Charles Leclerc wins first Monaco Grand Prix on home soil as Sergio Perez crashes

Charles Leclerc finally broke his Monaco Grand Prix curse on Sunday as Red Bull had an off weekend with Max Verstappen sixth and Sergio Perez crashing out on the opening lap. Leclerc ended years of frustration at his home race by winning the jewel of the Formula 1 calendar from pole on his third attempt.

A tearful Leclerc said: “No words can explain this. It means a lot, it’s the race that made me dream of becoming an F1 driver.

“Tonight is going to be a great night! »

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri followed the Monegasque across the finish line with Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari in third.

Leclerc had started at the front of the grid at the circuit he traveled by bus to school as a child in 2021 and 2022, but misfortune prevented him from winning on two occasions.

With Ferrari now much smoother under Fred Vasseur, this was a much more capable Ferrari team than back then, and Leclerc dictated the pace perfectly from the front, until the end of the first lap.

That’s when the red flag had to be raised to stop the race after a three-car pileup with Perez’s Red Bull torn up.

Perez spun after being hit hard from behind by Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

Nico Hulkenberg in the other Haas was a third innocent victim.

The race in the narrow streets of the Principality was interrupted for around thirty minutes to allow debris to be cleared from the circuit.

All three crash victims were missing at the restart, along with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who joined this group of disgruntled spectators after being forced to retire following a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly.

Leclerc escaped all the drama and led the rest of the race to achieve a hugely popular success.

While three-time world champion Verstappen is only sixth, Leclerc has closed to within 31 points of the Dutchman before the Canadian Grand Prix in a fortnight.