Leclerc reflects on disappointing Barcelona GP as Hamilton victory adds sting to DNF

The Monegasque endured a difficult Barcelona Grand Prix weekend, as initial promising pace in practice was dampened by a crash in qualifying that left him 10th on the grid. Leclerc was on for a sixth place finish before a late technical issue brought his race to a premature end. It is his second consecutive DNF after he also retired from the Monaco GP after a late crash.

While Hamilton celebrated a landmark victory and Ferrari's upgrades appeared to deliver a significant boost in performance, Leclerc was left reflecting on missed opportunities. "The biggest problem was starting P10 and that was on me," he admitted, as he vowed to regroup ahead of the next round and ensure he is fighting alongside his team-mate at the front.

The Ferrari driver lost power steering which forced him to go into the gravel and he came into the pits slowly before retiring the car. Leclerc was battling for fifth with Max Verstappen, a battle the Dutchman appeared to win after he pitted under a virtual safety car.

Explaining his race, Leclerc told the media including GPBlog: "Yeah, I lost the power steering. Then with the VSC, I don't know if it will have changed significantly our race. But the two stops I think was a bit of a mistake on my side. I think the three stops were a bit better. It wouldn't have changed massively. The biggest problem was starting P10 and that was on me. And then obviously the technical problem at the end."

Leclerc added that Hamilton's win is "great for the team and Lewis" and compimented the upgrades Ferrari brought to Barcelona. "The team has been pushing massively to bring upgrades and it seems to be working fine. So now I've got to be with him up there, which hasn't been the case since Canada."

He added that he felt more comfortable with the brakes, before stating: "This weekend has been better generally, but obviously with what happened yesterday. I just need to reset and come back in our share and hopefully putting everything together."

Leclerc was not the only driver to suffer a late retirement, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli pulling off at virtually the same time as the Monegasque, just moments after passing George Russell for second.