Charles Leclerc Imbibes Fred Vasseur’s Tactic as He Prepares to Overcome His ‘Monaco Curse’

Monaco is considered the Mecca of Formula 1. In the prestigious triple crown, a race win in Monaco is used interchangeably with the world championship win in F1. Ayrton Senna, the king of Principality, won this GP six times and that too five times in a row. But it hasn’t been as lucky for the prince of Monaco, Charles Leclerc. A 5x GP winner has been the unluckiest at his home, where he has seen a victory slip away from his cutches several times. But for his sixth home race, he gears up to overcome the bad luck.

This bad luck, often termed the Monaco Curse, has prevented Leclerc from achieving glory in Monaco, not just in F1, but even during his F2 days. In 2017, he had to retire his car in both the Sprint and Feature F2 races. When the Monegasque arrived in F1, the story remained the same.

In his first Monaco GP in 2018, Leclerc’s race ended through no fault of his own as Brendon Hartley hit the back of his car. The Monaco GP returned in 2021 where Leclerc got pole position but couldn’t even start the race. The year 2022 was his bet due to the front-row lockout, but Ferrari made a strategic error again. It dropped him down to P4. And in 2023, Ferrari was just not fast enough to compete for a win as Leclerc finished P6. But not losing hope, the Ferrari driver is set to change his luck.

Charles Leclerc said, “The driver can take more risk, and it either pays off or not at all. Once you go a bit more on the limit, you can see it immediately on the lap time. So risk assessment makes the difference in Monaco.” The team principal, Frederic Vasseur, follows a risk-taking philosophy, which may have influenced him to do the same.

Charles Leclerc ‘confident’ Italian team will have ‘strong’ pace at Monaco Grand Prix

The principality of Monaco is home to most Formula 1 drivers, only because it is a tax haven. However, only one of them has grown up watching cars blaze the track from the windows of his house. That is Charles Leclerc. As special as this place is for the Monegasque driver, he has been the unluckiest driver of them all. Even Daniel Ricciardo got his Monaco redemption, but that hasn’t been the case for Leclerc. However, this hasn’t dimmed his confidence.

Talking about his race strategy, Charles Leclerc said, “Monaco is so specific that we need to start a little bit from a blank page. Free Practice is super, super important to build the pace little by little. But I’m confident we will be strong.

In a fit of nostalgia, he added, “It’s the same roads that I took by bus to go to school when I was younger. Now it’s in a Formula 1 car. So that makes it extra special for me. So I’m looking forward to it. To be in Monaco, a very special track I think for every driver because it’s a very challenging track and extra special for me, as it’s my home race.”

Do you think Charles Leclerc can win his home race in the sixth time of asking?