07x05 - Le Curse of Leclerc

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music plays]

[commentator 1] It is the 70th edition

of the most iconic Grand Prix
on the calendar,

Monaco.

[dramatic music continues]

All the hopes of the principality

rest on the shoulders
of the only Monegasque, Charles Leclerc.

Uh…

[dramatic music continues]

[in French] I got ice tea,
Coke, and Oasis.

That'll be enough for everyone.

Fast and efficient.

Hello.

[cashier] How are you?

[Leclerc speaks French]

[cashier] It's 11.57.

[Leclerc] By credit, please.

[beeping]

It's not going through.

Insufficient funds.

In the trailer for Netflix.

[cashier laughs]

[chuckles]

[Leclerc] No.

[music stops]

-How are you guys?
-[man 1] Very good.

-[man 2] Champagne for the victory, huh?
-[Leclerc] I have juice too.

That's something we've never seen before.

[laughter]

[Leclerc] Voilà!

[in English] Everything I do in my life,

it's all for one thing.

To become a world champion.

I wake up in the morning
and I think about this.

I go to sleep the evening
and I think about this.

But other than that…

there's my home race.

Monaco.

[man 2 in French] I feel good
about this weekend.

[man 3] Can you imagine
if you win at Monaco?

[Leclerc] Ah, it would be insane.

For me, it's been a dream since childhood.

A Monegasque winning the race in Monaco?
That's crazy.

[man 3] It's more important that you win.

If you win,
it'll be a national holiday. Yeah.

[man 3] And now we'll see.

You'll make us cry.

Maybe.

[laughter]

[gentle music plays]

[friends chat in French]

[Leclerc in English] If this is the year,
then I've got to take the opportunity.

But obviously,
considering what happened in the past…

[dramatic sting]

…then it's… it's quite difficult.

[tense music plays]

Oh, come on!

So frustrating!

Let's say that in the past…

[tense music continues]

No.

…Monaco hasn't been
that successful for me.

The gear box, guys.

-[Padros] We are retiring the car.
-[Leclerc] f*ck!

I really don't believe
in bad luck or curse.

But even though I don't believe in it,

I hate hearing it.

[Padros] At the moment, you are P1.

Box now. Box.

Stay out. Stay out!

[Leclerc] f*ck! f*ck!

Why? What are you doing?

[commentator 2] He's now lost the lead
at the Grand Prix.

[Leclerc] No words. No words.

Even if there is no curse,
it's a lot of pressure.

You ask yourself questions.

What can I improve?

And it might look like it's impossible,

but I need to make this dream come true.

[wheel g*n whirring]

[engine revs]

[birds squawk]

[boat horn honks]

[man] If you could have any,
which one would you have?

[Gasly] Imagine the money in that marina.

[man] Someone was telling me
it's 70k a day to dock it.

-Eh?
-Parking. It's like a parking ticket.

-[man] Seventy--
-No wonder why Monaco's doing okay.

[Gasly laughs]

-They don't need tax with this.
-Don't need tax.

[Williams] If you close your eyes
and you think of Formula 1,

you imagine Monaco.

[upbeat dance music plays]

The Monaco Grand Prix is the most
prestigious Formula 1 race in the world.

[Russell] Anybody who's anyone

wants to be there.

It's supercars, supermodels, super yachts.

It's the Formula 1 lifestyle.

[Brown] The glamour, the history…

I don't think there's a Grand Prix driver
that hasn't dreamt about winning there.

[Williams] You're racing against
the backdrop of the Grimaldi Palace

and its storied family.

It's the jewel in Formula 1's crown.

[music stops]

And then you have racing cars
hurtling around at 200 miles an hour.

[tense music plays]

[Gasly] The track is so narrow.

You have the feeling of speed,

danger,

fear.

Monaco is a circuit like no others.
You know, you are properly in the street.

You're going out of corners.
You're brushing right up to the walls.

[Gasly] It's very risky.

[Vasseur in French] The slightest mistake
is often fatal,

which is not true elsewhere.

[tense music continues]

[in English] If you're just
slightly over the edge,

then you destroy the car, and that's it.

[music fades]

[in French] Come on.

[in English] Around that track,
I have memories of my childhood

absolutely everywhere in Monaco.

Merci.

-Ciao.
-Charles!

[Leclerc] I could hear the engines
while I was going to school,

and I just… I just didn't listen anything.

I just wanted to go
and see the Formula 1 cars driving around.

I was obviously dreaming
to be part of that race one day.

[indistinct shouting]

[crowd cheering]

[presenter] Any Charles Leclerc fans here?

