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Leclerc says he was sliding at the rear in Sepang Q3

After Saturday's qualifying at Sepang, Charles Leclerc said he was sliding at the rear from sector two onwards in Q3 and thought his setup may have been slightly too aggressive. He qualified fifth but was listed fourth on Sunday's starting grid after Isack Hadjar's power-unit penalty.

GPBeat · Newsroom05 Oct 2026, 13:43 · 1 min

AI-generated editorial motorsport illustration; not a documentary photograph. · 2026-10-05GPBeat newsroom · News Made Clear generated illustration

After Saturday's qualifying at Sepang, Charles Leclerc said the session had not gone well, particularly Q3. He reported sliding at the rear from sector two onwards and thought he may have been a little too aggressive with the setup, but said P4 was not a bad place to start.

The FIA's final classification placed Leclerc fifth in qualifying, while the starting grid for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia listed him fourth. Isack Hadjar, who qualified third, dropped to eighth on the grid after a power-unit penalty, moving Leclerc up one place.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said Leclerc had the pace to set a lap time very close to Lewis Hamilton's, but Leclerc had not put everything together on his final attempt. Hamilton qualified second at 1:35.428; Leclerc's 1:35.666 was 0.238 seconds slower.

Sources 03

PRIMARY SOURCEWhat the teams said – Qualifying in MalaysiaFormula 1
PRIMARY SOURCEDoc 42 - Final Qualifying ClassificationFIA F1 decision documents
PRIMARY SOURCEOFFICIAL GRID: Who starts where for the Bahrain GP in MalaysiaFormula 1

Claims and supporting evidence 6

Leclerc said qualifying had not gone well for him, particularly Q3, and reported sliding at the rear from sector two onwards; he thought the setup may have been a little too aggressive.

The post-qualifying report records Leclerc's assessment and his tentative explanation about the setup.

[1]

Leclerc said P4 was not a bad place to start.

The report attributes this starting-position assessment directly to Leclerc.

[1]

The FIA's final qualifying classification placed Leclerc fifth, with a Q3 time of 1:35.666.

The FIA final classification records Leclerc's position and Q3 time.

[2]

The starting grid listed Leclerc fourth; Hadjar qualified third and dropped to eighth after a power-unit penalty.

The published grid lists Leclerc fourth and Hadjar eighth, and states the penalty; the FIA classification records Hadjar's qualifying position.

[2][3][1]

Vasseur said Leclerc had the pace to set a time close to Hamilton's but had not put everything together on his final attempt.

The post-qualifying report attributes both parts of this assessment to Vasseur.

[1]

Hamilton qualified second at 1:35.428, 0.238 seconds faster than Leclerc's 1:35.666.

The FIA classification gives both Q3 times and positions; the time difference is calculated from those listed times.

[2]

This article was produced with AI assistance. Source references make its supporting evidence traceable.