Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Spa-Francorchamps, 2026

Charles Leclerc believes he lost a place on the grid after misinterpreting a yellow flag on his final Q3 lap.

The Ferrari driver qualified fifth on the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix, one place ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton, but will be promoted to fourth as a result of Lando Norris’s grid penalty.

After taking victory in the last round at Silverstone, Leclerc admitted that fourth and fifth was a fair reflection of Ferrari’s performance around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

“Unfortunately that’s the way it is,” Leclerc told Sky. “I think it’s a lot more in line with what we expected in Silverstone and here.

“Silverstone was more of an outstanding weekend and here it’s not. Here it’s more the way we expected it.”

Despite improving on his final push lap in Q3, Leclerc admitted he backed off slightly through the final chicane, costing him time, in reaction to seeing a yellow flag waved at the entry to the pit lane. While the yellow flag was not being waved in error, the flag at the pit entry was only applicable to drivers entering the pit lane due to the high level of personnel and activity in the pit lane at the end of the session and did not require drivers still on track to back off.

“I’m a bit disappointed for that last lap,” Leclerc explained, “because there was a yellow flag that was supposed to be for the pit entry that was too visible, in my opinion, being on track – it was very much in the middle.

“That probably cost me one position. I wouldn’t have done a crazy better lap time – and the half-a-second [to pole] was still there – but one position would have been possible.”

Leclerc believes that Ferrari’s prospects of fighting the cars ahead of them in Sunday’s race will be limited by their power unit performance compared to the Mercedes and Red Bull.

“It’s just raw power, I think,” he said. “Raw power… they are just on the better side of things.

“We are pretty strong in the grip-limited, but struggling in the power-limited. However, today, it’s true that they were very strong in the corners as well. So they just have a very strong package at the moment and for us we just have to focus at those tracks, to maximise what we have.”

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2026 Belgian Grand Prix

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Will Wood

Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly contributes to Formula One race weekend and pre-season test coverage, and also has the enviable job of reviewing the official Formula One game and other motor sport titles to the test. View all posts by Will Wood