Charles, Carlos,

this is something else.
The atmosphere's insane.

[cheering continues]

The pressure on Charles,
every year, grows heavier.

The weight of expectation
becomes a burden.

I can't imagine
what that pressure feels like.

[crowd cheering]

[Leclerc] Monaco is special.

Being at home, uh,
makes it extra special for me.

-A true Monegasque as well.
-Exactly, exactly.

[kid] What's your favorite sector
of the Monaco Grand Prix?

-Um…
-La piscine?

-I think so.
-[laughter]

I think so.

You know that is the swimming pool where
I learned how to swim when I was a kid.

So it's a special, special place.

[woman] Just one minute. Someone's
fainted, so we're holding the interview.

-[man] Oh, sh*t.
-Ferrari came on and…

That's how we… we measure, uh, popularity
these days. Yeah, yeah. [laughs]

It's not clapping, not booing.
It's fainting.

f*cking hell.

I know there's a lot of fans
that wanna cheer for you.

[crowd cheering]

[Leclerc in French] Don't cry.

[in English] To represent Ferrari,
to have been on pole position,

and had that dream torn away from you,

for Charles, is there a curse in Monaco?

[dramatic music plays]

It does seem like
he's got the Monaco curse, Charles.

He's just been so unlucky.

[Russell] Yeah, considering
he's, like, Monegasque royalty,

he's not had a good run at Monaco
in, uh, in the past.

[Gasly] He's not cursed.
Charles is not cursed in Monaco.

[music stops]

Just very unfortunate.

[dramatic music resumes]

If he wants, though, I can always take him
to a Thai temple and get a blessing.

I know a good, uh, monk.

[Buxton] He's had
a pretty rough time of it.

And that's what's in his head.

[Leclerc] f*ck!

[commentator 1] Leclerc's Ferrari
has been retired with gear-box issues

before the race even begins.

[Leclerc in French] Who is it?

[chattering in French]

[Pascale] Hello, my little toad.

-Okay, time for a haircut?
-[Leclerc] Time for a haircut.

[Pascale sighs]

Not too short, Mom.
Keep some length still, please.

Yeah, but I'm removing
the little bulge you have there.

[in English] To win Monaco
means so much for my whole family.

[dramatic orchestral music plays]

My father was so passionate about racing.

For us, the holidays
were going to the karting track.

[dramatic orchestral music continues]

[young Leclerc in French] One day,
my dad took me karting.

And I took to it really quickly,
and I was so happy.

You have to stay very modest. We're only
in the third category of karting.

[Leclerc in English] My father
was super supportive.

Whenever he was seeing something
that I wasn't doing right,

he was very honest with me

in a very loving way.

[announcer speaks French] Charles Leclerc!

[crowd cheering]

[Leclerc] And that was super important,

to always be honest.

Unfortunately, he became unwell.

We learnt that he would, um, not make it,

that there was
like two, three weeks, maybe, left.

I was in Formula 2 at that time.

And, uh, it's obviously
the last step before Formula 1.

It was very difficult for me
to accept him leaving,

not… not, um…

not seeing me and… and him,
uh, realize that dream.

[Leclerc in French] It's just underneath.

[in English] So one day, I just lied

and… and told him
that I had signed a Formula 1 contract.

And I remember
how incredibly happy he was.

However, very quickly,
I felt so bad for… for lying to him.

[in French] Can I take this little towel?
Whose is it?

-Go ahead.
-No, it's for you.

You'll get hair everywhere.

[in English] And my mom said,
"Charles, you shouldn't do that

and… and lie to Dad like this."

[in French] I'm leaving.

My love.

[in English] I think
about my father a lot.

No.

I just have to manage

my state of mind.

[dramatic music builds]

[commentator 3] It's Monaco Saturday,

the most important qualifying session
of the season.

[dramatic music continues]

[Horner] How are you?

[crowd cheering]

[music fades]

[Vasseur in French] It is sure
that the Monaco weekend

is complicated for everyone,

and Charles is still
a little more exposed than the others.

So my role in this is to try
to take away some stuff and protect him.

To try to protect him as much as possible.

Surely, I have known Charles
for more than ten years.

So that creates relationships.

[Leclerc in English] In Alfa Romeo,

I remember him saying very often
that I should be nicer with myself.

Now we are reunited in Ferrari.

Quali is probably
the moment of the weekend

where the tension is the highest.

[tense music plays]

[Russell] Radio check.

Radio check from the garage.

