Although Ferrari finished second in Monaco, slow corners remain the SF-25’s biggest weakness, according to Charles Leclerc – But it worked in Monte Carlo
Charles Leclerc scored another strong result for Ferrari at the Monaco Grand Prix. After his home victory last year, the Monegasque had to settle for second place this time, but still drew a positive conclusion overall – even if his aversion to second places remains unbroken.
“I don’t know. I’m never really satisfied with second place,” Leclerc said honestly after the race. ”But when you take a step back and look at our season, it’s a very positive result for the whole team.”
In fact, Ferrari didn’t have high hopes for a top result in Monaco before the weekend. The SF-25 had been limited so far, especially in slow corners – and there are plenty of those in Monte Carlo. But that didn’t seem to be a disadvantage this time around.
“We had very low expectations, simply because our performance in slow corners has been very poor all season,” explains Leclerc. ‘However, this track is very special, with lots of bumps and kerbs, and I think our car copes with that pretty well. That helped us to reduce the gap.’
The Monegasque driver emphasizes how valuable this result is for Ferrari, also in terms of the constructors’ championship: “The 18 points plus Lewis’s ten are very important in our situation. In that respect, we should be proud.” Nevertheless, he adds: “Am I overjoyed with second place? Not really. But it was still a very positive weekend.”
Despite the strong result, Leclerc is under no illusions about the areas that need work on the Ferrari package. First and foremost, it is the performance in slow corners that continues to cause the team concern.
“Quite clearly, the slow corners,” he replies when asked where Ferrari sees the most room for improvement. ”That is by far our biggest weakness. That’s why I was very pessimistic when I came here and said that even a place in the top 10 would be a challenge.”
He emphasizes that Monaco, with its special character—curbs, bumps, tight corners—actually helped Ferrari: “On a track like this, our car actually works pretty well. That helps us, but unfortunately only on such extreme tracks as this one.”
Ferrari remains in fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, but the top field – with the exception of McLaren – is very close together in the Principality. They are just five points behind Mercedes in second place. Red Bull is also in between, with one point more than Ferrari.