It was third time lucky for Charles Leclerc in Monaco, the home hero converting pole position into his first victory on his doorstep on a weekend where he was utterly in control from the first lap.
But while he celebrated by jumping into the marina with Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur before partying long into the night, others couldn’t wait to escape the Principality and put the Monte Carlo event behind them. Lawrence Barretto picks out his winners and losers…
Winner: Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc has been dreaming of victory on the streets of Monte Carlo since the days he would take the bus along the start-finish straight and up the hill towards Casino Square to school – and at last, he has done it.
The 26-year-old is the first Monegasque to win the Monaco Grand Prix in 93 years – and this is his first win since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, ending a run of 39 races without standing on the top step of the podium.
READ MORE: Leclerc overjoyed with breakthrough Monaco win as he says previous heartache made success ‘even better’
He had never previously finished on the podium in Monaco in F2 or F1 – while he had also failed to convert any of his last 12 starts from pole position into a win.
A sixth career victory puts him in fine company with Gilles Villeneuve and it was his fifth podium in eight races so far this year, helping him to sit an impressive second in the drivers’ championship, 31 points behind Max Verstappen.
