Charles Leclerc controlled the race from start to finish at Monaco, waiting out a lengthy red flag and maintaining a comfortable lead throughout over McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to triumph on the Monte Carlo circuit on Sunday (May 26th). After Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez collided early on the first lap, Leclerc ran every lap after the restart on the one set of hard tires to complete the mission after two previous starts on the pole at Monaco.
“No words can explain that. It’s such a difficult race, I think the fact twice I’ve been starting on pole position and we couldn’t quite make it makes it even better in a way.
“It means a lot, obviously. It’s the race which made me dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver one day.
“Fifteen laps to the end, you’re hoping nothing happens, and the emotions are coming.”
Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz finished second and third, respectively, after two made contact in the first corner, puncturing Sainz’s left front tire and damaging Piastri’s right side. Lando Norris took third, while George Russell managed a set of mediums for the duration to finish fifth. Max Verstappen came home sixth, his first finish outside the top 2 this season, with the exception of his DNF at Australia.
Lewis Hamilton finished seventh and added an additional point for fastest lap. Yuki Tsunoda took eighth, scoring points in his third consecutive race, Alex Albon finished ninth, and Pierre Gasly finished 10th, surviving hard contact with Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon on the opening lap.
In the driver standings, Verstappen leads Leclerc by 31 points, 169 to 138. Norris is third with 113, five points ahead of Sainz.
In the constructor standings, Ferrari significantly cut into Red Bull’s lead, with Red Bull up by 24, 276 to 252, after entering Monaco with a 56-point lead. McLaren holds third with 184 points.
The Race
Leclerc held serve at lights out and held off Piastri into the tight Sainte-Dévote corner, while Piastri barely held off Sainz, who pulled even with the McLaren. But contact with Piastri punctured Sainz’s front left tire, forcing Sainz to pull off the track. Moments later, in Beau Rivage, Sergio Perez was clipped by the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, sending Perez hard into the wall and destroying his Red Bull. Niko Hulkenberg was collected in the melee, and both Haas were out on the first lap as the race was red-flagged.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …