Inside his "home", in Monaco, Charles Leclerc completed the surprise and took his first victory of the season, with Ferrari, in this year's Formula 1 championship.

At Monaco's special Formula 1 circuit, Charles Leclerc took pole position and didn't let it go, comfortably cruising to victory in an epic race in his home country.

Charles Leclerc was initially left speechless after achieving the Monaco Grand Prix victory he had been craving with a cool, calm and collected drive around his home streets on Sunday afternoon.

Having aced the all-important qualifying session, Leclerc avoided opening-lap drama and mastered the race restart to retain his P1 advantage, before managing the gap back to McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz.

Asked how he felt after taking the chequered flag and stepping out of the car, Leclerc said: "No words can explain that… It's such a difficult race, I think the fact that twice I've been starting on pole position and we couldn't quite make it makes it even better in a way.

"It means a lot, obviously. It's the race that made me dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver one day. It was a difficult race emotionally because already 15 laps to the end you're just hoping that nothing happens, already the emotions were coming."

While qualifying is crucial at the tight and twisty Monte Carlo venue, given the lack of overtaking opportunities on race day, Leclerc made clear that he still had to work hard throughout the 78-lap encounter.

"It's really difficult," he reflected. "At first I thought we were… I mean, we had quite a lot of margin [with the pace], but we knew there were 78 laps to do on the same tyres, which was very, very difficult.

"We did a great management of the tyres, there was a big part of the race where we had to manage the gap with George [Russell behind], then in the last 10 laps I could push a bit more.

"The car felt amazing, so I just want to thank the team for just having done such an incredible work over the last few months. Giving me the opportunity to finally win this race is again a very special feeling."

Leclerc also reserved a few words for those watching in the packed grandstands and verges around the circuit, with the crowd including plenty of family members and friends who he grew up with.

"The parade laps already were special on the bus, seeing so many of my friends in the balcony, so many people I know in the balcony, and it was just very, very special," he smiled.

"This one means a lot and the support that I've a over the weekend means a huge amount, so thank you so much to everybody."

Leclerc's win slashes Max Verstappen's championship lead to 31 points, with the Dutchman having to settle for sixth position on a tough weekend for Red Bull, whose lead over Ferrari in the constructors' comes down to 24 points.

Leclerc beats Piastri and Sainz to home pole during Monaco qualifying thriller

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc charged his way to pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix with a stunning qualifying display on home soil, getting the better of McLaren rival Oscar Piastri and Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz in Saturday's all-important grid-deciding session.

Leclerc avoided any slip-ups to safely make it through Q1 and Q2 before unleashing his full potential in Q3, where he provisionally posted a time of 1m 10.418s and then bettered it with an electric 1m 10.270s – a target none of his rivals could beat.

Piastri got closest to put his McLaren a fine second, ahead of Sainz and team mate Lando Norris, while reigning world champion Max Verstappen had to settle for sixth after hitting the wall at Sainte Devote on his final qualifying lap.

It means the Dutchman's run of successive pole positions comes to an end – having claimed the previous eight in a row and drawn level with Ayrton Senna in the all-time list – and leaves him with plenty of work to do on race day.

Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will sandwich Verstappen on the grid in fifth and seventh respectively, as RB's Yuki Tsunoda, Williams's Alex Albon and Alpine's Pierre Gasly all starred to reach Q3.

FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2024

Qualifying results

POSITION Team Name TIME

1. Charles LECLERC Ferrari 1:10.270
2. Oscar PIASTRI McLaren 1:10.424
3. Carlos SAINZ Ferrari 1:10.518
4. Lando NORRIS McLaren 1:10.542
5. George RUSSELL Mercedes 1:10.543

Esteban Ocon could not match the pace of team mate Gasly as he narrowly missed the Q2 cut en route to 11th in the second of the Alpine machines, while recent qualifying star Nico Hulkenberg had to settle for 12th after briefly leading the way in the early minutes of Q1.

Mirroring Ocon's experience, Daniel Ricciardo could do no more than 13th and had to watch Tsunoda lead RB's charge in the pole shootout, as Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and the other Haas of Kevin Magnussen completed the Q2 order.

A dramatic first qualifying phase, which brought several traffic-related incidents and plenty of squabbling for track position, claimed two big names in the form of Fernando Alonso and Perez, who will line up back in 16th and 18th respectively for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Logan Sargeant is set to start between the aforementioned Aston Martin and Red Bull drivers in his Williams, while Kick Sauber's weekend at the back of the field continued with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu ending qualifying as the slowest runners.

The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix

Formula 1 rolls on from Imola to Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend. The action will begin with first and second practice on Friday, May 24, followed by final practice and qualifying on Saturday, May 25, and then the main event, the Monaco Grand Prix itself, on Sunday, May 26.

