Is Ferrari down in doldrums post Monaco F1 show? Charles Leclerc has this to say

Ferrari had yet another disappointing outing with last weekend's Monaco Formula One race eventually seeing a lacklustre showing from its two race drivers. While Charles Leclerc - racing in his home Grand Prix - finished sixth, teammate Carlos Sainz was lower down at eight. While both did manage to pick points, Ferrari has conceded a sizeable gap to third-placed Mercedes.

Ferrari currently has 90 points in the ongoing F1 season and just one podium finish to show for all its efforts. Mercedes racers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished the Monaco Grand Prix in fourth and fifth places to carve out a 29-point lead for their team. Much was expected once again from Ferrari at the start of the season but the showing has been anything but impressive.

Leclerc has never had a great outing in his home race with a fourth-placed finish his previous best. But even still, he was expected to make a strong comeback and he did too with a qualifying time that was just one-tenth short of pole. But then he was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lando Norris during his flying lap. It was always going to be an uphill climb from here on, the sixth spot on the starting line.

That is just how the season so far has been for both Leclerc and Ferrari. “The pace wasn’t great today," he was quoted as saying after the race by Formula1.com. "We are not happy with where we are. We’ve got a lot of work to do to recover performance, because for now we’re just too far away."

At present, Red Bull has a formidable lead in the constructor's standing. Aston Martin is placed second and Mercedes is a distant third. But while Mercedes is looking at finding pace and are bolstered by the relatively strong showing by its two racers in Monaco, it could be a hard battle for Ferrari up ahead.