What Is Charles Leclerc’s Monaco GP Curse That Has Plagued His Home Race for Years?

Some things in F1 are just inevitable, like Nico Hulkenberg never getting on the podium, Fernando Alonso not getting his 13th win, and Lando Norris not winning a race, oh wait, that did happen a couple of weeks ago. Nonetheless, Charles Leclerc’s Monaco GP curse seems to be one of those inevitable things in F1. But what is it all about? What exactly is the Monaco GP curse that doesn’t seem to leave Charles Leclerc?

Charles Leclerc is a Monegasque driver, which makes the race in the Principality of Monaco his home race. The Ferrari driver spent his childhood on these roads. However, it wouldn’t be until the Formula 2 championship that Charles Leclerc would get a chance to race on the streets of Monaco. The races that happen in the Principality are on the streets; hence, very few motorsport series race in Monaco. 

But since the first time racing in Monaco, the curse has stuck with Leclerc. What is the curse, you may ask? Well, for the first few years, Leclerc wasn’t able to finish his home race as one thing or another kept him away from crossing the checkered flag. And when he finally did finish the race, it was at the cost of him losing the opportunity to win. Let’s see how the curse affected Leclerc year after year.

2017: Debut Race in Monaco with Prema in Formula 2

Charles Leclerc was in the prime seat to impress the home crowd during the 2017 F2 championship as he drove for arguably the best team on the grid, Prema. And it all started well for the Monegasque, as he took the pole position for the feature race ahead of Alex Albon in the ART. Leclerc carved out a significant lead in the front before a safety car messed it all up, and a slow pitstop dropped him to P4. But that was not all, he had a poorly fitted tire and had to pit again. All this was followed by a suspension failure, causing Leclerc to retire.

Nonetheless, it was a fresh start for Monegasque in the Sprint race as he started P17. However, as he tried to overtake, he lost a part of his front wing, followed by a retirement from the Sprint race as well due to an electrical issue with the car. Regardless of the dreadful weekend, he won the championship and was promoted to F1 to race for the Sauber/Alfa Romeo team. 

2018: F1 Debut at Monaco, Crash with Brendon Hartley

After being promoted to F1, Leclerc expected to at least finish in the points at his home race. And it started off well, once again, as he qualified in P14 for the race on Sunday. The Monegasque fought hard and made it up to P12. Leclerc looked to improve his position by overtaking Brendon Hartley in P11. Coming out of the tunnel, the Monegasque braked way too late, locked up as his brakes let go, and crashed into the back of Hartley’s Toro Rosso going into the chicane, ending both his and the Red Bull junior team driver’s race.

2019: Move to Ferrari, Messed up Strategy by the Scuderia

Charles Leclerc didn’t look comfortable in the Ferrari during qualifying and failed to set a clear, competitive lap in Q1. Adding to the misery was the fact that he missed the weighing bridge during the session. His banker laps put him P12. It should be noted that this was the era when Ferrari was known for strategic errors. The Scuderia decided to sit Leclerc out for the final part of Q1, as they deemed the lap was good enough to make it to Q2. Unfortunately, the cars went faster and Leclerc was eliminated in Q1, starting the race P16. 

Leclerc made up position during the race as he was determined to finish inside the points. However, he had minor contact with Hulkenberg before having a collision with the wall that punctured his rear right tire. As he sped back into the pits with a puncture, it damaged the underbody of his car, causing him to retire from the race immediately.

2021: Pole Position for Charles Leclerc, But retired before the race even started 

The Monaco GP didn’t take place in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and returned for the 2021 season. Charles Leclerc set a blistering lap in his Q3 banker and put it on the provisional pole. Fortunately, he crashed into the wall on his final lap, preventing Verstappen on a faster lap from abandoning it and taking the pole. However, it soon turned into an unfortunate event, as Ferrari failed to recognize an issue with his gearbox after the crash, and as Leclerc was making it onto the grid for the race, he reported issues with the car, and had to retire even before the race started. It was supposedly an issue with one of the driveshafts connecting to the gearbox. 

2022: Ferrari Strategy Nightmare for Charles Leclerc

Ferrari arguably had the fastest car for the first quarter of races in 2022, and Leclerc took full advantage to put his car in the pole position. It all went well for the Monegasque as he continued to lead the race. However, a huge blunder from Ferrari, calling Sainz and Leclerc in the pit at the same time, caused a huge delay for the Monegasque in the pits and a chance at a win or a podium.

This is where the infamous “Box, Box, Stay Out” radio comes from. At least Leclerc scored his first points at Monaco as he finished P4. However, that was not all, just a few weeks before the actual GP, Charles Leclerc managed to crash Niki Lauda’s 1974 Ferrari into the barrier during the Monaco Historique GP. It was, reportedly, a brake failure that caused him to crash.

2023: Grid Penalty and Rain Robbed Charles Leclerc of a probable Podium

Charles Leclerc was no match for Max Verstappen’s dominance in 2023, and that applied to Monaco as well. Fernando Alonso, the wild old fox, also seemed to have found some pace in Monaco, as he finished with a tenth of Verstappen’s pole time. Leclerc was set to start the race in P3 but an incident with Lando Norris in the tunnel during qualifying [impeding] cost the Ferrari driver a 3-place grid penalty. After a very enthralling race with rain affecting and jumbling up the order, Leclerx finished the race exactly where he started it, in P6.

What’s your take on the Monaco GP curse for Charles Leclerc? Do you believe he will be able to overcome it and win his home race, breaking the curse like Lando Norris did by winning his first GP? Share your thoughts below.