Charles Leclerc broke the string of 7 consecutive seasonal pole positions, 8 including the last one from last year, by setting the absolute best time in Qualifying for the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix of Formula 1, the first pole position start of the season for Ferrari.
The lap that earned Leclerc pole – 1’10″270 – was just 1 tenth slower than the track record that has now held for five years, but above all it gave Oscar Piastri a tenth and a half and two and a half tenths to teammate Carlos Sainz. Gaps which on a track like Monte-Carlo are considerable.
“It was nice,” said a smiling but calm Leclerc after taking pole at his home track. “The sensations after a qualifying lap are always very special here. I’m very happy with my lap. However, I know even more after the past that qualifying isn’t everything, as much as it helps, of course.”
“It’s as beautiful as the first time here in Monaco. You feel the tension before you get on and it’s much higher than anywhere else. When you finish the lap and know you’re on pole it’s special. In the past the emotions stay with me longer , but now after seeing 2 victories disappear after two poles, I am more cautious and I know that we will have to finish the job tomorrow.”
After Free Practice 3, Ferrari had to replace the engine on Leclerc’s Rossa due to suspicious signals given by the sensors. The team did an excellent job, allowing Leclerc to take part in qualifying without problems, scoring pole. “Yes, we had to change the engine at the last minute because we saw that there were some alarms. It certainly wasn’t ideal but in the end everything went in the best possible way.”
“Qualifying was complicated. In Q1 I caught a piece of a sponsor’s banner and it slowed me down. When I returned to the pits we removed it but it was difficult, I was hoping there weren’t any flags. In Q2 I struggled with the balance of the car. In Q3 I changed something on the front wing and on my driving and everything went better.”
Over the course of the weekend, Leclerc had already shown himself to be extremely fast in the second and final sector, but he produced his masterpiece in the first, where he lost several tenths to his rivals, modifying his braking and exit from Sainte Devote. Symptom of a mental clarity that made the difference on such a complicated track.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24
Photo by: Erik Junius
But now Ferrari will have to put everything together. Leclerc has already started on pole twice more in Monaco, but without taking home the victory for various reasons. However, Charles thinks that today’s Ferrari is stronger than in the recent past, but it will still be necessary to put everything together in tomorrow’s race.
“We need to put everything together on Sunday. In the past we haven’t succeeded, but now we are a stronger team, we are in a stronger position and I am sure we can do great things tomorrow. The goal is victory.”
To win, the first thing necessary will be to get a good enough start to keep everyone else behind at Sante Devote, the first corner that leads to the climb towards the Casino. Then it will be a question of race management. This is why any help from Carlos Sainz, who will start third tomorrow, would also be fundamental.
“I need to get a good start at the start and once we do that I hope that Carlos can get off to a great start too. If he manages to do that, at that point we could find ourselves in first and second position, thus being able to better manage the race as a team. That it would be the perfect scenario. Whatever happens we will have to bring the victory home”, concluded Leclerc.
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