Formula 1: what Charles Leclerc had to say at GP-4
© Anaïs Riu / Monaco Tribune
This weekend, Charles Leclerc is playing at home. The 81st edition of the Monaco Grand Prix is upon us, and the Monegasque driver is preparing for his pet peeve. He spoke about his mindset and ambitions, on the day before the free practice sessions.
He grew up here and he knows the track like the back of his hand. And yet, Charles Leclerc has never managed to win, or even podium, on home soil. He has made pole twice in Monaco and hopes for a third this year. His best result to date in Monaco was 4th in 2022.
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Notwithstanding these disappointments, the Monegasque Scuderia Ferrari driver says he isn’t putting pressure on himself, even if his sole aim is to win the race on Sunday. Charles Leclerc is enjoying a good run, in second place in the overall drivers’ rankings, and is keen to have his own national anthem ring out in the streets of the Principality.
“Of course, it’s always a very special feeling in the week leading up to Monaco. I think that’s true for all the drivers, but for me in particular, having grown up here, it’s very special. So I’m really looking forward to it.
I’m not interested in second or third place here, we’re aiming for the win. If we are on pole, we’ll have good chance of winning, which we really want.
In the last few races we’ve seen that Red Bull, McLaren and ourselves were pretty close in qualifying, and we know how important qualifying is here. So we will have to put it all together and if we are on pole, it will give us a good chance of getting what we want, which is a win.”
A unique track
Bad weather, unique track, special tactics… anything can happen on the Monaco circuit.
“I feel like in Monaco, you always sort of start from scratch. Given what we’ve seen in the last four races, I don’t think it’ll be too different this time. But there might still be some surprises.
It was the case in 2021, I think, where we were nowhere, but then we came to Monaco and our car worked really well. So we’ll have to see where we stand compared to the others after Friday. But I’d be surprised if we are not at least in contention for pole.
We’ve always been competitive here, so I hope it’ll be the same this weekend. However, the end result has never been the one I wanted. We’ve worked hard, we’ve prepared the best we can, and I hope that this time it’ll be our weekend.”
Improvements at Ferrari since Imola
Although Charles Leclerc posted the best time of the first and second free practice session at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola last week, he ended up 4th on the starting grid after qualifying and finished 3rd behind Lando Norris and the nigh-on invincible Max Verstappen on the Enzo and Dino Ferrari track.
After the race, the Monegasque driver seemed to suggest that his results were due to a problem with the strategy concerning his car’s turbo hybrid V6 engine. Today, he seems more confident about the future.
“Red Bull and McLaren seem to have got that side of things right at Imola. We were a little short of time to work on it, so we looked into it at the factory. I don’t think it will make a big difference here in Monaco. It’s a very different situation. However, it could be the case for the rest of the season, so we carried out a proper analysis on our side, and I am sure we will improve.
The last race was pretty close, the previous one too. But it is also true that we have two pretty unique tracks, namely Monaco and Canada, where the vibrator is such an important factor. That might not show how strong our car is, so I think we have to wait a little longer to try to figure out exactly where we are in terms of performance. But we’re confident in the progress we’ve made with our improvements, and we’ve really narrowed the gap. I hope it’ll bring us up on a par with Red Bull soon, and that would be great for Formula One in general.”
To be continued, starting Friday at free practice, from 1.30 pm!
