Charles Leclerc has said that finishing in second or third at his home Grand Prix in Monaco “isn’t something that really excites me” as he looks to get his first Formula 1 win around the principality.
Leclerc has a history of poor luck at his home circuit, having scored two pole positions at a circuit where overtaking is nigh impossible but only come away with a best result of fourth.
With the competitive order in qualifying tighter than ever between the top teams of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari, Saturday’s session is one of great intrigue.
Having written off a podium as a satisfactory result, Leclerc is aiming for a win.
“I mean, second or third is not really something that excites me,” Leclerc said during Thursday’s Monaco Press Conference.
“So, the win is what, we need to target, we’ve seen in the last few races that Red Bull, McLaren and ourselves are pretty close in qualifying, and, we know how important, qualifying is here.
“So we’ll have to put everything together and if we are on pole then that will give us, good chances to get what want to, which is, which is a win.”
Having been quick qualifiers with its previous machines and latterly suffering with race pace, Ferrari has reversed its fortunes in 2024.
The Scuderia’s current charge has consistently struggled with tyre warm-up in qualifying, evidenced by Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s yellow opening sectors at Imola last weekend during the top-10 Q3 shootout.
That could come to ruin Ferrari and Leclerc’s chances this weekend, but the Monegasque driver pointed toward the unique nature of the historic Monaco street circuit that could help the Italian marque’s cause.
For instance, the team’s uncompetitive 2021 car powered Leclerc to an unlikely pole position in Monaco despite showing poorly elsewhere.
“I feel like in Monaco you always start a little bit from scratch,” Leclerc said. “As much as what we’ve seen in the last few races, I think it won’t be too different.
“There still can be some surprises we’ve seen in 2021, I think with us where we were nowhere.
“But then we go to Monaco and our car was working very well.
“So we’ll have to see after Friday where we are compared to the others.
“But I wouldn’t be surprised if we are not in the mix for pole at least.”
Thus far, the final results of the Monaco GP from years gone by haven’t been what Leclerc “wanted,” but he’s feeling content a change of fortune can come his way this weekend.
“I’m feeling good, obviously, it’s always a very special feeling the Monaco week, I think it is for all the drivers,” he said.
“But for me specifically, having grown up here is, is extra special. So I’m really looking forward to it.
“We’ve always been, competitive here, so, I hope it will be just the same this weekend.
“However, the finality of the weekend hasn’t, ever been the one I wanted, which, we have worked [on] a lot.
“We’ve done our preparation in the best possible way. And, I hope that this weekend will be the good one.”
