After a difficult Formula 1 qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix, riddled with issues for Charles Leclerc, he was frustrated with the ‘inconsistent’ SF-26.
Monaco holds a special place for Leclerc, as it is the Monegasque’s home circuit. He’s often hit the ground running across the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, taking his first victory at the track in 2024.
Once again this weekend, he seemed to be fighting for the top positions throughout the practice sessions. However, qualifying told a different story.
The Ferrari driver complained about how every lap feels like a new discovery with how inconsistent the 2026 Ferrari is.
“The thing is that I’m definitely not knowing what I’m having.” He told the media, including Motorsport Week.
“At the moment, it’s a bit of a discovery whenever I get on the brakes. And yeah, I don’t want to go too much into the details, and I won’t go into more detail than what I’ve said. But it’s been extremely inconsistent, and I’ve just been struggling massively.
“Whether it was in Montreal or here, especially when tyres are just not in the right window, and the tyre is also digital. On top of that, the inconsistency in the car made it very difficult. They said it wasn’t. Yeah, I mean, I agree. There were no energy thoughts during the lap, which is a good thing.”
Leclerc breezed into Q3, but when it came down to the laps that could put the Monegasque on pole, he faced issue after issue.
He backed off on his first lap as the rear stepped out while he was pushing. Luckily, the Ferrari driver avoided the wall but had to return to the pit lane for new tyres.
Coming out of the pits, he had enough time for three laps, one of which he backed off halfway through as he was a second off the pace of the leader. The second was a strong lap, shooting Leclerc to provisional pole, but more drivers were coming through the track, improving.
In his final chance, the Monegasque was improving, but he made contact with the wall, pushing too hard, bringing out a brief yellow flag and forcing him to settle with fourth place.
Leclerc spoke about how, from corner to corner, the ‘fine details’ have a large impact.
“I mean, corner to corner, it’s not really behaving the same way. It’s just extremely tricky. We are speaking about details, but I think the fact of being in or out the window of the tyre all the time, these fine details makes a huge difference.
“I’ve just been struggling with it.”
All weekend difficulties
However, the Monegasque admitted that the struggles weren’t limited to qualifying but had been present since FP1.
“I’ve been struggling recently.” He said when asked if the struggles were new, “It’s been very bad since FP1. Already in FP1, I felt I was really, really struggling.”
Tyre degradation has been a significant factor throughout qualifying. Drivers being able to keep their tyres in the perfect window throughout the lap can have a detrimental impact on the lap times.
Leclerc talked to the media, including Motorsport Week, through his final lap, which ended with him hitting the wall. He explained that it was on the edge and felt like a strong lap before it ended in disaster.
“It was very much on the edge, and I think it was a very good lap until then. But I never finished it, so it’s a bit needless to say that. But yeah, it was a good lap.
“I had a little bit of dirt here in that lap where I lost it in Turn 12. I mean, I don’t know, there was no traffic in itself, it was just dirt here. It made me lose a little bit of the rear in entry, and that’s all.”
Leclerc starts the Grand Prix in fourth, which, unfortunately for the home hero, doesn’t bode well around the track, where overtaking is difficult, and it’s rare to see drivers outside the top three win.
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