Monaco Grand Prix: Verstappen storms the principality in tricky conditions

Monaco always attracts conversations about the quality of racing heading into the weekend, and that was no different heading into last weekend in the streets.

Undoubtedly, Monaco is a staple of the F1 calendar and the most iconic of tracks on the calendar. Saint-Devote, the swimming pool chicane, the famous hairpin and the tunnel all contribute to this wonderful circuit. Due to the recent regulation changes however, it simply does not allow overtaking. Following cars due to dirty air is impossible, the straights are not long enough and conserving tyres is needed. Therefore, creating an exciting race needs to include an amount of jeopardy. One part of the Monaco weekend that rarely disappoints is the qualifying though, and pundits were not hesitant to label Saturday’s session as one of the best ever in the principality. The smaller the circuit, the more the teams are closer, which therefore gave Aston Martin and Ferrari a chance at beating Red Bull this weekend, whose strengths were nullified slightly. The final runs in the fight for pole were remarkable to watch. Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc were close to the top all weekend, and both traded lap times with seconds remaining, where Alonso was looking at a provisional pole. Max Verstappen was two tenths down heading into the short final sector, with pole looking improbable. Unbelievably, the Dutchman showed his prowess and raw ability to earn three tenths over Alonso in the final sector to secure pole. Credit must go to Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who was the standout in qualifying. The Frenchman qualified third after a lot of bravery and commitment, and due to the lack of overtaking in the race he was primed to earn his first podium of the season.

The race needed some rain though, and it was predicted for lap 60 of the race, but not to have too much of an impact. The order remained largely unchanged in the first stages apart from Logan Sargeant who was swiftly passed by the five cars that were behind him ahead of the race. Unquestionably, it was exciting to watch Sergio Perez attempt to traverse himself up through the order after crashing out in qualifying and starting last. Despite attempts, he never advanced past P15. It was a miserable race for the Mexican, who pitted five times due to several errors and mismanagement of tyres. At lap 60 or so, chaos ensued. The predicted “light rain” hammered down from Mirabeau to Portier, forcing everyone to box for intermediates. What might have just lost Fernando Alonso the chance for his long-awaited 33rd win was switching to the medium tyre while the rain came down, a strategy blunder which saw him pit shortly after for intermediates and pit once more than Max Verstappen.

The world champion was skating around with bald slick tyres in relatively heavy rain before pitting, as he stretched his mediums out until rainfall, a strategical decision which assisted the win. His teammate, Perez, was involved with an incident with George Russell, who ran off and rejoined unsafely, making contact with the Red Bull driver. Lance Stroll was one of the two retirements in the Grand Prix (along with Kevin Magnussen) after what appeared to be a suspension failure at the hairpin. He was unfortunate this weekend, including when he had a broken floor in qualifying. Speaking of exposed floors, Mercedes’ new floor was broadcasted to the world after Lewis Hamilton’s crash in practice three. The car was lifted up to a third story of an apartment building, which therefore saw images of the floor exposed to the paddock. This similarly happened with Perez’ Red Bull in qualifying, as fans and engineers make comparisons. Mercedes will be relatively happy with their weekend. George Russell’s incident may have just denied him a podium to the consistent Esteban Ocon, where as Lewis Hamilton recovered from his confidence-draining practice crash to finish 4th, a good show of resilience from the seven-time world champion. Top 10: Monaco Grand Prix P1 Max Verstappen P2 Fernando Alonso P3 Esteban Ocon P4 Lewis Hamilton P5 George Russell P6 Charles Leclerc P7 Pierre Gasly P8 Carlos Sainz P9 Lando Norris P10 Oscar Piastri The upgrades expected for Imola were not displayed effectively in the unique Monaco, so this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix will show a representative display of the order at the moment. The Monaco Grand Prix must stay on the calendar in the future and beyond, despite the fact that the evolution of these cars seem to suit the circuit less each year. It is a staple of the calendar.