Monaco – Just uttering the term evokes visions of opulence, sophistication, and the premier event on the Formula 1 schedule. The Monaco Grand Prix has been the highlight of the Formula One season for many years. Every driver dreams of being on the podium with royalty, having defeated the field, and navigating those winding, little streets.

For Charles Leclerc, however, who was raised in Monaco and trained to drive on those very streets, his home may be his own private playground fifty-one weeks out of the year, but the fifty-twond week is always his own nightmare. Years of heartache at home as he continued to miss the Grand Prix conducted on the streets where he was raised.

Up until this point.

After so many years of heartache and tales of the “Monaco curse,” driver Charles Leclerc finally achieved success at home, winning the Monaco Grand Prix to finish off a fantastic week. Leclerc started the day as the fastest driver in FP2, continued that position into FP3, and won pole position at his home race on Saturday for the third time in his career.

But Leclerc was aware that the work was not finished on Saturday night.

Here, the sensation following a qualification lap is invariably really unique. Extremely delighted with the lap. The level of excitement is so high that it’s almost enjoyable. But as I have found out time and time again, qualification is not everything. After qualifying on Saturday, Leclerc declared, “As much as it helps a lot for Sunday’s race, we need to put everything together coming Sunday.”

Shortly after, he brought similar sentiment to the FIA Press Conference.

Leclerc remarked, “But right now we have to concentrate on the race, and I cannot afford to start thinking about how it will feel if [I win].” “I believe that concentrating on the steps necessary to get there and what we can do to control the situation until tomorrow’s race will help us put everything together and give us the best chance to win the race tomorrow.”

Now that tomorrow has arrived, Leclerc is at last standing at the top of the podium at home.

Leclerc had to work hard for the win because the F1 gods and a few other drivers made things difficult for him. The Ferrari driver held the lead into Turn 1 against Oscar Piastri, who began alongside him in second place, after sticking his launch off the line. However, a huge crash involving Nico Hülkenberg, Kevin Magnussen, and Sergio Pérez further behind him eliminated all three racers.

The damage to the three cars and the barrier raised a serious red signal for Leclerc’s quest.

He would have to restart from scratch.

The second restart, which was a standing restart according to race rules, saw Leclerc and the rest of the grid get back into their cars and hit the track after a long delay. Ferrari fitted Leclerc’s SF-24 with a set of hards after he had begun the Monaco Grand Prix on a set of mediums, allowing him to complete the race without stopping.

To make it happen, though, he would have to maintain the advantage from the beginning.

In order to hold onto his lead over the McLaren driver, he managed to hold off Piastri on the brief run into Turn 1 at Sainte Devote. After getting a flat on his left front tire on the first lap, Carlos Sainz Jr., a teammate, was able to stay on Piastri’s back end during the restart. The front four remained the same on the restart, with Lando Norris trailing Sainz, although they were using hard tires now instead of the mediums they had begun on.

Piastri was not going to go into the Monaco afternoon in silence. Over the course of the following twelve circuits, the McLaren driver applied constant pressure to Leclerc’s rear wing, making the hometown hero hit his targets every time.

Leclerc eventually began to spread his legs a little. With less than 20 circuits remaining in the race, Leclerc had a lead of more than 1.5 seconds over his nearest rival after pulling out of Piastri’s DRS range. With drivers like Max Verstappen returning in P6, George Russell in P5, and Lando Norris down in P4, Leclerc just needed to bring his SF-24 home over the last few laps to taste victory at home.

And avoid any final obstacles that his own Monaco curse might present.

Obstacles would not exist. No errors or blunders, no poorly executed pit stops. Not today, please. That day finally came after years of suffering, heartache, and uncertainty about his ability to finish first in his home event.

The winner of the Monaco Grand Prix was Charles Leclerc.

The Ferrari driver’s simple yet emotional exclamation as he crossed the line.

“Yes, indeed! Indeed! Indeed!

There will be more winners and losers, recaps, and conversation on this exciting Monaco Grand Prix in the hours to come. But Leclerc is by himself this day.

Lastly.