The Ferrari driver had been at the top of the timetable after his first run in the final SQ3 before the drivers completed a cooling lap and made a second effort.

But with the best performances already removed from the mandatory software, Leclerc said he had gone too far in trying to regain time as his second effort was slower in the first section.

“The soft tires are a bit tricky because you go into Q3 and we haven’t had those tires since yesterday,” said Leclerc, who managed to retain his sprint pole position despite the accident.

“It wasn’t that long ago but the conditions were very different so it behaved very differently. The rear overheated on the second lap.

“I tried to push a little bit more to get some lap times because I was behind my first best lap time and I lost it at Turn 5. But in the end it didn’t have any effect on qualifying.

“I don’t know Carlos behind me, so it would be a shame if he improves, but I’m happy with the first lap, very happy with the first lap. Now we have to confirm that in the race.”

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23

Photography: Zak Mauger / motorsport pictures

While Ferrari has proven to be Red Bull’s rival in qualifying, it has been trailing its main rivals in races so far this season.

Leclerc admitted he was wary of his chances of beating Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen in the sprint, but that was no excuse to give up.

“We’re going to give it our all, but we need to be realistic,” he said. “We’ve been behind in the race so far, especially Red Bull seems to be one step ahead. So let’s see how it goes.

“Hopefully we have a surprise. I think we have improved the car quite a bit, but today we will have more answers in the race and we will see where we are compared to them.”