Pressure on Monegasse at Ferrari
Leclerc fights incredible Monaco curse
05/25/2023 09:54 am
Charles Leclerc knows every millimeter of the legendary 3.337 kilometers from Monaco. The Ferrari driver finally wants to be at the top this weekend, but a curse weighs on him. The Monegasque has to beat that in order to have a chance at all in the World Cup standings.
Charles Leclerc is still enjoying the adrenaline rush on his home course. The most memorable moments, however, tend to go back to childhood. For good reason. Ironically, where the racing career of the only native Monegasque in the field of Formula 1 drivers once began, he is somehow cursed as a Formula 1 driver.
A victory on the course, of which Leclerc knows every inch of the 3.337 kilometers very well, has not yet been granted to him. After all, he did at least finish the race a year ago, but only in third place after starting from pole in the Ferrari. “Basically, you don’t have a break to breathe when you drive a Formula 1 car here,” said Leclerc.
He knows what to expect. He knows how much the course has made him suffer. Five times in the formula series he hadn’t even reached the goal before at least that worked in 2022. However, a pit stop disaster cost him the win when the command center called Leclerc in and then didn’t again, but the now 25-year-old was already waiting for the new tires behind team-mate Carlos Sainz.
Even the Ferrari-Aus threatens
Leclerc, who was once a World Cup candidate alongside the then Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, is far from the title. Recently there was wild speculation in the British media – including a swap with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton after this season. Leclerc has just 34 points before the Monaco Grand Prix this Sunday (3 p.m. / Sky).
For comparison: Leader Max Verstappen has already scored 119 points in the Red Bull. Leclerc only made it onto the podium in third place in the first five races of this year in Azerbaijan, otherwise he also caused a lot of accident damage.
The beautiful memories of Monaco are above all memories of times long past. “I was a little kid when I saw the Formula 1 cars through the Saint-Dévote from the balcony of a friend’s apartment and recreated the same scenes with Formula 1 toy cars,” he said. Leclerc still has to take care of scenes of his first victory in a real Formula 1 car on the track.