Charles Leclerc endured a Dutch Grand Prix to forget last weekend, as the Monegasque failed to build on from his impressive podium at the end of the first half of the season.
Leclerc headed to Zandvoort hoping to build some momentum, having finished third at the Belgian Grand Prix before the summer break.
Momentum certainly wasn’t on the cards for the 25-year-old, who instead found himself in a world of trouble.
The SF-23 looked unbalanced throughout every session, with Leclerc in particular having gone off at the first corner several times.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
He complained about the car, yet nothing appeared to change.
Just making it into Q3 was a huge task for Leclerc, who was almost dumped out in Q1, only for his final lap in the first part of qualifying to put him through to Q2.
Q3 was a session to forget, as Leclerc crashed after touching a damp white line, leaving him to start the race in ninth.
Leclerc was seen watching the final minutes of qualifying from where he crashed, with a fan having recorded the Ferrari driver watching Max Verstappen’s podium celebrations.
Thankfully, his car was repaired in time for the race, but Ferrari were forced to install his fourth and final legal gearbox.
Should Leclerc require another new gearbox before the end of 2023, then he’ll receive a grid penalty.
Leclerc might have wished that Ferrari didn’t bother repairing his car, as he retired during the race with significant floor damage.
The floor damage was caused by an opening lap collision with Oscar Piastri, which was caused by Leclerc’s car snapping on him in changing conditions.
READ: Red Bull reveal how many races Daniel Ricciardo will miss
His pace was woeful after the collision, to the point that Ferrari brought him into the pits to retire.
It wrapped up a start to the second half of the season to forget for Leclerc, who is now seventh in the Drivers’ Championship after being overtaken by his team-mate.
With it being Ferrari’s home Grand Prix this weekend, the Monegasque will be eager to bounce back in fine fashion, preferably with a rostrum.