Charles Leclerc, Another Valuable Achievement
Few, but mostly significant. These are the seven Formula 1 victories of Charles Leclerc, with about 60% of them coming on circuits steeped in history and the allure of motorsport: Spa, Monte Carlo, and Monza, where last Sunday the Ferrari driver he secured a double win with a bold strategy and exceptional tire management.
This year, the Monegasque driver won on both of his home circuits: in the 69 seasons where Monaco and Monza have both been on the calendar, Charles Leclerc’s is only the tenth such double victory. The #16 is also the ninth driver to accomplish this feat: notably, the two most successful drivers in history (Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher) did not.
Who Achieved This Before Charles Leclerc?
The first to complete the Monaco-Monza double was Stirling Moss (Maserati) in 1956, followed by Ronnie Peterson (Lotus) in 1974. For Ferrari, the only driver to achieve this precious one-two was Jody Scheckter during his golden year (1979). Afterward, McLaren took the spotlight, with Alain Prost (1985) and Ayrton Senna (in both 1990 and 1992) securing the double victory. The most recent drivers to achieve this were Fernando Alonso (2007, also with McLaren) and, of course, Sebastian Vettel (2011) and Max Verstappen (2023) with Red Bull. Although winning on two very different circuits like Monaco and Monza is a sign of a well-rounded car, “only” in five out of nine cases did the driver in question go on to win the World Championship: Jody Scheckter, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna in 1990, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen.
As for constructors, this is Ferrari’s third Monaco-Monza double in its history. Besides the aforementioned 1979, Scuderia Ferrari also achieved it in 1975 (Niki Lauda won in Monaco, Clay Regazzoni replicated the feat at Monza). McLaren leads this ranking with a clear margin (1984, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2005, 2007), followed by Mercedes (2014, 2015, 2016), Red Bull (2011, 2022, 2023), and Ferrari.
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