JABAR EKSPRES – Charles Leclerc said Ferrari’s performance was quite behind its competitors in the 2023 Formula 1 season after finishing sixth at the Monaco GP last weekend and receiving a penalty which he regretted.
“We have a lot of work to do to restore performance because for now we are too far behind,” Leclerc said, quoted from the official Formula 1 website, Tuesday (5/30).
The racer from Monaco considered too many problems when racing in his hometown, ranging from mechanical problems, strategy errors, to collisions. His target to get on the podium in Monte Carlo was dashed because of these accumulated problems.
Meanwhile, Leclerc was penalized three starting positions back because he was caught blocking the pace of McLaren driver Lando Norris during the qualifying session.
“Yes, after qualifying, there was a three-grid penalty and there was nothing I could do,” said Leclerc.
Leclerc admitted that he really wanted to do the race in Monaco right, however, the penalty to the challenge of drastic weather changes, made him really experience pressure.
“The speed (of the car) was not good at that time. I mean, actually (the speed) was quite good (when using) hard tires. It’s good there, but there’s nothing you can do (in other conditions),” said Leclerc.
Meanwhile, the penalty also hurt him because the narrow and winding streets of Monte Carlo offered little opportunity to catch up. Leclerc then gave a gloomy assessment of Ferrari’s current level of performance.
“We are not happy with where we are at the moment,” said Leclerc, as teammate Carlos Sainz followed him to finish eighth.
On the other hand, Ferrari left Monaco sitting fourth in the constructors’ standings behind Mercedes, Aston Martin and Red Bull. While Sainz and Leclerc are sixth and seventh respectively in the championship or driver standings.
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