Charles Leclerc ended Ferrari drought to achieve ‘ultimate dream’ at Monaco Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc could make history by becoming the first Monegasque driver ever to win the Monaco Grand Prix back-to-back on Sunday.

The Ferrari star became the first home favourite in 93-years to finish first in F1’s most iconic race 12 months ago in highly emotional scenes.

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Leclerc, who grew up a stone’s throw away from the circuit, said he had ‘tears in my eyes’ as he completed ‘the ultimate dream’.

The 27-year-old wasn’t the only one emotional as he navigated the last few corners of the track, thanks to Alex Jacques’ commentary.

The voice of F1’s rapid rise with the microphone from the junior levels of motorsport has coincided with Leclerc’s own journey to the top.

As such, Jacques was best placed to paint the picture of what winning in Monaco meant for the man dubbed ‘Il Predestinato’.

He said: “His career was finished without the intervention of the late Jules Bianchi, who said to Ferrari, ‘You have to take this guy. You’ve got to make sure he gets to Formula One, and what a gift that was to give.

“In 2017, Charles Leclerc lost his father, and in his final days, he told his father a white lie that he’d made it to Formula One, that he’d signed the contract. It wasn’t true then, but his driving has made it true now, and look what he’s done with the opportunity.

“The grandstands he saw built as a kid growing up now rise for him and for the first time in 93 years this fabled race is won by one of their own.”

Leclerc has watched back footage of his Monaco win and made a point of congratulating Jacques for his ‘incredible’ commentary.

During an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.com ahead of the release of F1 25, Jacques agreed there was no higher honour.

“I think last year, that was all about telling his story,” he revealed.

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“We have so many fans and so many new fans, and I had the great privilege of commentating on his career from when he was a teenager, from the third to the second to the first, so I knew his story and I’d seen him succeed despite the challenges he’d faced.

“So in that final lap of Monaco last year, just trying to condense it down into basically a minute, I was very relieved he was happy with the commentary.

“As you say, there’s no greater honour than a driver responding to something you’ve said about a major landmark drive in their career, and him winning his home race is the biggest thing he’s done so far in Formula 1, so it was lovely to find the right words.”

Leclerc, who watched the Monaco Grand Prix as a child from nearby apartments overlooking the track, had endured major heartbreak.

F1’s No.16 lost his father, Herve, to cancer, a year before he first made it to the grid and developed a ‘Monaco Curse’ at his home race.

He had twice started from pole position in previous editions, which is 90 per cent of the way to winning the race due to track difficulties in overtaking, only for a mixture of car issues, driver error, and team strategy mistakes to let him down.

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His triumph last May was his first Grand Prix win since winning in Austria in 2022 and only Ferrari’s second that season.

The Scuderia are facing similar troubles upon their return to Monaco this weekend, with the Chinese Sprint their only victory thus far.

However, Leclerc will undoubtedly be Ferrari’s great hope if they deliver a car worthy of running at the front of the grid again.

Jacques added to talkSPORT: “I’ve never so far been able to commentate on a Formula 2 driver who’s gone on to win the Formula 1 World Championship.

“So I’ve been very fortunate to hold the mic for Formula 1 for a number of years now, but it’s either been Lewis Hamilton winning the title or Max Verstappen winning the title.

“So it would be nice to see one of the F2 grads go through and take the F1 crown.

“But it could be any of the drivers I’ve been lucky enough to commentate with. It doesn’t have to be a specific one.

“You’ve got to stay unbiased in this game.”

EA SPORTS is launching their new F1 25 game, with the Iconic Edition releasing on May 27th and Standard Edition launching May 30th. Available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC.