Charles Leclerc came 0.104 seconds shy of Lewis Hamilton’s 2019 track record in a blistering qualifying lap that gave him his third pole position in Monaco, this time without incidents or people bringing out the red flag in the ultimate stages of the session. Obviously, the hometown hero was very delighted with the result.
“It was nice,” the Ferrari-driver understated his feelings. “The feeling after qualifying lap is always very special here. So, yeah, really, really happy about the lap. The excitement is so high that it feels really good.
“However, now I know more often than not in the past, qualifying is not everything,” Leclerc referred to his two previous pole positions which he was unable to convert into wins.
His first one was probably the most heart-braking, as it was his own crash in the second swimming pool chicane in 2021 that secured his pole on Saturday, but which eventually prevented his car from making the grid on Sunday.
And a year later it was poor tactics by Ferrari that cost him even the podium, in a chaotic race that was temporarily suspended by rainfall. So Leclerc knows first hand that, despite getting that all-important pole position, the win is not certain until you stand in that royal box after the race.
“As much as [qualifying] helps a lot for Sunday’s race, we need to put everything together coming to Sunday. And in the past years, we didn’t manage to do so.
“But we are a stronger team, we are in a stronger position, and I’m sure we can achieve great things tomorrow. And obviously, the win is the target.”
With a very short run to the first turn the start is the next most-important part of winning the race, Leclerc acknowledges.
“I need a good launch.
“I need a good launch of the grid. And then once we do that, then hopefully Carlos can have a great start and follow me into Turn 1 and be 1-2. And if we are 1-2, then we can manage that as a team.
“That would be the perfect scenario. But whatever happens, we just need to bring that victory home.”
