To Pérez’s victory, the third he has achieved, was added the podium of his teammate, the Dutchman Max Verstappen, who increased his lead in the general classification to nine points compared to Charles Leclerc, who once again felt frustrated in ‘ House’.
At Ferrari, Sainz averted an even bigger disaster. His commitment to dry tires in Monte Carlo could have been rewarded with victory, but he ran into Nicholas Latifi’s Williams, as explained by his race director, and lost a few seconds that prevented him from overtaking Pérez in a test plagued with shocks.
The seven-time world champion, the British Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) expected “something exciting” an hour before the start of the race. And Monaco did not disappoint. There was a 40 percent chance of rain. Already with the vehicles on the starting grid, with dry tires, a few drops began to fall. Nothing important. Until ten minutes from the start, the rainfall was more.
DELAYED START AND FIRST RED FLAG
The departure procedure initially took nine minutes. Race direction announced that the formation lap would take place behind the safety car. Shortly after, it extended the delay by another seven minutes and specified that the vehicles would have to have extreme rain tires. After a couple of turns, the red flag was shown.
The pilots went back to the garage area, adjusted the visors of their helmets, the teams set up tents to cover the formula one. Minutes passed. A lots of. There was silence from race direction. Expectation in the pits.
Almost on time, the new departure was announced for 16:05. Again behind the safety car and at 77 laps, one less than planned (the one that had been completed before the red flag).
So many contingencies did not seem the best for the man on pole, Charles Leclerc, who at home, in front of his family and friends, had not yet managed to complete any race. The track was complicated, Latifi, still with the safety car, went straight on the first turn, at the Gran Hotel hairpin; Stroll also starred in another one at the casino.
The start was launched on the third lap. It was a test of ability. Leclerc stepped on the accelerator and the car gave him a tremendous blow. Sainz also had a hard time taming his Ferrari.
The asphalt was slippery, but drying fast. Gasly, one of those who stopped by the pits early to change tires and test intermediates, had to block.
They all entered the tunnel crossed, with the first positions unchanged. Leclerc put the direct and opened a gap with respect to Sainz (more than five seconds in twelve laps); Pérez and Verstappen approached the man from Madrid, who pressed.
From behind, Gasly offered a show. He got past Zhou and went for Ricciardo. He overtook him at 14 laps.
Pérez entered the pits on lap 17 to fit intermediates. He signed a good save (2.3 for 2.7 Hamilton). He came out ahead of Russell and Alonso, in fifth position, and made an ‘undercut’ (advance the stop) to Leclerc, who had opted for the conservative route and stayed behind the Mexican.
Sainz lengthened the stop a little more than what the team suggested and changed to dry at 22 laps; Leclerc stopped immediately. When he was heading down the road to the pits they asked him to continue in the race. Afternoon; although they would have been worse. The Monegasque, very angry on the radio with his team for a bad strategy, had to wait a few tenths for his teammate to leave the pit lane.
Checo also stopped again to put on the same rubber as Sainz, who was between him and Verstappen. Leclerc was fourth. The man from Madrid, with tires at temperature, overcame the man from Guadalajara, with a scare included and a dose of luck so as not to lose the car.
That of the German Mick Schumacher was capital after the twenty-seventh passage through the goal. He lost control of his Haas, hit the guardrail and his car broke in two. The seven-time champion’s son was uninjured, but the race had to be interrupted on lap 30 to repair the damaged area of the Principality street circuit.
AGAINST THE CHRONO AFTER THE SECOND RED FLAG
The race resumed with 37 laps to go, but it was really going to be against the clock: 45 minutes ahead until the three hours.
Red Bull opted for medium tires; Ferrari, for the hard ones. The leader flattened his tires in the first few meters and slowed down. He was interested in a slow but sure career.
Fernando Alonso (Alpine), had to put up with Hamilton to keep seventh place, as his teammate, Esteban Ocon, had had to do before, who was penalized five seconds for an incident with the Briton from Mercedes.
With 31 minutes remaining, the DRS was enabled, although in Monaco it is not of much use. Alonso went from being the slowest to the fastest (1:15.8) provisionally.
Ahead, with eleven minutes to go, Pérez was attacked by Sainz. The first four were in a handkerchief. The Mexican defended himself tooth and nail and saved the pressure from the man from Madrid to score the victory in the streets of the Principality.
Ferrari, again defeated, is now 36 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ World Championship; In the drivers’ category, Verstappen takes nine from Leclerc, he has six rent with Pérez, and Carlos Sainz is fifth, just one point behind George Russell (Mercedes), who was behind those of the energy drink and the Italians in Monaco.
