With no contract signed to guarantee the race will go ahead next year, Charles Leclerc’s quest to become the first Monegasque to win the Monaco Grand Prix in the Formula 1 world championship era has reached a devastating cliffhanger.
On Saturday, May 28, the 24-year-old Scuderia Ferrari pilot took his second Monaco pole position in as many years.
Although a P1 starting spot is usually all but a certain race victory around the streets of the principality, unfortunately for the hometown hero, a gearbox issue caused by a crash in qualifying meant that he failed to even take the green flag in 2021, so nothing was promised heading into 2022.
Leclerc and Ferrari might have expected a lovely Sunday, May 29, drive to a historic victory, but the dark clouds hanging over the harbor just before race time may have started to raise his blood pressure.
Still, after taking the green flag (after an hour-and-nine-minute delay), it still looked as though it was his home race to lose.
Picking up right where he left off in practice and qualifying, driver No. 16 stretched out the lead over Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, followed by the Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and championship leader Max Verstappen.
Buoyed by Pierre Gasly’s progress on intermediates as the rain lightened up, Red Bull called Perez in for intermediate tires on lap 17.
LAP 17/77
Perez pits from P4, bolts on the inters and returns to the track in P5 #MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/YH4y8hE5hm
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 29, 2022
Two laps later, Ferrari brought Leclerc in to cover the Mexican, leaving Sainz leading on his initial strategy to crossover directly from full wets to slicks.
LAP 19/77
Leclerc and Verstappen have both pitted for inters,#MonacoGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/BewjaZ4fU7
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 29, 2022
Conditions improved rapidly as Perez closed in on Sainz for the lead on lap 19, and fans may have even hoped for a green-flag pass for the lead (admittedly helped by a massive tire…
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