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.”
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..












Join the conversation!