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Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc points to critical 'mistakes' in qualifying frustration

Ferrari could not repeat its threat from sprint qualifying on Saturday, with Leclerc set to start Sunday's race from sixth.

Leclerc Zandvoort
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Charles Leclerc has highlighted key “mistakes” that were made during qualifying which hindered his starting position for the Dutch Grand Prix.

Leclerc is set to start Sunday's race from sixth on the grid, one position behind team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

It marks a vastly different story from sprint qualifying on Friday, when Leclerc missed out on the fastest lap by less than one-tenth of a second.

The Monegasque has theorised that McLaren and Mercedes, who sealed the top four positions on Saturday, had more performance to unlock after the sprint sessions compared to Ferrari.

“I don't think it's down to changes in the car,” Leclerc told media including RacingNews365

“Speaking a little bit with Lando and George, I felt like yesterday they didn't do everything perfect, or the car didn't feel quite right. 

“Whereas for me, the car felt quite good [on Friday], so I knew maybe we had a bit less margin compared to them.”

However, Leclerc admitted his own form took a hit by an alteration of his power modes heading into the top 10 shootout.

“And then today we did some mistakes in changing power modes from Q2 to Q3,” he added.

“That put me off a little bit with the feeling I had with the car. We'll have to look into it. 

“But I don't think the potential for proposition was there anyway.”

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F1 calendar 2026
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nld Dutch GP 23 Aug 2026
ita Italian GP 06 Sep 2026
esp Spanish GP 13 Sep 2026
aze Azerbaijan GP 26 Sep 2026
bhr Bahrain GP 04 Oct 2026
sgp Singapore GP 11 Oct 2026
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Adjusted Starting Grid 2026 F1 Dutch Grand Prix