Charles Leclerc believes his Ferrari is capable of performing well in any weather conditions after taking a “special” pole position in Monaco.
The Monegasque set a scintillating lap at the start of the third qualifying session in Monte Carlo, and was looking set for an improvement having set a purple first sector on his second run, but qualifying was curtailed by a red flag when Sergio Perez smacked the wall at Portier.
The Mexican was collected by an unsighted Carlos Sainz, and the incident ensured that the 24-year-old starts the race on pole, with his Spanish team-mate securing the second Ferrari front-row lockout of the season.
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It may not have been the way the Monegasque was anticipating a pole position would come his way, but the opening lap was more than enough to put him fastest by over just two tenths of a second.
“It is very special,” he told Giedo van der Garde after qualifying.
“It’s been a very smooth weekend until now, I knew the pace was in the car, I just had to do the job.
“It went perfectly, that last lap before the red flag was really, really good but yeah anyway it didn’t change anything for us.”
“It was really on the limit.
“I had quite a bit of oversteer, I struggled to put the tyres in the right window in the last sector because there was a bit of traffic.
“But at the end the rear was a bit loose but still the lap time came and I was improving quite a bit.
“I think I was four tenths faster before my stop so it was a good lap but to be honest the car felt amazing and it’s great to also have Carlos with me on the front row.”
There is a threat of rain for the race on Sunday, but the four-time race winner is confident that he can perform under any and all circumstances.
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“I think dry is a bit more predictable but whatever comes I think we are competitive so I think we will be fine,” explained Leclerc.
Leclerc’s pole position in Monaco is fifth of the season, his third in a row, and his 14th in Formula 1.