After five years of heartbreaks, Charles Leclerc has finally won the Monaco GP, standing tall in front of his home fans. It drew in plaudits from the rest of the grid, even former drivers chimed in, hailing the Monegasque driver for achieving his lifelong dream of winning on the streets he grew up in.
At the end of every Monaco GP, drivers, F1 legends and celebrities appear for a gala in the Principality, and in attendance last Sunday was three-time World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart.
While giving a speech at the gala, Stewart congratulated Leclerc and told him, that he should look back on his victory with pride. The Briton said, “You should be very very proud. You drove like a Champion today.”
sir jackie stewart speaking to charles at the traditional gala: “charles, what you’ve done today is absolutely wonderful. you should be very very proud, you drove today like a champion should. […] i can’t think of another driver who’s won on his own backyard at his own place.… pic.twitter.com/6CClESIITc
— leclerc data (@leclercdata) May 26, 2024
For Leclerc, getting praise of this magnitude from an F1 great is huge. He has often been tipped as a world champion in the making, and Stewart insisted that on Sunday, he drove like one.
Steward added that he cannot think of a driver winning a race in their “backyard” quite like Leclerc did. He was referring to the fact that Leclerc grew up watching the Monaco GP from his balcony, and all those years later, ended up being a winner there.
For Leclerc, it was an uneventful race, but that was all he was hoping for because, in the past, accidents and strategic errors made his home Grand Prix miserable. Now, his aim will be to ride high with Ferrari’s progress and aim to make winning a more regular habit.
Other drivers who congratulated Charles Leclerc on his maiden Monaco GP win
After qualifying, the likes of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris conceded the fact that a win was out of reach, owing to the difficulties in overtaking around Monaco. The top 10 drivers all held their positions, which made Leclerc’s life easy as he coasted home towards his first home win.
The home crowd was delighted, as was the majority of the F1 community. Drivers too, hailed the Ferrari driver and one of the first to congratulate him was Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, and Pierre Gasly, all went over to Leclerc as soon as the race ended.
Carlos: “[..] Seeing your teammate, standing on top of the podium, who is Monégasque, infront of his home crowd, infront of the Tifosi and mechanics, I think it‘s one of the best images I have seen in F1.
I am extremely happy for Charles and the team. He deserves it because he… pic.twitter.com/4j94h5vj81
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) May 26, 2024
However, the one driver who hoped for Leclerc’s win even before the Grand Prix started was his teammate Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard drove a brilliant race, playing as a solid team player, and was even hyping up the crowd during the podium celebrations.
