In his pursuit of his first Monaco Grand Prix triumph, Charles Leclerc made a blazing start.
Charles Leclerc believes there is “more pace in me”, despite having set the timing screens alight in FP2 for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Ferrari driver had been almost a full second clear of every other driver on the medium tyre in the first part of second practice, and remained top come the end of the session after qualifying simulations took place, almost two tenths clear of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
Charles Leclerc looking to keep up momentum in search for elusive first home win
Leclerc appeared to be pushing the limits of his car early on in free practice on a weekend where the unique Monaco layout requires the drivers to build up to their best times.
Although he acknowledged that qualifying is when everyone’s true pace is revealed, his strategy of taking risks during practice proved to be successful as it allowed him to fully unleash his potential on Friday.
“After FP2, Leclerc expressed his belief that we performed exceptionally well on the medium tires, but faced difficulties in optimizing our performance on the soft tires,” Leclerc shared with F1 TV.
Despite encountering heavy traffic throughout the journey, overall, our car serves us well for now.
I’m feeling really confident about the car. But it’s crucial that we maintain this rhythm in FP3 as it’s the nature of Monaco.
Today, I may have been slightly more daring than the rest, and thankfully, it worked out for me. Nevertheless, the true test will be tomorrow during qualifying when everyone pushes themselves to the limit.
So far, our efforts have been commendable, but we must continue to work diligently and remain focused on ourselves. Nonetheless, it has been a constructive first day.
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Given he had such a sizeable gap to the rest of the field on the medium tyre in particular, Max Verstappen believes Ferrari are “miles ahead” in their current state and could be favourites for pole position on Saturday.
Leclerc recognizes the significance of securing that grid slot, particularly in Monaco, and will make every effort to achieve it. However, he is aware of his unfortunate history at his hometown race, understanding that success in his quest for a first victory on the streets near his upbringing is never assured.
Leclerc expressed his belief that he has more speed within him and is currently working on bringing all the elements together.
Tomorrow, the main focus will be on analyzing the lap time in my three sectors as a whole. However, assuming that the performance and feeling are present, let’s consider other aspects as well.
In the past, I’ve achieved two poles, but unfortunately, the Sunday outcome was not what I desired.
If we can accomplish this, we should determine the optimal starting point for Sunday. Our main objective is to concentrate on Sunday, bringing all the pieces together and ultimately securing the victory.
Read next: Monaco GP: Charles Leclerc impressively tops FP2 as Lewis Hamilton stays in the mix
