It finally happened. After years of heartbreak, mechanical failures, and what some called a genuine curse, Charles Leclerc won the Monaco GP 2024.
If you’ve followed Formula 1 for more than five minutes, you know how heavy that win was. For Leclerc, Monaco isn't just a glamorous backdrop for a tax haven; it’s literally home. He grew up riding the bus through these streets. He watched the red cars from a friend's balcony as a kid. And yet, until May 26, 2024, the streets of Monte Carlo had been nothing but cruel to him.
Honestly, the atmosphere in the paddock felt different that Sunday. There was this weird mix of optimism and "wait for the other shoe to drop" anxiety. But when the checkered flag finally waved after 78 laps, the "curse" was officially buried.
The First Lap Chaos That Changed Everything
The race didn't exactly start with a calm parade. Within seconds of the lights going out, the track looked like a literal junkyard.
Sergio Perez found himself in a terrifying high-speed sandwich. As the pack accelerated up the hill toward Beau Rivage, Kevin Magnussen tried to poke his Haas into a gap that simply wasn't there. The contact was violent. Perez’s Red Bull was essentially obliterated, spinning into the barriers and taking Nico Hulkenberg with it.
The RB20 was a skeleton. Wheels were gone. Carbon fiber was everywhere.
"It was one of the scariest-looking crashes we've seen in Monaco in years," noted many observers. Miraculously, all three walked away, but the red flag was immediate.
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While that mess was happening at the back, Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri had their own moment at turn one. Sainz suffered a puncture and went straight on at Casino Square. He thought his race was over. But because of the red flag and the fact that the full field hadn't crossed the first timing sector in order, the stewards allowed Sainz to restart from P3.
Talk about a lucky break.
Strategy? What Strategy?
The red flag did something kind of boring but massive for the race result: it allowed everyone to change tires for free.
In a normal race, you have to pit at least once. But since the regulations allow a tire change during a red flag, the top ten basically swapped their starting rubber and decided to drive to the end. No more pit stops. Just 75 laps of extreme tire management.
It was a slow-motion chess match.
Leclerc led the pack, followed closely by Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz. Because overtaking is basically impossible in modern F1 cars on these narrow streets, the race became about how slow Leclerc could drive while still keeping Piastri behind him. Ferrari didn't want to give the McLarens a "free" pit window.
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At one point, Ferrari actually told Leclerc to slow down. He was cruising. It was agonizing to watch for fans who wanted a high-speed chase, but it was tactical perfection.
Final Top 10 Results
- 1st: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 25 points
- 2nd: Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 18 points
- 3rd: Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 15 points
- 4th: Lando Norris (McLaren) - 12 points
- 5th: George Russell (Mercedes) - 10 points
- 6th: Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 8 points
- 7th: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 7 points
- 8th: Yuki Tsunoda (RB) - 4 points
- 9th: Alex Albon (Williams) - 2 points
- 10th: Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 1 point
Interestingly, the entire top ten finished exactly where they started on the grid. That’s never happened before in F1 history.
Why This Win Matters So Much
This wasn't just another trophy for the cabinet. Leclerc became the first Monégasque to win his home Grand Prix in the F1 World Championship era. The last local to win was Louis Chiron back in 1931, and that was way before the modern championship even existed.
You could see the weight come off his shoulders. On the podium, even Prince Albert II of Monaco was visibly emotional, ditching protocol to spray champagne.
Leclerc later admitted he was thinking about his late father, Hervé, during the final laps. "It was a dream of ours for me to race here and to win," he said. It’s the kind of stuff they write movies about.
For the championship standings, it also meant Max Verstappen’s lead was cut to 31 points at the time. Red Bull looked human for once. Verstappen spent most of the afternoon stuck behind George Russell, complaining that the race was "boring" over the radio. When the most dominant driver in history can't find a way past a Mercedes, you know the track is the boss.
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Surprising Stats from the 2024 Race
Most people focus on the podium, but the midfield had some quiet heroics.
- Alex Albon snagged P9, giving Williams their first points of the 2024 season.
- Lewis Hamilton took the fastest lap, a $1:14.165$ on lap 63, though it didn't help him move up from 7th.
- Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly (teammates at Alpine) collided at Portier on lap one. Ocon went airborne and was forced to retire. It was a disaster for team harmony.
The race lasted over two hours because of the red flag delay, but the actual "racing" was more like a high-speed parade through a jewelry store.
Actionable Insights for F1 Fans
If you're looking back at this race to understand the current state of F1, here’s the reality:
- Qualifying is the real race: In Monaco, Saturday is everything. If you don't get pole, your chances of winning are basically zero unless there's a rainstorm or a massive blunder.
- The "Curse" is dead: Don't bet against Leclerc in Monaco anymore. He’s found the mental headspace to master his home turf.
- Red Bull's weakness: The 2024 RB20 struggled significantly with bumps and kerbs. Monaco exposed that more than any other track.
If you want to dive deeper into the technical side, check out the telemetry from Leclerc’s qualifying lap. It was a masterclass in late braking and trust. He was consistently faster through the Swimming Pool section than anyone else on the grid.
To stay ahead of the next season, keep an eye on how Ferrari develops their suspension. Their ability to "ride" the kerbs at Sainte Devote was exactly what gave them the edge over Red Bull in 2024.
Next time the circus rolls into town, remember: it’s not about the overtakes. It’s about the precision of not hitting a wall at $250$ km/h for 78 laps straight.