Curse? What Monaco curse?
Charles Leclerc obliterated his Monaco curse as the pole-sitter stayed P1 in two starts to win a game of cat-and-mouse against McLaren in a red-flagged Monaco Grand Pix.
During the first lap of the race, Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen collided, causing a red flag. As a result, the Red Bull car slammed into the Armco barrier with such impact that it left a noticeable dent, completely wrecking the RB20.
The Monaco Grand Prix, it’s all about crashes and processions
Charles Leclerc made a great start from pole position with his team-mate Carlos Sainz immediately attacking Oscar Piastri for second. However, tagging the McLaren, Sainz suffered a front left puncture and found himself the wrong way up an escape road.
There was a significant incident earlier when Sergio Perez was hit by Kevin Magnussen while going up the hill, causing his car to violently crash nose-first into the Armco barrier at a 90° angle. Both Haas drivers subsequently collided with Perez, resulting in severe damage to his RB20 car and scattering pieces of bodywork across the entire width of the track.
Perez thankfully climbed unaided from his stricken RB20 with the race red-flagged. It was set to be a long stop as the Armco barrier was dented.
Replays of the opening lap showed Esteban Ocon lunged on Pierre Gasly into Turn 8 before the tunnel, clipped his team-mate’s wheel and went airborne. Ocon was out of the race.
Thankfully all three drivers are out of their cars after that incident, but there is not a lot left of that Red Bull afterwards #F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/JHA63u8n5i
— PlanetF1 (@Planet_F1) May 26, 2024
Race Control provided Sainz with an opportunity by declaring that the restart order for the race would be determined by the position of Safety Car 2 on the first lap. The order, therefore, consisted of Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, Norris, Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Tsunoda, Albon, Gasly, Stroll, Ricciardo, Alonso, Sargeant, Bottas, and Zhou.
Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz, and Norris changed their medium Pirellis to hard tires. Tsunoda and Albon also made the same tire swap. On the other hand, Russell, Verstappen, and Hamilton switched from hard to medium tires.
The second attempt at the race began smoothly, with Leclerc in the lead followed by Piastri and Sainz. However, in typical Monaco fashion, Russell received instructions on lap 6 to maintain distance from Norris to preserve his tires. Russell expressed frustration, stating that he would essentially be allowing others to pass him if he slowed down.
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On lap 10, Verstappen found himself 12 seconds behind the leader. His race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, informed him that he was unsure about the reason behind Russell’s reduced speed but speculated it could be due to tyre management.
Sainz inquired if Leclerc was also strategically controlling his speed, engaging in a cat-and-mouse competition with Piastri while simultaneously keeping Sainz and Norris at a distance. The leading quartet remained closely packed, with a three-second gap between them.
Leclerc pushed harder during the 25 laps, increasing his speed to create a gap between himself and Piastri, preventing Piastri from using the DRS system. Piastri, in response, managed to increase his lead over Sainz. Norris informed McLaren about his tire wear, and McLaren reassured him that Sainz’s tires were experiencing “graining” while his own tires only had “abrasions.” Ferrari praised Leclerc for his effective tire management, acknowledging his good performance.
Verstappen, who remained sandwiched between the two Mercedes cars as the race reached its halfway point, expressed his sheer boredom by humorously stating, “I ought to have brought my pillow, as this race is incredibly dull.”
In the meantime, Albon closely followed Tsunoda’s rear wing, competing for the eighth position in the race. Alonso, who was in 12th place, strategically slowed down the cars behind him, creating space for his teammate Stroll.
While Ferrari strategized their options, Leclerc received instructions to reduce his speed in order to prevent Norris from creating a gap for Russell in fifth place. The aim was to hinder McLaren’s chances of a timely pitstop. However, driving at a slower pace was negatively impacting Leclerc’s tire temperature, and Sainz also shared concerns regarding McLaren’s strategy.
On lap 43, Stroll made a pit stop for new tires, which brought some activity to the pits. As a result, he rejoined the race track behind Norris but ahead of Alonso in the overall standings. However, just seven laps later, he had to return to the pits due to a rear right puncture, causing the tire to come off as he entered the pit lane. This unfortunate incident dropped him down to 16th place, putting him at the back of the pack.
Ferrari dismissed Leclerc’s viewpoint in the ongoing tyre and pitstop window debate, to which he responded, “That’s impolite.”
Hamilton made the initial move among the top ten drivers by entering the pit on lap 52 to replace his worn-out tires with a fresh set of hard compounds. Verstappen followed suit and pitted on the following lap. After the pit stops, both drivers resumed their positions on the track, with Hamilton in sixth place and Verstappen taking the lead in seventh.
As Ferrari and McLaren kept arguing about the tires, the teams took notice of Verstappen’s impressive speed on fresh hard tires, as well as Stroll’s ability to maneuver through the pack on soft tires. With both Verstappen and Hamilton gaining ground, Leclerc accelerated to increase his pace.
On lap 62, Verstappen closely trailed behind Russell’s rear wing, but Russell skillfully defended his position, while Hamilton, setting fast laps, approached them from behind. However, as widely acknowledged, it is easier to catch up with opponents in Monaco than it is to overtake them.
Leclerc stormed his way to the finish line, clinching not just his maiden victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, but also his very first podium placement in his hometown race.
Piastri secured the second position on the podium, with Sainz following closely behind to complete the podium. Meanwhile, Norris skillfully steered his McLaren to a fourth-place finish.
Verstappen remained in sixth place as Russell successfully defended his position, resulting in the Red Bull driver staying in the middle of a Mercedes duo with Hamilton in seventh. Tsunoda, Albon, and Gasly secured the remaining points.
Result
1 Charles LECLERC 2:23:15.554
2 Oscar PIASTRI +7.152
3 Carlos SAINZ +7.585
4 Lando NORRIS +8.650
5 George RUSSELL +13.309
6 Max VERSTAPPEN +13.853
7 Lewis HAMILTON +14.908
8 Yuki TSUNODA +1 lap
9 Alexander ALBON +1 lap
10 Pierre GASLY +1 lap
11 Fernando ALONSO +2 laps
12 Daniel RICCIARDO +2 laps
13 Valtteri BOTTAS +2 laps
14 Lance STROLL +2 laps
15 Logan SARGEANT +2 laps
16 Guanyu ZHOU +2 laps
Did not finish
Esteban Ocon Alpine crash – lap 1
Kevin Magnussen Haas crash – lap 1
Nico Hulkenberg Haas crash – lap 1
Sergio Perez Red Bull crash – lap 1
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