Formula 1: historic Monaco Grand Prix victory for Charles Leclerc, Prince Albert II in tears
Charles Leclerc remporte son premier Grand prix de Monaco ! © Direction de la Communication / Manuel Vitali / Frédéric Nebinger
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) made history on Sunday, winning the 81st Monaco Grand Prix hands down! The Monegasque driver was warmly congratulated by the Princely Couple on his first home win.
What an emotional day for Monaco on Sunday!! Charles Leclerc consolidated his pole position from the previous day to stand on the top step of the podium in front of an ecstatic crowd! After several disappointments and a feeling of unfinished business in the Principality in previous years, the local boy finally put an end to his run of bad luck on his bogey track.
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It was a double success for the Scuderia Ferrari in the 8th race of this year’s championship. Carlos Sainz also maintained his qualifying performance and took third place behind Oscar Piastri (McLaren).
The dream of a lifetime
It’s been his dream since the outset, and it finally came true: Leclerc treated his family, friends, and home crowd to the national anthem ringing out through the streets of the Principality and nothing could make him prouder.
“This is the race I’ve been dreaming of since I was a child. With everything that’s happened in recent years, twice on pole position but missing out on the win for one reason or another, it was hard to swallow. But three’s a charm, and it feels so good. There have been very few moments in my career, if any, where I have struggled to put my feelings to one side during a race. It means a lot to me obviously, this is the race that made me dream of one day becoming a Formula 1 driver.
Two laps from the finish, when I came out of the tunnel I couldn’t see anything and I realised then that I had tears in my eyes, but I had to focus on the remaining two laps, at the same time there were a lot of emotions to deal with. It feels great to win at home. It’s such a special Grand Prix and I grew up here, it’s just incredible.
It was a difficult race emotionally, because, fifteen laps from the finish, you’re hoping that nothing’s going to go wrong, and emotions were starting to build already. I must say that I thought about my father (who died in 2017) much more than I would have expected while I was driving. He gave everything for me to be here and it was my dream to drive here and win, so yes, it’s amazing,” the very emotional Monegasque driver told Canal+.
The Sovereign moved to tears
As every year, Prince Albert II did not miss a single second of the Grand Prix, right up to the podium, where he was accompanied by his wife Princess Charlene to reward the top 3 drivers. Moved to tears, the Sovereign could not contain his emotions at seeing his driver triumph on Sunday.
“It was really emotional. We’ve known each other for a very long time. In fact, I remember when I was 12 or 13 years old, my father and I went to the Palace for the first time to try to get some support for my career, which was starting to take off.
Since that day, he has always kept an eye on me, has always supported me, and has always managed to say the right thing in good times, but also in much harder times. The fact that he has seen me grow up and with all the support he has given me over the years, it was a very emotional moment for me, and for him too,” Charles told us at a press conference.
