Charles Leclerc breaks ‘curse’ with maiden Monaco Grand Prix win

Charles Leclerc finally bagged his maiden victory at his home race after dominating the Formula 1 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc eventually took victory at his home race in Monaco after leading McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and teammate Carlos Sainz from the start to the finish.

The Monegasque had endured in seven races around the streets of Monte Carlo without capturing the victory despite starting in pole position in 2021 and 2022. However, this time round he was the only one who had the best chances of winning after topping in FP2, FP3, and qualifying.

Keen to break the ‘Monaco curse,’ Leclerc got off to a remarkable start as Piastri remained in close proximity throughout the opening part of the lap while Carlos Sainz lost momentum and eventually had to stop at Casino after locking up the front right. It appeared Sainz suffered a minor steering issue when he made slight contact with Piastri at Sainte Dévote.

It wasn’t long before the first incident of the race happened as Magnussen touched Perez’s back at Beau Rivage, spinning him around and seriously crashing into the barriers. Actually, Magnussen was unable to take any evasive action given that he was positioned between the Red Bull and the barriers.

The cars also picked up Hulkenberg in the sister Haas, ultimately forcing him to retire marking a disappointing day for the American outfit. Carbon fiber was strewn all over the track, as Perez’s Red Bull was left with just a single wheel and it was immediately apparent that a red flag was necessary, prompting all cars to head back to the pits.

Meanwhile, Ocon botched his attempt to pass Gasly at Portier and slammed his teammate’s front wheel and spun into the rear resulting to significant car damage. This enraged Pierre Gasly who clearly stated that both cars were now damaged.

Ocon fell to fifteenth place, trailing only Sainz and Zhou, while Gasly continued in ninth. Besides Carlos Sainz’s reinstatement to third place and Ocon’s elimination, not much changed after the restart.

Only 16 cars resumed the race with the top 4 running on hard tyres while Russell, Verstappen, and Hamilton ran mediums, followed by Tsunoda and Albon on hards. The two Astons behind Gasly in 10th had mediums.

After several radio exchanges on attempting to extend the front-runners’ pit stops, Stroll was ultimately the first to stop, having to switch to softs on lap 51 following a puncture on the rear tyre.

Hamilton followed, then Verstappen as both rejoined the race in the the same positions, split by just 3 seconds. The reigning world champion set the fastest lap right away, going over 2.5 seconds faster than the cars in ahead. Hamilton followed suit one lap later as they battled to narrow the lead held by Russell.

The two closed the gap rapidly, but as usual in Monaco, their progress slowed when they were forced to trail another car, consequently making it practically impossible to pass.

Leclerc won his home race with ease, followed by Piastri and Sainz. Lando Norris finished in fourth ahead of George Russell, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with Alex Albon getting Williams’ first championship points of the season in P9.

2024 F1 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results