Pascal Wehrlein has put an end to the dominance of Maximilian Gunther as the German driver escaped a multi-car collision on lap one to cruise to an unchallenged victory around the virtual streets of Monaco.
Wehrlein’s job was made easier when he beat Stoffel Vandoorne to pole position by 0.01s. Championship leader Gunther could only manage sixth place while Mitch Evans put in his best qualifying result of the series to line-up eighth.
As the pack headed towards Sainte Devote for the first time Vandoorne attempted to run deep into the braking zone and put on move on Wehrlein for the lead.
But an opportunistic lunge around the outside of the Mahindra left the Belgian pilot vulnerable from a hard-charging Edoardo Mortara.
Mortara tagged the inside rear wheel of Vandoorne, pitching him into half-spin. Fortunately for Vandoorne he was able to continue despite sustaining heavy damage but further back and the collision had triggered a mammoth multi-car incident.
DS Techeetah’s Jean-Eric Vergne ploughed underneath Mortara’s car, who was then mounted by an unsighted Mitch Evans.
Evans then went on an undesired ride down the short chute which connects turn one to the Nouvelle Chicane atop of Vergne.
The shunt allowed the top two drivers to steer clear of the field, with Wehrlein eventually leading Vandoorne home by 3.6s.
Gunther finished in third to ensure he maintains his championship lead, while Neel Jani and and Robin Frijns completed the top five.
After a promising qualifying, the opening-lap incident meant the Panasonic Jaguar racer finishing 24th and last of all the runners.
New Zealand compatriot Brendon Hartley finished in 13th for Geox Dragon.
| Pos | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pascal Wehrein | Mahindra |
| 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes EQ |
| 3 | Maximilian Gunther | BMW i Andretti |
| 4 | Neel Jani | Tag Hueuer Porsche |
| 5 | Robin Frijns | Envision Virgin |
| 6 | Oliver Rowland | Nissan E-Dams |
| 7 | Andre Lotterer | Tag Hueuer Porsche |
| 8 | Nico Muller | GEOX Dragon |
| 9 | Ma Qingha | Nio |
| 10 | Edoardo Mortara | ROKIT Venturi |
| 11 | James Calado | Panasonic Jaguar |
| 12 | Alexander Sims | BMW i Andretti |
| 13 | Brendon Hartley | GEOX Dragon |
| 14 | Jerome D’Ambrosio | Mahindra |
| 15 | Felipe Massa | ROKIT Venturi |
| 16 | Sebastien Buemi | Nissan E-Dams |
| 17 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi Sport |
| 18 | Oliver Turvey | NIO |
| 19 | Daniel Abt | Audi Sport |
| 20 | Sam Bird | Envision Virgin |
| 21 | Jean-Eric Vergne | DS Techeetah |
| 22 | Nyck de Vries | Mercedes EQ |
| 23 | Antonio Felix da Costa | DS Techeetah |
| 24 | Mitch Evans | Panasonic Jaguar |
Main Image: automobilsport.com
