He had already mentioned in Thursday’s press conference that expectations for the weekend were quite low. The team had faced too many difficulties up to that point to realistically hope for a strong result from the Principality. Yet, the track is telling a different story, with both Ferrari and Charles Leclerc showing a level of pace over the first two days of the Monaco GP weekend that had been lacking in previous races.
Charles Leclerc baffled by Ferrari’s performance in Monte Carlo
Even the Ferrari crew themselves don’t seem to fully understand the source of this pace, as the Monegasque driver admitted. “I think we misjudged our expectations, and in the end it went much better than we initially thought. To be completely honest, we still need to figure out why. For me, it’s a mystery. I genuinely don’t know why we’re suddenly so fast in the slow corners, but we’ll analyse it after the weekend. Still, I’m not entirely satisfied, because people quickly forget what the original expectations were at the start of the weekend, especially when practice sessions go this well.”
He also added: “I think the race could be a bit chaotic, but we’ll see how it plays out. I believe there will be a lot of strategic games, and it will largely depend on who manages the two pit stops best. There are cars starting from the back that could put us under pressure and make things more interesting.”
The local hero will now try to replicate the emotional scenes from last year, when his tears over the team radio moved the entire paddock. To do so, he’ll need to overcome both McLarens, with Lando Norris starting from pole and Oscar Piastri ready to challenge the number 16 Ferrari.
Additionally, Charles Leclerc won’t be able to count on help from Lewis Hamilton—at least at the start. The British driver was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Max Verstappen’s flying lap, meaning he will start from seventh.
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