ANALYSIS | Charles Leclerc needs to break his Monaco curse after four seasons of sheer bad luck

Charles Leclerc is in a pickle: he just can't catch a break in Monaco!

When he made his debut Formula 1 debut in 2018 with Alfa Romeo (then known as Sauber-Ferrari), it soon became apparent that his true talents were yet to be unlocked.

And Ferrari, having him contracted to its young driver development program, opted to promote him to the senior team, replacing Kimi Räikkönen and partnering with Sebastian Vettel in 2019.

Leclerc impressed. In his first season with Ferrari, he finished fourth in the Drivers' championship, won two races (Belgium and Italy), and started from pole on four occasions. Clearly, then, Ferrari's trust in its newest signing is paying off. Sadly for the team, 2020 and 2021 were not their greatest seasons, but they hit the ground running in 2022.

While Leclerc is showing that he could be Ferrari's hope to secure the team's first Drivers' championship since 2007, he has not had the best of runs at his home race, the Monaco Grand Prix. And while some might say that he is jinxed, he hopes to throw the proverbial monkey off his back with a win this weekend.

Not a happy hunting ground

The 24-year-old Monegasque has been involved in 95 GPs since his F1 debut and is always aiming to improve his on-track performances. And while it is good, he can't catch a break at home.

In 2018, having qualified in 14th place, he retired on lap 72/78 after colliding with Brendon Hartley's Toro Rosso coming out of the tunnel and missing his braking at the Nouvelle Chicane (Turns 10 and 11). In 2019, he spun out on lap 9 after mistiming a pass on Nico Hulkenberg in the Renault going into La Rascasse (Turn 17).

He was the only retirement on the day. Last year, Leclerc put his Ferrari on provisional pole, but secured the position