Can Charles Leclerc use his tremendous form to exorcise his hometown demons?
Charles Leclerc is on a hot streak, but will that continue in a race that has haunted him?
Charles Leclerc is on something of a hot streak.
Max Verstappen remains the dominant driver in Formula 1, and heads to the Monaco Grand Prix atop the Drivers’ Championship standings. But Verstappen was put under pressure in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix by Lando Norris, who came within a second of catching Verstappen for his second-straight F1 victory, after capturing his maiden win at the Miami Grand Prix.
But it is not Norris who is in second behind Verstappen.
Instead it is Leclerc.
Leclerc’s third-place finish in Imola was his fourth podium of the season, and continues a tremendous run of form dating back to the 2023 campaign. Dating back to last season’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix Leclerc has finished no worse than fourth in every F1 event.
Can he continue that consistency in his home race, an event that has been a source of heartbreak throughout his career?
In Las Vegas last season Leclerc used a late-lap lunge to overtake Sergio Pérez, to capture second in the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. Then in the season finale Leclerc again finished second, working through the various permutations in the closing laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to find a strategy where Ferrari could catch Mercedes for second in the Drivers’ Championship.
It was a veteran-like performance that showed true maturity from the Ferrari driver.
That continued at the start of the season. In the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix Leclerc was struggling with the SF-24, growing more and more frustrated with a brake problem. But while the Leclerc of year’s past might have made a mistake and ended his day early, Leclerc hung in the fight, and was rewarded with a fourth-place finish.
He grabbed back-to-back podiums in Saudi Arabia (P3) and Australia (P2), and then came a run of fourth-place finishes in the Japanese Grand Prix, the F1 Sprint Race in China, and the Chinese Grand Prix itself.
Then in Miami Leclerc scored a second-place finish in the F1 Sprint Race, followed by a P3 in the Miami Grand Prix. That is also where he finished in last weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
11 F1 events, all with a finish of fourth or better. This is perhaps the best run of form for Leclerc since 2019, when he secured a third-place finish at the Canadian Grand Prix. That kicked off a ten-race stretch that saw Leclerc claim eight podiums, as well as a pair of victories with wins at Spa and Monza.
On the negative side of the ledger, that stretch also saw a retirement at the 2019 German Grand Prix.
This tremendous run of form, however, is up against a massive challenge this weekend: The Monaco Grand Prix. Leclerc’s home race has been a personal house of horrors for the Ferrari driver, and 2023 was no exception to that rule. After qualifying third, Leclerc was hit with a three-place grid drop and forced to start the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix in P6.
Which is where he would finish.
Can he finally break through at home?
His recent form suggests he could.
History, however, offers a different prediction.