Leclerc targeting the win in spite of his ‘Monaco Curse’

Charles Leclerc said the prospect of a home podium doesn’t mean much to him, with the home racer solely focused on etching his name in the historic Monaco Grand Prix winner’s book this weekend.

Born and raised in the Principality of Monaco, the Monaco Grand Prix holds a special place in Charles Leclerc’s heart, however, the weekend itself hasn’t always returned the love.

Since his days in the Formula 2 championship, the so-called ‘Monaco Curse’ has often struck down the local boy’s hopes of a happy home race. 

“Obviously, it’s always a very special feeling, the Monaco week,” Leclerc said. 

“I think it is for all the drivers, but for me specifically, having grown up here, it’s extra special, so I’m really looking forward to it. 

“We’ve always been competitive here, so I hope it will be just the same this weekend, however, the finality of the weekend hasn’t ever been the one I wanted, which we have worked on a lot. 

“I hope that this weekend will be the good one.”

He made his first appearance around the Circuit de Monaco in 2017, suffering a poorly-timed pitstop which demoted him from the lead to P4, before being forced to retire just a few laps later. 

In 2018, brake failure sent the then-Sauber driver into the back of Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso on his first outing as an F1 driver in Monaco, ending his race of Lap 72.

Arriving on his home circuit as a Ferrari driver in 2019, his hopes were high, however, after a Q1 elimination on Saturday and early race contact with the wall, he retired on Lap 16.

After a year absent from the historic city due to the COVID pandemic, 2021 returned with the same fate.

Leclerc secured provisional pole position, however, crashed into the barriers at Turn 16 in the closing seconds of Q3.

The team worked overnight to repair his SF21, adamant that he would be able to take part in the race, but as he completed the reconnaissance lap to the grid, the team detected a failure in the left driveshaft and he recorded his first DNS in Monaco.

In 2022, Leclerc finished the Monaco Grand Prix for the very first time but was forced to settle for P4 after disastrous strategy blunders cost the home hero the victory after starting from pole.

Before that weekend had even started, however, Leclerc had an unusual incident in Niki Lauda’s 1974 Ferrari 312 B3, crashing the historic car after losing the brakes into La Rascasse.

The pressure eased in 2023 despite the Monegasque suffering a three-place grid penalty in qualifying. 

Coming into his home Grand Prix this weekend, Leclerc is hoping for some good karma and a good package underneath him as he hunts down long-overdue success.

“I mean, second or third is not really something that excites me, so the win is what we need to target. 

“We’ve seen in the last few races that Red Bull, McLaren and ourselves are pretty close in qualifying, and we know how important qualifying is here. 

“So we’ll have to put everything together. 

“And if we’re on pole, then that will give us good chances to get what we want, which is the win.”

The SF-24 showed glimpses of pace during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, momentarily closing in on Lando Norris.

In front of the Tifosi, the #16 could only manage third place, ahead of his teammate who was further back in P5.

Starting from tonight’s FP1 session, Leclerc will be comparing Ferrari’s package to its competitors.

The home hero expects his team to “at least” be in the mix for pole in Monaco, barring any 2021-remnant “surprises,” the first step on his way to a maiden home victory.

The opening practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix kicks off at 9:30 PM, AEST.

2024 Monaco Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, May 24th:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, May 25th:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, May 26th:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Race: 23:00

Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images

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