by There was no stopping Max Verstappen on the streets of Monte-Carlo as he took his thirty-ninth victory. The other podium places went to Fernando Alonso, whose overcut strategy did not quite work out against the Red Bull, and Esteban Ocon who capped his first podium in Monaco.
Cancel Culture
Going into the weekend teams knew that qualifying position and race strategy were the best way to maximise points. The narrow streets of Monte-Carlo have been even more dwarfed by the latest regulations, as the new Formula 1 cars occupy more space on track than those of years gone by.
Indeed, the race started exactly as it finished, in the podium spots at least. This, when one factors in Charles Leclerc’s grid penalty following qualifying, which dropped him into sixth place behind Lewis Hamilton.
Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon both started on hard tyres, whilst Max Verstappen braved the start on the mediums. Though Verstappen complained of degradation on his tyres, he extended to lap fifty-one nullifying the threat of the overcut. It is a testament to the driver’s tyre management and a brilliantly designed car before the weather sent everyone into a frenzy late into the race.
Growing Woes
Some overtaking action did happen early on, at the cost of Williams Racing drivers Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon. The two pitted after just twenty laps as both were eaten alive due to heavy degradation. Though spelling trouble for the Williams side, spectators ate up the show as Kevin Magnussen slotted into the tiny gap left by Sargeant before Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez picked him off a few corners later.
Though it may have appeared that the rookie was struggling around the Monte-Carlo race track, his teammate did not fare much better as Valtteri Bottas got the better of Albon around the hairpin. This sent the former Red Bull driver into the pits for a new set of tyres, confirming the degradation issues for the team.
Though Stroll and Perez made up a few places, the race was one to forget for the two. Qualifying in fourteenth place, Lance Stroll had one too many clips before bowing out of the race with an early exit. Sergio Perez’s weekend went from bad to worse as his attempt to climb up places by pitting early for the hard tyres was hindered by damaging his front wing in a collision. Pitting twice more under the wet conditions landed him in sixteenth place and thirty-nine points adrift from Max Verstappen in the Driver’s Standings.
The latter stages of the race also saw Yuki Tsunoda relinquishing a points finish once again, as he was overtaken by both McLarens to land in eleventh place. Misery was compounded as he drove himself off the track, ultimately finishing in fifteenth place.
Splashes of Excitement
Whispers of the potential of rainfall started traversing the comms around lap thirty, which created plenty of indecision on the pit wall, since this was also around the time that those on the mediums were likely to pit. Though some took the plunge and changed tyres anyway, plenty on the hard tyres were waiting with bated breath, regularly asking the team for weather updates.
The rain did come, but twenty-two laps later. Though once it did, it came down quickly, sending everyone into the pits in lap fifty-five. Havoc ensued in an otherwise routine race as cars started sliding. Bottas and Stroll were the first to switch to intermediate tyres. Fernando Alonso attempted a brave move by first switching to the mediums, which would have worked perfectly to undercut Verstappen if the rain stopped. However, Aston Martin’s thoughts of the rain abating were soon overturned, which sent the Spaniard back into the pits a lap later to change to intermediates. In the meantime, Verstappen had pitted himself, settling back in the front of the grid and he did not put a foot wrong beyond that point.
Ocon, Russel and Hamilton also pitted and a double-stack for Ferrari meant that the Frenchman got third place, followed by the two silver arrows. The Scuderia’s drivers were split by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, with Carlos Sainz’s race going from bad to worse as it progressed, landing him in eighth place. Mercedes have undoubtedly been the biggest winners on the track as they slashed the deficit to Aston Martin (in second place) to just one point in the Constructors’ standings.
There is no doubt that but for the rain injecting some excitement into the race, it would have been another year which would have seen the Monaco race track being heavily lamented. Though complaints will still be aired (and have already been), there is a shine to it that is too historic for it to be completely omitted from the calendar. The teams will certainly not spend too much time thinking about it, as they next set their sights on the Circuit de Barcelona for Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz’s home race.
Photo: Formula 1
