Monaco – Red Bull and Perez teach Ferrari a lesson

Who said that starting from pole position was an absolute guarantee of victory in Monaco? Unlucky since the start of his career in Formula 1 in the Principality, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) will definitely think that the skies of Monaco are after him. While he was hoping for a dry race which would probably have assured him of victory, the Ferrari driver only finished 4th in a Grand Prix delayed by more than thirty minutes due to a scattered shower. The weather conditions in any case had the merit of avoiding a Sunday procession and making the strategists of the different teams shine. And mainly those of Red Bull. In an exceptionally well-felt three-cushion billiards move, the low wall of the Austrian team tipped the race into the hands of its Mexican driver Sergio Perez, author of his third career victory. 

Everything was decided between the 17th and 23rd rounds. The Mexican, then third on the track, was the first in the leading quartet to abandon his Wet tires to put on Intermediates. Leclerc was forced to respond by stopping two laps later, but the damage was done, as he emerged behind the Mexican. Verstappen stopped him in the same lap to cover. Then three laps later, Ferrari called its two drivers in enormous confusion for a double stop which cost its leader precious seconds. The two drivers from the prancing horse brand in fact switched to dry tires by equipping themselves with hard compounds. Red Bull therefore recalled its two drivers in turn to put them on the same compounds, which allowed Verstappen to gain the upper hand over Leclerc.  

Verstappen widens the gap on Leclerc

From then on, the rain had gone and nothing could change the established order. The terrible accident of Mick Schumacher, emerged without any injury from an impact which literally cut his Haas in two, still gave birth to a red flag. The end of the race was marked by a big battle between the Ferraris and the Red Bulls, but Perez held on in front Sainz and Verstappen. The big loser of the day is obviously Charles Leclerc, despite the fact that the local hero finishes Monaco for the first time in his career. The Mexican is just nineteen points behind Leclerc in the championship, who loses three new lengths on leader Verstappen. 

George Russell completes the top 5 and dominates once again Lewis Hamilton race. On the French side, Esteban Ocon finished in the top 10 but a 5-second penalty relegated him to 12th position. The Norman was in fact punished for a collision with Lewis Hamilton at the start of the race, a collision in which he seemed rather... the victim! Starting 17th and author of some extremely well-felt overtaking in the rain, Pierre Gasly finishes close to the points. 

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