Leclerc feeling "quite shit" as he waits on F1 gearbox inspection
Charles Leclerc says he feels "quite shit" after topping Formula 1 qualifying for the eighth time, due to the circumstances of his Q3 crash at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix.


Leclerc crashed at the second part of the Swimming Pool sequence on a flying lap with just few seconds of qualifying remaining, clipping the barriers on the inside of the first apex and breaking the suspension at the right-front of his car.
The initial impact and damage sent him across the kerbs of the second apex and into the barriers on the outside, where he also suffered significant damage to the rear of his SF21.
After the resulting red flags ended the session early, Leclerc's qualifying P1 was confirmed after he had led the Q3 runners through the opening runs – although he now waits on Ferrari discovering the details of the damage and finding out if he must take a new gearbox ahead of the Monaco race, which would result in a grid penalty.
After climbing from his car, Leclerc told F1 television "it doesn't feel the same" compared to the joy of usually taking pole.
When asked by Autosport to explain how he was feeling once the initial post-qualifying period had passed, Leclerc replied: "For now, it feels quite shit, to be honest.
"I'm just waiting for the gearbox and that's it. For now, I can't enjoy that quali as I would like to."

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21 crashes
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Leclerc, who he said he had heard "nothing" by way of an update regarding the damage done to his car at the time he was speaking in the Monaco paddock, also responded to questions from reporters regarding suggestions that his crash had been done deliberately, which he rebuffed.
"I think Valtteri and Max [third and second in qualifying] were actually speaking about that in the press conference together. I think they hadn't seen the images before thinking it was on purpose.
"I'm pretty sure that once they'd seen the images… I can tell you that if it was done on purpose, I would have done it a lot more cleverly and not gone at full speed into [the barrier] and risking breaking the gearbox.
"So, no, it was definitely not on purpose."
Leclerc also explained that his final Q3 lap "didn't start great" and that "in the last sector I tried to push a bit more".
He added: "I had gained a little bit at the beginning of it, but then lost it all with the crash.
"So, yeah, it's like this. I went for it at the end. It's one of my strengths sometimes and it's why sometimes I am good in qualifying. It's also why I've done this mistake today.
"Whether this will make me change the approach for all the races to come, no, because at the end I had to go for it.
"But, it will be hard one to take if we have to change the gearbox."
Related video

Sainz "not happy at all" to lose F1 Monaco GP pole opportunity
Hamilton to have "tough discussions" with Mercedes after Monaco GP qualifying

Latest news
Magnussen still 'pinching myself' about Haas F1 comeback
Kevin Magnussen says he has gained a new appreciation for the privilege of being a Formula 1 driver over the course of his 2022 comeback season.
Wolff: Mercedes bounced "from depression to exuberance" in "painful" F1 season
Toto Wolff says the ranging emotions through Mercedes’ Formula 1 season so far has been “painful” at times, bouncing from “depression to exuberance” through its 2022 car struggles.
The inconvenient truth about F1’s ‘American driver’ dream
OPINION: The Formula 1 grid's wait for a new American driver looks set to continue into 2023 as the few remaining places up for grabs - most notably at McLaren - look set to go elsewhere. This is despite the Woking outfit giving tests to IndyCar aces recently, showing that the Stateside single-seater series still has some way to go to being seen as a viable feeder option for F1
Lundgaard: Vettel could expect “tough transition” to IndyCar
Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Christian Lundgaard said that four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel would face a hard task adapting to the demands of IndyCar if he wished to make the switch.
The inconvenient truth about F1’s ‘American driver’ dream
OPINION: The Formula 1 grid's wait for a new American driver looks set to continue into 2023 as the few remaining places up for grabs - most notably at McLaren - look set to go elsewhere. This is despite the Woking outfit giving tests to IndyCar aces recently, showing that the Stateside single-seater series still has some way to go to being seen as a viable feeder option for F1
How a bad car creates the ultimate engineering challenge
While creating a car that is woefully off the pace is a nightmare scenario for any team, it inadvertently generates the test any engineering department would relish: to turn it into a winner. As Mercedes takes on that challenge in Formula 1 this season, McLaren’s former head of vehicle engineering reveals how the team pulled of the feat in 2009 with Lewis Hamilton
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?
Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid