Home races are usually where drivers thrive and turn themselves into legends. Lewis Hamilton made himself known for great runs at Silverstone while Michael Schumacher dominated Hockenheim like no other driver. The same cannot be said for Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver always seems like he has demons to exorcise. Especially, whenever he is faced with the iconic F1 Monaco Grand Prix circuit. However, it does look like he has a shot of beating teammate Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, and Max Verstappen this time around for a first win in Monegasque territory.
The F1 Monaco Grand Prix curse
This circuit is very famous for being one of the toughest to ever be laid out. These mean streets have forced other Ferrari legends like Kimi Raikkonen to quite literally just walk out in the middle of the race after crashing. But, this challenge of a race has always haunted Charles Leclerc. He has never won nor even reached the podium.
As hopes were high when he snagged pole position from Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, the Tifosi were also wary of the Monegasque's curse.
“Wait until Leclerc's Monaco curse kicks in. And better keep your expectations low, bcs it's Ferrari after all,” a Tifosi said.
Others were more concerned about how Fred Vasseur would handle his and Carlos Sainz's strategy at the Monaco Grand Prix, “It's Monaco my guy, Leclerc's home race, hoping Ferrari doesn't mess up their strategy and he breaks the Monaco-Leclerc Curse.”
Some were even proclaiming that this curse will never be broken, “Leclerc Pole in Monaco! LFG. But, considering the Monaco curse for Leclerc. It has to be a miracle for it to be converted into a win.”
While there was a lot of negativity, amazement and optimism overtook some F1 fans' emotions still, “What a lap from Leclerc. Can he finally break the Monaco curse tomorrow? Red Bull are nowhere though and have work to do. Monaco is the best qualifying of the year. It is breathtaking watching the best drivers in the world pushing it to the limit around these streets.”
Charles Leclerc's luck on these streets
The Monaco Grand Prix is not the easiest F1 race to win. In fact, it might just be one of the hardest. But, Charles Leclerc has managed to show that he can beat the streets and leave the other drivers in the dust. His history with it just does not seem the best.
It all started with his time in F2 in 2017. He could not finish the race at all. Then, it carried over to F1 in 2018 and lingered for quite a bit. For two years, he could not see the checkered flag at the Monaco Grand Prix at all. Disaster then struck in 2021 when the Ferrari he was driving could not even start. In 2022 at the Historic Monaco Grand Prix, Leclerc found himself ending the race at the wall to suffer yet another DNF status Did Not Finish. Eventually, he did get pole position in the F1 edition of it. But, he just could not hold on to the lead and was at P4 by the end of it all.
Last year, he built on the momentum from the two races in 2022 and finished at P6. Hopefully, the Monegasque finally wins it to break the curse. A Ferrari double podium with Carlos Sainz's recent performances might also be on the horizon.
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