Credits: IMAGO / NurPhoto
Charles Leclerc will take part in his sixth Monaco Grand Prix this coming weekend, and so far, the Monegasque hasn’t had much luck in his home race. A dream of his remains to lift the winner’s trophy in the streets he grew up in. As such, a supposed ‘curse‘ that prevents him from fulfilling the same won’t deter the excitement he has heading into this year’s outing.
Leclerc said,
“It’s the same roads that I took by bus to go to school when I was younger. Now it’s in a Formula 1 car. So that makes it extra special for me. So I’m really looking forward to it.”
He detailed how the practice session in Monaco will be of utmost importance. Per the 26-year-old, Ferrari’s pace has always been good in the Principality, and adding the element of excitement with it being his home race, Leclerc is optimistic about this year’s Monaco GP.
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However, the ‘curse’ in question has prevented Leclerc from achieving glory in Monaco, not just in F1 but even during his F2 days. In 2017, a year before he made it to F1, he was forced to retire his car in both the Sprint and Feature F2 races. Hoping to get over it in an F1 car, things only got worse for Charles Leclerc thereafter.
On the other hand, Leclerc is riding high in confidence at the moment. Although he hasn’t been competing for race wins this season, Leclerc has been a regular feature on the podium. With this in mind, he will look to approach his home race with the same goal and put an end to his curse.
The ‘curse’ that has haunts Charles Leclerc
In his first Monaco GP in 2018, Leclerc’s race came to an end through no fault of his own. Brendon Hartley hit the back of his car going into the Nouvelle Chicane, and while Leclerc thought that was the worst of it, it was just the start.
A year later, a strategic blunder led to Leclerc getting eliminated in Q1, and in the race, he had to retire his car after making contact with the wall at Rascasse.
After a year’s hiatus, the Monaco GP returned in 2021 where Leclerc got pole position. But due to damages sustained to his car, Leclerc couldn’t start the race. 2022 was arguably his best chance of winning the Monaco GP, as a front-row lockout all but guaranteed him the victory; because overtaking in Monaco is extremely difficult.
Unfortunately for Leclerc, Ferrari made a strategic error again. It dropped him down to P4, infuriating the hometown hero. And in 2023, Ferrari was simply not fast enough to compete for a win as Leclerc finished P6.
