Charles Leclerc aims to end Ferrari’s 19-race contract renewal jinx. Monaco GP presents Charles Leclerc with another Ferrari superstition to overcome.

Leclerc challenges another superstition: Ferrari has not won after a contract announcement in the last 19 cases

The taboo has lasted since 2007, but could it finally be broken this weekend?

Will Charles Leclerc break the curse?

For many years, the Monaco Grand Prix seemed cursed for Charles Leclerc. Before his long-awaited breakthrough victory in 2024, the Monegasque driver endured an astonishing collection of disappointments and misfortune at his home race.

Even during his dominant Formula 2 campaign in 2017, Charles Leclerc was forced to retire from the Monaco feature race due to a suspension failure, possibly linked to contact with the barriers during qualifying.

What happened in Formula 2 proved to be only a preview of the frustration that followed in Formula 1. In 2021, the Monegasque secured pole position but was unable to even start the race. His qualifying session ended prematurely after crashing at the second Swimming Pool chicane, and less than 24 hours later the consequences of that incident prevented him from taking the start.

The most painful chapter of all arguably came in 2022, when Ferrari somehow managed to transform a pole position into a fourth-place finish. Through a combination of strategic decisions and race circumstances, Charles Leclerc ended the day behind Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen despite starting from the front of the grid.

Now Charles Leclerc and Ferrari are preparing to challenge another superstition in the 2026 edition of the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Charles Leclerc-Ferrari partnership has just been strengthened by a new contract extension, but an unusual statistic is hanging over the Scuderia. In the last 19 occasions on which Ferrari announced either a contract renewal or the signing of a new driver, the team has failed to win the very next Grand Prix.

The streak dates back to September 2008, when Ferrari announced Kimi Raikkonen’s contract extension for the 2009 season. Since then, every contract renewal or driver announcement has been followed by a race weekend without victory for the Scuderia.

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari will therefore be attempting to end a superstition that has survived for nearly two decades. Coincidentally, the streak dates back to 2007, the same year Ferrari last won the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship.

With Ferrari considered one of the favorites heading into Monaco and Charles Leclerc eager to build on the momentum of his new contract, the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix could provide the perfect opportunity to put another long-standing Ferrari curse to rest.