Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari’s rivals have “quite a bit of margin” left to use on Saturday after he led the way in Monaco Grand Prix practice.
The hometown hero set the pace in both sessions in Monte Carlo, pipping teammate Carlos Sainz by less than a tenth in the second session on the iconic street circuit.
More telling was the three-tenths gap back to Sergio Perez in third for Red Bull but the Monegasque isn’t reading much into the lap times.
“It was not great in FP1; a bit better in FP2,” Leclerc said via Formula1.com assessing his Friday.
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“I really think that we need to do another step for tomorrow because I’m pretty sure that everyone has got quite a bit of margin on a Friday and also as drivers, so it’s a bit of the unknown for now.
“The car looks strong, also in the race pace, we seem to be good even though there was quite a bit of traffic.
“But the initial feeling is good and hopefully we can do the step that we want to do for tomorrow, and have a great weekend from that.”
Asked where most of the lap time gain will come from, Leclerc admits it will be by edging ever closer to the barriers.
“Overall, mostly driving. I took it step by step and for now, it’s all going well, but yes, once you put the last step in, that’s where the risks are becoming higher and this we will only do in qualifying tomorrow,” he said.
It is always so special to drive in the streets of the city I grew up in.
Monaco, let’s go ❤️?? pic.twitter.com/DPSTujkapr— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) May 26, 2022
“It’s very tricky because the track is very very bumpy, a lot of kerb riding too, so you can really feel it’s a big difference compared to last year’s car, for everyone.
“And yes, it makes it even more challenging than before. But yes, for now, we are competitive, so I’m happy.”
As Leclerc, and many drivers have noted, the new, stiffer 2022 cars have significantly changed the experience of driving around Monaco.
And teammate Sainz is enjoying the tougher task.
“The important thing is we are competitive, we are feeling pretty good for the challenge that it is,” he said.
“These cars are a lot more all over the place, a lot trickier with the bumps, with the kerbs. But yes the important thing is it seems the others are struggling even more so yeah, a good challenge ahead of us.”