Dec. 2019 – Ferrari Announce new 5 year contract with Monaco Grand Prix driver Charles Leclerc. Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow is pleased to announce that it has extended its contract with Charles Leclerc. He has come through the ranks of the Ferrari Driver Academy, which he joined in 2016 and will now drive for the Italian team to the end of the 2024 season. Charles Leclerc: “I am very happy to be staying on with Scuderia Ferrari. This past season, driving for the most illustrious team in Formula 1 has been a dream year for me. “I cannot wait to enjoy an even deeper relationship with the team after what has been an intense and exciting 2019. I’m keen to see what the future holds and I can’t wait to get going again next season.” Mattia Binotto Team Principal: “With each passing race this year, our wish to extend our contract with Charles became ever more self-evident and the decision means he will now be with us for the next five seasons. It demonstrates that Charles and the Scuderia have a firm future together. “Charles has been part of our family since 2016 and we are more than proud of the results we are achieving with our Academy. We are therefore very pleased to be able to announce that he will be with us for many years to come and I’m sure that together, we will write many new pages in the history of the Prancing Horse.”

Monza is the only other circuit with regular appearances on the racing calendar, so it only makes sense for Monaco to produce a lot of magical moments from the all-time Formula One greats. Before Monte Carlo became the venue of the Formula One World Championship, a quick look at the statistics shows that McLaren is ahead of Ferrari in total wins and pole positions. In recent times, the grand prix wins of other manufacturers in Monaco are dwarfed by the 10 wins that cars with Mercedes engines have. That is if you don’t count some parts of the 1960s and 1970s, when a majority of the teams were using Ford engines.

For the racing teams, Monaco means achieving glory, taking risks, and overcoming fear. Alongside that there is also royalty, glamour, beautiful people, and hardcore fans of the sport. Up until today, the scene wherein the Grimaldi royal family presents the trophy to the grand prix winner has always played out, which is done on the iconic terraced podium at the start-finish straight. Following Monaco’s adoption into the world championship calendar, a lot of different players had managed to achieve milestones and set records. Some of the most notable ones are the following: Juan Manuel Fangio, who was the first to claim two wins in the years 1950 and then in 1957, managed to win with Alfa Romeo and Maserati; Stirling Moss, who was the first three-time winner in Monaco, managed to bag titles with Maserati and Lotus.

When Graham Hill burst onto the scene, he bagged a total of five wins between 1963 and 1969, of which three had been with BRM and the other two with Lotus. The benchmark set by Graham Mill lasted until 1980s. By the time the two-time world champion was done, he was the only racing driver to score wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indy 500, and the Monaco Grand Prix.

Then there was Senna, who is arguably greatest racing driver ever that had a truly special relationship with Monaco. During his debut in the Monaco Grand Prix in 1984, he was close to winning the title with his Toleman F2 with a BMW engine. However, his magical debut was spoiled by Alain Prost, who only won with his McLaren due to an early checkered flag waved by Jacky Ickx, the race director during that time. Had the race gone through normally and the usual points had been given to the racers, Alain Prost would have won the title during that season, which he only lost by a half-point to his teammate Niki Lauda. But despite falling short on his debut at Monaco, Senna went on to have more illustrious wins throughout his career.

The period between 1987 and 1993 was considered as the Senna era, where the legendary racing driver bagged a total of six wins in Monaco, of which the first one was with Lotus and the rest with McLaren. The only setback was in 1988, when Senna was only a few corners from home and he accidentally clattered into the barriers. Senna’s achievement in the Monaco Grand Prix – which is definitely going to last for many years to come – speaks a lot about the amazing alchemy between circuit, car and driver. Not even Michael Schumacher, who went on to have multiple wins in Monaco – of which three were with Ferrari, managed to beat Senna’s record.

When Daniel Ricardo won in 2018, it was the last time a non-Mercedes driver was able to win the Monaco Grand Prix. As for the last Ferrari win in the highly esteemed circuit, it was in 2017 with Sebastian Vettel. Now, could all of that change this year? 
Due to the Civid-19 pandemic the 2020 Monaco Grand Prix was canceled for the first time in 65 years.