Charles Leclerc says Ferrari must convert his latest Monaco Grand Prix pole position into victory having failed to do so twice before.
He set pole position for the 2021 and 2022 races but won neither. Leclerc failed to start the former after suffering a pre-race technical problem, and a tactical error by his team left him fourth two years ago.Leclerc has been the driver to beat at his home track this weekend and claimed pole position by a tenth of a second from Oscar Piastri. “The feeling after a qualifying lap is always very, very special here,” said the Ferrari driver. “So I’m really, really happy about the lap. The excitement is so high, it feels really good.”
However his thoughts quickly turned to the challenge of turning his latest pole position in Monaco into his first victory in the principality.
“I know, more often than not, in the past, qualifying is not everything. As much as it helps a lot for Sunday’s race, we need to put everything together coming the Sunday.
“In the past years we didn’t manage to do so. But we are a strong team. We are in a stronger position and I’m sure we can achieve great things tomorrow and obviously the win is the target.”
Leclerc said his best chance of victory will be if his team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr, who qualified third, is able to pass Piastri at the start.
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“I need a good launch off the grid and then once we do that, then hopefully Carlos can have a great start and follow me into turn one and be one and two,” he said. “And if we are one-two we can manage that as a team. That would be the perfect scenario. But whatever happens, we just need to bring that victory home.”
Sainz admitted his team mate had been hard to match at his home track but was pleased to close the gap after lagging off the pace yesterday.
“I think overall it was an improvement for me,” he said. “I’ve been struggling all weekend with the confidence I’m feeling with the car so overall to step it up and be P3 was a step forward.
“Obviously not entirely happy because I wish I could have been fighting for pole position. But the truth is that Charles has been doing an outstanding job, the car has been amazing all this weekend and he managed to extract the most of it and I’m happy for him.”
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SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
25th May 2024, 17:18
Certainly not when your pole to win conversion rate is like Charles’ is. For everyone else, it would pretty much be a guaranteed win to take the pole here, barring a botched start, of course. Given that only seven times in the past twenty years the race wasn’t won from pole (two of which were Chuck’s, of course), it’s statistically debatable that “qualifying isn’t anything” on this track.
We’ll see tomorrow if Charles is going to pull a Charles and lose from pole, or if he can finally turn his fortune.
LosD (@losd)
25th May 2024, 18:10
@sjaakfoo
Then it’s a good thing that’s not what he said…
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
25th May 2024, 18:54
Oh dear I did make a little language faux pas there.
Luckily everyone understood my meaning and it’s not a problem. ;)
mars
25th May 2024, 18:44
Charles has an incredible pole stat that didn’t reflect to his race win stats because he usually puts a slower car on front row. Put Charles on that ultra dominant RBR, or dominant Mercedes of the previous decade and watch how all of his stats increasing immidiatly.
Also his luck or curse better to say never lets him alone. Today, again just before qualification,due to an issue team have to change his engine. Yesterday, he found the derbies on track and today, during the 1st part of qualifications, a plastic part from the banners went on the underside of his car. It seems nothin is coming to easy to Charles way.
Nick T.
26th May 2024, 14:45
Not slower cars, but cars that in the past ate through their rear tires too quickly.