The battle for the 2024 F1 championship has intensified as Ferrari and McLaren continue to add more pressure on Red Bull. Although Max Verstappen is still the favorite to win the championship this season, he has not been at his dominant best. And Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has now claimed that the Dutchman is unlikely to even win this weekend’s Monaco GP. Instead, the Austrian claims that home favorite Charles Leclerc will win the race.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Marko said, “For qualifying, he is the favorite for me, yes, and qualifying is more than half the battle here.” Since overtaking is virtually impossible on the Monaco circuit, track position is key.
Marko: “It will be a real battle and everything will be decided in Qualifying unless there are sensationally unlucky Safety Cars for the leader on Sunday. Luckily we have the Max factor already more than decisive in Imola, but Leclerc is a force in Qualifying in Monaco.”
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Charles Leclerc is considered one of the fastest drivers over a single lap in Formula 1 today. Naturally, his skill alongside the pace of the SF-24 has dimmed the optimism within Red Bull of clinching yet another pole this season. Marko even cited Ferrari’s performance at Imola last weekend to make his case.
According to the 81-year-old, Ferrari had a better package than the Red Bull at Imola despite the eventual race result. Leclerc finished P3 – eight seconds behind Verstappen. But given Leclerc’s track record at his home Grand Prix, the Dutchman might still be in with a chance.
Charles Leclerc and his Monaco GP curse in F1
Racing in their home Grand Prix is a dream for every Formula 1 driver. However, for Charles Leclerc, it has often been a nightmare in Monaco. Every year since his debut (with the exception of 2020 owing to the Pandemic), the streets of the Principality have been a letdown for the #16 driver.
His relationship and bad luck with his home Grand Prix have gone down in F1 folklore as the ‘Monaco Curse’. His debut season in 2018 saw him race on the streets of Monaco in a Sauber. In the dying embers of the race, however, his brakes gave up, thereby sending him into the barriers at the approach to the Nouvelle Chicane.
2019 ended up in heartbreak as well. After a Q1 exit for Ferrari, Leclerc made contact with Nico Hulkenberg during the race. Eventually, the team deemed enough damage was done to his floor to retire him from the race.
Two years later in 2021, he managed to bag his first pole position in Monaco. However, he got the pole position after a hefty crash at turn 16 during Q3.
But despite Ferrari’s confidence that the damage to the #16 driver’s car was not extensive, during the formation lap to the grid, he suffered from a driveshaft failure. As a result, he did not start the race.
Meanwhile, in both 2022 and 2023, he at least finished his home Grand Prix. A strategy mix-up saw him double-stack with teammate Carlos Sainz in 2022. He eventually lost track position and ended up in P4. Last year, Leclerc crossed the line P6 and finished more than a whopping 60 seconds behind race-winner Max Verstappen.
