Charles Leclerc has expressed that Ferrari “don’t have a chance” to win the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix on pure pace alone after he qualified fourth for Sunday’s race.
Having propped up in second place across all three practice sessions, Leclerc occupied that position again once the initial timed attempts in Q3 had been conducted.
But Leclerc was unable to improve on his second lap, while others did to condemn him to the second row, behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the McLaren pairing.
The Monegasque believes he extracted the maximum from the Ferrari SF-25 on his fastest tour, though he rued not being in a position to pick up a tow on his last run.
“I’m happy in a way that I think we’ve maximised the package that we had today. I think I did a really good first lap in Q3,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Unfortunately, on the second lap of Q3, I was a little bit in the front with nobody – or just Yuki [Tsunoda] – in front.
“That makes a big difference here, so there wasn’t much more that we could have done.
“But I think we did a good job maximising the result. I think the gaps show that McLaren and Red Bull are a bit too far ahead.”
Leclerc conceded that the gratification he derived from his own efforts inside the cockpit was tempered by Ferrari not boasting the inherent pace to rival those ahead.
“We shouldn’t be satisfied. We should be pushing as much as we can to try to turn that situation around. It’s what we are doing,” he added.
“At the end of the day, I did the lap that I wanted. I put everything together, I’m very happy with my lap actually, and I don’t think there was much more possible.
“So on that side, I’m positive. But obviously starting fourth isn’t great.”
Leclerc downbeat on Ferrari’s chances at Monza
Leclerc can take some solace from last season’s race, where he started fourth and went on to overcome the McLarens to claim his second win at Monza with Ferrari.
But while he has appreciated that his car is set up well to overtake, Leclerc suspects the Italian marque won’t be competitive enough in race trim to capitalise on that.
“I’m quite fast on the straights, so it should be an exciting race,” he assessed. “I think on pure pace we don’t have a chance, unfortunately.
“I think McLaren and the Red Bull of Max were way too strong in terms of race runs. But with the start, with the top speed we have… but it’s going to be tough.”
Monza has thrown up the occasional surprise winner in recent times, including the 2020 edition when Pierre Gasly took his maiden victory with Red Bull’s sister team.
“Yeah, there are some special races here,” Leclerc acknowledged.
“Again, I’ll believe in it until the end and let’s see what’s possible. But let’s say on pure pace, I don’t believe it’s possible.”
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