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Charles Leclerc is not getting carried away by Ferrari's Friday performance, as the driver has tried to keep his expectations in check for qualifying. The Italian team and its driver came into the weekend with limited expectations. The start of the season has not been a good one for either the team or the driver.
The expectations after almost clinching the title last season were a stronger charge for the championship. As it turns out, we're in the 8th race of the season, and Ferrari only has one podium in the races, with Lewis Hamilton shining in the sprint section of the weekend. In Imola, both Leclerc and Hamilton were unable to make it through to Q3, leading to major disappointment.
Coming into the weekend, Charles Leclerc was quite pessimistic, as, according to the driver, Ferrari struggles in slow sections, and Monaco is a track built on that. Well, the expectations have seemingly been thrown out of the window as the driver turned heads in FP1 and FP2 on Friday.
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It was not only the fact that Charles Leclerc was fast, but it was also the gap that he enjoyed over the rest of the field. He topped both sessions and appeared to be the most comfortable in the car out of all his rivals. The driver is, however, not getting carried away. He was happy with the car after Friday, but did not go overboard in his reaction. He told the media, including Sportskeeda:
"Maybe a bit less convinced, but let's say I'm not convinced the other way either. I think for now, a Friday in Monaco is always very special, very specific. I think everybody is taking a bit their reference."
He added:
"It's too early to feel very positive about the weekend, but let's say that Friday has been very positive for us. I've been feeling pretty good with the car. It hasn't started the way I wanted with the crash with Lance, but after that it's been pretty smooth and I'm happy overall with the car."
Charles Leclerc continues to stress the importance of qualifying
Looking ahead to Saturday, Charles Leclerc stressed that qualifying was going to be fundamental in terms of where the chips ultimately fall. This time around, the F1 Monaco GP will feature a mandatory 2-stop race. This could potentially bring a different level of strategy into play. Leclerc, however, still felt that qualifying was going to be the most important part of the weekend, as he said:
"Yes, the one-lap pace was strong. Whatever compound we were on, I was feeling quite comfortable and the lap time was coming pretty quickly, so that's always a good sign. Qualifying is going to be fundamental around here and we've got to be starting in front if we want to hope for a good result."
Leclerc has secured 3 pole positions in the last 4 races. The driver has been a bit of a specialist around the track and would be hoping to turn that into a strong result this time around as well.
