For the third time in his career, Charles Leclerc will start from pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix this afternoon at 6:00 AM UST. The Ferrari driver is hoping to finally capitalize on his starting position and win his home race for the first time. The signs have never been more promising.
The last time a Ferrari driver triumphed in Monaco was Sebastian Vettel in 2017. The 26-year-old Leclerc, a native of Monaco, has never finished on the podium in his hometown. His best finish was fourth place in 2022. However, this time, Ferrari seems to have the upper hand based on pure speed…
With a super lap, Leclerc secured pole position during a breathtaking qualification on Saturday, ahead of Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz. Max Verstappen, the winner of 2021 and 2023, will start the street race in the Principality from P6. A touch with the wall in Sainte Dévote was partly to blame. Even without this mishap, the three-time world champion from Red Bull probably wouldn’t have matched Leclerc’s time.
Summary of Monaco GP 2024 Qualification
After the qualification on Saturday, Leclerc expressed his hope for a good start for both him and his teammate, who is behind him on the grid. “If we are first and second coming out of turn 1, we can control the race as a team. That would be the ideal scenario. But whatever happens, we need to bring home that victory now,” said Leclerc. He hopes that the third time’s the charm.
Challenging Starting Position for Red Bull
As good as Ferrari’s starting position is, it’s going to be tough for Red Bull to make a success of the race. After all, overtaking is difficult on the narrow streets of Monaco, and in this respect, Max Verstappen’s starting position is not ideal, behind two Ferraris, two McLarens, and a Mercedes. Not to mention Sergio Pérez. The Mexican made a mess of qualifying for the second consecutive year by falling in Q1. He starts the race from P18.
“We’ve achieved pole position in eight consecutive races, there had to be an end to it,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner realized all too well on Saturday. However, the way it happened will worry him. “We’ve been struggling all weekend. We need to understand why we’re having such a hard time on street circuits and learn from this.”
‘The Weekend is Over’
After the disappointing qualification, Max Verstappen said he didn’t expect much more from the race. “Nothing works, so it’s a fundamental problem with the car. We can’t fix the problem for bumps and kerbstones quickly. On every bump you cut just wrong, the car breaks out or almost bounces into the wall. I just can’t drive over the kerbstones. As for the race: it’s still Monaco. You can’t do anything and need a bit of luck. I think the weekend is over,” said Verstappen, who compared the RB20 to a kart. “It’s like I’m driving without suspension.”
The tire supplier has selected the three softest compounds for the race weekend in Monaco: C3 (hard), C4 (medium), and C5 (soft). On a street circuit, as much grip as possible is important.
The weather forecast for tomorrow is sunny, 21 degrees Celsius, and the chance of rain is negligible.
And what else you need to know…
- Ayrton Senna holds the record for the most poles and victories in Monaco, with five and six respectively
- Last year’s race saw 36 successful overtaking maneuvers
- The chance of a safety car is estimated at 57 percent in advance
- The distance from pole to the braking point for the first corner is only 142 meters
- The first GP of Monaco dates back to 1950 and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio
