Max Verstappen took the victory in what was a relatively uneventful race in Monaco, after Charles Leclerc could not take the start due to gearbox issues. The Ferrari driver went out on the reconnaissance lap but a terminal issue with the driveshaft meant that he could not take the start.
This opened the door for Max Verstappen to take the lead, winning the race and taking the lead of the championship. He saw off a brief challenge from Valtteri Bottas at the start, the latter would then retire after an issue with the wheel nut meant they could not get the right front tyre off the car, which put him out of the race.
This promoted Carlos Sainz to second, taking Ferrari’s first podium of 2021, with Lando Norris resisting a late challenge from a great strategical drive from Sergio Perez to take the final podium position in third.
It was a great day for Sebastian Vettel, who managed to get an overcut in the pitstops and pulled off a breathtaking pass on the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly to finish in fifth ahead of the French driver. It was a dismal day for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, as a strategical error resulted in him dropping to seventh. Lance Stroll’s alternate strategy worked a treat as it propelled him to eighth
Esteban Ocon finished in ninth for Alpine with Antonio Giovinazzi taking the final point in tenth, taking Alfa Romeo’s first point of 2021.
It was a bad day for Daniel Ricciardo who was lapped by his team-mate and finished in eleventh. Kimi Raikkonen finished in twelfth ahead of Fernando Alonso in thirteenth, George Russell in fourteenth and Nicholas Latifi in fifteenth. Yuki Tsunoda finished in sixteenth ahead of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumahcer. With Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc the races’ only non finishers.
Here is the result of the Monaco Grand Prix.
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