Charles Leclerc has conceded to enduring a futile "chase" for performance from his Ferrari that has left him bitterly frustrated ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Four weeks ago, Leclerc stunned McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by claiming pole position for the Hungarian GP around a circuit similar in nature to Zandvoort given it is narrow, tight and twisty.
But there was no fun in the sun at the Dutch seaside track, with Leclerc finishing sixth quickest, almost eight-tenths adrift of Piastri around the second shortest circuit on the F1 calendar behind Monaco, and 0.050s ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
"I'm very disappointed with myself, to be honest," said Leclerc, speaking to Sky Sports F1. "I haven't done the job today, and I've been very poor.
"The whole weekend I've been a little bit on the back foot on my side, trying to change and to chase something that maybe wasn't in the car this weekend.
'For one reason or another, we were losing a lot of lap time in two, three corners, and that stayed the same during qualifying, not as extreme as in free practice, but still, we were losing [time].
"By trying to find something that wasn't in the car, the consistency of the weekend has been hurt a little bit, and I just didn't do a good job, especially in qualifying. I'm really not happy with my Q3 lap."
Leclerc goes into the race behind an all-McLaren front row, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen, surprise package Isack Hadjar in his Racing Bulls, and Mercedes' George Russell also ahead of him.
Assessing the difference between his SF-25 in Zandvoort and the one that carried him to pole in Budapest, Leclerc said it was "a lot".
He added: "Also, the fact that in two, three-tenths, it can go from a nightmare to actually having a good starting position.
"You've got to be perfect, and this weekend we have been far from it."
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!