Vital statistics

▶ First Grand Prix – 1950

▶ Track Length – 3.337km

▶ Lap record – 1m 12.909s, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2021

▶ Most pole positions – Ayrton Senna (5)

▶ Most wins – Ayrton Senna (6)

▶ Trivia – Monaco was one of seven venues on the inaugural F1 World Championship calendar back in 1950

▶ Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 142 metres

▶ Overtakes completed in 2023 – 36

▶ Safety Car probability – 57%

▶ Virtual Safety Car probability – 43%

▶ Pit stop time loss – 19.2 seconds

Max Verstappen's one-lap speed has been ferocious this season and he is favourite again to be the fastest man in Monaco on Saturday. The Dutchman is polling around 40% of F1 Play votes, with Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri each picking up around half that number.

The driver's verdict

Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: Monaco is a beautiful circuit and a true driver's track. It feels like madness in an F1 car; even in comparison to other street circuits it's so narrow, the roads are cambered, it's tight and twisty and there are challenges everywhere…

I love coming out of Sainte Devote, Turn 1, which is a challenge in its own right. It's so steep at the exit, you're looking at the sky going to Massenet and Casino. You've got to hug the inside line at Massenet, otherwise you skittle into the barriers on the outside.

The hairpin is a little bit more straightforward, but you feel like you're in there for an eternity, bouncing your way through as it's all really bumpy.

You flash out of the tunnel and pick a braking point for the chicane, where you've got to get as close as you can to the armco on the left-hand side. Occasionally you see people getting too greedy and just nibbling it, causing a puncture and a bit of damage.

You also see so many people going straight through the chicane, especially early on in practice, just trying to find the right braking point. It's one of the few places where you have a little bit of room for error, so people will take it the fastest.

Last five Monaco GP pole-sitters

▶ 2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

▶ 2022 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

▶ 2021 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

▶ 2019 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

▶ 2018 – Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

Last five Monaco GP winners

▶ 2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

▶ 2022 – Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

▶ 2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

▶ 2019 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

▶ 2018 – Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

The picture is much bleaker here for Verstappen's rivals. He is polling just shy of 90% of F1 Play votes as we head into race week, with the competition hardly making a ripple in the water. Both Leclerc and Norris have around 5%, but it is slim pickings for anybody hoping to defeat the Red Bull phenom on Sunday.

Tyre and strategy insight

Pirelli have chosen their softest three compounds – the C3, C4 and C5 – for this weekend's action in Monaco, with the tyre manufacturer noting that the track "has a particularly smooth surface, given it is in daily use for road cars, and so the tyres must provide as much grip as possible".

Indeed, the tyres experience some of the lowest forces seen across the season on Monte Carlo's streets, thanks to a very low average speed around the 3.337-kilometre venue, and just under a third of the lap being spent at full throttle.

But there will still be stress to consider in the traction zones, with 78 twisting and turning laps to get through on Sunday, while graining can also cause some problems, particularly over the first couple of days when the track is rubbering in.

As for strategy, the only viable option is a one-stop, as drivers extend their opening stints and look to gain from any potential Safety Car periods – four of the last seven races in the Principality having been neutralised.

Prior to the race, qualifying is even more important than usual, with overtaking extremely difficult around the barrier-lined circuit, meaning track position is often maintained unless reliability issues or the aforementioned Safety Car make an appearance.

No surprises here with the big five dominating F1 Play voting for the podium places. If there is a surprise, it is the absolute lack of support for Verstappen's Red Bull team mate, Sergio Perez, following his highly disappointing P8 in Imola on Sunday. It is a similar story for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Current form

Red Bull returned to winning ways in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last time out, with Max Verstappen overcoming some early practice struggles to claim a pole position and victory double at the famous Imola circuit.

However, Miami winner Lando Norris came agonisingly close to making it back-to-back triumphs with another spirited performance – the McLaren driver piling the pressure on across the second stint to finish just seven-tenths behind in P2.

While Norris fell "one or two laps" short of another momentous result, it underlined that Red Bull are not having it all their own way this season, and their rivals will likely sense another upset on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Red Bull have typically found life more difficult on street tracks and, with the upgraded McLarens and Ferraris showing plenty of pace, a three-way scrap for one of the most important poles of the year is a tantalising prospect.

That's not to mention Mercedes and Aston Martin, who have upgrades of their own to dial in further, or the potential for a qualifying upset from the likes of Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg, who have both starred at recent events.

Yuki Tsunoda (RB) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) have both been in terrific form of late, and both are fancied by F1 Play gamers to go well again around the iconic Monte Carlo street circuit this coming weekend. There is also good support for the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.