Charles Leclerc rued a small error having a big impact as car damage compromised his pace in Spanish Grand Prix qualifying,
The Monegasque has again kept Sebastian Vettel honest so far this weekend but would have to settle for fifth on the grid after a tricky session.
It began by Leclerc running wide over the kerbs at Turn 9 in such a way that shook some key aerodynamic pieces off the car.
Having to run again to confirm his place in Q3, Leclerc then would only run one set of tyres in the top 10 shoot-out.
“Well, I’m not very happy,” he said unsurprisingly post-session. “In Q2, I don’t really understand how I could lose that much of the car on the kerb.
“I did not expect it. I got a little bit of understeer, but I kept it flat thinking everything would be fine. Unfortunately, we broke quite a lot and then had to stop again.
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“In Q3, the balance was very strange so we need to check the car and see if everything is fine.”
Despite his problems, Leclerc was only three-tenths behind Vettel in third, but will also have the Red Bull of Max Verstappen to contend with, as the Dutchman starts just ahead in fourth.
