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via Reuters

via Reuters

“I am going to party like an animal,” said Charles Leclerc after winning the Monaco GP. The celebration began right after he crossed the chequered flag and is going to continue throughout the day. Amid all the partying plans, Charles Leclerc and Frederic Vasseur decided to mimic Daniel Ricciardo and Christian Horner’s celebrations at the Monaco GP.

Lando Norris, too, promised to jump in the pond outside McLaren’s factory after his first win. But the Briton hasn’t done that yet, and we still await. Jumping into a pool has been somewhat of a trend after winning the Monaco GP and many Red Bull drivers and members have done it over the last two decades. But it all started with Christian Horner in 2006 after Red Bull got their first podium.

The Red Bull team was promoting the Superman movie during the 2006 Monaco GP and Christian Horner jumped into the pool wearing a Superman cape. Since then, Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez have done the same after winning the Monaco GP. However, the most famous one is when Daniel Ricciardo won the race in 2018 and it is more similar to Leclerc’s win than one can imagine.

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Daniel Ricciardo lost power a third of the way into the race which slowed him down, yet managed to win the race by about 8 seconds. Charles Leclerc didn’t have an engine problem but had to manage his pace because he had to make the hard tires last 77 laps, courtesy of the Lap 1 crash. And yet, he managed to win the race with an 8-second gap to P2.

After winning the race, Leclerc and TP Frederic Vasseur decided to take the Red Bull pool jumps to the next level and jumped into Monaco Bay. The Monaco race winner pushed Vasseur into the bay who was gingerly getting ready to jump himself. It was followed by Leclerc taking a run-up before launching himself into the bay and completing a perfect dive. 

Must’ve been relaxing for the Monegasque after a hard-fought and emotional race victory. However, the win meant so much, not only for Leclerc but also for his family, brother, teammate, and the Prince of Monaco.

Charles Leclerc’s emotional connection with his first Monaco GP win

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Charles Leclerc, after winning the Monaco GP, talked about how it became difficult for him to drive in the last 2 laps as he was tearing up inside his helmet remembering his father and Jules Bianchi. After finishing the race, Leclerc explained how he used to talk to his late father about racing in F1 around Monaco. After losing a couple of race wins around Monaco because of no fault of his own, Leclerc finally won at his home.

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His brother, Arthur Leclerc, also advised on how he was crying after Charles crossed the line and took the win. Leclerc’s girlfriend got teary-eyed as well. Carlos Sainz, during the race, not only thought about his race but also Leclerc’s, indicating he knew how much it meant to the Monegasque. Even the Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert II, was spotted tearing up before presenting the winner’s trophy to Leclerc.

What did you make of Charles Leclerc Monaco GP win and drive? Was it emotional for you as well?