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Charles Leclerc says he’s going to “take a step back” in his approach at the 2022 F1 Monaco GP to ensure that he gets good results from the weekend and does not take too many risks.
After losing the championship lead for the first time this season, the Ferrari driver says he’s aware of the expectations. Speaking to L’Équipe, he said:
“Last year, I took a lot of risks. I knew I needed a miracle to get to the front row. Obviously, I am aware of the expectations, but this season I decided to take a step back. In Monaco, even if I remain the same person, and apart from the big events, it’s like a small village.”
Charles Leclerc took provisional pole for last year's race at Monaco before crashing heavily on his final attempt in the closing stages of Q3. This brought out the red flag, curtailing the session prematurely, but it also ensured the top spot for the Monegasque in his home race.
Damage from the crash, however, came back to haunt him the next day. As he headed to the grid for race prep, his gearbox gave up and he was forced to retire.
Leclerc says he’s learned from his mistakes and despite vowing to take a cautious approach, he says he’s going to do everything he can to win. He added, saying:
“I’m going to do everything I can to win and not leave anything on the table, but I’ve learned, sometimes there are situations that require more caution.”
'No pressure to perform' says Charles Leclerc, despite streak of poor results at Monaco
Charles Leclerc says he isn’t under any pressure to perform this weekend and break the “Monaco curse”, after failing to finish every single race at the venue since his F2 days. Speaking to the Guardian, he said:
“It’s true that I never really had any luck in Monaco, but on the other hand, I don’t believe in bad luck. I honestly don’t feel the pressure. I know that the performance is in the car for a great result this weekend. I just have to get into the car and do the job and hopefully the results will be there at the end of the weekend.”
Since 2017, when he was still racing in F2 with Prema Racing, Leclerc has failed to finish a single Monaco GP. While some of the issues were due to reasons beyond his control, others have been a direct result of his actions, including his heavy shunt in qualifying last year.
