Upset Leclerc promises 'extreme approach' in Monaco race

Charles Leclerc said he would take "an extreme approach" to Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix after being knocked out in Q1 in Saturday's qualifying session.

The Monegasque Ferrari driver qualified 16th after an error-strewn session that was in stark contrast to his pace-setting action in the morning when he topped the times in final free practice.

Ferrari failed to keep him out for a final run for an improved lap time after he had missed the signal for a weighbridge and been pushed to the scales.

"I asked whether they were sure about it and they told me 'we think we are'," he said. "I said 'shouldn't we go out again?' But there was no real answer.

He said he was hoping that forecast of bad weather for Sunday would come true.

"Hopefully, it will rain and then there will be a bit of a lottery out there. But, if it's dry, it's going to be boring. I'll have to take a lot of risks I think, even risking to crash.

"In the end, that's the only thing we need to do now, to try and be extreme in our overtaking because this is a track where it's basically impossible to overtake. So, we will see."

The 21-year-old driver, in his first season with Ferrari, said he had questioned the team's strategy and asked why he was not sent out for a second run in the closing minutes.

"I think they thought we would go... but I don't know. I didn't have any explanations yet in detail. It is very difficult one to take.

"We had plenty of time even when we went out of the box to go out again. The weighbridge was not the problem. We still had the fuel to go again and only to change tyres. None of this was a problem. I need some explanations."