At the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc went from hero to zero in less than a 24 hours. The local hero grabbed pole position, despite crashing late in qualifying. Unfortunately, that came back to bite him when he was forced to pull out of the race with a driveshaft failure. It would be an understatement to say that he was extremely upset.

He wrote on Twitter, “Sunday still hurts but there’s a lot we can be happy about. After a tough 2020, to be back at the front of the grid and scoring a podium with Carlos is a great reward for everyones hard work. Monaco I love you and hopefully one day you will love me back. We’ll keep pushing”

As he mentioned, he was happy that Carlos Sainz Jr took the baton that Leclerc dropped and grabbed a podium. The Monegasque also acknowledged that there were plenty of takeaways from the race weekend. He and Sainz established that the ghosts of the 2020 season have been exorcised and the team is starting afresh.

Can Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz keep this up?

Admittedly, it would be a stretch to expect Ferrari to challenge Mercedes and Red Bull right away. However, the Italian marquee are definitely heading in the right direction, as long as they stay ahead of McLaren. Of course, considering that both their drivers now seem to be up to speed and keeping each other honest, the advantage is theirs.

To be precise, McLaren is being slightly hobbled with the struggles of Daniel Ricciardo. This is forcing poor old Lando Norris to pick up the slack and get the lion’s share of the points. Ferrari will be hoping that Sainz and Leclerc continue their good form and pray for a bit of luck.

Meanwhile, they will also hope that Ricciardo will continue to struggle. As long as both Ferrari drivers land in the points, their two-pronged attack will hopefully overwhelm McLaren in the championship.

READ MORE: Charles Leclerc Insists Costly Monaco Mistake Won’t Change F1 Driving Style