Метка: Ferrari

Leclerc in «worse than a nightmare» after failed British GP intermediate call

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Charles Leclerc labelled his current Formula 1 hardships as «worse than a nightmare», as an early call for intermediate tyres at the British Grand Prix cost him any chance of scoring points.

The Monegasque driver was running seventh in the opening third of the Silverstone race having passed Lance Stroll into Stowe on lap 13, and was looking to make greater strides up the order before light rain began to fall over the Northamptonshire circuit.

Although grip was at a premium, with a handful of drivers getting caught out by the slippery conditions, most did not feel the need to pit for intermediates. However, Ferrari called Leclerc in at the end of lap 19 to take the grooved compound for the lower-grip conditions.

He rejoined the circuit ahead of Valtteri Bottas, but was soon passed by the Finn as it became patently clear that the intermediate was not the tyre to be on, and continued to lose time behind the Sauber. When the heavier rain did hit, Leclerc had to stop again as his initial set were already heavily worn.

«[It was] clearly the wrong [strategy]. I’ll look back into it. Obviously, with the decision, with the message I got and the information I had in the car, I felt like it was the right one,» Leclerc explained.

«It was raining quite a lot in Turn 15. I was told that in this lap, the rain was going to be very heavy, so I stopped to try and anticipate.

«However, the rain came eight or nine laps later. That was obviously the end of our race from that moment onwards. Very frustrating, another weekend to forget, and it starts to be a lot.

«It’s very hard [period]. I don’t really have the words to explain it, but it’s been four races that it’s been worse than a nightmare. I hope we can come back soon.»

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Leclerc added that it was difficult to view the opening laps to his race as positive given the outcome, and wanted to review the intermediate call with the team.

He added that the team was in a «tricky situation» after rolling back on its Barcelona upgrade to quell the high-speed corner bouncing, and hoped to find a resolution after coming across a more consistent balance at Silverstone.

«It’s really difficult to look at positives on days like this. I just want to go back with the team, that we analyse the way we are making those decisions on my side, and why we were on the wrong side today,» he said.

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«It’s a tricky situation that we’re in at the moment. The upgrades brought us the numbers that we were expecting but also brought us quite a lot of bouncing in the high-speed.

«For a track like this we decided that it was probably better having a bit less performance but having more consistency, and I think that was the right choice.

«Going forward, we’ll analyse all the data we had until now with the two packages and try to understand if there’s anything we haven’t understood yet.

«The bouncing was [better], so the consistency was better.»



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Sainz learning to trust ‘very few’ people in F1 paddock over 2025 talks

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Carlos Sainz reckons talks with other teams over his future have taught him how «tough» Formula 1’s landscape can be, and to trust ‘very few’ people in the paddock.

Although Sainz stated at the Barcelona round that he hoped to have a resolution on his F1 future ‘very soon’, he noted that a triple-header was not the time to exercise clarity of thought about his movements for 2025.

He says that in taking his time, he has been able to learn a lot more about the other teams on the grid, with regard to their future plans and the current situation at each one.

The Spaniard has spent a long period of time being linked with Sauber and Williams, although Alpine is understood to have tabled a late offer.

Conversely, he felt that it was often difficult to believe certain standpoints within negotiations over his future, adding that there were few people in the paddock that he was able to fully trust.

«First of all, the situation that I’ve been in this year has made me learn a lot about Formula 1 in general,» Sainz explained.

«By talking to teams it has kind of shown me how tough this sport is and how little sometimes you have to believe what people say at the beginning of negotiations, conversations, and mainly people.

«Also to trust very little people in the paddock because it’s really a very political sport.

«There’s a lot of things like this involved, and it’s made me understand it’s a very tough sport in that sense and understand a better picture of Formula 1 without going too much into detail.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Ferrari

«Apart from the other teams, obviously I’ve learned a lot in which position they are in and the teams that I am potentially moving to next year, I’ve obviously dug in a lot into the state that they are and the situation that there is.

«And yeah, it’s also made me have probably a better understanding of how Formula 1 each team is and where they are.»

He added that it was difficult not to get carried away with recent results among some of his options, and stated that this was something that he was trying not to do as he maps out his future in the championship.

Instead, he wishes to maintain a level of objectivity over a team’s future plans and try to focus on the longer-term projects being offered to him.

