Charles Leclerc Favorite to Win Monaco GP as Max Verstappen Confirms Helmut Marko’s Worries

Heartbreak is all that Charles Leclerc has experienced at his home race, the Monaco GP, in the last 5 years. But the curse might finally stop haunting him as the nerves within Red Bull run high. Team Advisor Helmut Marko has nearly conceded defeat, admitting that the reigning World Champions are in for the “most difficult race” of their 2024 campaign and Ferrari’s Leclerc is the favorite to win. Sadly, even the ever-dominant Max Verstappen is quite worried.

Monaco’s narrow street circuit prevents overtaking (Ah! the irony of being a top motorsport track). As a result, qualifying positions practically decide the race results, unless there are any major crashes. Even though Max Verstappen is 8 for 8 in qualifying this year, he is rather unconfident going into Charles Leclerc’s home race. He has seconded Marko’s view, highlighting how Red Bull’s RB20 will suffer in the unforgiving Monaco corners.

“Max was telling me in the TV Pen that the kind of corners you need to perform in Monaco are not good,” Fox Sports Mexico’s Diego Mejia said on the F1 Nation podcast. “Bumpy tracks are not best-suited to the RB20, so he expects some challenges there.”

Though Red Bull is accustomed to downplaying their chances then winning everything anyway, the Emilia Romagna GP exposed their weaknesses. Verstappen wasn’t sandbagging when he highlighted his struggles in the practice sessions. This indicates a high chance of Ferrari’s Imola upgrades paying off at Monaco for Leclerc’s first home win.

Charles Leclerc expects Ferrari’s magic to earn him his first home victory in Monaco

After 7 races, Ferrari stands P2 in the Constructors’ championship, 56 points behind Red Bull. But McLaren’s recent resurrection threatens their position. Though Charles Leclerc has claimed that Ferrari’s latest upgrades will be seen in all their glory only in Canada, he remains optimistic about their current pace seeing his dream through in Monaco.

“Monaco is very special for me,” the Monegasque said in Imola’s post-race press conference. “True that it hasn’t been the most successful race for me until now. However, the pace was always there, and that gives me the confidence that it will be the case this year too.”

In Leclerc’s last 4 F1 Monaco GPs, Ferrari’s mechanical or strategic issues have failed him. But a repetition of that has considerably reduced after Vasseur took over as Team Principal. The 2024 Monaco GP this weekend could be Leclerc’s best chance at breaking the home curse. Are you backing the Tifosi’s golden boy this year?