At the end of the race, Leclerc took his first pole of the season – his 19th in F1 – with a time of 1:40.203, beating Red Bull’s Max Vesta Pan and Sergio Perez.
Leclerc admitted he was surprised to beat the RB19 team leaders, but explained that the team had laid a lot of groundwork at the Australian GP weekend.
Despite Ferrari’s failure to score at Albert Park, the team’s tough start to the year has been strong thanks to Leclerc’s early retirement and Carlos Sainz’s penalty for a clash with Fernando Alonso’s final restart. Its SF-23 has come a long way.
Leclerc added that he felt that most of Ferrari’s problems in Australia were of his own making, overshadowing the advantage the team had gained in the previous round.
“For sure, I think we took a step forward in Australia; on my side, I obviously couldn’t show it, but on Carlos’ side, I think the feeling in the game was much better.
“Then we still need to see on Sunday how good (we are in the game). So I think at this point, we still have some question marks, but I am absolutely sure that we have made some steps in the right direction. I “I’m not sure it’s enough (to beat Red Bull).
“I think a good step has been taken in terms of setup. Qualifying has not been that bad since the start of the season.
“I think in Australia, we didn’t do well, I don’t think I drove well. Before that, we weren’t that far, so I think we made some progress in qualifying.
Polish Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, in Parc Ferme
“I wish the game was more in the game, but we were a lot behind in the game as well. But I think it’s mostly the setup.”
Ferrari “needed” a Formula 1 pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a difficult week for the team, Leclerc added.
Ferrari were hit this week by news of the departure of sporting director Laurent Mekies, who will leave the team at an undisclosed date following Franz Tost’s departure at the end of 2023. , taking over from AlphaTauri as team leader.
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Leclerc has previously been rumored to have been in talks with Mercedes over a potential drive from the German manufacturer, a claim he denied on Thursday.
“I mean, it’s good. It feels good. I think the whole team needs it because it’s part of our job that we’re here and I think any team in Formula 1 needs to deal with the rumours, the pressure.
“But obviously in that situation sometimes it’s harder to perform. We’ve done really well, so I think it’s good for the whole team.”
Esteban Ocon had a great Sunday afternoon. Across the streets of Monaco, the Frenchman appeared to be at one with his Alps, which eventually even earned him a podium finish. Ocon told a news conference that he looked back on the weekend with a very good feeling.
The Red Bull driver was last in Sunday’s race and was out in Q1 qualifying.
He went on to make five pit stops in a dismal race that saw him twice passed by team-mate and race winner Max Verstappen, who now leads the championship by 39 points.
Although it marked Perez’s first game of the season without scoring, the Mexican said his error was “costly” and “unacceptable”.
He said: “We paid for my mistake and it was very costly. I just have to apologize to my whole team because it was unacceptable for this kind of mistake to be made.
“I have to move on and learn from it, I can’t afford another zero in the tournament.”
Despite the poor finish, Perez had a “very good” start to the race, finishing 15th on lap 30, but dropped back into the standings after a couple of incidents and a period of rain.
He also collided with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen in the corner on lap 34, breaking his front wing.
Perez said he “didn’t know what happened” but was “considerably hurt” by the incident.
He added: “It went well. Unfortunately I hit traffic early on and that put us back where we were. Then it rained and we were one of the last to pit.
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C43
“Then I cut the wall and it all became a mess. Me and Magnussen broke my front wing and he just came out of the chicane (deeply) and it went bad.
“When you’re in those positions, you’re always taking a lot of risks.”
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it had been a “bad weekend” for Perez, blaming the poor result on a crash in qualifying that “put you at a disadvantage”.
He also said Perez was inside Ocon’s maintenance window before getting stuck behind slow-moving traffic.
Horner said: “We took a very aggressive strategy. Stopped on the first lap and you could see how fast he was in the free space and how much the others were saving.
“He actually came back inside the pit window on Esteban Ocon, and then (Logan) Sargeant and the slow car started to struggle and, of course, you couldn’t overtake.
“Then he got involved in a melee with (George) Russell and damaged the front wing. It was just one of those weekends where he got nothing done.
“He saved a lot of money in the pool, so he might need a new pair of underwear after that.
“For him, it’s just one of those weekends where[he should]turn the page and I think for him, the sooner he gets to Barcelona the better.”
Max Verstappen gave a masterclass in the narrow streets of Monte Carlo. The Dutchman once again showed his raw talent, whether in the rain or on dry tarmac. If the Dutchman fails to win, there are still two contenders for the title. Teammate Sergio Perez and his friend Fernando Alonso. Will the Spaniard get another chance at victory soon? Verstappen responded at a press conference.