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

• Charles Leclerc has failed to register any points at his home race, the Monaco Grand Prix.
• Following a string of bad results since his 2018 F1 debut, Leclerc will want to turn his fortunes around in 2022.
• Leclerc could be in the best position yet to secure a win in Monaco.

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.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashes during qualifying for the 2021 F1 Grand Prix of Monaco.

Getty Images Clive Rose

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 after ramming into the barricade while on his final qualifying lap. The damage to his gearbox prevented him from participating in the race.

There was no Grand Prix in 2020 due to Covid-19.

Unfortunately for Leclerc, his 2022 Monaco GP hopes have not started positively. In mid-May, the driver participated in the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, driving the late Niki Lauda's 1974 Ferrari 312 B3 during a demonstration. He put the car in the barriers at La Rascasse, continuing the belief that his participation in his home race is cursed.

Leclerc will be the first to admit his faults, but his poor run of results around the Principality would undoubtedly weigh heavy on his shoulders. Hopefully, with Ferrari in impressive form and him extracting maximum performance from the car, he can turn his fortunes around and get his bid for a first F1 championship back on track.