Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc Takes Victory At Monaco

Scuderia Ferrari’s star driver Charles Leclerc finally blossomed around his home streets as he took victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. The 26-year-old led from start to finish and utterly dominated on his way to a hugely popular historic maiden home grand prix victory in front of his family, friends and fans. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished behind him in second place while Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz completed the podium in third place.

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Becoming the first Monegasque driver in 93 years to win at home since Louis Chiron in 1931 proved a hugely emotional moment for Leclerc as he dedicated his win to his late father, Herve, his late godfather former-F1 driver Jules Bianchi and his mother amongst many other, all of whom played an instrumental part in Charles’ career.

What makes this victory sweeter is his awful history with the iconic track. The principality had always been a venue of tantalising what-could-have-beens, despair and heartbreak for Leclerc. In 2019, his first year in the race-winning scarlet Ferrari was marred from the offset as a qualifying strategy error from the team dropped him out of contention in Q1. In 2021, he secured pole position for the first time at home but a crash at the end of qualifying meant he sustained a damaged gearbox leaving him out of the race before it even started.  He secured pole position once again in 2022 but another unforgivable strategic error from the team while Leclerc was leading the race cost the home hero a chance at even the podium once again.

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The race itself was an abysmally processional affair, a fairly standard Monaco experience in modern F1. There were only five overtakes throughout the whole 78-lap grand prix, with most of the excitement coming at the very beginning when the lights went out. As the pole sitter streaked away, Leclerc’s stablemate, Carlos Sainz nailed the start as well and pulled alongside Mclaren’s Oscar Piastri going into turn 1 but slight contact with Piastri left the Spaniard with a debilitating puncture. However, a huge crash soon followed at the tail end of the field involving the Haas duo of Magnussen and Hulkenberg and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, leading to a red flag. Though it was deemed a racing incident, the crash was a result of neither Perez nor Magnussen being willing to back out with Hulkenberg relegated to collateral damage. 

When the race restarted, Leclerc led cleanly, while Esteban Ocon had to retire due to heavy contact with his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly. Despite the early disruption, Leclerc maintained his lead and managed his strategy expertly to finish seven seconds ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri, who held off Ferrari's Carlos Sainz followed closely by McLaren's Lando Norris in fourth.

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George Russell, equipped with an upgraded front wing on his Mercedes, finished fifth, successfully defending his position against a charging Max Verstappen. Verstappen, who had a challenging weekend for Red Bull, ended up in sixth, followed by his teammate Lewis Hamilton in seventh.

Yuki Tsunoda secured eighth place for RB, while Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly both scored their first points of the season, finishing ninth and tenth respectively. Fernando Alonso, after a difficult qualifying session, narrowly missed out on points, finishing eleventh for Aston Martin.

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Further back, Daniel Ricciardo took twelfth place for RB, followed by Valtteri Bottas in thirteenth as the lead driver for Kick Sauber. Lance Stroll's race was marred by a puncture, relegating him to fourteenth for Aston Martin, while Williams' Logan Sargeant finished fifteenth.

Zhou Guanyu was the last classified driver in sixteenth for Kick Sauber. Along with Ocon, Perez, Magnussen, and Hulkenberg, who all retired due to the first-lap incidents, these drivers marked the end of the field.

 Finishing Order:

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

4. Lando Norris (McLaren)

5. George Russell (Mercedes)

6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

8. Yuki Tsunoda (RB)

9. Alex Albon (Williams)

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

12. Daniel Ricciardo (RB)

13. Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber)

14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

15. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

16. Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber)

DNF: Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)