Charles Leclerc has set his sights on joining Lewis Hamilton at the front after Ferrari\u2019s breakthrough victory in Barcelona, admitting he needs to be \u201cup there\u201d with his team-mate after a weekend to forget ended in retirement<\/p>\n
But even before his retirement, Leclerc never looked to have the pace to challenge for a podium finish, never mind the win.<\/p>\n
Charles Leclerc targets podium return after Barcelona retirement<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Leclerc<\/a> arrived at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya looking to put his Monaco Grand Prix disappointment behind him after a brake problem saw him crash out of his home race.<\/p>\n His efforts were undone by a crash in Q3 when a mistake at Turn 4 on his very first flying lap ended with his SF-26 nose-first in the barrier.<\/p>\n The Monegasque\u2019s recovery began well on Sunday as he made up three places off the line to run P7. He overtook Oscar Piastri around the outside of Turn 3 on Lap 8 to run sixth, but that\u2019s where his progress stalled.<\/p>\n While an early second pit stop for Hamilton saw him take the lead when George Russell and Kimi Antonelli pitted, the timing of a Virtual Safety Car when Fernando Alonso\u2019s Aston Martin suffered a battery failure handed the Ferrari driver a free third pit stop.<\/p>\n Hamilton went on a charge, pulling clear of the Mercedes teammates, while Leclerc ran behind Max Verstappen in sixth place and looking unlikely to challenge for the podium.<\/p>\n Any suggestion of that ended when his Ferrari SF-26 developed a late-race power steering problem, with the driver heading into the pits to retire his car.<\/p>\n Leclerc reckons while the VSC was a boon for Hamilton, even if Ferrari had also pitted him, it wouldn\u2019t have made much of a difference to his race.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost the power steering,\u201d he told PlanetF1.com and other media, revealing he had \u201cno gears and no brakes as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThen with the VSC, I don\u2019t know if it will have changed significantly our race. But the two stops was a bit of a mistake on my side. I think the three stops were a bit better.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t have changed massively; the biggest problem was starting P10, and that was on me.<\/p>\n \u201cThen obviously the technical problem at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n The result was a tale of two Ferraris, Leclerc\u2019s Sunday ending in the garage and Hamilton\u2019s on the top step of the podium.<\/p>\n Leclerc was happy for his teammate, who has been on the podium in every one of the last three grands prix, and says it\u2019s about time he joined him.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it\u2019s great for the team, it\u2019s great for Lewis,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe team has been pushing massively to bring upgrades, and it seems to be working fine, so now I\u2019ve got to be with him up there, which hasn\u2019t been the case in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cFred [Vasseur] deserves it as much as the whole team has been working massively hard. I\u2019m very happy for them, but surely the main feeling I\u2019ll have getting home is disappointment, because it\u2019s been a very difficult weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n There is, however, one positive for Leclerc \u2013 his brakes.<\/p>\n F1 2026: The season\u2019s winners and losers<\/p>\n The results of the F1 2026 championship <\/a><\/p>\n The F1 2026 Drivers\u2019 and Constructors\u2019 Championship standings<\/a><\/p>\n The driver switched from Brembo pads to Carbone Industries brake pads and discs and revealed it did help a bit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit better,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean it\u2019s better. <\/p>\n \u201cThis weekend has been better, generally, but obviously with what happened yesterday, I just need to reset and come back in Austria and hopefully put everything together.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve lost significant points on my side, so I\u2019ve got to do a pretty exceptional job from next race to the end with the upgrades coming our side.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yeah, we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n Leclerc lost ground to Hamilton in the Drivers\u2019 Championship with his teammate P2 on 115 while Leclerc has just 75 to his name. Kimi Antonelli, who retired on the same lap was Leclerc, continues to lead with 156 points.<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Thomas Maher<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n