On his final qualifying run, however, disaster struck – he clipped the barrier at Portier and damaged his left driveshaft. The car was fixed and returned to the starting grid for the formation lap, but only just. On the formation lap, the driveshaft finally failed, and Charles Leclerc was forced to retire before the race had even begun.
It was heartbreak for Monaco’s local hero, who, long before Ferrari and Formula 1, would watch the race from balconies overlooking the circuit and imagine himself behind the wheel.
In 2017, a year before Leclerc’s Ferrari seat was secured, his father Hervé lay seriously ill, and he told him a white lie: that the deal was done. That he had made it. Hervé died believing his son was about to become a Formula 1 driver.
Seven years later, Leclerc returned to the same circuit, took pole again, lap after lap, around the streets where he grew up. As the closing stages ticked down, his race engineer repeatedly reminded him to stay focused. Leclerc’s replies became shorter and quieter. He later admitted he was thinking about his father.
When the chequered flag finally fell, confirming Charles Leclerc as a Monaco Grand Prix winner, it was unlike anything seen in recent Formula 1 memory. For once, Monaco had given one of its own a happy ending.