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Charles Leclerc is excited to have taken pole position at the Monaco GP and hopes to have a smooth race. The Monegasque took pole last season as well, however, gearbox issues prevented him from taking the start.
Speaking after qualifying, he said:
“I took pole position [last year], but I didn’t start the race.”
He added:
“I don’t think about the past, I just focus on the future. So, I will focus on my own job for tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll have a smoother race.”
The Ferrari driver has had a long streak of bad luck at his home race that stretches all way back to his GP2 days in 2017. Since then, he has failed to finish a single race around Monte Carlo due to a combination of mechanical issues and on-track collisions.
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Heading into the 2022 race, Leclerc is targeting a smooth race that will put him back at the top of the championship standings, ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who is set to start the race in P4.
Given the difficulty in overtaking around Monaco, his job should be easy unless he suffers any mechanical issues. He added:
“I’m feeling good; everything has gone smooth until now. So, I hope it will also be the case tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes.”
A wet Monaco GP will be “tricky”, says Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc believes a wet Monaco GP will be “tricky” for drivers, given how difficult the venue already is in dry conditions. But starting from pole position, the Monegasque believes that he has less to worry about than the drivers behind him. Speaking after qualifying, he said:
“I don’t think I’ve ever driven in the wet here. So, it’s going to be tricky.”
He went on to say:
“I mean, city tracks are very tricky. Monaco is probably one of the most challenging tracks of the season and in the wet I’m sure that it’s even tougher.”
Charles Leclerc said that Ferrari is ready to deal with a potentially wet race at Monaco, given its experience in similar conditions at Imola a few weeks ago. Furthermore, he believes the F1-75 has a larger window to get the tires working optimally than some of its rivals, which could potentially yield the team a bigger pace advantage.
