Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc apologised to his team after a crash in FP1 ended his Friday running prematurely. After an impressve start to FP1 at the 2025 F1 Canadian GP, Leclerc found himself at the top of the timing screens. However, his session came to an abrupt end following a brake lock-up that sent him into the barriers at Turn 3.
A cracked chassis after a “very stupid crash”
The impact caused significant damage to the car, forcing Ferrari to withdraw it from the second free practice session. The team confirmed that the survival cell of car No. 16 had to be replaced, ruling Leclerc out of FP2.
While speaking to the media at the end of the opening day of the 2025 F1 Canadian GP, Leclerc apologised to his team, saying, “First of all, I feel sorry for the whole team, because obviously, that’s never something you want.”
Reflecting on the incident, he said:
“It was a very stupid crash – I had a lock-up, I thought I would make the corner… I knew I would go in the grass, but I thought that was enough to not touch the wall.”
“It’s just a misjudgment, but a misjudgment that cost a lot. The way the wheel has touched the chassis basically cracked the chassis, and we cannot use two chassis on the same day, so that meant basically the whole day not in the car.”
“That hurts because that obviously cost us quite a few laps today, but the very positive thing is that I felt very confident with the car. I think we were very competitive at that time, for whatever it’s worth, because it was only the third [push] lap of the day.”
Leclerc optimistic despite the setbacks
Despite the crash and missing most of Friday’s track time, Leclerc remains optimistic about the weekend. With only Saturday’s final practice session to reacquaint himself with the car ahead of Qualifying, he believes he’ll still be able to perform.
“It doesn’t hurt my confidence, and I’m sure that it won’t hurt my weekend at all,” he commented. “I’m sure I’ll be up to speed in Qualifying. How competitive we will be is another matter, and then we’ll have to see. But I’m sure that personally I’ll be 100%.”
Leclerc ended FP1 in 10th place with a time of 1:13.885 – just 0.692 seconds off Max Verstappen in P1.
