Ferrari left the Formula 1 Monaco GP qualifying session with reasons to celebrate and regret at the same time. With Lewis Hamilton in third and Charles Leclerc in fourth, the team secured both cars on the second row of the grid, but believes there was potential for an even better result.
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The performance reinforced the team’s competitiveness in a session marked by minimal differences between the main contenders for the top positions. Still, some problems faced by the drivers prevented Ferrari from extracting the car’s full potential at the decisive moment.
Hamilton highlighted the traditional intensity of the session on the streets of Monte Carlo and stated that he did not find the same confidence in the car that he had felt during free practice. According to the Briton, the team will need to carefully analyze what changed throughout the day.
“At the start of the session, I didn’t have the same confidence in the car that I felt in free practice. We need to understand what changed, especially since we didn’t make significant alterations. I felt some differences in the car’s balance, but the margins between the leaders were extremely small,” he said.
Even with the difficulties, the seven-time champion managed to secure third position on the starting grid and showed confidence for the race. Hamilton also praised the work done by Ferrari and believes the team can continue to fight more consistently for the top positions throughout the season.
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Leclerc, on the other hand, ended the qualifying session with a feeling of frustration. Racing at home, the Monegasque stated that he has been facing difficulties in finding the ideal car behavior since the beginning of the weekend, and admitted that this had a direct impact on his performance in Q3.
“It was a complicated weekend from the first session. I’ve been facing some problems and haven’t been able to find the right feeling in the car. On a track like this, entering the qualifying session without full confidence takes its toll,” he said. Leclerc also recalled that he was unable to complete his last fast lap in Q3, a factor that left him in fourth position for the start.
The team’s deputy principal, Jerome D’Ambrosio, summarized the result as a mix of satisfaction and disappointment. According to him, placing both cars on the second row is a good result given the balance of the session, but Leclerc’s final lap indicated potential for something greater before touching the wall at Tabac corner. For the race, Ferrari recognizes that overtaking in Monaco is a difficult task, but guarantees that it will seek to take advantage of any opportunity to maximize the result.
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