Charles Leclerc was left irate at himself for an error which cost him third on the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix.
The Monegasque has had a tricky weekend so far, missing out on a long run in practice due to cooling checks, but ended the important Saturday session just 0.017s behind teammate Sebastian Vettel.
On the in-lap after his second lap though, Leclerc was heard slating himself over the radio, telling the team he was "not good enough".
“I’m not happy with myself,” he later told the media in the paddock. “I did a mistake on the last lap and I should not have done that."
Having appeared set for a possible P5 start though, behind Max Verstappen, Leclerc did take heart from how he dealt with qualifying.
"Overall, I think there were some positives from my side because FP1, FP2, and FP3 I was quite lost, struggling a little bit, actually quite a lot," he explained.
“We did a final change for qualy and it was better. I drove better and the lap time came.
“It’s good, but also disappointing because I think there was potential to do more today.”
Also Read:
- Leclerc labels himself 'strange' for not feeling pressure at Ferrari
- Hamilton & Vettel agree Mercedes countering Ferrari power in the corners
Looking for some redemption after losing the win in Bahrain, the 21-year-old admits achieving it on Sunday will also be tough.
“I hope so," he said of whether he can be competitive. "We will see how the race runs but it’s going to be very tricky from my side.
“But I will push for the best possible result.”
