“I knew I had to make everything perfect for that lap and I tried, but I obviously regret it.”

Leclerc said changing his brake discs to the same brand as Hamilton was not the cause of the crash.

“The feeling with the car was amazing and I didn’t deliver. If anything, it’s a lot worse than that; I put it into the wall,” he said. “So there’s no excuses. I just felt ashamed.

“The only positive I can take is that the feeling that I have in the car is back and tomorrow I feel optimistic that we can have a good race.”

Hamilton, runner-up in the previous two races and second in the standings, said he had left the track between final practice and qualifying to clear his head and focus in his motorhome.

The front row, with Mercedes’s George Russell on pole, was his first since joining Ferrari last season. Runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified in third place.

“This is the closest we’ve been pace-wise, I think, in quali,” said the Briton. “I’m so grateful to the guys back in the team… I really want them to know how thankful I am because it felt great out there to put a lap together and see that we’re that close, this early.

“We’re still early in the season, you know, so the fight is on.”