Emotional Leclerc seals long-awaited home victory

Charles Leclerc’s boyhood dream of winning the Monaco Grand Prix became a reality around his home streets of Monte Carlo, with the Ferrari driver defying the so-called ‘Monaco Curse’ to claim his first win of the season.

The emotional Monegasque driver shared his home podium with Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz, with the trio spending the entirety of the 78-lap race running line astern as they had qualified.

Although the race majorly lacked in the overtaking department, the Monaco Grand Prix had its fair share of action.

As the field travelled from Sainte Devote to Casino Square, Kevin Magnussen’s overly ambitious move on Sergio Perez completely backfired. 

The Haas driver instead triggered a three-car accident that left Perez’s RB20 a shell of itself with debris scattered from Turn 2 to 3. 

Nico Hulkenberg was collected by the duo as they spun out, rubbing salt in the wounds of Haas’ woeful weekend.

The incident brought out a Red Flag, with the race delayed for 45 minutes as repairs were made to the barriers.

Sainz was one driver grateful for the Red Flag, having sustained a puncture in light contact with Piastri at Turn 1.

The delay allowed Sainz to take the restart from third place, and for Piastri to have repairs made for the minor damage he picked up at Sainte Devote. 

Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly needed the Red Flag period to calm themselves down after making significant contact at Portier.

The #31 squeezed his teammate into the wall after making a shock move on Lap 1, launching himself across the track on entry to the tunnel.

Ocon’s move was condemned by Alpine Team Principal, Bruno Famin, with the team boss saying there would be consequences for the Frenchman who was forced to retire and handed a five-place grid penalty for Montreal.

At the standing restart, it was back to the original order minus Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Perez and Ocon.

From the second lights-out procedure, it was Charles Leclerc’s home race to lose.

Protected by the current F1 cars’ inability to overtake around the Circuit de Monaco, Leclerc’s race was solely dependent on tyre management.

Piastri, although having a single look for the lead through Portier, was never a true threat to the #16’s top-step hopes, instead playing the waiting game in case Leclerc’s unwavering focus faulted.

It never did, with the Ferrari driver building a gap of almost nine seconds in the closing stages of the Monaco Grand Prix.

The stagnant nature at the head of the field was replicated throughout the entire top ten, with the order remaining the same from the five lights to the chequered flag, and with the Red Flag diminishing the need for pitstops for most drivers, that additional factor neutralised the fight. 

Before the decision to run his tyres for 76 laps was a certainty, Leclerc’s only job was to manage the pitstop window to George Russell in P5.  

That left Piastri confused, with the Australian questioning Leclerc’s motives as his pace became unsteady. 

Despite Ferrari putting such an emphasis on the gap, it was actually Mercedes and Max Verstappen who elected to make a stop in the latter half of the race. 

Approaching Russell with fresher tyres, Max Verstappen grew frustrated as he struggled to find a way past, being forced to settle for sixth place in between the Silver Arrows. 

As for Red Bull’s sister team, RB recorded four much-welcomed points with Yuki Tsunoda’s qualifying efforts being rewarded in P8. 

Daniel Ricciardo’s day definitely wasn’t on par with Tsunoda’s, with the Australian losing out to both Aston Martins at the restart.

He ultimately ended the Monaco Grand Prix in P12, inheriting one place back from Lance Stroll who suffered a puncture at the Nouvelle Chicane on Lap 50.

Aside from a few bold overtakes into Mirabeau Superior, the race ended without any additional scuffs, allowing Leclerc’s triumph to take centre stage.

His victory had the whole crowd in tears with the Prince of Monaco joining in on the champagne celebrations on the podium, foreshadowing the big night Leclerc promised his team over the radio.

He will have two weeks to recover from the night’s events, with the Canadian Grand Prix taking place from June 7-9 at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.

Image: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images

Monaco Grand Prix Results:

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