McLaren's CEO acknowledges that Leclerc is 'quicker than us' at Monaco.

      "The large wing appears to be performing effectively once more."

      Ferrari is impressing the Monaco paddock with its unexpected competitiveness for victory in Monaco. Last year, local favorite Charles Leclerc secured his first Monaco GP win, and this year his 2025 car is once again fitted with the specialized high-downforce rear wing. "The large wing appears to be performing effectively once more," RTBF correspondent Gaetan Vigneron remarked with a smile. Despite this, Leclerc and Ferrari expressed doubts about their prospects before the action on the track commenced. "Why? Because our vulnerability from the start of the year has been in slow corners," team principal Frederic Vasseur shared with RMC. "But it seems to be going quite well so far," the Frenchman chuckled. "We could hardly have performed better, even though I suspect McLaren might be keeping some of their performance under wraps." McLaren CEO Zak Brown suggested that the current hierarchy is "Ferrari-McLaren-Red Bull," noting that the red cars are "honestly fast." "Ferrari are quicker than us," he added. "Right now, I can’t see how we can surpass Leclerc."

      Regarding Red Bull, advisor Dr. Helmut Marko expressed optimism in Monaco, similar to his sentiment a week earlier at Imola, stating after the initial practice: "We’re at the top of our game here. We haven’t performed this well in Monte Carlo for quite some time." However, after the second session, he conceded that Verstappen’s troublesome understeer had "returned." Some speculate that McLaren's main competitors have suddenly made gains because, behind the scenes, the FIA may have intervened to eliminate a questionable brake and tire cooling system. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, however, defended the Woking-based outfit. "You have to accept it if someone has executed good engineering," he stated. "We have no doubt that there is a millimeter of being not in a legal position."