Charles Leclerc accepts his Monaco Grand Prix was always compromised from starting so far down the grid following Ferrari’s qualifying mistake as he was forced to retire with dam🐻age.

After Leclerc dropped out in Q1 of qualifying when Ferrari misjudged the required cut-off lap time, the Monegasque driver started his home race a lowly 15^th place and despite early progress up to 12^th place he came unstuck when he clattered the wall at La Rascasse attempting t🧔o overtake Nico Hulkenberg in the Renault.

With a punctured 𓄧right-rear tyre, which then badly damaged the bodywork of Leclerc’s car, he was subsequently pushed into retirement a few laps later due to an “undriveable” car.

While Leclerc accepted his retirement, the first DNF of his Ferrar✨i career, the 21-year-old s🃏ays his race was already compromised by his poor starting position which forced him into risky overtakes.

“It was ve🍨ry difficult. As I said before the race, I had to take a lot of risks, which we did,” Leclerc said. “It was fun at the beginning but unfortunately it ended in disaster.

“But that’s the ⭕problem with Monaco when you are starting 15th, which is ♛not our real pace position. It was difficult to come back from today.”

Leclerc estimates he lost “80% of downforce” with his Ferra🧔ri due💃 to hitting the wall followed by the tyre debris damage which hit his car floor and rear wing.

“We lost most part of the floor. I th𝔉ink the engineers didn’t see it because it was on the right side and they were looking at the left side,” he said. “The left🐻 side was actually not that damaged but the right side was just completed gone.

Of course I never give up, but this time it was just not realistic to still go beca𒀰use we lost like I think 75 points. To normal people that’s maybe not a number they hear often but it’s like 80% of downforce we have on the car so it was just undriveable.”

Leclerc remains fifth in the F1 driꦜvers’ standings but has slipped to 21 points behind Max Verstappen in fo♍urth place for Red Bull.