Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images
From strategic blunders to mechanical failures, here is the full litany of Leclerc’s pain in his home race, and whether he can break through in 2023
Racing in Monaco, as he will in this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, is special for Charles Leclerc.
Leclere grew up in Monaco, and still calls the principality home. Prior to last year’s Monaco Grand Prix, the Ferrari media preview featured Leclerc discussing his home race. In particular, his answer regarding his favorite part of the circuit brings into full view just what this race means to him.
“My favorite part of the track is definitely the ‘Piscine’, which is the corner combination of two esses by the swimming pool. It just feels amazing, I really enjoy driving there. It’s also where I learned how to swim as a child, so I have an emotional attachment to it, making it even more meaningful.”
Winning his home race has long been a dream of Leclerc’s.
But it is a dream he has yet to realize.
Before Leclerc takes on his home course once more, it is worth a moment to illustrate just how close he has been in the past, and just how bitter his history is at Monaco.
2017: A difficult F2 weekend in Monaco
We start back in 2017, when Leclerc was driving in the Formula 2 championship. As we have highlighted throughout the past few days, qualifying is everything in Monaco. If you want to win, your best chance is by starting up front.
Leclerc checked that task off the to-do list back in 2017, qualifying on pole for the F2 Monaco Grand Prix. He entered the race weekend as the leader in the F2 standings, and Monaco was his third-straight pole position to start the year.
However, the Grand Prix, and the sprint race, offered him his first taste of bitterness at home. In the Grand Prix, Leclerc’s Prema race car endured a suspension failure, and he was forced to retire after just 26 laps. In the sprint race, Leclerc tried to execute an overtake at the Rascasse turn, but collided with Norman Nato. Neither driver finished the race.
Writing in Motorsport after the weekend, Leclerc summed up his disappointment this way: “The way the Monaco F2 weekend unfolded for us was hugely disappointing and very hard to take. It was going unexpectedly well, until it went all wrong in the feature race with the mechanical failure. It would’ve been a huge shame at any track, but at home it hurts even more.”
2018: A brake failure in his first F1 Monaco Grand Prix
Monaco in 2017 was just a speed bump on Leclerc’s fast track to the F1 world. He went on to win the F2 Championship, and earned a spot with Fauber (now Alfa Romeo) for the following F1 season. And despite his status as a rookie, Leclerc entered his home race for the first time as an F1 driver on a bit of a high note. After finishing out of the points in his first three races, Leclerc finished P6 at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and then P10 at the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix.
In his first F1 Monaco Grand Prix, Leclerc managed to advance to Q2, before starting the race in 14th position. As the Grand Prix wound down, Leclerc was trying to push into the points, sitting in 12th place with just eight laps remaining.
But that is when his brakes failed:
Leclerc drove into the back of Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso, and both drivers were forced to retire.
Similar to the 2017 F2 Monaco Grand Prix, his inaugural F1 experience in Monaco was one of a few sour notes from a solid rookie campaign. Leclerc finished his 2018 F1 season 13th in the Drivers’ Standings, and it was enough for Ferrari to tab him as a replacement for Kimi Räikkönen for the following season.
2019: A blunder on Saturday makes for a tough Sunday
Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images
In the days leading up to the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix, F1 legend Niki Lauda passed away at the age of 70. The Monaco Grand Prix that year was in many ways a celebration of his life, and what he meant to the sport. “Niki, you are quite simple irreplaceable, there will never be another like you,” said Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff. “It was our honor to call you our Chairman – and my privilege to call you my friend.”
As for Leclerc, his career with Ferrari got off to a tremendous start, as he placed fifth or better in each of the first five races of the year, ahead of the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. That included his first podium with Ferrari, as he placed third in the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix.
You probably know where this is going.
Leclerc’s 2019 Monaco Grand Prix was marked by one of the many strategic blunders he has endured while with the Scuderia. During the first qualifying session Leclerc had another incident at Rascasse, locking up his tyres and spoiling his first attempt. The team left him on the grid with damaged tyres to try and post a better time, and he finished in a provisional sixth place.
Ferrari thought that would be enough to see him through to the second qualifying session. But as he was on pit lane, he watched as faster times pushed him down the board, and eventually out of Q2 altogether.
While he qualified 16th, Leclerc started 15th after Antonio Giovinazzi was given a three-place grid penalty for impeding during qualifying. Still, Leclerc knew he would have to pull off something special in the Grand Prix to match the first five races of the season. He picked up a few spots in the early going, but a collision with Nico Hülkenberg caused a tyre puncture. As he returned to pit lane, the damaged tyre caused further floor damage, and he retired after just 16 laps.
“It’s a shame it happens at home, especially on a track like Monaco starting 15th obviously means that Sunday will be a difficult day,” Leclerc said after the race. “And even more without the rain. But we knew it would be a very difficult day which it has been obviously. Now we need to look forward.”
2021: A pole, but not much else
COVID saw the cancellation of the 2020 Monaco Grand Prix, so Leclerc’s next chance at a home victory came during the 2021 campaign. As with the 2019 season, Leclerc entered Monaco on a high note. He had finished in the points in each of the season’s first four races, including a fourth-place finish in the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and a fourth-place finish in the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix.
