MONACO — As Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari burst out of the tunnel and into the daylight, two laps from victory, he began to tear up. “Charles, you cannot do that now. You still have two laps to finish,” his engineer reminded him. This grand prix had been his dream since childhood, growing up on these streets and watching the race from his family’s apartment. Leclerc had always imagined what it would be like to be out there racing — and winning. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc won the restarted Monaco Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, marking his first F1 victory in nearly two years.
After leading over 70 laps from pole position, Leclerc was finally close to realizing this lifelong dream. His record in Monaco had been fraught with disappointment, dating back to his Formula Two days. In 2017, he retired from both races of his home debut round due to brake failures. In 2018, he faced another brake failure, and in 2019, a Ferrari strategy error caused him to drop out in Q1.
The frustration continued with two F1 pole positions in 2021 and 2022, both failing to convert into victories. The 2021 crash damage and Ferrari’s 2022 strategy mistake led to further heartbreak. Last year, a lack of pace and a grid penalty left him finishing sixth. Each year, Leclerc faced questions about breaking the ‘curse’ and becoming the first home-born winner since Louis Chiron in 1931.
“I never believed in the curse,” Leclerc said after the race. “However, it always felt very difficult on the two occasions I had to win here. As a driver, you never really know when the next opportunity to win will come, especially at your home race — and even more so at Monaco, which is such a special and difficult track.”
Leclerc knew he had to seize this opportunity. Taking the pressure of his home race in stride, his practice and qualifying sessions went smoothly, leading to pole position. However, the race threw a curveball with an early red flag and restart, turning the grand prix into a tire management contest. Leclerc remained composed throughout, never appearing at risk of losing despite Oscar Piastri’s close pursuit.
In the closing stages, as the fuel dropped, Leclerc pulled ahead, with Piastri realizing his attempts were futile. At long last, Leclerc was on the brink of winning his home race in Monaco. The emotions began to surge.
Leclerc had never experienced such emotions during a race. Memories of his journey from go-karting to F1 flooded his mind. He thought of his family and friends, who supported him with every flash of his red Ferrari. His father’s memory was at the forefront. Hervé Leclerc, who passed away in 2017, had sacrificed much to make Charles’s racing dream a reality.
Shortly before his father’s death, Leclerc had told a white lie: that he’d signed an F1 contract for the following year. Though untrue at the time, it became a reality months later with Sauber in 2018, followed by his dream move to Ferrari. Monaco had always been the race they watched and dreamed of winning together.
As Leclerc neared victory, he felt the enormity of the achievement with every corner and gear change. He admitted, “In every race I have done, there has not been one single race where I was thinking about this kind of personal stuff inside the car because you’ve got to stay on it.”
Leclerc’s emotional management was reminiscent of racing in Baku 2017, shortly after his father’s passing. The raw grief and dominant victory were significant but winning in Monaco was their shared dream. As he crossed the line, Leclerc punched the air and released his emotions. “Finally!” came the cry of his race engineer, Bryan Bozzi. Leclerc screamed, cursed, and celebrated in multiple languages, expressing his relief with a quieter, exasperated “finally.”
Finally, he’d done it. Leclerc had emulated his heroes like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher, winning in Monaco and adding his name to the illustrious list of victors. “Monaco is the grand prix that made me dream of becoming an F1 driver with my father, who has done absolutely everything for me to get to where I am today,” Leclerc said. “I feel like I didn’t only accomplish a dream of mine today, but also one of his.”
Has any other Monaco Grand Prix winner ever experienced such a rush of emotion? The jubilation, prestige, and invitation to dinner with the prince are standard, but for Leclerc, this win meant more. It was more than just another F1 victory. This win was for him and his dad.