Charles Leclerc was certain some of Ferrari’s rivals had broken the rules regarding their cool-down laps at the end of qualifying for the sprint race in Montreal.
After qualifying sixth for tomorrow’s opening race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Leclerc told his race engineer Bryan Bozzi to report their rivals to the stewards.
“Guys, what the fuck?” said Leclerc after finishing his final lap. “This traffic, for fuck’s sake. Come on.”
“We should complain about the cool-down laps, they are for sure, for sure illegal,” he added. “For tomorrow let’s focus on being alone on-track and not having these guys’ cool-down laps.”
Leclerc did not specify which of his rivals he felt had held him up. He spent the final part of qualifying running with Oscar Piastri ahead of him and Andrea Kimi Antonelli behind. He did encounter some traffic earlier in qualifying when the track was busier.
The stewards have not announced any investigations into anyone over their driving during the cool-down laps in the sprint race qualifying session.
Leclerc had other problems during the session. He said afterwards he was having difficulty with his car’s brakes. “I haven’t been at all at ease with the car,” he explained. “I’m really, really struggling with the brakes on my side of the garage for some reason.
“We need to look into it and try to find something for tomorrow otherwise it’s going to be a very long weekend. On the brakes, I get into the corners hoping that I don’t end up going straight on, that’s the main issue at the moment.”
Advert | Become a ApexF1News supporter and go ad-free
Miss nothing from ApexF1News
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
2026 Canadian Grand Prix