His 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, however, highlighted just how thin the line is between qualifying well, and ruining your weekend.
Having advanced to Q3, Leclerc was on provisional pole late in the third session. He was putting down one final run, but pushed it too hard near the Swimming Pool section of the track, and drove into the wall.
That drew a red flag, meaning that his provisional pole stood, making him the first Monegasque driver to qualify on pole in Monaco since Louis Chiron back in 1936. It was also the first pole position of the year for Ferrari.
However, the damage was too much, and he could not even start in the Grand Prix on Sunday.
“It was a tough one today. I really felt for the whole team. After what happened in qualifying, the mechanics did an incredible job and gave absolutely everything to get me back on track for the race. I was really looking forward to finally be fighting for the win for us here. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be,” said Leclerc after the Grand Prix. “Not starting the race was difficult to take, especially at home. I was emotional in the car when I realised that there was something wrong. We still have to investigate what exactly was the issue.”
However, Ferrari did not come away empty handed, as Carlos Sainz Jr. secured his first podium with the team, placing second.
“Overall, it was a good weekend for us though. Carlos was strong and consistent and I am happy for him and the whole team for scoring his first podium for Scuderia Ferrari,” added Leclerc. “After a difficult year in 2020, this was a great reward for everyone, both at the track and back home in Maranello, and the team fully deserves it.”
2022: A double-stack to forget
Last year’s Monaco Grand Prix afforded Leclerc perhaps his best chance to date at winning his home race.
So the fact he could not even reach the podium makes this perhaps the toughest of his bitter Monaco pills to swallow.
Red Bull entered last year’s Monaco GP just 26 points ahead of Ferrari in the Constructor’s standings, with Max Verstappen just six points clear of Leclerc in the Drivers’ standings. But qualifying saw Ferrari lock out the front row, with Leclerc on pole for the second-straight year, and Sainz in P2.
But then, on Sunday, the skies opened.
Rain appeared just before the start, soaking the track and causing a delayed start. The conditions also forced teams to adjust their strategies for the Grand Prix. Ferrari had both Leclerc and Sainz start on the full wet tyres once the race began. Shortly after the start, however, the track began to dry out, and Ferrari brought Leclerc in on Lap 18 to make the switch to intermediate tyres.
Then on Lap 22, Ferrari decided to bring Sainz — who was still on full wet tyres — in to make the stitch to the hard compound. Leclerc was given the same command to box, but as he came down pit lane just behind Sainz for a double-stack, he was told to stay out.
It was too late.
Note: The audio here is not exactly safe for work.
Any chance of Leclerc winning his home race was gone.
In the team’s post-race media report, Leclerc seemed despondent.
“I’m disappointed to have lost this win and it’s a tough one to take, especially at home. It will be important to understand exactly what happened to make sure that this doesn’t happen again,” said Leclerc after the race.
He then outlined the blunders that saw him slide down the grid.
“In the first pit stop, we went from extreme wets to Intermediates, and got undercut by Perez. Three laps later, I stopped again, behind Carlos, and lost two more positions. It’s just impossible to overtake in Monaco without taking huge risks, so I stayed put to bring home as many points as possible and I guess that fourth is the best we could do under these circumstances,” he added. “Mistakes happen, unfortunately today we made too many.”
Ferrari’s then-Team Principal Mattia Binotto admitted to mistakes following the race.
“When you start with your two cars on the front row and you don’t win, it means something went wrong from our side,” said Binotto. “I think we made a few poor decisions and we paid the price. I am sorry for Charles, because it’s his home race, so it was particularly important for him, as indeed it was for all of us.”
Binotto is no longer the Team Principal for the Scuderia.
2023: ?
Could 2023 be the year Leclerc finally breaks through?
Given the importance of qualifying in Monaco, can Leclerc start up front? There are a few reasons to believe he can. First is what we saw in Azerbaijan, where Leclerc notched a double pole in both the sprint shootout and in the Grand Prix. Then there is Ferrari’s one-lap pace this season which has been impressive. Where things have gone wrong is with their race pace, but on a track like Monaco, the one-lap pace may prove decisive.
This is an idea other teams are pointing to for their own chances. Take this from Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo in the team’s media preview for the Monaco Grand Prix. “The single-lap pace we showed in Miami was an improvement compared to previous races, and it could be crucial on a track where qualifying performance is so important,” said the Alfa Romeo driver.
That could certainly be true for Leclerc and Ferrari as well.
However, there are reasons to remain pessimistic, beyond Leclerc’s history at home.
Leclerc’s season has taken on a rather “win or bin” feel. Leclerc has a trio of finishes in the points, including a podium at Azerbaijan. But he also has a pair of retirements, including a crash early in the Australian Grand Prix.
And while Ferrari has put a positive spin on moments such as his qualifying crash in Miami — arguing that Leclerc’s willingness to push the limits is a “reflection of his mindset” and an improved car — there are some who wonder if he needs to do a better job of balancing risk/reward situations.
Yet in Monaco, at a track where drivers have to push the limits as much as possible, and Leclerc badly wants a win, will he be able to manage that balance?
Time will tell.
