Charles Leclerc: the home victory that can unlock his career with Ferrari | 2024 Monaco GP. There was a sense of unfinished business between Charles Leclerc and his home race in Monaco.

Sport sometimes takes away, unfairly. Time, sometimes, sets things right. There was a sense of unfinished business in the story between Charles Leclerc and his home race, the Monaco Grand Prix. They had come close on several occasions only to fail at the best moment due to reasons beyond Charles’ control. An open wound, as seen on Saturday afternoon after securing the third pole position in the Principality. Charles Leclerc stepped out of the Ferrari SF-24 car and immediately clarified that what would matter is the performance on Sunday, words spoken by someone who has lived through the difference between a triumphant Saturday and a Sunday of sporting drama on the streets of Monte Carlo, where pole position should be a great advantage for drivers, but where Ferrari had not won for 45 years when starting from pole position, on the six previous occasions to be more precise.

The seventy-eight long laps completed on Sunday have set things right. Charles Leclerc hadn’t cried during his first Formula 1 victory, nor in front of the sea of red at Monza in 2019, which until this weekend was (by his own admission) his most beautiful victory. He did so yesterday, impressive many of the people who gathered under the podium, including Prince Albert, who was also emotionally involved by the dream of a boy he has known and followed for a long time.

Charles Leclerc’s first thought was for his father Hervé, who passed away in 2017, with whom he shared the dreams of a boy aiming very high: winning the home Grand Prix on those so familiar streets that in recent years had proven to be tremendously hostile for the Ferrari driver. The emotional aspect took over, but Charles Leclerc’s return to victory has great value on the sporting front as well. The Monegasque had not been on the top step of the podium since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, a lifetime in Formula 1.

A lot has happened since that Sunday in July two years ago, but above all, there is now a car that could allow Charles Leclerc to compete on par with Max Verstappen, which was missing since the first part of the 2022 Formula 1 championship. There were also days, probably the hardest, when Charles Leclerc missed the moment, opportunities that Carlos Sainz seized. And from there, harsh judgments, assessments difficult to understand from part of the media and the fans, questioning an indisputable talent.

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur emphasized that this victory would give Charles Leclerc a lot of solidity, confirming that although drivers are highly paid professionals, they are not immune to difficult periods. A response was needed, and it came in the best possible way. The great foundations for success in the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix were laid in qualifying with the pole position, and on Sunday, he capitalized on it with a perfect race.

Inside, Charles Leclerc had always thought that winning the Monaco Grand Prix in front of his home fans would be special, but he didn’t expect it to be this special. Two laps from the end, he came out of the tunnel and realized that he was actually struggling to see well because his eyes were starting to cry. He told himself that he couldn’t afford to do this now, as he still had two laps to go. Once he crossed the finish line, he felt an incredible joy. It meant a lot to him. Although he had won other times, in Monaco he thought of many people while he was on track, including Jules Bianchi and his father, which had never happened before.

When a state of calmness returns and it will probably take a few days, Charles Leclerc will also focus on the championship standings, which now see him second, 31 points behind Max Verstappen, ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix. It’s not a matter of championship ambitions, at least that’s not the point today, but of a season that started badly and is now significantly improving. And it’s also about looking to the future more serenely, regaining that smile that, for many different reasons, had been missing for a while.

The weekend ended with a dive into the (far from warm) waters of Monte Carlo’s harbor. First Fred Vasseur, then Charles Leclerc. The victory achieved in the Monaco Grand Prix is one of those that significantly impacts the course of a Formula 1 championship, removing doubts and pressure and energizing the team. The first point is that Ferrari has secured two victories in the first eight races of the season. At the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, there had been doubts that with Max Verstappen on track, the result might have been different; in Monte Carlo, there were no such doubts. Pole position and victory were achieved without any lingering questions about the potential of their rivals.

Another aspect worth pointing out: after the Monaco Grand Prix, Ferrari has reduced the gap with Red Bull in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship to 24 points. Beyond what might become timid hopes for the title, the numbers confirm a very positive trend. The seven-second gap that separated Charles Leclerc from Max Verstappen last Sunday at Imola had been seen positively by the Maranello team, an assessment shared by few outside Ferrari. Monaco is certainly not the best place to judge the aerodynamic qualities of the car. For that, the verdict of the race weekends in Montreal and especially Barcelona will be needed, but the timing of the victory in the Principality is just right. The SF-24 car capitalized on its excellent drivability, one of the basic objectives of the 2024 Ferrari F1 project.

The idea of a cohesive improvement of the Maranello team has emerged for some time. Even in the Monaco Grand Prix, a race that only Ferrari could have lost, saw a flawless group of people who were able to perfectly manage strategic choices and communication with the drivers. This isn’t a given, considering that Carlos Sainz will soon have to pack his bags, but the atmosphere, at least for now, is very constructive.

The dynamics of the violent crash that occurred during the first lap (triggered by Kevin Magnussen) allowed for recovery from the unfortunate contact with Oscar Piastri that caused the puncture of Carlos Sainz’s front left tire coming out of Saint Devote. In a few minutes, the Spaniard went from the bitterness of retirement to an unexpected second chance, finishing on the podium a weekend that hadn’t started in the best possible way. It was the icing on the cake that completed the Scuderia’s great weekend in Monte Carlo.

Optimization will be needed and there will be races where Ferrari will to play defensively, but it is not said that the Ferrari seen in Monaco is only something related to the Principality. Tracks will come where the SF-24 will once again be able to challenge Red Bull and McLaren for the race win and after the victory in the Principality, this feeling is growing more and more.