F1 News

Leclerc worried: 'My head is somewhere else at the moment'

23 May 2021 at 08:35
Last update 23 May 2021 at 10:05
  • GPblog.com

Ferrari made a positive impression during the Monaco GP. The Italian team already performed very well during the free practice sessions and thanks to a good lap by Charles Leclerc even took pole position. However, there are also concerns for the Ferrari team.

Leclerc saw himself driving an excellent qualifying session. "It was very, very good," he stated on the press conference. "It wasn't great in the first sector, so I took it maybe a bit too easy but I’ve been struggling in the first sector the whole weekend. After that, I put every one of my best corners into that lap, so it felt very good and, again, at home feels even better – but it’s not the same feeling as normal, as I described earlier, as my head is somewhere else at the moment."

The driver is referring to the hard collision with the wall at the end of qualifying, which raises the question of the extent of the damage to the gearbox. Should this not cause any major problems, however, Leclerc is confident of a win. "In Monaco, we actually have quite a lot of chances. And then, of course, if we are quite a lot slower than the guys behind will put us under pressure, whether to undercut or overcut us – but if we have a reasonable pace as we’ve had all weekend, then I’m pretty sure it’s possible."

Monaco GP starting grid.

Red Bull Racing will be looking to keep Leclerc from that victory in Monaco. Max Verstappen, in fact, could benefit significantly from Lewis Hamilton's current seventh place finish. Valtteri Bottas will start from P3.