“Not much we can do more”: Charles Leclerc content with Monza qualifying amid ‘a better weekend’

Charles Leclerc has reflected on his outing during the qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix. The 27-year-old stressed there was little more he could do following his session at the Monza circuit.

The Scuderia Ferrari driver, who could only muster a fourth-place qualifying position, stressed how he was disappointed with his run; however, he was not surprised by it. The Monegasque, during his interaction with the media, also highlighted how he thought he had put in a great lap overall.

“Yeah, disappointed but not surprised. It was always going to be very difficult to fight with the top three. We knew that the Red Bull and the McLaren had something more than us for this weekend, and unfortunately, that proved to be the case.”

“Not much we can do more, especially in a Qualifying like this… I think the lap was great, and I couldn’t do much more.”

Charles Leclerc, who was the highest qualifying Ferrari in front of the Tifosi, will now aim to progress through the field as he hopes to record a race victory. The eight-time Grand Prix winner will also be aiming for a repeat of his performance from the 2024 campaign, where he was able to secure a race victory following a masterfully executed strategy from the Scuderia Ferrari pitwall.

Charles Leclerc compares his Italian GP outing to Zandvoort

Charles Leclerc also compared his and the Scuderia Ferrari team's outing in Monza to what they experienced during the Dutch Grand Prix. The former Alfa Romeo driver acknowledged it was a much better weekend compared to what was experienced at the Dutch dunes.

Leclerc, who largely looked well to match the pace of the front runners, also acknowledged his qualifying to be a solid one despite the disappointment of missing out on pole. Sharing his thoughts with the media following the Saturday afternoon session, he continued:

“I think it’s generally been a better weekend. It was definitely a solid Qualifying. I felt like I got pretty much most that I wanted out of it.”

“I think at the end, the last lap… the last lap just never is as good as you hope it’d be, and that’s something I’ve got to work on for sure with the balance that I have with the car. Otherwise, it was okay.”

The fourth-place start for Charles Leclerc marks his best qualifying since his pole position start during the Hungarian Grand Prix. It was also his best qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix since his third place during the 2023 edition of the event.

Teammate Lewis Hamilton, on his part, could only muster a fifth-place qualifying position. However, considering he has a five-place grid penalty hovering over him, he will start his first Monza race for the Ferrari team in 10th place.