26/05/2024
NEWS STORY
Yuki Tsunoda: "It was a very long race, but I had to respect the strategy that we had planned. I was a little frustrated, but I kept my cool and managed the pace.
I think we maximised it; we were managing tyres and pace well, making sure that we were prepared for any situation. I really enjoyed the last few laps because I got told I could push flat out while making sure I wasn't too greedy and brought the car home. The important thing is that we keep scoring points. As a team, we had a strong race week so it's very positive. Well done to the team, very well deserved."
Daniel Ricciardo: "After yesterday's qualifying, I came into today mentally prepared for a race like that. In this case, not qualifying at the front, there's a highly likely chance that the race here is being dictated by someone else's pace, and this is how it was. You can always hope that things can change or something can happen in the race, and I think the first start was probably one of the best starts I had this year. But then after the second start, once I saw Alonso in front of me doing all he could to keep his tyres till the end, I realised soon that it would have been hard. I tried to keep pressure on him, but obviously, he's very experienced, and Monaco is a track that requires such a big mistake to make possible some overtaking. I had two laps of clean air today, where I could push a little bit more and it was definitely enjoyable, but for the rest of the race I had to have a lot of patience. There are certainly some positives to take from this weekend, but at the same time, there's also some personal disappointment. Looking at the next race, Montreal is a good track that I enjoy, so we'll try to keep things going better. Charles got his first win here in Monaco today, in the past he's definitely experienced some highs and lows around this track, so he deserved it and I'm very happy for him."
Guillaume Dezoteux (Head of Vehicle Performance): "And four more points in the basket! Yuki's eighth position in today's race rewards a strong and intense weekend. He showed a great pace straight from Friday and confirmed today that our package is improving and still leading the midfield runners. Yuki had good starts, drove a consistent race and managed his tyres well in this very particular scenario. After the red flag, we knew the best strategy was to restart on the hard tyre and not stop again. The race was about managing the tyres and the car, which Yuki did very well for 76 laps with the support of his engineers. For Daniel, the race was more difficult, spending all his time in heavy traffic. At the first race start, he had a good getaway but lost position to Stroll in Turn 1, which meant we were 13th for the second starting grid. Then, we lost ground on Alonso at the second start, which is something we will analyse in detail. The rest of the race was on Alonso's gearbox and there wasn't much to do other than keep putting pressure on him. Our target remains to keep improving our car."
Laurent Mekies (Team Principal): "Firstly, congratulations to Charles Leclerc and to Scuderia Ferrari for Charles' home race win. He has been deserving it for a long time and he has certainly made a few people happy today!
"During today's race, the tension was evident in the many strategic games of cat and mouse throughout the order. Drivers and engineers did an excellent job through the 78 laps in terms of what pace to run to manage the tyres. It was always going to be a tricky Saturday and a tricky Sunday around Monaco, and the team executed very strongly. Yuki is really in great form, once again putting us at the front of the midfield on the grid and then sticking to the strategy to bring home some more very valuable championship points. In what was a completely linear race, with nothing changing after the second start, it was always going to be virtually impossible for Daniel to join his team-mate in the points. We still have some work to do to help him deliver the performances of which we know he is capable, so we are looking forward to getting to Canada, the scene of his very first Grand Prix win ten years ago.
"Finally, a big thank you to everyone in Faenza and Bicester. The good string of results we have pocketed in the last few races is the result of their hard work, and it gives us the will to push even harder for the races to come."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Monaco here.