[Buxton] Listen,
qualifying is always important

because the higher you start up,

the higher your chances of actually
getting a better finishing position.

But nowhere
is it more important than Monaco.

The streets are too narrow.

The opportunity to pass is too slim.

You push that little bit too much,

you're in the wall.

[Gasly] Let's go!

[dramatic music plays]

[Howard] Okay, Pierre, we can push.

-[Gasly] I touched the wall.
-[Howard] Okay.

[commentator 4] That shows you
no one is safe here.

[dramatic music continues]

-[Hülkenberg] I hit the wall.
-[Gannon] Box now, Nico. Box now.

f*cking hell.

[commentator 1] Absolutely
on the edge there.

[Sargeant] I touched the front right.

[Jego] Box, box.

[tense music plays]

-[Lambiase] Max, ready to go?
-[Verstappen] Yeah.

[Lambiase] Okay, let's go. Push.

[dramatic music plays]

[Verstappen] I f*cking hit the wall!

[commentator 5] Verstappen's bailed out.

He's done. He's not a contender.

[Verstappen] Oh man, this car is slippery.

[commentator 4] No one's
got a clean run yet.

It's anyone's game.

[Joseph] Lando, speed is good. Push now.

[Bonnington] Okay, Lewis,
you have Norris as a threat.

P7.

[dramatic music continues]

[Joseph] Okay, Lando. P4.

[commentator 4] Hold on a minute.
Piastri coming through in the McLaren.

[commentator 5] Piastri's
actually going quicker.

[tense music plays]

[Stallard] Oscar, you're currently P1.

[music fades]

[Bozzi] Best lap time is by Piastri.

[Leclerc] I realize Oscar is a bit faster
than we first expected.

That adds to the adrenaline.

The best thing you can do in those moments
is just do not react to this news

and focus on the lap
that you need to make perfect.

[Bozzi] So let's warm up tires and brakes.

[Leclerc] Okay.

[Vasseur] Charles is someone

for sure very talented and so on,
but over-motivated.

The expectations of Charles
are always very high.

When it's going wrong, he blames himself

very quickly.

[Bozzi] And mode push next lap.

[Leclerc] Everything depends on this lap.

[tense music plays]

[Bozzi] Charles, you can push now.

Now go.

[Leclerc] I need to focus and go flat out.

Don't think about the walls or anything
and take all the risks.

People are like, "He better not
throw everything in the bin."

[tense music continues]

[Bozzi] So we finished P1.

P2 is now Piastri.

[Leclerc] Close.

[crowd cheering]

[commentator 1] The crowd
are roaring in Monaco

because Charles Leclerc has got there.

The man from Monaco is on pole.

[uplifting music plays]

[music stops]

[Leclerc in French] Well, that's done.

Now we just need to…

[man] Buonasera.

[Leclerc in English] I felt so good.

[man] Merci.

But in the past…

Yeah.

[doorbell rings]

[woman in French] Good evening.
Oh, yes, I'll open it up.

Merci.

[woman speaks French]

[Leclerc] Today,
we couldn’t have done better.

But…

tomorrow is the day that counts.

[in English] This year, I'm trying
to create a bit of a bubble

back in my own apartment.

It just helps me to switch off
the feeling of pressure and relax.

[in French] Everyone takes
a lot more risks.

And we have to finalize it this time.

There's nothing else left to do.

-[fan 1] Hello. Could we take a photo?
-[Leclerc] Yes, of course.

They come from Brazil
and from Mexico City.

[in English] As much as you want
to disconnect a bit,

for me, being my home race…

-Thank you so much.
-No problems.

…wherever we go, I can't hide anymore.

[fan 2 in French] My five-year-old son
loves you. Can we get a photo?

[Leclerc] Yes, of course.

Parfait.

[in English] So it is

very difficult to calm myself down.

[fan 3] Charles!

And, uh, tonight, it's impossible.

[upbeat music plays]

[commentator 4] Good afternoon
and welcome to the Monaco Grand Prix.

Today, our pole sitter
dreams of a seminal victory.

This is Charles Leclerc's
date with destiny.

[upbeat music continues]

-[reporter] Here he is.
-[Piastri] Hello.

[reporter] What are you gonna do to break
Monegasque hearts and beat the home hero?

There's a lot of games
that can be played around here.

[Lambiase] Leclerc
is under a lot of pressure.

[Horner] Yeah, and he makes
a lot of mistakes.

[gentle piano music plays]

[crowd cheering]

[piano music continues]

[crowd cheering]

[music fades]

[cheering fades]

[fan 1] Charles, Charles! Charles!