«I’m doing the exercise within myself and my team to really try to avoid looking at each race performance of each team and just focus on the project and the feeling that I get by talking to each team and obviously looking at the contracts.

«I agree, it’s not easy because sometimes you, the competitive spirit, you just try and see who is faster, but I don’t think the last race of each team is also a representative point of where they’re going to be in the next couple of years.»



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Ferrari eyes joker upgrades to Le Mans-winning 499P

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ferrari is eyeing a performance upgrade of its Le Mans 24 Hours-winning 499P that could come on stream before the end of this year’s World Endurance Championship. 

Ferdinando Cannizzo, technical director of Ferrari’s sportscar operations, stated before and after it retained its Le Mans crown last weekend that the Italian manufacturer is looking to exploit the evo joker rules that govern car development in the Hypercar class. 

He explained that no timeline has been set for what remains an unspecified revision to the Ferrari Le Mans Hypercar and that it might come as late as the start of next season. 

“We are thinking about introducing a joker this year or next year,” Cannizzo said between the Le Mans Test Day and the start of running during race week. 

“We haven’t made any decision yet, but we are further developing this joker because we’ve identified areas for improvement.”

After the race, Cannizzo conceded that Toyota, with which it battled for the victory last weekend, was the faster car in wet and mixed conditions but that the Ferrari “was more competitive in the dry”. 

“We know the areas we would like to improve,” he said. 

“We need to be much more competitive in all conditions —  this race is a perfect lesson for us.”

Race winner #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Race winner #50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

Ferrari has so far yet to use one of the five evo jokers performance upgrades allowed to a manufacturer over the lifespan of a LMH or LMDh prototype. 

It stated at the end of last year that it was evaluating introducing one for 2024, but confirmed ahead of the season-opener in Qatar in March that it had opted against bringing one on stream. 

Cannizzo stated pre-Qatar that it was important that Ferrari first “exploit the potential of the base car”  

“Before we apply for any jokers we want to understand the ultimate performance of our car,” he said.

A manufacturer must apply to the WEC rule makers, the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, to be able to take one of the evo jokers available to it. 

The take-up of evo jokers is not in the public domain and is not shared by the FIA and the ACO with the manufacturers. 

It is not known, for example, how many were used by Toyota for its revisions to the GR010 HYBRID LMH for the 2022 and ’23 seasons or by Peugeot for its reworking of the 9X8 LMH for ’23 and then this year.

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Ferrari’s «very weak» F1 Canadian GP weekend a one-off

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The Spaniard spent much of the grand prix struggling with pace and could not crack the top 10, and his chances were further dented when he made contact with Alex Albon at Turn 6 after spinning to put the Williams driver out.

Sainz felt that he had to «take risks» to make progress in the slick-tyre phase of the race, which he felt was likely responsible for his Turn 6 strife, as he felt the competitiveness swing slightly in his favour as the circuit started to dry.

He felt that Ferrari’s struggles in Canada would be a «one-off», borne out of an inability to hit the ground running by preparing the tyres correctly in qualifying.

«It was one of those races where the pace never clicked. We had some damage in the car from a couple of contacts that we had during that crazy race but there was never really enough pace today to make any overtakes.

«Only when we went on slicks there towards the end of a race I started to feel there was maybe potential for some points, and I was starting to become a bit quicker.

«I was just trying to take some risks to overtake people in the DRS trains to try and be close in sector two, probably touched maybe the wet.

«I don’t know. It’s a very strange way that I lost it there in mid-corner and ended our race. It was a very weak, very disappointing weekend for the whole team because we never seemed to find a good pace.»

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

«I think Canada was a bit of a one-off, a bit of a special one and we need to understand what happened as a team. There was clearly something the others were doing in qualifying with the tyres to prep them better.»

Charles Leclerc had to cope with a power unit issue throughout the race, which he was initially told was costing him about half a second in the straights, and he had to change a number of settings on his steering wheel throughout to try to alleviate the problem.

After sinking down the field, Ferrari attempted to take a gamble and put him on fresh hard tyres as the circuit was drying from the earlier rainfall, but this did not pay off when a rain shower emerged later on in the grand prix.

