Charles Leclerc has been left baffled by Ferrari's decision to ignore his calls for a switch to slicks in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix. The Monegasque finished only 11th fastest having been stranded on a drying track with Intermediate tyres during Q2. Alex Albon jumped the queue for Williams by exiting on a set of Softs initially and made the most of the best conditions to secure the fastest time in the second session. Leclerc had radioed his pit wall to call for a change to Softs on his out-lap, only to have his plea rejected. But by the time he had made the switch in the closing stages of the session, rain began to fall again at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, leaving Leclerc short of Q3 for the second race weekend in a row. "I called for slicks on the out-lap, it was clearly [ready] for slicks," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365.com . "The track was dry, I think Alex did that and went earlier than everybody on the slicks and it was clearly the right choice, there was no risk taken whatsoever. "For some reason, the team decided otherwise. That's it. "We are just making our life way too difficult in those situations. I had a clear opinion and we decided to do something else. I am frustrated. "Having said that, other drivers did the same strategy as us and went through to Q3, but we are just relying on small details rather than an easy Q2. When the track is dry, you need slick tyres. I don't know what happened."
No clearer way of expressing myself
The incident marks the latest in a long list of strategic failures from the Ferrari pit wall during Leclerc's tenure with the team that started in 2019. Asked if there was anything else that could have been done to force the issue, Leclerc replied: "There was no clearer way of expressing myself, so no. "I will speak internally with the team to understand what we can do because it is not the first time where in those situations I am on the wrong side. "We have to be better than that. We cannot afford to do these mistakes again."
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