Charles Leclerc’s hopes of securing pole position at his home race faded in the most painful way possible. Monaco is the circuit where Saturday’s result often carries more weight than anywhere else on the calendar, and the Ferrari driver pushed until the very end in an attempt to put himself at the front of the grid.
His final effort was on the pace of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen, but extracting that level of performance required him to push the SF-26 beyond its limits. The result was contact with the barriers at Tabac, forcing him to settle for the fourth-fastest time he had already posted earlier in the session.
The mistake also highlighted a lack of confidence that has continued to affect his relationship with the car, even around the streets of Monte Carlo. After the braking issues he reported on Friday, which echoed similar problems experienced in Montreal, Charles Leclerc used the post-qualifying interviews to shed more light on the difficulties that have been slowing him down.
Leclerc: “No confidence in the car and the brakes”
Reflecting on his qualifying performance, Charles Leclerc immediately admitted that he never felt completely comfortable with the SF-26.
“I’m very disappointed. Honestly, I’m not surprised. For two race weekends now I haven’t had any feeling with the car, and especially with the brakes. We know what the problem is and we hope we can solve it in Barcelona. It’s very difficult to have reference points with this issue because it changes every lap. In Q3 there was no margin left and I pushed too hard.”
Expanding further on the problems affecting his Ferrari, the Monegasque driver revealed that the team already has a potential solution available, although he chose not to implement it in Monaco: “I think we have the solution. For several reasons I didn’t want to try that solution here in Monaco because it’s a circuit where I thought I would naturally regain confidence. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen from FP1 onwards.”
According to Charles Leclerc, the final mistake in Q3 was not solely caused by his lack of confidence in the SF-26. Instead, it resulted from a combination of different factors coming together at the worst possible moment.
“I tried in Q3, but it was a combination of things. I’m not afraid to admit when I make a mistake, but I think this time it came from several factors. There were two or three cars a little further ahead and the downforce wasn’t exactly the same. It was also the second lap on the tyre, so the tyres were already too hot. On top of that, I tried to carry a bit more speed.”
He then returned to the issue that continues to affect his confidence behind the wheel: “I don’t have confidence in this car at the moment. Everything was going very well until then, but right now it’s too much. I always give everything I have, but when the confidence isn’t there, it becomes too risky.”
Charles Leclerc also revealed that there were additional complications during Q3 that may not have been obvious from the outside.
“I had a lot of problems even in Q3, probably nothing that other people would notice, but I had to leave the garage much earlier and there was a bit of confusion inside the garage. The fact that under braking I still don’t really know exactly where to brake puts me in a very difficult situation. But I wouldn’t blame the mistake only on that. It was a combination of factors.”
Race expectations from fourth on the grid
Starting fourth in Monaco significantly complicates Ferrari’s hopes of fighting for victory. While the SF-26 has demonstrated strong launch performance this season, the short run to the first corner and the lack of overtaking opportunities around Monte Carlo make it difficult to fully exploit that advantage.
Charles Leclerc admits he has considered the possibility of making progress at the start, but remains realistic about the challenge ahead: “I’ve thought about it, but I think it will be very difficult tomorrow to get to the level of the drivers ahead of us. I hope we can. I love this track. It’s one of my favourite circuits, actually it’s my favourite of the entire season. But being fast isn’t enough on a track like this. You need confidence in yourself and you need to know exactly how the car will react so that you can place it precisely where you want. The whole weekend has been a challenge. I was braking without really knowing where I would end up in the corner.”
The contact with the barriers was relatively minor, and Charles Leclerc does not expect it to compromise his race on Sunday.
“The car suffered some damage, but I’m not worried that it will affect tomorrow’s race. I haven’t spoken with the team yet.”
Ferrari now faces a difficult task on race day. While the pace shown throughout the weekend suggests the SF-26 is capable of fighting near the front, Charles Leclerc’s chances of repeating his Monaco triumph from 2024 will depend on a near-perfect race, a strong start, and perhaps a little help from circumstances around him.
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