After qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc went on a foul-mouthed outburst.
The Ferrari driver hoped to secure a seat on the front row, but he ended fourth. George Russell won pole position, meaning his teammate Carlos Sainz will start ahead of him. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly completed a spectacular lap to finish third.
Leclerc, who finished fourth, believed there was more in the vehicle and expressed his dissatisfaction over team radio. The Monegasque driver blamed the tyres for his modest lack of pace, which resulted in him finishing roughly five-tenths of a second behind Mercedes.
The 27-year-old, who was on pole in Las Vegas a year ago, exclaimed on the radio: “S***, s***, s***. For f***s sake. The tyres felt entirely different. I’m not sure why. “So much understeer.”
Leclerc last took pole in Azerbaijan, and his most recent triumph came in the United States just a few weeks ago. Ferrari needs both cars to perform well if they are to regain control of the Constructors’ Championship, which McLaren currently leads by 36 points.
There are three races left, and lots of points are up for grabs. The two Ferraris are ahead of the McLarens heading into Sunday’s race in Nevada, with Lando Norris in sixth and Oscar Piastri two spots behind.
Sainz has pushed the Italian team to go all out for tomorrow’s race win. He believes they must start taking the top steps of the podium to catch up to McLaren with limited time left in the season.