«I don’t know what happened. At first, I think [I was losing] six tenths, but then some laps It was 1.2, sometimes it was 1.5, sometimes it was one second,» the Monegasque said

«Every time I was going on power, I didn’t know what I will get — and that was, first of all, very difficult to drive, very frustrating because in the straight, I would get overtaken by everybody.

«In the first part of the race, I think we did quite a good job managing that. And because we were in wet conditions, we could recover in corners, I was still believing we could finish in points.

«But then as soon as it dried up, I was a sitting duck in the straights. [The long pitstop] was annoying. But at the end, that was the best we could do at that point. I knew we would finish out to the points whatever happened with that issue. So we had to try something with the slicks.»



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Ferrari could switch to Red Bull’s F1 suspension concept for Hamilton’s arrival

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And in particular it could finally go down the route that world champion Red Bull has put to good use of having a pull-rod front suspension concept.

Ferrari has already managed to make significant progress this year with its SF-24, winning races and finding itself at a centre of a three-way fight with Red Bull and McLaren that could yet be for title glory.

But as teams get close to the limit of what is possible with the current rules set, it is getting ever harder to find the benefits that can make a difference in its battle for success.

A major development package it brought to the Imola Grand Prix delivered some good gains, while the next aero package is set for the British GP – having originally been scheduled for Hungary.

In the meantime, two more rear wings appear, after the high-load one that was run at Monaco. There will be a low drag version in Canada and then one that is best suited to medium speed circuits from Spain.

But the way that Ferrari is attacking improvements is changing, as team principal Fred Vasseur admitted this week that gains were much harder to realise.

“With the cost cap and the current regulation, you have to manage both sides and we will bring upgrades when we have something to bring,” he said.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“What you have to keep in mind is that you have a kind of convergence of performance and the development rate is much lower than it was two years ago. It means that each time that someone is bringing an upgrade, and I think it’s true for us, but it’s true for everybody, the gain is smaller than it was two years ago, and this is normal.”

The diminishing returns, and Ferrari’s desire not to make the most of the momentum the team is getting now, has fuelled some talk that Ferrari could be ready to be more aggressive with changes to its 2025 car than it might perhaps have been expected to months ago.

Work has already begun on next year’s challenger, with Vasseur stating that there were three current projects underway at Maranello.

“Part of the team is working on the next updates that we will see during this season, and another is already focused on next year’s single-seater,” he said. “We have already given the go-ahead to the 2025 car. Furthermore, work has already started some time ago on the 2026 power unit. With regards the chassis and aerodynamics, we can hypothesize a few concepts but nothing more given that there are no regulations yet.”

Speculation about the 2025 car has suggested that Ferrari could be willing to make some big changes with it, rather than go for a straight evolution of the SF-24 so that it did not waste any resources for the 2026 rules.

Sources have suggested that Ferrari’s designers have understood some key aspects that would deliver gains for the 2025 car and that may make a big difference in that tight fight with Red Bull and McLaren.

One area of interest is that, after years of doing its own thing, Ferrari could be poised for a switch to pull-rod front suspension – with an idea of getting ahead of the game on this aspect considering it would likely make the switch in 2026 anyway.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Red Bull and McLaren already have this configuration, with the design clearly having aerodynamic advantages in improving airflow around the front of the car and critically for the venturi tunnels underneath.

Revising the suspension in such a way would require an all-new chassis, as there would be the need for new attachments to the suspension arms and movement of the internal mechanisms.

Any decision to change suspension could also open the door for a change of driver position too, which could help improve weight distribution as the squad seeks to find gains in any area it can.

Ferrari’s potential move towards a more Red Bull style of front suspension comes as the team continues its efforts to lure Adrian Newey on board to help provide input for its 2026 car, once he is released from his current contract at the start of next year.

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This year, Ferrari is alone in running a pull-rod rear suspension (customer team Haas takes its parts too), but is convinced there are no significant gains from having the push-rod concept other teams have in this area of the car.

Speaking earlier this year about why it did not copy other teams, Ferrari technical director Enrico Cardile said: “In reality, our rear suspension is a bit different in terms of top and lower wishbone distribution compared to a Red Bull one, to mention one team.

“We recorded good aero results moving towards this direction and when moving from pull-rod to push-rod, we didn’t measure a big advantage to justify some compromise in terms of weight or compliance. So, from there, we evolved our suspension, keeping the same layout.”



