Charles Leclerc has revealed that the extraordinary demands of racing for Ferrari at Monza force him to find even the smallest opportunities to disconnect and recover during Italian Grand Prix week. While the overwhelming support of the Tifosi gives him enormous motivation, the Ferrari driver has learned that the emotional intensity, public appearances and relentless attention surrounding the Scuderia’s home race can carry a significant physical cost.
Few Formula 1 weekends place a team at the centre of national attention quite like Ferrari’s visit to Monza. The red-clad crowds, packed grandstands and traditional invasion of the pit straight beneath the podium have made the Italian Grand Prix one of the defining events of the championship, particularly for a driver representing Maranello.
Leclerc knows that experience better than most. He delivered Ferrari victories at Monza in both 2019 and 2024, meaning he has twice stood above the Tifosi after winning the team’s home Grand Prix. His relationship with the event remains deeply positive, but experience has also taught him that managing his energy is essential.
Charles Leclerc explains why Ferrari’s Monza weekend is different
Speaking to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, Charles Leclerc explained that his physical preparation for Monza does not fundamentally change compared with races such as Baku or Singapore. Ferrari and its drivers maintain the same commitment to preparing as thoroughly as possible wherever Formula 1 is competing.
The difference, he acknowledged, comes from everything surrounding the driving. Leclerc described Italian Grand Prix week as unique and particularly demanding from a human perspective, with the intensity beginning well before the SF-26 reaches the circuit.
Ferrari’s build-up includes major public commitments, including the team’s fan event in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo. The scale of that attention was evident again as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton met Ferrari supporters in Milan ahead of the 2026 Italian Grand Prix.
Because the schedule leaves little genuine downtime, Leclerc explained that he deliberately tries to disconnect whenever an opportunity appears. Even a spare ten minutes can become valuable, with the Monegasque preferring to isolate himself briefly and recover before the next commitment.
Leclerc learned the lesson after his unforgettable 2019 Monza victory
The importance of that approach became clear after one of the defining moments of Charles Leclerc’s career. In 2019, during his first Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver, he resisted intense pressure to secure victory at Monza and delivered the Scuderia its first home win since 2010.
What followed demonstrated how much the entire week had taken out of him. Looking back on that weekend, Leclerc recalled the combination of an already demanding schedule, the emotion of the victory and very little sleep on Sunday night. By Monday, he was completely exhausted.
The effects did not disappear immediately. Leclerc explained that when Formula 1 arrived in Singapore for the next race two weeks later, he could still feel some of the consequences of the effort required at Monza and had not completely recovered.
That experience has become increasingly relevant as Formula 1 seasons have expanded. Leclerc emphasised the importance of avoiding unnecessary accumulated fatigue when drivers are required to sustain their performance across such long campaigns.
Paradoxically, he does not necessarily recognise the exhaustion while the Italian Grand Prix weekend is unfolding. The positivity generated by Ferrari’s supporters provides so much motivation that the fatigue can remain hidden in the moment, only becoming apparent once the intensity subsides.
A third Ferrari win would put Leclerc alone behind Michael Schumacher
There is another significant incentive for Leclerc at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix. A victory this weekend would give him three Monza wins for Ferrari and move him clear into second place among the Scuderia’s most successful drivers at its home Grand Prix.
At present, Leclerc shares two Ferrari Italian GP victories with Alberto Ascari, Phil Hill, Clay Regazzoni and Rubens Barrichello. Only Michael Schumacher stands above that group, having won five Italian Grands Prix for the Prancing Horse.
Ferrari has also brought important technical developments to this year’s event. Leclerc has already assessed the engine and floor upgrades prepared for Monza, although he remained cautious about drawing conclusions from simulator work before experiencing the package on the circuit.
The technical challenge is only one part of what makes the weekend exceptional for him. Leclerc has also explained why competing at Monza carries extra significance for Ferrari, where the relationship between the team and its supporters creates an atmosphere unlike almost anywhere else on the calendar.
From Ferrari academy prospect to nine-time Grand Prix winner
Leclerc’s connection with the Scuderia stretches back long before his Formula 1 promotion. He joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2016, the same year in which he won the GP3 championship as a rookie.
He followed that success by winning the Formula 2 title at his first attempt in 2017 before making his Formula 1 debut with Sauber in 2018. Although he raced for the Swiss team, he remained part of Ferrari’s driver programme.
His performances convinced Maranello to promote him for the 2019 season as Kimi Raikkonen’s replacement. Only months later, Leclerc produced his first famous Monza victory in Ferrari colours.
He now returns to the Temple of Speed for the 2026 Italian Grand Prix as a nine-time Formula 1 race winner and 27-time polesitter after 183 starts, with all of those victories and pole positions achieved for Ferrari. Fans can follow further news and developments throughout his season on the dedicated Charles Leclerc Ferrari page.
For all the emotion Monza continues to generate, Leclerc’s experience has therefore changed the way he manages the weekend away from the cockpit. The energy of the Tifosi remains one of its greatest attractions, but the Ferrari driver now understands that finding a few quiet minutes amid that intensity can be just as important to his own recovery.
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