Leclerc hoping for a Monaco surprise despite Ferrari woes

Charles Leclerc has not given up hope of springing a Monaco surprise despite slow-speed corners being Ferrari's weak point this season.

Pole position is crucial in the principality, with overtaking extremely rare, and Leclerc – the only home driver to have won in Monaco since the championship started in 1950 – has taken the Saturday top slot in three of the last four years.

Ferrari's qualifying woes hit a new low for the season in Imola last weekend when neither Leclerc nor seven times world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton qualified in the top 10, even if race pace was far better.

Asked about the chances of repeating last year's victory around the tight and twisty metal-fenced streets, Leclerc was not optimistic.

"If you want an honest answer, then low, because unfortunately our car hasn't been particularly strong in low-speed corners. And there’s only low-speed corners here in Monaco," he told reporters.

"So on paper, it doesn’t look like the most promising track for us.

"But Monaco is so unique and so different from anything we race on over the season that we can have a good surprise once we put the car down tomorrow – which I hope will happen.

"And if it does, then I hope to be there on Saturday (in qualifying)... But on paper, it’s going to be a tough one."

Drivers can make a difference, however, on one of the trickiest circuits where cars skim the barriers and millimetres make the difference between triumph and failure.

The fastest car on race pace does not always reach the chequered flag first and drivers with self-belief and determination can exceed expectations.

Teams can also set up their cars specifically for low speed without fear of compromising on high speed.

"I hope we’ll discover something new about our car that we haven’t seen yet since the beginning of the season," said Leclerc.

"Until qualifying, until you do that lap in Q3, you’ve got the hopes of doing something magic because you don’t really know where you stand... So I’ll have hopes until the end."

This year's race has the additional strategic complication of a mandatory two stops, a novelty designed to liven up the show and likely to benefit more those not on pole.

"I think there’s been years where we definitely did not expect to be on pole, and when you think that you have zero hopes, you just go for it," said Leclerc.

"And you manage to do something special, like I think we did in 2021 where we were nowhere all season, but we managed to put it on pole here.

"So, I still have hopes that we can reproduce what happened last year. Obviously, it's still very fresh in my mind to come back in this paddock. The last time I was there, we won, and it was a very special moment for me."