Charles Leclerc after his victory in Monaco: “I had tears in my eyes”
Charles Leclerc put an end to the curse on Sunday by winning the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time. An unforgettable moment for the Prince of Monaco, who passed the chequered flag in tears.
After the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Charles Leclerc once again started the Monaco Grand Prix from pole position ahead of Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz. Despite a very complicated start to the race and a big scare on Sergio Perez’s side, forced to retire, the Monegasque driver, who switched from medium to hard tires after the restart, set the pace lap after lap. Leclerc tried to manage his tires as best as possible to minimize wear. Something he managed to do during the 78 laps of this city circuit. After 20 laps, the top 4 remained the same with Charles Leclerc still in the lead, followed by Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, and Lando Norris. As the race progressed, Norris tried to put more pressure on Carlos Sainz, who quickly caught up with Oscar Piastri, who in turn closed the gap with Leclerc. Despite this pressure, things went perfectly on the Monaco prince’s side.
He thus offered a victory and his very first in his hometown. As soon as the checkered flag was waved, we could already feel the strong emotion of the Ferrari driver, happy to offer this victory to a whole nation that had been waiting for him for many seasons here in Monaco.
« It’s the race that has made me dream since I was a kid. With all that has happened in recent years, twice on pole and we miss the victory for one reason or another, it was hard to accept. The third time’s the charm and it feels so good. There have been very few moments in my career, if any, where I struggled to contain my emotions during the race. Two laps from the finish, I came out of the tunnel, I couldn’t see anything and I realized at that moment that I had tears in my eyes, but I had to focus on the two laps to go, but there were a lot of emotions to manage. It feels good to win at home. It’s such a special Grand Prix and I grew up here, it’s exceptional », Charles Leclerc told Canal+ microphone at the end of the race.
The Prince of Monaco scored 25 important points in this race. He confirms his second position in the drivers’ standings and is dangerously closing in on the leader Max Verstappen, who finished sixth in the race with 169 points. The next meeting is in Canada, with the world championship title still within reach for the one who dreamed of standing on the top step of the podium in his homeland.
