Red Bull’s Sergio Perez braved the elements, and intense late pressure, to win an action-packed and dramatic Monaco Grand Prix this morning.
Perez, who started third on the grid behind the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, took advantage of changeable conditions to grab the lead, following a poor out-lap by Sainz, and stay there, despite a nail-biting final ten minutes as Sainz remained glued to his rear wing. It was the Mexican driver’s third victory and perhaps his finest.
In stark contrast came Leclerc, whose brilliance was undone by yet another tactical error during a flurry of pit stops. After stretching out to a comfortable five-second lead early on, and continuing his dominance of the weekend, Leclerc suddenly found himself in a fourth-place that he was unable to fight his way out of. He went on to finish fourth behind championship rival Max Verstappen. “We cannot do that,” he furiously told his team over the radio, his dreams of winning his home race having evaporated through no fault of his own.
The action started before the cars even left the grid. Though there had barely been a cloud in the sky all weekend, 15 minutes before the scheduled start everyone was caught by surprise as the skies opened and the track, which had been bone dry, was completely drenched. Chaos erupted as mechanics furiously rushed to grab wet tyres and everyone else scrambled for cover; after a delay, the cars eventually took to the track to run a series of warm-up laps behind the safety car, only for the rain to become torrential and cause the race to be red-flagged.
A waiting game ensued as the rain waxed and waned, drivers wistfully staring at the sky as they awaited word on the restart from the race directors. While it’s likely the race would have been stopped even if it had started on time – given the exceptional downpour – the debate over the long delay, and the relative inexperience of this year’s race directors will likely continue for some time.
Over an hour after the race was scheduled to begin the cars once again took to the track behind the safety car for a series of warm-up laps. The tricky conditions, exacerbated by cold tyres, saw Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll clip the wall, but everything went smoothly as Charles Leclerc gingerly led the field away for the start. The cars tip-toed around the track, nearly 30 seconds a lap slower than in the dry, with the drivers exhibiting supreme control as they struggled to keep their cars on track and out of the barriers.
Pierre Gasly, who had little to lose after starting in 17th place, was the first to take a chance on intermediate tyres. After some initial hairy moments, he soon set the fastest lap, but it wasn’t until lap 16 that a frontrunner, in the form of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, also opted to make the change.
Chaos followed. While most cars dived in to change to intermediates, some, including Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, stayed on wets, with even dry tyres becoming a proposition as the track rapidly dried out. Leclerc had cleared out at the front, easing his way to a five-second lead, but by the time the pit-stop flurries finished, he found he’d been outmaneuvered and behind both Red Bulls and teammate Carlos Sainz. Perez, meanwhile, had taken the lead ahead of Sainz and Verstappen.
Sainz, who pulled off the save of the season as his Ferrari wandered off-line and snapped sideways on the main straight, was soon all over the back of Perez before proceedings came to a sudden halt on lap 27 when Mick Schumacher lost control of his Haas. Flung into the barriers at pace, the car was ripped in two as debris scattered across the road. Schumacher was unhurt after his second big crash this year, but the incident saw the race red-flagged for a second time.
After yet another pause – during which the race had changed to a timed one, given the long delays – Perez led the field away, followed by Sainz, Verstappen, Leclerc and a hard-charging George Russell. Both Mercedes drivers had proved quick in the changeable conditions, but while Russell sat in a comfortable fifth place Hamilton found himself stuck behind Fernando Alonso. The introduction of DRS on lap 40 didn’t help as a remarkable train of cars formed behind the Alpine – consisting of everyone from Hamilton in 8th to Alex Albon in 18th – with Monaco’s famously narrow streets preventing overtaking.
With most of the field trapped behind Alonso, the top four pulled away, with each car maintaining a two-second gap from the one in front. For a while, that looked to be how it would stay, but with around 12 minutes to go the race came alive as Perez’s tyres began graining. Suddenly, the top four were line astern as Sainz once again climbed all over the back of Perez, with Verstappen just as close to the back of the Ferrari and Leclerc hoping for a miracle that would rescue his race.
It wasn’t to be. After several tense laps, Perez managed to drive through his problems and take his maiden Monaco Grand Prix victory. George Russell continued his remarkable streak with a solid fifth place, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and a frustrated Lewis Hamilton.
Valtteri Bottas finished in a respectable 9th place, followed by Sebastian Vettel, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Nicholas Latifi, Zhou Guanyu and Yuki Tsunoda. Alex Albon and both Haas drivers failed to finish.
In the championship, Max Verstappen extended his lead over Leclerc to nine points, with Perez now only six points behind the Ferrari driver.
For Ferrari, it’s a case of what might have been. “I love my team and am sure I will come back stronger,” Leclerc said after the race. “But it hurts a lot.”
