MONTE CARLO: Charles Leclerc finally broke his Monaco Grand Prix curse on Sunday as Red Bull had an off weekend with Max Verstappen sixth and Sergio Perez crashing out on the first lap.
Leclerc ended years of frustration at his home race by taking the jewel in the Formula One calendar from pole at his third attempt.
A tearful Leclerc said: “No words can explain this. It means a lot, it’s the race that made me dream of becoming a F1 driver.
“Tonight is going to be a big night!“
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri followed the man from Monaco across the line with Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari in third.
Leclerc had started at the front of the grid at the circuit he used to travel along on the bus to school as a kid in 2021 and 2022 only for misfortune to stop him winning on both occasions.
With Ferrari now a much smoother run ship under Fred Vasseur this was a far slicker Ferrari team than then, and Leclerc dictated the pace perfectly from the front, until the end of the first lap.
That was when the red flag had to come out to stop the race after a three car pile-up with Perez’s Red Bull ripped apart.
Perez spun after being hit hard from behind by Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.
Nico Hulkenberg in the other Haas was a third innocent casualty.
The race on the narrow streets of the Principality was interrupted for around 30 minutes to allow debris to be cleared off the circuit.
All three crash victims were missing at the restart along with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who joined this unhappy group of onlookers after he was forced to retire following a tangle with his team-mate Pierre Gasly.
Leclerc escaped all the drama and led for the rest of the race to claim a hugely popular success.
With three-time world champion Verstappen only sixth, Leclerc moved to within 31 points of the Dutchman ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins first home F1 Monaco Grand Prix
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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins first home F1 Monaco Grand Prix
- McLaren’s Oscar Piastri followed the man from Monaco across the line with Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari in third
Late winner seals victory for Al-Ettifaq on SPL return
- After month-long hiatus, the Saudi Pro League returned to action on Matchday 11 with Al-Ettifaq and NEOM both securing victories
RIYADH: Thursday marked the long-awaited return of the Saudi Pro League after a 23-day break due to the national team’s participation at the 2025 Arab Cup.
What appeared to be a night short on goals — following a goalless draw between Al-Fayha and Al-Hazem earlier in the day — dramatically shifted after four goals were scored after the 89th minute across the fixtures.
Al-Ettifaq — city rivals of Brendan Rodgers’ new side, Al-Qadsiah — faced Al-Riyadh, looking to strengthen their position in the upper mid-table, and ultimately emerged from the capital with a 2-0 win.
However, the contest proved far from straightforward against the relegation battlers, with Moussa Dembele unable to rediscover his scoring touch despite netting a brace in his last outing.
Al-Ettifaq, enjoying the majority of possession, struggled to find their way past Al-Riyadh goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who produced six saves to keep his side in the contest. Al-Riyadh were pushed deep for much of the second half, largely due to being reduced to 10 men following Mohammed Al-Khaibari’s dismissal after a professional foul.
The visitors’ persistence finally paid off in injury time, as goals from Francisco Calvo and Georginio Wijnaldum secured a dramatic victory to give Al-Ettifaq the valuable three points, lifting them to seventh place on 15 points, after 10 matches.
Sitting just ahead of them in sixth are NEOM, who remain two points clear after surviving a late scare against Al-Najma to claim a 2-1 home victory.
In the battle between two newly-promoted teams — one in the top 6, and the other at the rear end of the table — NEOM appeared to be cruising after centre-back Nathan Zeze scored his first goal for the club in the 54th minute, before Khalifah Al-Dawsari doubled the lead in the 89th minute.
The match took an intense turn when Al-Najma were awarded a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time, converted by Bilal Boutobba.
As Saudi National Team ex-captain Salman Al-Faraj made his return to the pitch for the first time in 400 days, Al-Najma managed to push forward once more and grab a late goal, believing they had claimed a dramatic equalizer — only for Faisal Al-Mutairi’s effort to be ruled out for offside. The result condemned Al-Najma to their ninth defeat of the season.
Action continues on Friday with three more fixtures: Al-Fateh host Al-Ahli in the Eastern Province at 4:05pm KSA, Al-Kholood face Al-Taawoun at 6:00pm, and Al Hilal welcome Al-Khaleej in Riyadh at 8:30pm.
