Leclerc hopeful of ending Monaco hoodoo with first F1 points on home soil

The Monegasque driver has never made Q3 or finished inside the top ten in his previous two races in the principality.

While driving for Alfa Romeo in 2018, Leclerc crashed into the back of Brendon Hartley after suffering a brake issue in the closing laps.

In 2019 for Ferrari, Leclerc was knocked out in Q1 after sitting in the garage after setting his first lap of the session.

His race didn’t go to plan as an over-optimistic overtake lunge on Nico Hulkenberg left him spun around at the penultimate corner, leaving him with a puncture sustaining significant damage in the process.

Ahead of his home race, Leclerc said: “I am very excited. Last year, unfortunately, we couldn’t race here and it’s one of my favourite tracks. It’s very special because I was born here, I grew up here. I am very excited to be here. Unfortunately, I’ve been quite unlucky here in the past and I hope this luck will turn a little bit around for this year.”

Reflecting on his previous races in Monaco, he added: “2018 wasn’t too bad actually. I didn’t reach Q3 but I was with Alfa Romeo and it was quite a reasonable result for us here [in qualifying], not about the race though.

“Quali in 2019, I remember very well what happened. We did a bad strategy choice and it happened. It’s like this. It’s two times I haven’t made it into Q3 but I am sure we will do everything this year to reach it.”

Conversely, teammate Carlos Sainz has an impressive track record around the streets of Monaco.

Since his debut in 2015, the Spaniard has scored points in every Monaco GP.

Explaining the reasons for his success, Sainz said: “Well first of all I think it’s one of the most exciting tracks that we come [to] in the whole season, mainly because of the adrenaline rush and how much you need to push yourself, the car, to be on the limit with the walls being so close.

“With the speeds, we are doing nowadays with these cars is crazy. I’ve had a good relationship with Monaco since 2008 when I came here for my first time in go-karting - that was a Monaco kart cup. I won it and since then I’ve always loved this place.

“I did World Series [by Renault], then F1 all these years. I’ve always felt comfortable in these streets. It feels familiar and always like a good opportunity for me.”