Charles Leclerc regretted not having shown Ferrari’s potential, as he thought third place was possible without the mistakes he made in his last Q3 at the Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s decline in competitiveness continued at the Red Bull Ring as Leclerc finished seventh in the Sprint Race, two places behind teammate Carlos Sainz.
However, the Italian marque looked a more competitive proposition in qualifying for the grand prix, with Leclerc taking third once the opening laps of Q3 were completed.
But Leclerc was unable to complete the lap at the end, as he ventured into the gravel at Turn 5 and then lost the rear at the penultimate corner.
The Monegasque driver, who will start sixth tomorrow, regretted his mistakes, believing that Ferrari had the speed necessary to be among the top three.
“It’s frustrating, because whenever you know you have the potential to do well and you make a mistake, it always hurts,” Leclerc admitted.
“But it is like that, it is not a disaster. P7 is not good, I think a P3 was possible today. Turns 1 and 3 were really good on my last lap.
“I was two tenths faster than my lap, and then I made a mistake at Turn 4, I tried even harder to make up some time at Turn 6, I lost it, I tried the same at Turn 9, I lost it. That’s life.
“I think this year it was worth more than the damage to push like that in qualifying. It bit me today. And yes.
“Obviously I’m a bit disappointed, especially because the team had two races or two, three races where we had a difficult time.
“I felt like today was an opportunity to get back into the top three, but I didn’t do a good job on that second lap, but the first lap on the worn tire was really good.”
Leclerc was at least optimistic about the set-up changes to his car, which improved balance compared to earlier in the weekend, as he attempts to progress in the race.
“I think it looks better than this morning, because we are on a different set-up which should help a bit more with the race pace tomorrow.
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it and we’ll see where we are tomorrow.”
And although he warned that Ferrari will not be able to keep up with Max Verstappen or Lando Norris, Leclerc is convinced that the team can fight Mercedes.
“I think Lando and Max are not going to be possible tomorrow,” he assessed. “They are too fast this weekend.
“I think having Oscar behind is going to be difficult, but he starts behind so maybe we can maintain that position.
“With the Mercedes, we’ve been close all weekend, but I felt that if we do everything perfect, we can beat them.”
