Leclerc holds up hands as F1 title hopes fade

Charles Leclerc has asserted he can “only blame myself” after enduring a difficult qualifying in Abu Dhabi.

Leclerc entered the session with a 10-place grid penalty hanging over his head following an energy store change on Friday.

During Q2, Leclerc's fastest attempt saw him climb to the top of the leaderboard - however his lap time was swiftly deleted due to a track limits breach at Turn 1.

As a result, Leclerc is due to line up at the back of the field, putting McLaren on the brink of its first constructors' title since 1998 after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the front row. 

When asked how difficult it was to judge the white lines at the first corner, Leclerc told media including RacingNews365: “It's very difficult, but it's very difficult for everybody. 

“And I was on the wrong side of things in Q2 so I can only blame myself.”

Leclerc added Ferrari did not have the pace to compete with McLaren around the Yas Marina Circuit on Saturday.

“Obviously I don't feel good after qualifying like that where we were a little bit better,” Leclerc said.

“I don't think I would have managed to beat the McLarens. They were still too strong.

“We could have been fourth. It was either P15 or P20 and P15 is better than P20. Obviously with my lap time deleted, it makes us start from P20.”

Despite the setback, Leclerc is not giving up hope of bringing the F1 title back to Maranello.

“We are not making our life any easier,” he said. “However, it motivates me to do something very special tomorrow.

“My goal remains the same, it’s to win the constructors’ championship, and I still believe in it as much as I did yesterday, even though, on paper, obviously it's going to be a lot more difficult.”