Leclerc desperate to shake off misfortune at Monaco

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is hoping for a change of fortune at his home race in Monaco as bad luck has derailed his two previous F1 visits.

In 2018, on his Monaco debut in F1 while driving with Alfa Romeo, Leclerc's car suffered a brake disc failure on lap 70 that resulted in him crashing into the back of then Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley.

The following year, a qualifying strategy error left Leclerc to watch on from the garage as he was eliminated in Q1.

In the race, despite climbing his way up to 12th in the early stages, he made contact with the barrier at Rascasse as he tried to overtake Renault's Nico Hülkenberg and was again forced into retirement.

With Monaco missing from the schedule during Ferrari's dismal 2020 due to Covid-19, the Scuderia has improved significantly this year to fight McLaren for third in the constructors' standings.

Leclerc is naturally now hoping for a better showing in the Principality. He said: "We are not yet where we want to be. We want to be fighting for first place on Sunday by making everything perfect.

"But I am really looking forward to Monaco. Obviously, it is a very special weekend for me, a weekend where I have not been very lucky in the past so I hope we can have a good weekend as a team."

With Ferrari outperforming McLaren at the Spanish GP, in which the main area of advantage was in the slow-speed final sector, Leclerc believes that bodes well for the twisting street circuit.

"Looking at the third sector in Spain, we were quite competitive there," he added.

"Of course, it is different but we seem to have a strong car so hopefully we can be competitive at home and have a good result.”

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Power ranking F1's best TV commentators and pundits for 2026

• 31 minutes ago

‘Is he retiring?’ - Max Verstappen unveils special helmet for ‘last home race’ and F1 fans panic

• 1 hour ago

F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton gets title boost as ex-FIA steward addresses accusations of bias

• 3 hours ago

F1 champion lost his seat after winning world title and says Michael Schumacher's influence played a role

• 3 hours ago

Lightning McQueen set for grand prix debut as F1 confirm 'significant' Disney deal

• Today 13:57

Max Verstappen to McLaren, Sainz mega offer and Checo statement - F1 Transfer Roundup

• Today 12:27