Charles Leclerc almost secured a hattrick of pole positions in Monaco until Fernando Alonso pushed him down to P2. Then, Max Verstappen gained three-tenths in the last sector of the track to grab pole position during the dying moments of Q3.
Leclerc was disappointed to not give his home crowd a Saturday to remember. But also because securing a pole position in Monaco is crucial in securing victory. However, the driver claims P3 was the best his Ferrari could’ve achieved.
Charles Leclerc describes P3 as a good result despite missing out on pole
The crowds cheered loudly when local lad Charles Leclerc grabbed a provisional pole for the 2023 Monaco GP. However, the driver’s Monaco curse struck again as Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen pipped him.
The driver was gutted to not secure the pole but found positives in the outcome. He said in the post-quali press conference, “Disappointed with third but at the same time, I think I need to look at the weekend as a whole. I’ve been struggling with the car like crazy.”
Leclerc feels P3 was the most Ferrari could have done today – says he has been “struggling with the car like crazy” this weekend, particularly bottoming out: “Even looking back at the lap in Q3, the lap was really good. I don’t think there was much more.” #F1 #MonacoGP
— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) May 27, 2023
The Monegasque had suffered bouncing issues since FP2, especially in the second sector. This hindered his handling as the driver suffered a crash in FP2 yesterday. There was some relief on Saturday as the driver managed to find a better grip on the new tires.
The driver asserted that he extracted every bit of performance from the SF-23 to claim P3. He added, “Looking back at the lap in Q3, the lap was really good. So yeah, I don’t think there was much more.”
Leclerc loosed P3 after blocking Lando Norris
The Monaco curse struck Charles Leclerc again as the driver was found guilty of impeding Lando Norris. Leclerc faces a 3-place grid drop, which means the driver will be starting the 2023 Monaco GP from P6.
The incident occurred inside the tunnel during Q3 when Norris was attempting his flying lap. The Monagesque was unaware of the approaching McLaren as his race engineers failed to notify him.
A closer look at the incident between Norris and Leclerc in the tunnel 👀#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/uxp1jIRhq1
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 27, 2023
Leclerc stayed in the racing line, causing Norris to abort his lap. The incident was investigated after the race by the stewards. The Briton, who will start the race P10, stated that Leclerc had blocked him and such an incident deserves a penalty.
The Ferrari driver argued that it is difficult to make a sudden move inside the tunnel. He also did not receive any information about the oncoming Norris. However, the stewards sided with McLaren and delivered the verdict after the session. This promotes Esteban Ocon to P3 and Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz to P4.
