Charles Leclerc was spotted leaving the Monaco Grand Prix on a bicycle after ending his home race curse with a composed drive around the streets of Monte Carlo. The Monegasque driver had been on pole position for the race on two previous occasions without success, but it was third time lucky on Sunday.

After the post-race festivities had calmed down, Leclerc was filmed cycling up the Monaco hills from the inside of a vehicle. The six-time Grand Prix winner was still dressed in Ferrari team wear and had his phone to his ear as he rode along.

Leclerc made sure to celebrate his win appropriately, too. After the race, he said: “Tonight, I'm going to party like an animal. I need a discount for tonight." The 26-year-old followed through on his word and was seen living it up in the Monaco clubs until the early hours of the morning.

The win was an emotional one for Leclerc, who had dreamed of climbing to the top step of the podium at his home race since the early days of his motorsport career. After securing pole position on Saturday, the pressure was naturally ramped up, given his previous record at the track.

After failing to finish his first two home races, he scored pole position for the 2021 Monaco GP. However, a crash on his final run of the session caused damage to the gearbox, which eventually prevented him from starting the race on Sunday.

The agony was doubled the following year when, after leading a Ferrari front-row lockout in the midst of a title fight with Max Verstappen, a strategy blunder relegated Leclerc down to fourth place as Sergio Perez snatched victory away from him. Sunday’s triumph, therefore, was the ultimate redemption for the home hero.

"No words can explain that,” he said after stepping out of the cockpit. It's such a difficult race, I think the fact that twice I've been starting on pole position and we couldn't quite make it makes it even better in a way. It means a lot, obviously. It's the race which made me dream of becoming a Formula One driver one day.

"Fifteen laps to the end you're hoping nothing happens and the emotions are coming. My dad has given everything for me to be here and it was a dream of ours for me to race here and win here, so it's unbelievable."