Amid an exciting qualifying session in Canada, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had to sit out the session. His F1-75 is set to take a penalty for fitting new power unit elements in addition to fresh control electronics. Following a catastrophic failure in Baku has put the Monegasque on the back foot in terms of the championship standings.

A heartbreak in Barcelona, a strategy error in Monaco, and an engine failure last time have started to put pressure on the Maranello-based outfit. With only Carlos Sainz at the front of the grid for Ferrari, this round will be crucial for the championship hopes. Given the penalty for Leclerc, he will be starting from the back of the grid.  

Charles Leclerc is cautiously optimistic about fighting the race leaders

Charles Leclerc will be starting from P19 just ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda. But for Charles’s championship hopes, it will be crucial to climb as many positions as possible. With Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on pole, Charles Leclerc feels that he can finish a lot closer to his rival. “I don’t know whether it will work out or not,” he replied to Autosport about making up places on Sunday.

“It was a bit more difficult to overtake than what I initially thought yesterday, but overall I think we’ve got quite a good pace in the car. If we play it smart with the strategy, having some clean air, we can come back to P4 or something. So that is the goal and yeah, I’ll give it everything.”

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However, the fifteen-time pole sitter wasn’t too fazed by the penalty in Canada. Charles mentioned that even though it was a bummer to have the penalty, it was inevitable. Leclerc thinks that it would be a better idea to take the heavy penalty in one place rather than spreading it out over multiple races.

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Charles Leclerc was also cautiously optimistic about trying to fight with the Red Bulls. He believes that a late safety can and luck could help get closer to the race leaders. 

Leclerc gives his thoughts on Carlos Sainz winning the race

While Charles’s qualifying came to an end in Q1, his teammate Carlos Sainz came close to securing the pole. Being on a quick lap, the Spaniard got trigger-happy on the throttle and that ruined his last sector. This then allowed another Spaniard, Fernando Alonso, to qualify P2 for Sunday’s race. 

The big question is whether Carlos can convert his third position into a race win. When asked, Charles was quite upbeat about the situation. “Well, I hope so,” said Leclerc. 

“Obviously, if I’m not able to do that, then the second person I want to win is Carlos. That will be great for him. I think he’s been competitive, this weekend is going to be very close with Max.” 

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So how will the race pan out? Can Ferrari start their fightback in Canada? Will Charles Leclerc finish on the podium? Let’s see what Sunday has in store for us.