Leclerc Asserts There Is 'More Pace' Amid Verstappen's 'Ferrari Miles Away' Verdict
F1
The home hero of this week's race weekend, Charles Leclerc, suggested Ferrari was on a very good path after the second practice session on Friday.
Scuderia Ferrari drivers, especially Charles Leclerc, had an amazing start to the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix weekend. Although he didn't show his pace on soft compound tires in FP1, the Monegasque was still fifth fastest.
However, during the second practice session, he showed how well Circuit de Monaco suits him and his SF-24. Leclerc scored P1, +0.188s ahead of Lewis Hamilton in P2, and +0.535s ahead of Max Verstappen (the driver who scored pole in every Grand Prix so far) in P4.
Speaking to the media after the successful second practice session in Moncao, the 26-year-old Scuderia Ferrari driver said:
"Until now I think we've done a really, really good job, but we need to keep working, keep focusing on ourselves. But it's a positive first day."
Ferrari's biggest rival, Red Bull, seemed to be struggling very much, and the triple World Champion stated after FP2 that Ferrari was "miles away." Leclerc acknowledged he had a decent pace, but suggested there is much more to be found:
"I think there's more pace in me just putting everything together. If you look at my three sectors, there was quite a bit of lap time in them when you put all of it together, so that will be the main focus for tomorrow. But let's say performance and feeling is there."
Scoring a pole during the qualifying session on Saturday at Circuit de Monaco wouldn't be the first time for Leclerc. And even though the qualifying result will play a significant role, he also emphasized the importance of race execution.
"I've had two poles in the past, but then the Sunday result wasn't the one I wanted. So if we manage to do [that], so which is the best starting place for Sunday, we'll have to focus well on Sunday in order to put everything together to finally get that win."
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