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Ferrari technical director targeted by Aston Martin for F1 switch

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With Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll continuing his push to turn the Silverstone-based squad into winners, Cardile has emerged as one of his outfit’s key targets to bolster its technical structure.

As the current head of Ferrari’s chassis and aerodynamics department, Cardile has played an important role in the development of the team’s recent challengers since joining the F1 operation from its Gran Turismo programme in 2016.

His current Ferrari SF-24 has proven to be a race-winner this season, with Charles Leclerc taking victory in last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, and Cardile’s talents appearing to have brought him to the attention of rival squads.

Aston Martin has clear ambitions and, as revealed recently, Stroll has made a personal effort to try to lure Red Bull’s outgoing chief technical officer Adrian Newey to join.

But, with Newey believed to be weighing up a possible move to Ferrari now that he has decided to leave Red Bull, it has emerged that an effort is underway by Aston Martin to tempt Cardile as there could be an opportunity if he is unsettled by the prospect of his role being diminished.

While Newey would be unlikely to do anything other than be a super consultant for Ferrari as it prepares its 2026 car, his high-profile status could end up overshadowing the efforts of those within Maranello who have helped guide its recent push to the front.

Newey is known to want to take his time before deciding his next step in F1, with team principal Fred Vasseur not revealing much about the potential chances of signing the design legend.

Speaking to Italian media this week, Vasseur said the most important thing for him was ensuring stability of his current staff, rather than worrying about what might happen in the future.

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Asked if he was talking to Newey, Vasseur said: “I speak to everybody in the paddock when we meet, because we are well educated! On this point, I don’t want to make any comment because every single answer could be interpreted.

“The most important [thing] is the stability of the team. As I said before, we are doing a good job. We are going in the right direction.

“The most important for me is the stability of the group much more than individuals. I am really pleased with the current situation.”



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Banning tyre warmers at Le Mans an «unsafe» choice, say Ferrari WEC drivers

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Teams across both Hypercar and LMGT3 categories will not be allowed to artificially heat their tyres in the blue riband round of the World Endurance Championship on June 15-16 as per the updated sporting regulations for 2024.

The WEC had originally imposed an outright ban on tyre warmers at the start of last season due to environmental reasons, but it was lifted as a one-off basis for Le Mans following a spate of crashes on cold tyres at the previous race at Spa.

While organisers Automobile Club de l’Ouest and the FIA considered giving teams the same exemption again at La Sarthe this year, particularly as a chunk of the race takes place in very low temperatures at night, it was eventually decided to keep the ban in place for all eight rounds of WEC 2024.

«In my opinion, it is a bad choice, unsafe and not useful at all, so it is not positive,” he told Motorsport.com. 

“I don’t think it’s an advantage, despite the fact that we have shown that we are among those who warm the tyres better, so it could also work in our favour. 

“You risk very serious accidents and I don’t think it adds anything to the competition.»

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Miguel Molina, who drives the sister #50 Ferrari along with Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen, believes the rulemakers should rethink the decision to prohibit tyre warmers at Le Mans because of the risks involved.

«This is something we are concerned about,” Molina told Motorsport.com. «We have seen in the past that it is not easy and we will have to be very careful because there is a risk of losing the race right away. 

“In my opinion, we should reconsider because then the safety is not 100 percent there.» 

Giovinazzi expects putting temperature into the tyres without any artificial aid to be a major challenge at Le Mans and stressed that teams are concerned about the impact of the new rules on night-time driving.

«It will be one of the biggest difficulties because last year we started with warm tyres, while in 2024 we have not yet faced races with low temperatures that could make us experience those conditions,” he said in an interview with Motorsport.com.

“Facing the night with cold tyres will be quite challenging, it’s an unknown and a concern we all have — drivers and teams.»

Le Mans success more important after disappointment at Imola, Spa 

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Ferrari heads to Le Mans after two frustrating results at Imola and Spa, two races where it arguably had the fastest car in the entire Hypercar field.

A decision to delay the switch to wet tyres cost it a likely home victory in Italy, while the AF Corse-run factory squad was unlucky to be caught out by the timing of the red flag in Belgium. 

Ferrari even protested the results of the Spa WEC round as it questioned the stewards’ decision to restart the race after the original 19:00 finish time, but its challenge was dismissed under the FIA’s international sporting code.

