With overtaking almost impossible on the streets of Monte Carlo, the Monaco Grand Prix qualifying session is arguably the most critical of the entire season to get right, meaning that extra pressure may be placed on the drivers and teams ahead of Saturday afternoon. Last year, home hero Charles Leclerc took pole position in the session and, with the Monegasque setting the pace on Friday, he is hopeful of repeating the feat this time around. Team boss Mattia Binotto has explained the approach Ferrari and Leclerc are taking into qualifying, admitting that the trick is trying to ensure distractions are kept to a minimum. "Not tactics," Binotto said, when asked by media, including RacingNews365.com , about what he and Leclerc discussed ahead of the session. "I think that, for him, it's important to stay focused and concentrated here at his home circuit. There are a lot of distractions, but he knows that whenever he's in the car, he needs to be really focusing on what he's doing because it's so difficult around the track here. "So the only tactic is to stay focused, be concentrated, get the best out of the car and the single lap, and let's hope!"
Red Bull expecting Ferrari strength
With Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen finishing a third of a second away from Ferrari's pace on the Soft tyres during the qualifying simulations on Friday, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said his team are facing a stiff challenge to beat the Scuderia. "They were very, very strong," he explained. "We expected them to be strong here, they showed that – particularly in FP2 yesterday. The lap time seems to come very easy for them. "I think both of our drivers felt that we could make improvements to set-up so, obviously, [there was] a lot of data looked at last night and, hopefully, we get some reasonable changes today. "But it was certainly advantage Ferrari [on Friday]."
Binotto: The car is capable of pole
Binotto said that Ferrari's pace in the first six races has shown the F1-75 is very capable of taking pole position, but the unique circumstances of Monaco qualifying means there are plenty of opportunities to trip up. "Honestly, I don't think so," the Italian responded when asked if Monaco is likely to be one of Ferrari's strongest circuits. "If I look at at our car, we've taken four pole positions from six races, showing that certainly the car, on the single lap, is strong and can be here once again in Monaco. "[It's true] that we are going fast in the slowest corners, but I think that Monaco is very specific. If you look at last year, for example, we had been on pole but we did not [have] the right car and not the best car certainly last year. "I think that more drivers can certainly get the pole today and it's a matter of drivers getting used [to it] and building the lap time, the confidence with the car, going close to the walls, no traffic... "There are so many variables around it which can play an important key role that, today, we will certainly be focused on trying to do our best. We've got a good car that has shown to be capable of being on pole but I think today can be quite difficult as well for us."
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