Ferrari finds unexpected form in Monaco, but team boss Vasseur remains wary of McLaren’s true performance heading into Saturday’s qualifying.
Ferrari has dazzled the Monaco paddock with a sudden surge in ambition, aiming to return to victory on the iconic street circuit.
Last year, local hero Charles Leclerc claimed his first-ever Monaco Grand Prix win, and this year, his 2025 car is once again fitted with the same high-downforce 2024 rear wing.
That large wing appears to be working well once more. Yet, both Leclerc and Ferrari seemed pessimistic about their chances heading into the weekend.
Ferrari Finds Monaco Spark
“Monaco is special for everyone in the paddock, but even more so for us. Being Ferrari, I see Monaco as something of a home race. And with Charles in the team, it naturally takes on a special meaning, so there’s already a strong sense of motivation,” Fred Vasseur told RMC.
“On paper, I think we weren’t confident at all when we arrived here, because our weakness since the start of the year has been low-speed corners. So coming to Monaco, we really didn’t feel confident. But so far, things seem to be going quite well. It would have been hard to do better on Friday, so we’ll take that as an encouraging sign, even though I believe McLaren was holding something back today. At least compared to the others, I think we’re in a better position than we’ve been in the past few races.”
Home Pressure, Calm Minds
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have both faced major disappointments in recent weeks — how will qualifying go for them?
“They’ve both been totally relaxed and have had a great approach since the start of the weekend. I think that may be part of what makes the difference. Monaco is a bit like Baku — these are city circuits. You either come in with a positive mindset thinking it’s amazing, or if you’re on the defensive, it gets very complicated. And I believe both of them have had that positive energy from the beginning of the weekend.”
This is, of course, a particularly special track for Leclerc, who is racing at home this weekend…
Calm Focus, Strategic Uncertainty
“I think we’ve managed the lead-up to the Grand Prix pretty well, much like last year. He hasn’t had too many obligations. We’ve tried to keep him a bit protected. We were talking about it yesterday morning, and he told me it had been fairly calm so far. I think that’s important because this is a circuit that’s extremely demanding in terms of concentration and mental intensity. You can’t let your focus drop for even a hundredth of a second. Arriving mentally drained is never a good thing. So I think things are lining up quite nicely so far.”
For the first time, two pit stops will be mandatory in this Monaco Grand Prix — a new rule introduced to bring more unpredictability to a race where overtaking is nearly impossible. Could this extra stop change everything?
“Yes, absolutely, because we’ll have to make decisions depending on potential safety cars, red flags, or anything else. There’s no single right strategy, because the right strategy depends on what happens in the following laps, and as far as I know, no one can predict the future. That said, I’d still rather start at the front than the back. So we need to focus completely on qualifying first.”
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