-[fan 2] Charles!
-[Leclerc] Ciao.

Ciao.

[fans shout]

[Leclerc] Bonjour.

[horns honk]

-[fan 2 in Italian] The great Charles.
-[fan 3] Go quick, eh?

[tense music plays]

[Leclerc in English] The whole country
has a very big expectation.

[crowd cheering]

You just want to focus on what
gives you the best chance to achieve.

[crowd shouting]

[tense music continues]

[Piastri] Leclerc has looked very quick.

I know that I've got my work cut out
for me going up against him.

But I know there's a bit of
the "Leclerc Monaco curse." Um…

I don't think he's finished many races…
[chuckles] …around Monaco,

so that's pretty high-pressure stuff.

[producer] And you might
be able to capitalize.

If there's a chance to win the race,
then that sounds pretty good to me.

[Ricciardo] Have you
planned something tonight?

I don't know. I'll… I'll have to think
about it once the job is done.

[laughter]

If it's not,
then I'll just go to sleep at 9:00 and…

There's always little things that drivers
slip in that don't seem like mind games.

It's just they're gonna slightly start
to see doubt before you drive.

What's, uh…

Give us a heads up
of your race strategy today, so we…

[Leclerc laughs]

Are you gonna just hold us all up
or are you gonna go ahead?

Uh…

So we know, like…

So we can choose the right tires.

He's 18th, and I'm 7th.

[Leclerc chuckles] No, I don't know.
I don't know.

[laughs] I mean, I know.

[Hamilton] Okey dokey.

The pressure needs to be controlled

because your competitors
can use it against you.

And it's whether you have
the right people around you

to make sure you're levelheaded
when you get in the car.

[Leclerc] You can get carried away
in a negative spiral.

When I was younger, this was
a little bit destructive, in a way.

But Fred is a very calm person,

which in very difficult moments
is a really big help.

[Vasseur in French] There's definitely
some doubt, tension.

We are focusing on ourselves,

not changing our attitude,
our approach, and doing the job.

[tense music plays]

[in English] The Monaco grid before a race
is traumatic for a driver.

[tense music continues]

-[crowd cheering]
-[woman laughs]

[tense music builds]

[music halts]

[Leclerc] That's a relief.

When I get inside the car,

this is the best feeling.

[Bozzi] And radio check, Charles.

[Leclerc] Radio check okay.

[Vasseur in French] Being P1 on the grid
is an important step,

but it hasn't always worked out.

He knows that a good start
would give him everything in his hands.

[deep breathing]

[tense music plays]

[music stops]

[commentator 3 in English] I wonder
how Charles Leclerc slept last night.

He's the only pole sitter here
in the last 19 years

that hasn't finished on the podium.

[tense music plays]

I have to say, Piastri has looked decent.

[music stops]

[Stallard] Oscar, this is
all between McLaren and Ferrari.

[Leclerc] The start is so important.

I just focus on the first corner.

[Piastri] Whoever's gonna be leading
out of turn one

is gonna have a massive advantage.

[engines rev]

[rhythmic beeping]

[engines roar]

[dramatic music plays]

[indistinct shouting]

[commentator 3] Leclerc
gets away brilliantly!

[tense music plays]

-[thudding]
-[tires screech]

[dramatic music plays]

[Hülkenberg] f*ck.

f*ck.

[tense music plays]

[Zhou] f*cking hell, man.

A lot of debris, guys.

[Benisi] Yeah.

[Bozzi] Red flag.

[Leclerc] Is everybody okay?

[Bozzi] Everybody is fine.

Come back to the pit lane,
and form a queue.

-I get out of the car, right?
-[Bozzi] Yes.

[tense music plays]

[Leclerc] And straight away, I'm thinking
I wish we didn't have another start,

but then very quickly,
you… you know you don't have the choice.

Now, what's next?

What's going to happen for our race?
What does that mean?

[tense music continues]

[Vasseur in French] Knowing
Charles's history in Monaco,

obviously there was
a little moment of hesitation.

[Leclerc in English] You take off the
helmet again. You feel the tension again.

Trying to just recenter myself
is quite difficult.

[tense music continues]

[Vasseur in French] It's never easy,
these moments in a race.

I just try to keep him
focused on what he's done,

if there were things
that didn't help his launch procedure,

so he stays alert.

[Bozzi in English] You can fire up.

[engine revs]

[tense music plays]

[Stallard] Oscar, last cars
are coming up now.

[tense music continues]

[music fades]

[commentator 4] Looks like
a good launch from Piastri.

He's got nowhere to go, though.

