Leclerc Crashes in Q3 and Settles for Fourth in Monaco

Charles Leclerc qualified fourth for the Monaco Grand Prix after crashing into the barriers at Tabac corner on his final lap in Q3. The result left the Ferrari driver without pole at his home race after a weekend he described as incredibly tough and full of issues.

Tabac Ends Leclerc’s Pole Shot

Leclerc had taken provisional pole before Kimi Antonelli, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton improved, then sent his Ferrari into the barriers on the final run. He said, "I tried everything on the second lap, and it’s life."

The crash came after he had already been fighting the car for most of the weekend. He said, "The fact that on braking I just don’t really know where to brake still..." and added that it had been a very messy weekend for him and the garage.

Brake Trouble Through Monaco

Friday set the tone. Leclerc topped FP1 and finished second fastest in FP2, but he also complained about brake issues. On Saturday, he said the feeling under braking in FP3 was horrendous.

That left him chasing confidence at a circuit where precision matters on every lap. He said he was pretty confident Ferrari would have a solution for the next race, but Monaco was still a loss in a weekend he called one of two last weekends that had been incredibly tough.

Ferrari’s Weekend Leaves Questions

Leclerc said the problems were not limited to one run or one session. "We’ve had quite a lot of issues, we’ve had a lot of issues in Q3 as well," he said, after a qualifying period that also saw him lose the top spot to Antonelli, Verstappen and Hamilton.

He now starts fourth, with a damaged qualifying result and a clear brake complaint hanging over the Ferrari garage. Leclerc said, "I just hope we can have a normal weekend and get back the feeling that I had before with this car."