Following the opening three rounds, the two Ferrari crews sit fifth and ninth in the drivers’ standings, facing a massive deficit to the points-leading #6 Porsche trio of Laurens Vanthoor, Andre Lotterer and Kevin Estre.

Given the situation, Pier Guidi said the double points-scoring Le Mans round is now even more critical for Ferrari’s hopes of winning the 2024 WEC title.

“In 2023 we were the outsiders and it was not known exactly what result we could achieve,” he said. “We knew we had a competitive car, but so many doubted the reliability. 

“As of today there is more awareness of the capabilities of this car, let’s say there is more anticipation, but like last year we all start from the same point and Le Mans is very difficult to win, probably the toughest 24-hour race there is, with so many manufacturers involved. 

“So far the car has proven to be competitive, although we have picked up much less than we could have [in 2024]. 

“For the championship, it is a sore point, but luckily there are a lot of points up for grabs at Le Mans, so it will be even more important to do well at la Sarthe.»

Additional quotes from Beatrice Frangione



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Ferrari beating Red Bull in Monaco ‘changes nothing’

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Over the Monaco weekend, Ferrari and McLaren headlined the order as championship leader Red Bull struggled to contend with the street circuit’s bumps and could only manage sixth through Max Verstappen — sandwiched by the two Mercedes drivers.

Vasseur acknowledged that the field had compressed in 2024 and that the three teams who had won races so far this season could all contend for further victories depending on the layout of each upcoming circuit.

The Frenchman was keen to add that it was important for Ferrari to maintain its progress, and that knowing Red Bull was beatable did not change the team’s motivation to challenge for honours in F1. He stated that it would be the «worst-case scenario» for Ferrari to believe that its job was already done.

«It’s not a matter of motivation because the motivation is there for a while, but it’s self-confidence for the drivers, for the team,» Vasseur explained.

«And, for sure, as soon as you are in a position to win you pay more attention to details, you have a kind of snowball effect. This is part of the improvement of the last six or seven months.

«We have to continue like this, but the worst-case scenario would be to imagine that it’s done, that it will be like this until the end.

«We’ll have different tracks with different layouts, different characteristics. We are competing more with McLaren or Red Bull and it will be up and down until the end of the season.

«We have to score good points when we are not at the top and to be able to win when we are there. But nothing changes.»

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Vasseur added that Red Bull will continue to have the advantage at future circuits on the calendar and that, even in races where Ferrari might not be on top, the team will need to be «opportunistic» to secure a healthy points haul from them.

He felt that, should Ferrari and McLaren continue to make progress, they will provide «tight» competition for Red Bull over the rest of the season.

«I think now we have at least three teams – but I think Mercedes is not that far away – able to fight for the pole position, able to fight for the win,» said Vasseur. «It’s exciting and it will be, I hope, like this until the end of the season.

«For sure, depending from track to track, we’ll have perhaps Red Bull with an advantage, or Ferrari, or McLaren. And we’ll have to be opportunistic.

«It was not always the case in the past; last year, we lost far too many points into the season, and this season we made a huge step forward on this one also.

«We are much more opportunistic, and it will be like this until the end of the season, that the fight will be tight.»

Additional reporting by Jonathan Noble and Stuart Codling



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The road to Leclerc’s Monaco F1 triumph

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How as a young child growing up in the principality, he would take the bus to school up the winding climb to Casino Square, dreaming how he would one day tear up the same roads in a scarlet Ferrari F1 car.

How his late father Herve made every possible sacrifice to get him there but would pass away in 2017 before he ever got to see his son realise his dreams.

How his late friend Jules Bianchi became not just a godfather but a mentor to him, a shining light to follow on the journey from karting together at the Brignoles track, through the Ferrari academy and into F1.

«I realised actually two laps to the end that I was struggling to see out of the tunnel just because I had tears in my eyes,» Leclerc admitted. «And I was like, ‘f**k, Charles, you cannot do that now. You still have two laps to finish’.

«I have to say that I was thinking to my dad a lot more. Monaco is the Grand Prix that made me dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver.

«I remember being so young and watching the race with my friends, obviously with my father, that has done absolutely everything for me to get to where I am today, and I feel like I don’t only accomplish a dream of mine today, but also one of his.»