Charles Leclerc maintains the lead
once again.

f*cking get out the way.

[Bozzi] Good job. Keep it up.

[Stallard] Okay, Leclerc picked up
the pace a bit. How are the tires?

Yeah, they're fine.

[Vasseur in French] The red flag
allows you to change tires.

But we have to do the entire race
with only one set of tires.

[Bozzi in English] We need
to slow down a bit.

[Leclerc] What's the scope of that?

[Bozzi] Priority one is tires.

And then we go to the end.

[Leclerc] We have to do 77 laps
on those tires,

and this is a crazy distance
for this kind of tires.

But that makes me push into slow speed,
which I don't like.

You need to manage pace,
and I cannot go faster than the pace

the team is telling me.

And at the same time,

try and make sure that I have
Oscar under control behind.

[Bozzi] Forty laps to go.

[tense music plays]

[Stallard] Oscar, Leclerc has been told
to slow down.

Oscar, maximum push.

[tense music continues]

[commentator 1] Oscar Piastri
is closing in on Charles Leclerc.

That gap is now down to half a second.

[Bozzi] Thirty laps to go.

[commentator 4] For all teams, the tires
are starting to wear and lose grip.

[commentator 1] Max is struggling
with a bit of understeer.

-[commentator 1] Lando!
-[commentator 4] That was close.

[Stroll] f*cking puncture.

[Michell] Box.

[commentator 1] Oscar Piastri
just looked like he wants to have a go.

[Leclerc] Just for your info,
do you want to know the margins?

[Bozzi] No, Charles, we're not interested.

[Leclerc] You said "no," right?

[Bozzi] No, we are not interested.

[Leclerc] That's rude.

[Bozzi] Sorry.

[Vasseur in French] For us,
our game is to try to calm him down,

to put him in the best possible mood.

To give him the information he needs,
but not too much.

To manage him
so that he stays in a good zone,

but there is no guarantee.

[commentator 2 in English] This is
a cat-and-mouse game we've got going on.

[Leclerc] Oscar is trying to attack me
in turn eight right before the tunnel.

[Bozzi] Eight laps to go. Eight.

[Leclerc] I get out the tunnel.

I just don't see as well.

I was starting to feel a lot of emotions.

That's the last thing you want
when you are inside a racing car

pushing for the limits.

[Bozzi] Five laps to go.

[Leclerc] What did you say?

I didn't understand.
Say again. Speak slowly.

I think especially with everything
that had happened in the past…

All my life is all about

trying to win on track.

This is a real opportunity.

I'm having flashbacks of my father

and just how much it will mean for him.

[suspenseful music plays]

[Bozzi] Last lap.

[Leclerc] I tell myself, "Charles,
you need to focus on the moment."

"Just bring it home."

[dramatic music plays]

[all] Ohhhh!

[dramatic music continues]

[music stops]

[Bozzi] We won it.

[triumphant music plays]

[Leclerc laughs]

Yes! Yes, yes, yes!

[sighs]

-f*ck!
-[Bozzi in Italian] I'm so proud of you.

[Leclerc in English] f*cking finally.

[commentator 4] He's done it at last.
No more talk of curses.

No more talk of what might be.

[crowd cheering]

[triumphant music continues]

[in French] Thank you for everything.

It's not often

emotional in the car, but…

[emotional music plays]

My love!

[emotional music continues]

[cheering]

[emotional music continues]

[cheering]

[woman] Whoo!

[Vasseur] So swimming is a big word.

I have been compared
more to a sperm whale…

[laughs]

…than to a swimmer.

[laughs]

[music fades]

I don't often get emotional,
but I was a little.

Uh… [chuckles]

Honestly, I think
it's something exceptional.

If there's anyone who can be proud of him,
it's him and his dad and his family.

[Leclerc in English] I did not only
realize my dream, but my father's dream.

He's probably celebrating it from above.

It makes it so, so special.

I just let all the emotions run out.

[Brown] Dynasties always come to an end.

Now if we're gonna win the Constructors',
we need to minimize the mistakes.

[commentator 4] The two McLarens
going wheel to wheel.

If I expected him to do that,
he would never have had the chance.

It's f*cked.

We fighting with Haas to be P6.

-[reporter] What's your name?
-Ayao.

You finish sixth place
in the Constructors' Championship,

you're taking home
tens of millions of dollars.

[Hülkenberg] What the f*ck?

[commentator 4] Hülkenberg goes off.

[Hülkenberg] You gotta be
f*cking sh1tting me.

[dramatic music plays]

[music fades]