Leclerc reveals how he almost threw away iconic Monaco F1 win

Charles Leclerc has revealed his fight for emotional control as he closed in on his maiden home win.

Starting from pole position in Monaco, Leclerc saw off a challenge from Oscar Piastri’s McLaren into Saint Devote. However, the first lap was marred by a series of dramatic incidents, including teammate Carlos Sainz’s puncture and a clash between the Haas cars and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez’s Red Bull. This forced Leclerc to replicate his strong start after the race was red-flagged.

The red flag presented an opportunity for the field to change their tyres, but Leclerc’s strategic brilliance shone through as he managed his pace to extend the life of his hard compound tyres, completing an impressive 77 laps on a single set.

Piastri closed to within a second on several occasions throughout the race but ultimately fell away at the end, finishing seven seconds behind Leclerc. It was Leclerc’s first win since Austria 2022. But despite the ease with which he cruised to victory on Monaco’s fabled streets, a battle raged inside the Monegasque.

Moving on from past disappointment

Speaking to formula1.com, Leclerc reflected on the curse that has robbed him of victory twice in the past, admitting he struggled to process them: “I think there’s a lot of things adding to this weekend. First of all, it’s my home Grand Prix. Second, I’ve had two opportunities in the past that I’ve lost with things that weren’t really in my control, and that was extremely difficult to manage those very difficult moments.

“Also, you don’t really know whether you are going to get another opportunity to win this race. It’s such a difficult race that you don’t know, [but] I knew there was an opportunity this weekend.

“Then last, it’s the race that made me dream of becoming an F1 driver one day. It’s the race that I used to watch with my dad, who’s done absolutely everything for me to get to where I am today. Our dream was to race here in Monaco in F1.”

“The fact that I managed to do that, I feel like I did not only accomplish my own dream but also the one of my father, the one of my mother as well, who has sustained me in everything I have done since then, and has been an incredibly strong woman when we all lost my dad.”

Keeping emotions in check

The Monegasque then revealed the last ten laps were particularly difficult. Emotions for those who helped him get to the cusp of winning his home race flooded his mind, including his late father:

“My brothers, who have always been so supportive with my, my girlfriend, all my family, all my friends. The special thing about this race is that it’s such a small country that I’ve got everybody here. Everybody was around the track.

“I had so many thoughts of the people I have mentioned already, in the last 10 laps, and that was very difficult to manage. Even though I knew the pace was extremely good, you have to stay on it on a track like this, and it was very, very difficult.”

Admitting he was crying through his helmet in the closing laps, Leclerc said he was struggling to see through his visor coming out of the tunnel: “I realised actually two laps to the end that I was struggling to see out of the tunnel just because I had tears in my eyes. And I was like, ‘***** Charles, you cannot do that now. You still have two laps to finish’.

“Especially on a track like Monaco, you have to be on it all the way to the end. It was very difficult to contain those emotions, those thoughts again, of the people that have helped me to get to where I am today.”

Leclerc’s Monaco win cuts his points deficit to championship leader Max Verstappen to 31 points as F1 prepares for the Canadian Grand Prix on June 9th.

Feature Image Credit: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre