Ecstasy for Verstappen, agony for Leclerc, frustration for Hamilton.
Max Verstappen took his first win at the Monaco Grand Prix as all his main challengers gradually fell by the wayside.
It appeared that Charles Leclerc had broken his Monaco curse when his gearbox was deemed safe to start the race after he had crashed in qualifying on his way to claiming pole position. But the curse returned with a vengeance on his installation lap and the Monegasque was cruelly consigned to watch his home race from the garage by a terminal driveshaft issue.
That left Verstappen effectively on pole and, once he had survived Valtteri Bottas‘s attack into the first corner, the race was his to lose. Bottas shadowed him for the first few laps as all the drivers managed their pace to conserve tyre life but, as they moved closer to the first stops, the Mercedes started to fall away from the Red Bull and into the clutches of Carlos Sainz in third place.
Further back, Lewis Hamilton was still stuck behind Pierre Gasly in sixth, after a nightmare qualifying session. The World Champion could not get the required temperature into his tyres and was left displeased that his team had not pursued an approach which he had suggested. Mercedes decided to attempt an undercut with Hamilton on lap 30 but found themselves still behind the AlphaTauri driver when he responded with a stop one lap later.
And things were about to get worse.
Having run long and exploited the clean air that provided, first Sebastian Vettel and then Sergio Pérez successfully jumped Hamilton. Meanwhile, teammate Bottas was forced to retire when the wheel gun stripped the nut on his front right during his pit stop. It had turned into one of those Germany 2019-esque races for the Silver Arrows.
Out front, Verstappen was having no such dramas and serenely sailed to the chequered flag, keeping a comfortable gap to the chasing Sainz throughout. The Spaniard provided some consolation for Ferrari after Leclerc’s heartbreak with a strong second place, but was a little disappointed as he felt that he could have challenged for pole and victory without the Q3 red flag caused by his teammate’s crash.
Lando Norris completed another excellent weekend – sporting the beautiful, one-off Gulf livery – and held off a late charge from Pérez to claim his second podium of the season and move up to third in the standings.
Vettel, Gasly and Hamilton predictably stayed in that order for the remainder of the race, Hamilton successfully pitting late on to claim the bonus point for fastest lap. Behind him, Lance Stroll made an alternative strategy work, starting on the hard tyres and moving up from 13th on the grid to finish eighth. Esteban Ocon finished a further half a minute down the road in ninth and Alfa Romeo‘s Antonio Giovinazzi claimed the final point – his first of the season.
It was a weekend not lacking in drama but the racing on Sunday was a typically mundane affair. And the Monegasque director – Monaco is the only race to use its own broadcast director – cut away from the one bit of wheel-to-wheel action that we did get… None of that will bother Verstappen and Red Bull, however, who have taken the lead in both championships. The momentum in the title battle switches once again.
Now, how will a very different street circuit – Baku in two weeks’ time – suit the cars?
Where Did That Ferrari Pace Come From?!
The Ferraris often flatter to deceive with their Friday pace, but this time they remained at the top of the timing charts throughout the weekend. So, how did that happen? Did they bring a major upgrade?
Well, I’m afraid to say – to any members of the Tifosi currently throwing their red caps in the air and declaring an imminent title charge – that is likely to be a one-off.
Ferrari have often gone well around the streets of the Principality – Vettel came home second in the previous two Monaco Grands Prix and 2017 saw a Ferrari 1-2. Their traditional short wheelbase makes the car nimble through the tight turns and, this year, the Monaco layout masked their still considerable deficiency when it comes to straight-line speed.
Even so, the drivers were surprised by their competitiveness.
“It is quite a big surprise,” Leclerc said. “Surely we were very competitive in Sector 3 in Barcelona, but again it’s a very different track and we were maybe expecting Red Bull and Mercedes to have something more for here, but apparently they didn’t and we were just very competitive from the start. So it was good, but until quali we didn’t believe we could fight for pole, so it’s a surprise.”
Whilst this likely isn’t the appearance of an unlikely championship contender, Ferrari can be very pleased with their progress since last year’s hugely disappointing campaign. Even the confines of Monaco wouldn’t have saved the SF1000. They can expect to compete at or near the front again in Hungary and Singapore – if that race happens – and now appear to be in a private battle with McLaren for third in the title. A feel good story for the two former giants of F1.
Vettel Finds Form, Ricciardo Loses It Again
It has been well documented that the drivers who switched teams for 2021 have been struggling to adapt due to the lack of testing. But Vettel appears to have finally made a breakthrough in the Aston Martin. He was far closer to Lance Stroll in Portugal and Spain than he had been at the first two grands prix of the year, and in Monaco he showed his experience, comfortably outperforming the Canadian in every session.
An impressive eighth in qualifying was turned into an even better fifth on Sunday, thanks to smart strategy and some guts during that wheel-to-wheel battle with Gasly. Vettel earned a well-deserved ‘Driver of the Day’ and will now look to build on this for the coming races.
Daniel Ricciardo, however, went in the opposite direction. After a much-improved performance in Spain saw him take a solid sixth place and finish ahead of teammate Norris for the first time, the wheels came off at what is his most successful circuit. The Aussie won here in 2018, after being robbed of victory in 2016, so moving aside to be lapped by Norris on Sunday will have been a bitter pill to swallow.
Most worrying of all, he is at a loss to explain his lack of speed. “All weekend, even crossing the line a lot of laps I felt good, I was like that’s a good lap. And I think at one point I was 1.2s slower than say what Lando had just done, so no answers at the moment.”
He will need to find some answers quickly, or he risks having his reputation questioned in the manner Vettel’s was when Ricciardo joined Red Bull in 2014 and consistently outperformed him.
The Monaco Grand Prix in 60 Seconds
Answering the Burning Questions
Will Mercedes or Red Bull be on top around the twists of the Circuit de Monaco? Red Bull, if not Ferrari!
Can Max Verstappen make up for the many laps he spent stuck behind Lewis Hamilton in 2019? He can, in some style.
Will any teams surprise with their performance at this unique track? See above…
Who will have the best unique helmet design? The Williams drivers’ designs in honour of the team’s 750th race were nice, as were the McLaren Gulf specials, but I’m going for Bottas’s cartoon design.
