Charles Leclerc: Did the Ferrari driver kick off the F1 title race with a ‘dream’ win at the Monaco Grand Prix? | F1 News

Charles Leclerc’s stunning win at the Monaco Grand Prix could be considered a highlight of the season and the race where an F1 title race began.

Leclerc dominated at home as he converted pole position into a sixth career F1 victory, his first since the Austrian Grand Prix in July 2022.

With Max Verstappen finishing sixth, Leclerc reduced his deficit to the Red Bull driver to 31 points after eight events, raising the question of whether a title race will emerge.

Ferrari took 32 points from Red Bull in Monaco after Carlos Sainz took third and Sergio Perez crashed, so they are 24 points behind the reigning world champions in the constructors’ championship.

Leclerc says he is not thinking about the championship yet and wanted to celebrate Ferrari’s second victory of the season, paying tribute to his father who died in 2017.

“It’s an incredible feeling. I always said Monaco would have emotional added value but I didn’t expect it to be this much,” he said. Sky Sports F1.

“With two or three laps to go I came out of the tunnel and I had trouble seeing because my eyes were starting to water a little!

“I said to myself ‘come on Charles, you can’t afford to do this now. You have two or three laps to go’. Then I was good again. Then crossing the finish line, I was incredibly happy. This means so much to me.

“This is the race that I have dreamed of winning since I was a child. It was from this race that my passion for racing came to me, with my father, who did everything to make me succeed.

“My mom was there under the podium, with my brother, my girlfriend and my friends. Everyone is there, which makes this place so special.”

Vasseur: Monaco victory will help Leclerc have confidence

Leclerc was outclassed early in the season by Sainz, but he started and finished ahead of his Ferrari teammate in the last four events.

The 26-year-old is considered by many in the paddock to be the fastest driver over a lap and he showed that in Monaco during qualifying on a track where the driver can make a big difference.

Team principal Frédéric Vasseur said Leclerc had “a weight lifted off his shoulders” now that he had won his home race.

“I think one of the characteristics of winners is also that they are used to winning at a certain moment and they have the confidence to handle the situation,” Vasseur added.

“Even when something happens, they have confidence in themselves, ‘it’s okay, I’ll get there next time’. When you have doubts, it’s a big difference and I think from this one- here, you will certainly take a step forward.

“I think this one will help him a lot, for sure, confidence-wise.”

Ferrari puts Red Bull under pressure

Ferrari challenged Red Bull for the title in the first half of 2022 before their championship hopes faded as they were overdeveloped and making mistakes.

Leclerc and Verstappen have clashed throughout their careers, first in karting and then in F1, with many memorable battles.

Vasseur suggests Red Bull will make mistakes if Ferrari and McLaren continue to push them hard in upcoming races.

“I don’t want to draw conclusions about this weekend, but if you look at the last two or three weekends, I think Max made more mistakes at Imola or went out more at Imola than in the last last three seasons,” Vasseur said.

“I think as soon as they have to attack more, if you stay in your comfort zone for strategy, you don’t make mistakes and I think they were in that situation.

“Now we don’t need to conclude that I think they will be back, they will be back soon and they will be strong,” he continued. “I don’t think at all that everything will be easy until the end.”

Sainz, who missed the Saudi Grand Prix due to appendix surgery in March, sits fourth in the drivers’ championship and is 62 points behind Verstappen.

Sainz believes Ferrari is tied with McLaren but still “one or two tenths” behind Red Bull on permanent circuits that are not street tracks.

“I think Ferrari, we will have our opportunities on these kind of tracks (street circuits). I think McLaren will have their opportunities, but when I talk about a normal track we can talk maybe about Barcelona,” said Sainz.

“Canada, I think it’s quite specific, but in Barcelona or any European truck, where I consider it a normal track, I still think Red Bull will be favorite, but I don’t think that they will dominate as before.

“And I think that’s good news for the championship. It’s worth it to be a tenth or two in qualifying, that even though they’re favorites, they can’t afford to make mistakes. And This is where Ferrari and McLaren can capitalize, which means in Bahrain, no one was there to be there.

Vasseur’s impact at Ferrari

At the start of 2023, Vasseur took over from Mattia Binotto as Ferrari team principal and has had a positive impact on F1’s most famous team.

Vasseur has made changes to Ferrari’s strategy team and recently decided to replace Leclerc’s race engineer from Xavier “Xavi” Marcos Padros with Bryan Bozzi.

Leclerc, who worked with Vasseur during his first F1 campaign at Sauber in 2018, praised his team boss and the trust he placed in Ferrari.

“I think since the first day he joined the team, he has everything to bring the team back to where it belongs, which is to a world championship,” Leclerc said.

“He has a very clear vision of what he wants to achieve and how to achieve it. He doesn’t waste time and that’s definitely his strength and I think his vision is really good.

“We share very often how he wants to achieve these goals. I have always been completely in tune with how he wants to change things to get to where we want to get to. I have no doubt that he is the good person and helps the team get there.”

Formula 1 leaves Europe for the last time before the summer holidays as the championship moves to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. Watch every session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from June 7-9 live on Sky Sports F1, with the Sunday race at 7 p.m. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month subscription – No contracts, cancel anytime