Leclerc’s home race had never been kind to him in the past, which only made his desire to banish those demons even stronger.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

The dominant driver in 2017’s Formula 2 championship, Leclerc was leading the feature race from pole until his race unravelled through mechanical issues.

His next chance arrived in his first Ferrari F1 season in 2019, but he was eliminated in Q1 due to a wrong decision to stay in the garage for the final minutes, going on to retire from the race due to damage from a mid-pack collision with Nico Hulkenberg.

In 2021 he crashed in qualifying after securing pole, with an undiagnosed driveshaft issue surfacing on the laps to the grid and leaving him unable to start the race at all.

Despite knowing he wouldn’t make the start, he walked to the grid to meet with the other drivers and wave to the red-tinged grandstands, as his best opportunity yet to score that elusive maiden win on home soil had once again passed him by.

«In the garage, it was very, very difficult to feel okay,» he said at the time. «I guess now I’m getting used to this feeling here, unfortunately. I’ve never finished a race here. This year I don’t start it, starting from pole…»

Determined to make things right, he returned to take pole again the next year, but a strategic blunder by the team demoted him to fourth, with an incensed Leclerc labelling the race a «freaking disaster».

“The win was clearly in our hands: we had the performance, we had everything. I just don’t really understand the call and I need explanations for now. We need to get better,» a crestfallen Leclerc fumed.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

In 2023 Leclerc and Ferrari were no match for Max Verstappen and Red Bull around the principality, nor were they anywhere else but Singapore.

But under incoming team principal Fred Vasseur, Ferrari did get better. And steeled by the scars of those near-misses, all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place this time around.

Armed with a sharper axe in the form of Ferrari’s much-improved SF-24, Leclerc backed up a commanding pole on Saturday with a faultless drive on Sunday, even if the deliberately sluggish pace to protect the tyres made it tough to get into a rhythm.

As he weaved his Ferrari across the finish, years of frustration poured out like lava as he shrieked over the radio, before falling into the arms of his crew, Vasseur, and a choked-up Prince Albert II of Monaco, who for the first time witnessed one of his own take the top step of Monaco’s unique podium.

«I think the fact that twice I’ve been starting in pole position and couldn’t quite make it, makes it even better in a way,» said Leclerc, dispelling any notion of a Monaco curse playing on his mind.

«I never believed in the curse. However, it always felt very difficult in the two occasions I had to win here. One, I couldn’t even start the race. The second one, we didn’t make the right choice. So it was very, very frustrating to lose those wins.

«The thing is that as a driver you never really know when will be the next opportunity to win and especially when it’s your home race and it’s Monaco, that is such a difficult track and such a difficult weekend to master and to do everything perfectly.»

While he admitted to feeling «tension» before the race, Leclerc did everything he could to keep the pressure off. Being able to sleep in his own apartment, as most F1 drivers are able to do over the Monaco weekend, was a helpful perk. As was a slightly unorthodox last supper.

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, 1st position, celebrates on arrival in Parc Ferme

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, 1st position, celebrates on arrival in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

«I ate like crazy [Saturday] night,» he revealed. «I actually got home too late and I couldn’t cook, so I ordered my favourite pizza, which is not the best preparation to race normally, but I was like, ‘OK, maybe mentally it will help me to take the pressure off a little bit’. And I slept really well.

«I knew how it felt the last two times I was in this position. I obviously really wanted to get that victory today, so there was a bit of tension. But as soon as I put the helmet on and as soon as I get into the car, I don’t feel anything anymore.»

And still, it was impossible to keep all emotions at bay until the end of the race, which he said last happened to him at the 2017 Baku F2 race that took place just days after losing his father, Herve.

«Obviously, everything was still very fresh for me, so it was difficult to manage mentally,» he recalled.

«However, it’s probably the first time in my career that it happened again while driving, where you’ve got these flashbacks of all these moments that we have spent together, all the sacrifices that he has done for me to get to where I am.»

Yet under the most difficult circumstances, then 19-year-old Leclerc produced a flawless drive to win that Baku F2 race, showing inner steel to match his natural turn of speed.

Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, 1st position, on the podium

Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, 1st position, on the podium

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

If that most devastating of losses couldn’t derail him then, then there was no way he was going to let his lifelong dream slip through his fingers this time either.

Following years of loss and heartbreak, Leclerc finally found redemption on the streets he roamed as a child.



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