Leclerc explains why Ferrari need to ‘reset expectations’ for Barcelona despite positive Monaco weekend

Charles Leclerc has suggested that Ferrari need to “reset” their expectations ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, with the Monegasque anticipating that the picture in Barcelona will be “very different” to the positive outing that the squad experienced in Monaco.

After mixed fortunes across the opening rounds of the season, F1’s visit to Monte Carlo proved to be a strong one for Leclerc, the home favourite leading the way in all three practice sessions before taking P2 in Qualifying and Sunday’s race.

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However, when asked during media day in Barcelona about how much confidence he could take from that entering into the weekend ahead, Leclerc answered: “Not a lot. It was good and in a difficult season like this, you want to take as much positivity whenever it is possible.

“Monaco was definitely a positive weekend for us, but you also need to be realistic and set the right expectations going forward and, unfortunately for here, the picture is most likely going to be very different.

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“There is not much we can take from Monaco here, but it was a good weekend, good points, and that for sure will help us. It is also a very interesting weekend here in Barcelona with a change of regulation that we hope that we can close a little bit the gap to the guys in front.”

Reflecting on this further, Leclerc added: “It is very important as a team that we reset our expectations because unfortunately, on a more normal track, we probably expect it to be a bit more difficult and not to be as positive as Monaco. I’m still full of positivity and we will try our best, but it might be a bit more difficult.”

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Pushed on whether the team now have a greater understanding of what the car needs after Monaco – or whether it remained as something of an unknown each weekend – the 27-year-old said: “No, I think we understand, and we understand more after Monaco.

“Monaco is a very bumpy track and I think our car is pretty good on bumps. Unfortunately, that only applies in Monaco and it is a very specific thing to Monaco, and I think we were better off than what we thought on bumps.

“But you can never really know until you are in Monaco. So that was definitely a surprise, at least for me – I did not expect to have such a good weekend in Monaco.

Hamilton: Barcelona a good barometer for ‘where you’re at’ as a team

“For the rest of the tracks, we have had pretty good predictions of where we will stand, and that means that I think we understand this car pretty well. There is still quite a lot to understand and you always push to try to understand things that you didn’t already, but let’s say that it will most likely be as expected, which means pretty difficult.”

For team mate Lewis Hamilton, the weekend in Spain will mark his ninth in red as he continues to adapt to the Scuderia’s car. In terms of how that journey has gone so far, the seven-time World Champion commented: “It’s been a fun year so far. I’m looking forwards to getting on the track here in Barcelona, a bit more of a normal track.”

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Hamilton is hopeful that the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya might provide an opportunity to assess where the team sit in the pecking order.

“This track has always been a good track for that,” he explained. “This is the track we used to test at most. It’s got a good mix of corners, so usually here, you get a bit of a lay of the land and how far you are off is really where you’re at.”

The venue is also one at which Hamilton has achieved huge success, with no driver other than himself or Max Verstappen having won at the circuit since 2015.

Pushed on why he likes the track so much, the Briton answered: “The weather’s always great, I love the city, the track is cool as well. I don’t know why I go particularly well here, but I hope it is the case this weekend.”