Fresh from spraying the champagne with Prince Albert II in the royal box at Monte Carlo having achieved his childhood dream of winning his home grand prix in a Ferrari – his first grand prix victory for almost two years – Charles Leclerc made it clear. He wanted more.
“I’m extremely happy with the job we are doing,” he said. “I hope that this will bring us to many more wins.”
But once the elation of Monaco in late May subsided, the next three months offered mostly frustration and fruitlessness. It wasn’t until Spa-Francorchamps that Leclerc was credited with a podium finish – and even that required the race winner to be disqualified first. After the summer shutdown, a third place in Zandvoort was a reason to be cheerful – but being 25 seconds behind race winner Lando Norris’ McLaren was not.
No matter. Monza was next. The most important event of the season for the Scuderia and one for which they would have the benefit of a new front and rear wing, floor, diffuser, engine cover and more.
But after such a wealth of new parts saw Leclerc and team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr take fourth and fifth on the grid at the end of Saturday, Leclerc patience was lower than his wing level.
“It’s frustrating,” he sighed. “Again, I don’t like fighting for these kind of positions.
“We are very close to first place, on the contrary to last weekend, which is a good step forward. However, it’s not enough. So I really hope that tomorrow we can turn the situation around.”
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But Ferrari have often been stronger in races than qualifying this season. And with the miles of fresh new asphalt lining the historic parkland circuit, there were several unknowns heading into Sunday.
The first of which was whether Norris would manage to hold onto the lead into the first corner from pole position the first time in his career. Attempt number six had been unsuccessful the week prior in the Netherlands, but with a long run down to the Rettifilo chicane, it would likely be a challenge for Norris to hold McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri at bay at the start.
Red Bull had slumped to seventh and eighth on the grid respectively for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, both at a loss to understand why grip had deserted them at the end of qualifying. With both McLarens on the front row, the papaya team stood a genuine chance of displacing the champions atop the…
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