Ahead of the Monaco GP, home favorite Charles Leclerc admits it’s always “very special” for him to race on the streets he grew up on. The 25-year-old also assessed Ferrari’s chances of defeating Red Bull and taking victory this weekend.
Leclerc is the only Monegasque driver on the grid, and this will be his fifth time racing at home as a Formula 1 driver. As in previous years, you should expect plenty of support from the crowd, including friends watching the track.
Asked how special it was to race at home, Leclerc replied: “I want to say as good as last year and the years before. It’s always very special to me because those are the streets where I grew up.
“I know this city by heart, wherever I go on the track. I have some friends who live right next to the track and can watch the race from their apartments.”
However, Leclerc is hoping for a much better performance in Monte Carlo than he has had in the past, with a lack of luck at his home race so far.
While he has qualified on pole in Monaco for the past two years, he hasn’t always delivered favorable results. In 2021, he crashed on his last lap and the mechanics were unable to repair his car in time for the race, and last year a strategy mishap saw him finish fourth.
Leclerc was even unlucky at his home race in Formula 2. He had still managed to qualify on pole but suffered mechanical problems in both Sprint and Feature and was forced to retire.
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When asked that he deserved more luck at his home race, Leclerc said: “I don’t believe in luck too much. But it is true that when you look at the record it has not always been so easy on race day.
“But Saturday was good. I hope we can reproduce a good performance this Saturday with a better Sunday this time.”
Ferrari haven’t had the best start to the season either and are currently fourth in the championship with 78 points, 146 points clear of leaders Red Bull, and Leclerc says it will take something “special” to beat them this weekend.
“I mean, honestly, Red Bull is still the team to beat,” Leclerc said. “Maybe with a special lap, we can beat them in qualifying. In the race they are extremely fast, but again on a track like this it is very difficult to overtake.
“And it’s not just Red Bull that’s fast, Aston Martin will be in the mix. Mercedes came in with a very different looking car, which I’m curious to see how it performs, and then we have to see where we are and what’s possible.”