Charles Leclerc Battles Tears To Secure Stirring Monaco Home Win

Charles Leclerc admitted he was fighting back tears and struggling to see as he raced to an emotional victory for Ferrari in his home Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. His win prompted a standing ovation and unbridled celebrations from a huge crowd as he ended his run of wretched luck on home soil and a sequence of 39 races without a win since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix. Leclerc won comfortably ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz as Red Bull suffered another weekend of disappointment with series leader Max Verstappen finishing sixth and Sergio Perez crashed out on the opening lap,

His flawless triumph in a dull and processional race was the first by a Monegasque driver on the famous Mediterranean street circuit since the start of the Formula One world championship in 1950.

The last Monegasque to win a Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo was Louis Chiron in 1931.

In six previous attempts, including two when he started on pole, the luckless Leclerc had never managed a podium finish.

"It's the race that made me dream of becoming a Formula One driver one day," he said.

"And it was such a difficult race emotionally because already 15 laps to the end you are just hoping nothing happens, already the emotions were coming.

"I was thinking of my dad a lot more than I thought usually while driving -- obviously he's given everything for me to be here. It was our dream for me to race here and to win and so it's unbelievable."

He added that he had difficulty seeing clearly because of tears during the closing laps. "Not now, Charles, I said to myself. Not now. I could feel it when I came out of the tunnel near the end and I was struggling to see because I was crying a little bit," he revealed.

His father