His ninth-place finish left him nearly a second behind pole-sitter Lando Norris

Charles Leclerc unleashed a furious rant after qualifying struggles at Las Vegas Grand Prix, with Ferrari enduring a catastrophic qualifying session in Nevada.

The Monegasque driver’s frustration boiled over immediately after crossing the line, declaring the performance “f*****g embarrassing” in an expletive-filled outburst.

During the slow-down lap after managing only ninth position, the Ferrari driver said: “My god, embarrassing, f*****g embarrassing. F*****g hell, I don’t get how we can be so off the pace… there’s like zero grip, zero f*****g grip.”

The 28-year-old struggled throughout the rain-affected session, recording more track limit violations than any other driver whilst narrowly avoiding elimination in Q1.

His ninth-place finish left him nearly a second behind pole-sitter Lando Norris, marking yet another disappointing result for the Italian outfit.

Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying proved even more disastrous, with the seven-time world champion eliminated in Q1 for the first time in his career, finishing dead last in 20th position.

The chaotic wet session saw Oliver Bearman and Alex Albon both hit the barriers in the closing stages, though neither incident triggered a red flag.

Hamilton barely crossed the line to begin a final attempt but abandoned the effort after already sitting in last place.

Charles Leclerc unleashed a furious rant after qualifying struggles at Las Vegas Grand Prix| REUTERS

“Was I safe?” Hamilton asked over team radio, suggesting he hadn’t been informed he was outside the top 15.

His engineer repeatedly urged him to “push” but Hamilton had already aborted the lap.

Post-session analysis revealed the F1 icon had driven over a cone which potentially became lodged beneath his car, contributing to his lack of pace.

Leclerc’s post-qualifying comments revealed deeper issues plaguing Ferrari’s wet-weather performance dating back to his arrival at the team in 2019.

The 28-year-old struggled throughout the rain-affected session| REUTERS

He told F1 TV: “Unfortunately it’s not [just] today. It’s been like that since I joined the team we’ve been struggling massively at finding the grip in those kind of conditions.”

The Monegasque expressed particular frustration given his wet-weather prowess in junior formulae, admitting the team remains baffled by their struggles.

“We are doing something wrong. I have no idea what that is because we’ve turned the car upside down,” Leclerc explained.

He noted that despite input from Hamilton and former driver Carlos Sainz about their experiences with other teams, Ferrari’s car remains “extremely difficult” and “very, very unpredictable” in wet conditions.

The Monegasque driver’s frustration boiled over immediately after crossing the line| REUTERS

He added: “For some reason we just haven’t found our way yet.”

The dismal qualifying performance comes in the wake of Ferrari chairman John Elkann’s pointed criticism following the team’s double retirement in Brazil, where he instructed his drivers to “talk less and focus on driving.”

Hamilton responded to Elkann’s remarks when questioned about whether he could concentrate more on driving, stating: “Not really. I wake up thinking about it and I go to sleep thinking about it, and I think about it when I’m sleeping.”

The seven-time champion, who has yet to secure a podium finish since joining Ferrari this year, emphasised his dedication despite the team’s struggles.

“I’ve backed this team 100 per cent, and I back myself 100 per cent,” Hamilton insisted, whilst acknowledging the challenging season that has seen Ferrari slip to fourth in the constructors’ championship.