Charles Leclerc sounded most downbeat in his post qualifying interview at his home town race in Monaco. The Ferrari driver missed out on pole position by a hairs breadth coming in just a tad over 1/10th of a second behind McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Had the Ferrari driver found that elusive fraction of a second and pipped his friend to start P1 in Sunday’s Grand Prix, Leclerc would have joined an exclusive club of drivers’ who have four poles in the principality. Whilst Juan Manuel Fabio, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Alain Prost have achieved this on four occasions, Ayrton Senna is considered the maestro around the narrow streets of Monaco with his five pole positions in just in ten year of this Formula One career.

Leclerc excels in Monaco qualifying and will have a number more opportunities in his career to equal Senna’s record on Saturday, yet the great Brazilian drivers’ relationship with Monaco goes beyond his six race victories and eight podiums in the Monaco GP.

 

 

 

Leclerc has Senna record in his sights

It all began in Ayrton’s rookie season, just five races into his F1 career he arrived in the French Riveria over the mountains and down to Monte Carlo. Starting the race in P13 Senna delivered a wet weather masterclass and in his underpowered Toleman executed breath taking overtakes one of which included the great Niki Lauda.

The rain was controversially red flagged by the clerk of the course who was a friend of Alain Prost as Senna closed in and was almost certain to pass the French driver who was struggling. Yet despite being robbed in 1983 of his maiden win in Monaco, Senna would become the greatest Formula One driver ever to grace the historic circuit.

With his single win last year in Monaco, Leclerc had it within his grasp to claim pole position in 2025 and he had set the time sheets alight during the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. Yet the reality is the Ferrari car this season is not in the same league as the McLaren MCL39 yet Leclerc’s absolute commitment and risk taking saw him man handle the SF-25 to where it should not have been possible to take it.

In FP2 Charles aced the tabac corner carrying speed through the iconic turn 5kph faster than either Ferrari McLaren could manage and in 5th gear not 4th like the papaya liveried cars. The McLaren pair marvelled at the fifth gear commitment joking to each other whether it was possible for them.

 

 

 

McLaren drivers astonished by Leclerc

Norris asked Piastri: ”Do you think you can do that?”He received the dry reposes from hi Aussie team mate: “I think you should try it first,” replied Piastri.

The 2025 Ferrari again has remarkable traction in the low speed zones although its weaknesses have been exposed for all to see on the quicker F1 tracks. The McLaren car is far superior under braking with Norris and Piastri gaining valuable yards going into Mirabeau, yet in the hands of Leclerc the Ferrari blasted out of that turn and the hair[in and through Portier far better, with the SF-25’s superior response and low end grunt.

Fast-forward to those final qualifying laps and by the time they’ve exited Portier, Leclerc is 0.27s ahead of Norris, having entered Mirabeau about level. The McLaren doesn’t clamber over the kerbs as well, and looks a stiffer car than the Ferrari around here. It was taking time from the Ferrari into the turns but losing out to it on the exits.

The traces show whilst the McLaren’s were making up significant amounts of time under braking, the Ferrari would then make it back and more under acceleration. The McLaren also looked stiffer and less capable over the kerbs around the Monaco street circuit, something McLaren team boss Andreas Stella believes is due to their commitment to ensuring they build a car that’s good for the characteristics of this track layout.

Humiliation as Verstappen bursts out laughing in the middle of the race

 

 

 

Ferrari ‘build for Monaco’

“Ferrari have a tradition of being very competitive in Monaco so definitely they will have had good references coming from the past,” said McLaren’s Andrea Stella. “Whereas for us this level of competitiveness here is a pretty decent step forward in being able to compete here and if anything we needed to experiment with our set-up options to see where we needed to put the needle in terms of the compromises needed here.”

Leclerc appears to suggest there was more he could have gotten out of the car but for his first run in Q3 being compromised. “On the first run of Q3, I had Max [Verstappen ahead] in the second sector,” said Leclerc, “and lost a lot of lap time there. So, obviously, when you don’t have that first time in Q3, then you have a little bit less confidence to go flat out on the second run.”

Given the 0.109 seconds difference between Leclerc and Norris on pole, and lack of full on commitment costs time around this track. That said the Ferrari had its tyres in the absolute best possible condition when it made its final one lap push, whilst the McLaren’s opted for a different run plan at the end of Q3.

Both cars went out earlier than the rest, setting bench mark times which Leclerc eclipsed for provisional pole. Yet the world champions had a masterstroke up their sleeve in that they’d fuelled their cars for two final push runs in Q3. With tyres now two laps older than when Leclerc made his final effort, the McLaren pair went even faster.

Monaco mystery as teams plot new strategies

 

 

 

Piastri scruffy final run

So did Ferrari miss a trick again by giving Leclerc just one final run? McLaren team principal Andreas Stella explained: “The [soft] C6 tyre is a little peaky when new. Both drivers felt it was better when slightly used and they could more fully exploit it then.” There is no way of knowing whether that would have been true for Ferrari.

Oscar Piastri had a scruffy final tour finishing 0.175s adrift of his team mate in third, yet he survived a kiss against the wall on two occasions and it felt as though he’s lost the Indian eye over his team mate having shunted his MCL39 into the wall in Friday practice.

Lando came to Monaco on a mission and admitted he’d been underperforming for the “last couple of months.” It was though nothing less than pole would do for the British driver on Saturday afternoon in the sun drenched Riviera. Lewis Hamilton was 0.2 seconds slower than his team mate and finished the session in third, though he faces a three place grid drop for Sunday after impeding Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who now moves onto the second row.

Red Bull have not quite been at the races this weekend, and were unable to make the big step up overnight from Friday to Saturday they have done numerous times this year. Max appeared not to like the C6 softest tyre and maybe the team should considered the McLaren run plan for his final efforts.

McLaren offer Red Herring explanation of their tyre management

 

 

 

The mystery of two stop Monaco

Now we await the first time an F1 race has been mandated a two stop competition. The strategy possibilities are numerous. Yet there remains a faint possibility that 2025 may be a repeat of last year when for the first tine in history the top ten on the grid finished the race where they started. 

If Norris repeats the Leclerc model of driving 2-3 seconds slower than his car is capable, he will hope just before his pit stop is due he can launch a three lap assault on the circuit and build a gap sufficient to see him return to the field ahead of his competition. 

The problem for McLaren is their drivers are split by Charles Leclerc and so any team orders for Piastri to hold up the competition for Norris, is now not possible. The high speed entertainment for Monaco 2025 is over, now its down to the strategy teams and their modelling to decide the best way to take the two stop race. And of course all this can bee ruined by an untimely safety car.

Fernando throws Aston under the bus

 

 

 

 

MORE F1 NEWS – Sainz demands an extreme alteration to Monaco

Sainz calls for radical overhaul of qualifying as Monaco traffic raises safety concerns – The glitz and glamour of Monaco may captivate spectators, but behind the wheel it’s fast becoming a logistical nightmare. With overtaking virtually impossible and the walls ever-closer, the streets of Monte Carlo demand perfection.

But, as Carlos Sainz pointed out in a fiery call for change, the current qualifying format is pushing drivers beyond frustration – and into potentially dangerous territory. Williams driver Carlos Sainz has joined a growing chorus of criticism over the traditional full-field qualifying format used at Monaco, insisting it is time to adopt a split-session approach similar to that used in Formula 2 and Formula 3…. READ MORE ON THIS STORY