Charles Leclerc to attack in Monaco GP qualifying despite recent F1 crashes; looking for a pole hat-trick

Charles Leclerc has no intention of changing his approach to qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix; the Ferrari driver has taken the last two poles at home in Monaco but has a disappointing record on race days; watch final practice from 11.30am on Sky Sports F1, with qualifying at 3pm

Charles Leclerc insists he will still do ‘everything’ in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix despite his recent crashes.

Leclerc had a scrappy weekend last time out in Miami, including a spin at Turn Seven in Practice and crashed out at the same corner in Q3 the following day.

But, last month in Baku, the Ferrari driver took a superb pole position and is renowned for his speed over one lap.

“You go from a weekend in Baku where everyone says you’re a hero for putting him on a post, to a zero because you put him in the wall,” Leclerc said. Sky Sports F1.

“I’m always very honest with myself and I’m not afraid to admit when I’m going too far.

“Miami in qualifying, I went too far. In FP2 in Azerbaijan, there were absolutely no consequences for my fall.

“Obviously I analyzed my performance in qualifying, I think that’s my strong point. Then sometimes I can go over the limit, but that’s also what makes me very fast on a Saturday.

“You can retire, but honestly I know that in a year like this, to be in pole position you have to go all out.”

Leclerc has “no worries” about qualifying

Leclerc finished second in second practice on Friday in Monaco, just 0.065 seconds behind Max Verstappen with an early qualifying showdown between Ferrari and Red Bull.

He says “taking more risks sometimes yields more rewards” on a street track, which is why he’s always keen to attack.

“Am I going to take the mentality of saying, ‘ok, let’s go two tenths slower, do fourth on the grid every race?'” added Leclerc.

Leclerc during Monaco GP practice

“Honestly, again, I think we will draw conclusions very quickly with last weekend, which was very poor and there is nothing more to hide from my side.

“Apart from that Saturday, I think there are very few Saturdays where I’ve been out of rhythm and made mistakes when it comes to going the real lap in Q3, so I don’t I’m not too worried about it.”

A hat-trick of the Monegasque posts?

Leclerc took pole position at the 2021 and 2022 Monaco GPs, but everything has gone wrong on Sundays for the past two years.

In 2021 he crashed in his last race in Q3, but Ferrari was unwilling to break parc fermé rules overnight, only to discover a driveshaft problem as Leclerc headed for the gate.

Last year Leclerc was on course for victory, before a strategic error by his team dropped him to fourth place in mixed conditions.

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Sky F1’s Damon Hill thinks Leclerc will stay with Ferrari long term until they give him a world championship winning car

Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna were the last drivers to achieve the feat of three consecutive poles and Leclerc will have the opportunity to do the same on Saturday.

“It would be unbelievable but I’m pretty sure in the three consecutive poles they’ve had they’ve probably won two or three races, which I haven’t done yet, so that’s really the priority of win on Sunday,” said Leclerc.

“The last two years haven’t been particularly good on Sunday. If we get pole it’s the best chance you can have of winning here in Monaco because overtaking is really tough so we’ll try to put everything in place. .”

Sky Sports F1Monaco GP schedule live

Saturday May 27
9:55 a.m.: Sprint F3
11.15 a.m.: Monaco GP Practice Three (start of the session at 11.30 a.m.)
1:30 p.m.: Sprint F2
2:30 p.m.: preparation for qualifying for the Monaco GP
3 p.m.: Monaco GP qualifying
4:45 p.m.: Ted’s qualification notebook

Sunday May 28
7:15 a.m.: F3 Feature Race
8:45 a.m.: F2 cross-country race
12:30 p.m.: Preparation for the Monaco GP Grand Prix on Sunday
2 p.m.: THE MONACO GRAND PRIX
4 p.m.: Reaction of the Checkered Flag Monaco GP
5 p.m.: Ted’s notebook
5:30 p.m.: The 107th Indy 500

Formula 1 is now heading to the streets of Monaco for the sixth Grand Prix of the 2023 season – watch all the action on Sky Sports F1 from 26-28 May. Get Sky Sports