Monaco Grand Prix: Leclerc – Piastri – Sainz

Sunny. Dry. Air +21C, highway +47C

The outcome of the race in Monaco largely depends on qualifying, which turned out to be extremely interesting this time. Hardly anyone avoided mistakes, the results were tight – on the short city circuit the riders fought for every hundredth.

On Friday and Saturday morning Leclerc showed the best time – he was in excellent form at his home track and in the afternoon he won qualifying and won his third pole in Monaco, the 24th in his career and the 250th in Ferrari history .

Leclerc and Piastri started the race from the front row of the grid, Sainz and Norris from second, Russell and Verstappen from third. Alonso and Perez dropped out of the race in the first part of qualifying, but after their opponents’ penalties they started 14th and 16th.

The Haas F1 drivers were disqualified for violation of the technical regulations – the limits for changing the position of the DRS control exceeded the permitted 85 mm, but after the problem was resolved they were allowed to start.

Pirelli brought the softest tires to the podium: C3, C4 and C5 in Hard, Medium and Soft roles. In the race, Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Ocon, Stroll, Alonso, Sargent, Perez, Bottas and Magnussen started on Hard, the rest opted for Medium.

Leclerc retained the lead at the start. Sainz attacked Piastri, but retired after minor contact in turn four with a flat tire.

Three cars – Perez, Hulkenberg and Magnussen – blocked the track before the third corner after a serious accident.

Perez didn’t notice Magnussen on his right, Kevin tried to move forward, the cars hit each other, Sergio spun and Hulkenberg’s car was also damaged. The only thing left of Perez’s car was actually the cockpit, but all three got out independently.

The Alpine racers also collided – Ocon attacked his partner at the entrance to the tunnel, the cars collided, Ocon’s car flew into the air and fell on the track – both cars were damaged. Ocon did not restart.

The race was stopped with red flags. The drivers returned to the pit lane. The track was covered with debris, marshals gradually put it in order and replaced damaged elements of the barriers. Although the marshals in Monaco acted quickly and skillfully, the break lasted more than forty minutes.

A restart was announced from the spot.

Top ten upon restart: Leclerc – Piastri – Sainz – Norris – Russell – Verstappen – Hamilton – Tsunoda – Albon – Gasly.

Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Stroll and Alonso opted for Medium, the rest continued racing on Hard.

At the restart everyone kept their position. The riders rode in a close group, but in Monaco overtaking is impossible, especially if everyone maintains a moderate pace and takes care of the tires.

Ocon, who withdrew from the race, was given a 10-second penalty by the stewards, the loss of five positions at the start of the next race – two weeks later in Canada – and a reprimand with the promise of consequences from the team management.

On lap 17 Bottas changed the tires.

Top ten in round 25: Leclerc – Piastri – Sainz – Norris – Russell – Verstappen – Hamilton – Tsunoda – Albon – Gasly.

Ferrari asked race leader Charles Leclerc to drive slower to curb the pace of his rivals and not allow McLaren to make a pit stop. Alonso slowed down to keep the group of riders behind him at bay and allowed teammate Lance Stroll to change the tires without losing position.

On lap 43 Stroll changed tires and kept his place.

On the 50th lap, Stroll returned to the pits due to a flat tire and received a set of Soft. On lap 52, Hamilton and Verstappen made a pit stop. Bottas beat Sargent to 13th.

On the 59th lap, Stroll overtook Sargent – and the American went into the pits for new tires.

Charles Leclerc won his home race for the first time in his career and thus achieved his sixth victory in Formula 1. Oscar Piastri finished second, Carlos Sainz received the congratulations for third place.

The battle will continue in Canada in two weeks.

Race results

Best round: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1:14.165 (63rd lap, 161.979 km/h)

Reasons for the meetings

Championship Position: Individual Competition

Championship position: Constructors’ Championship

Team		Engine	Glasses
=	1. Oracle Red Bull Racing	Honda RBPT	276
=	2. Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	252
=	3. McLaren F1 Team	Mercedes	184
=	4. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team	Mercedes	96
=	5. Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	Mercedes	44
=	6. Visa Cash App RB F1 Team	Honda RBPT	24
=	7. MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	Ferrari	7
	8. Williams Racing	Mercedes	2
	9. BWT Alpine F1 Team	Renault	2