Charles Leclerc wins the Monaco Grand Prix in front of a jubilant home crowd as he leads from start to finish after opening lap drama that saw FOUR cars crash out

A banging first lap – a 160mph smash, drivers thankfully unscathed, a 40-minute delay – and then utter tedium. That was the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix in which Charles Leclerc overcame his hoodoo to win on home Tarmac.

For Max Verstappen, the world champion stranded in sixth, the monotony was too much. ‘F*** me!’ he exclaimed. This is really boring. I should have brought my pillow.’

Fair point, the top 10 on the grid finished in the same order as they started. Another rotten day for the image of the Monaco showpiece, on a track too small for the big, heavy cars of today.

But for Leclerc, joy at becoming only the second Monegasque to win here. The only other was Louis Chiron in 1931. That feat in a Bugatti earned him a bust by the swimming pool, just as Leclerc may one day be immortalised. Before that, he climbs up to the Grimaldi Palace for the post-race dinner with Prince Albert and his royal family – a tradition here, like the processional fare.

What a day for Leclerc, 26, a nice lad whose supportive father Herve died in 2017, aged 54. He managed a factory making car parts; Charles’s mother Pascale is a hairdresser. They are the kind of Monaco folk who service the rich.

Twice he had taken pole here, but had not so much as made it on to the podium. This time, he was serenely in charge. 

In truth, all he had to do was keep his Ferrari out of the barriers. Nobody could pass him if he managed that, not on this narrow thread of tarmac. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri harried him all the way to clinch second place, with Carlos Sainz third in the other scarlet car.

The die had been cast by the opening-lap drama, which caused a red flag. All competitors could be re-shod, and it was then a matter of nursing their rubber home, however snail-like. At one point, Leclerc was told to ‘slow down’. What an indictment!

Pirelli, the tyre suppliers, are hardly blameless. Yes, they made the three softest of their tyre compounds available for Monaco’s slow turns, but they were still too durable, and the leaders, among others, circumnavigated the 2.1-mile track 77 of the 78 times without needing to stop again.

By then the theatrics were over, and Sergio Perez had walked away unscathed from the 160mph crash that made hearts jump.

The Mexican, starting 16th, was tagged by the Haas of Kevin Magnussen heading uphill after the first corner, Sainte Devote. The Dane’s front left caught Perez’s rear right, sending the latter into the barriers.

Perez then richoted into the other Haas of the blameless Nico Hulkenberg in dramatic pinball action that brought cessation while the debris was cleared.

Perez’s Red Bull was all but destroyed. Only the rear right tyres remained in place. The monocoque, in a tribute to safety pioneers, protected the driver from harm. All climbed out without obvious injuries.

Magnussen had been gung-ho, pressing his way on the inside before running out of room. ‘I just got pushed into the wall and made contact with him,’ said Magnussen.

‘I trusted he was going to leave space for me since I was there.

‘You have to have a car’s width otherwise you leave the guy no option. It is unfortunate – a lot of cost for the team, a lot of work for the guys and a missed opportunity today.’

The stewards took no action – and rightly so given the incident was on the first lap, where officials try to show more leniency.

The decision was a relief to Magnussen, who would have received a race ban if handed two more points on his super licence, having already clocked 10.

In a further twist, the two Alpines tangled. Esteban Ocon, pushing himself through on entry to the tunnel and leaving Pierre Gasly with no room, went airborne on impact. He landed OK, but his car was damaged.

‘What did he do?’ demanded Gasly. ‘Why did he try to attack me? Oh my gosh. The whole car is damaged now!’

The stewards handed Ocon a 10-second penalty for the unnecessary move, but he was out of the race and was changed into his jeans by then. His punishment will be converted into a five-place grid drop for the next race, in Canada.

At the end, Verstappen holds a 32-point lead over Leclerc with 16 rounds left.