Charles Leclerc explains full reason behind agonising late retirement

Charles Leclerc has explained the full reason behind his agonising late retirement from the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

The Monegasque driver ran through the gravel with three laps remaining before bringing his Ferrari straight into the pits following a power-steering failure.

It had been a strong recovery drive from Leclerc after crashing out in qualifying at Turn 4, which resulted in him starting 10th on the grid.

Leclerc's pace was far stronger than his starting position suggested, with a third-row start looking the minimum he could have achieved. Nevertheless, by the end of the opening lap, the Ferrari driver had climbed to seventh.

He showed stronger pace than drivers ahead, including Max Verstappen, and looked set for a potential fourth- or fifth-place finish before being forced to retire.

Unlike his team-mate, who claimed a famous victory, Leclerc did not opt for a three-stop strategy, something he believes would have been the stronger approach.

Explaining the cause of his retirement, Leclerc told select media, including RacingNews365: "Yeah, I lost the power steering. Then, with the VSC, I don't know if it would have changed our race significantly. Maybe P4 could have been on the cards.

"But the two-stop strategy was a bit of a mistake on my side. I think the three-stop was a bit better. It wouldn't have changed my race massively.

"The biggest problem was starting P10, and that was on me, and then, obviously, the technical problem at the end. We'll look into what happened."

Losing the power steering was not Leclerc's only concern in his SF-26, as he also lost all gears and his brakes.

Asked if he could have continued without power steering, Leclerc quickly replied: "Oh no, no. I had no gears, and I had no brakes as well, so it would have been tough."