DOHA, Qatar -- Charles Leclerc said there has not been a single lap he has driven in Qatar that gives him hope his Ferrari can compete for points on Sunday.
As has so often been the case this year with a driver who is widely considered to be F1's best qualifier, Leclerc used his one-lap prowess to drag his wayward Ferrari into Q3 after the team went scoreless in the sprint earlier in the day.
Leclerc had a huge spin in the final session as he wrestled with his Ferrari on a timed lap -- he qualified 10th.
"[It's] really difficult to drive," Leclerc said of the car. "And it's just frustrating. I mean, the second lap in Q3 was a really good one, but that's only good enough for P10, and that is, once again, very frustrating."
Piastri took his sixth pole of the season (and career), and first since the Dutch GP in August
He remained unconvinced Ferrari can hold onto a top 10 finish.
"I'm generally a very optimistic person, but I struggle to find any optimism for tomorrow," Leclerc when asked what would be a positive outcome for Sunday's race. "There's not one lap this weekend that gave me the hope that things can go in the right direction.
"So, a good day tomorrow will be to keep the car on track and to try and score a few points. I mean, I don't want to go into a race thinking about taking a few points and keeping the car on track, so I'll try to get into the top ten, but realistically, and do I really believe in it? I honestly don't think so."
Leclerc's Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton fared even worse, failing to make it out of the first qualifying segment for the third straight time -- the same happened in Las Vegas and on Friday evening in Qatar, in qualifying for the sprint. The last time the seven-time champion was eliminated in Q1 in consecutive Grands Prix was in 2009.
Asked if he felt confident he could fight through the field in the grand prix, Hamilton said: "Not really. We saw in the sprint there's no overtaking. Try something different with strategy and we'll see."
