Leclerc won’t take ’big risks’ in Monaco

Charles Leclerc says he won’t be taking big "risks" this weekend as he tries to end the curse that his plagued his past home grands prix in Monaco.

"I love city tracks - I like to flirt with risk," the Monaco-born Ferrari driver, who lost his championship lead to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen with a technical failure in Barcelona, told L’Equipe.

"On tracks like this you have no room for error," Leclerc added. "You really feel the adrenaline.

"Last year I took a big risk to get on pole position as I knew I would need a miracle to get to the front row - and I ended up in the wall," said the 24-year-old.

"This time I won’t take such big risks because I understand that points are very important for the championship. But I’m not going to change my approach and I will keep my traditions - especially sleeping at home."

Leclerc says he has a laser-like focus on winning his first drivers’ title in 2022.

"All I want is to win the title with Ferrari," he said. "It doesn’t matter if it’s against Max, Lewis or anyone else. I want to bring Ferrari back to the top.

"But of course I want to win the race this weekend - Monaco is my home. It’s where I went to school. When I raced as a kid, the teachers wondered why I wasn’t in class.

"It would be great to win here in front of my family, my friends and all those who believed in me."