Charles Leclerc is managing expectations ahead of the F1 Monaco GP, citing Ferrari’s weakness in low-speed corners as a key concern.
Leclerc is coming into the weekend as the most recent Monaco Grand Prix winner. Though his efforts to convert starting positions into podium finishes at home have been thwarted multiple times in recent years, he finally triumphed in 2024 with a long-awaited, emotional victory.
However, in Thursday’s press conference, he admitted that he’s unlikely to repeat that feat this year, given Ferrari’s inconsistency and middling pace since the start of the season.
“If you want an honest answer, then low,” Leclerc said. “Unfortunately, our car hasn’t been particularly strong in low-speed corners. And there’s only low-speed corners here in Monaco.”
Qualifying struggles could define Ferrari’s Monaco outing
Ferrari’s form so far hasn’t exactly lived up to the pre-season hype. Across the first seven rounds, they’ve found themselves outpaced by the likes of McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and, most recently, even a much-improved Williams.
The SF-25’s pace deficit has been particularly evident in qualifying, with Ferrari suffering a demoralising double Q2 exit just last week on home soil in Imola. The peculiar nature of the Monaco circuit means Ferrari’s weekend might unravel if they’re not able to produce a strong result on Saturday.
“So on paper, it doesn’t look like the most promising track for us,” Leclerc continued.
“But Monaco is so unique and so different from anything we race on over the season that we can have a good surprise once we put the car down tomorrow—which I hope will happen.
“And if it does, then I hope to be there on Saturday because qualifying will remain the most important part of the weekend. But on paper, it’s going to be a tough one.”
On his expectations for the weekend ahead
Asked whether he feels the driver can make a difference in Monaco—considering Leclerc has secured multiple pole positions on home soil, even in inferior race cars—he conceded, “Well, it can make a difference.
“I think there’s been years where we definitely did not expect to be on pole, and when you think that you have zero hopes, you just go for it—maybe a little bit more than people that are trying to manage expectations in Q3.
“And you manage to do something special, like I think we did in 2021 where we were nowhere all season, but we managed to put it on pole here. So, I still have hopes that we can reproduce what happened last year. Obviously, it’s still very fresh in my mind to come back in this paddock. The last time I was there, we won, and it was a very special moment for me.”
Leclerc added: “Of course, you believe in yourself. I know that on street tracks, it’s been relatively positive for me in the past, so I know that there’s an opportunity there.”
The circuit exposes Ferrari’s key weakness
Leclerc pointed to Ferrari’s struggles in slow-speed corners as one of the most significant limitations facing the team this weekend.
“The only thing that I will say changes from this year compared to other years is that we have a very specific weakness, in my opinion, which are slow-speed corners,” he said.
“And Monaco being only slow-speed corners, it will be a very big achievement—and a very big surprise as well—if we are a lot better than what we expect. But the motivation that I have coming here is always very special. It’s a very unique track, very different to what we are used to everywhere else. And we can be surprised positively. So the hopes are still high, but let’s say that on paper, it doesn’t look as positive.”
However, Ferrari might have the freedom to set up the car purely for the slow-speed profile of this circuit without compromising performance in other areas.
“That’s definitely one of the questions we also asked ourselves coming here,” Leclerc commented.
“The answer…we’ll have it on track tomorrow. We don’t really know yet what to expect. But it is true that there’s only low-speed here.
“So obviously, we’ll try and focus and put the car in the best place possible for low-speed corners, which normally on most other tracks you just try and find a compromise between high-speed content and low-speed content. But here, it’s all about low-speed. I hope we’ll discover something new about our car that we haven’t seen yet since the beginning of the season.”
Optimism still shines through
Despite the anticipated struggles, Leclerc closed on a positive note, explaining that there’s always hope for a weekend-changing lap until the end of Q3.
“It’s not frustrating yet, because I haven’t hit the track yet,” he said.
“So for now, there’s just a huge motivation to try and surprise ourselves positively. And that will be the case until Sunday, really.
“(…) No matter what, you give your best. Until qualifying, until you do that lap in Q3, you’ve got the hopes of doing something magic because you don’t really know where you stand. You have some initial ideas of where you’re going to be fighting in qualifying, but until you get that lap in Q3 and everybody goes flat out, you don’t really know where you’re going to stand. So I’ll have hopes until the end.”
