This is the Monaco Grand Prix, not a sensational performance.
Nothing like a little rain can upset what looks like an otherwise ordinary parade around the historic and iconic street.
It’s clear (as it was in the sky at the start) that modern F1 cars have evolved far beyond the tight and dangerous confines of Monaco and with Max Verstappen in the middle of another historic season, you’ve got the equation for those What should have been an anti-climate race weekend.
Although the two-time defending world champion took his fourth win of the season on Sunday, the streets of Monaco turned into a slide in the final stages to add a bit of chaos and drama.
Verstappen finished in his Red Bull with a nearly 28-second advantage over Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, whose team bet and lost by switching from hard to medium tires only to have to pit again. quick succession to slap on an intermediate set to deal with the rain.
It’s hard to say if Alonso will win if he goes straight to the middle tire but at least that gives us a chance to believe Verstappen and Red Bull can still be beaten this year. Don’t forget Verstappen also tagged the wall at one point and fortunately avoided any damage.
Here are some more scores from the Monaco GP on Sunday.
OH VERY NEAR FOR ALONSO
Alonso was on the interim post as the final session of Saturday’s qualifying session was set to end until Verstappen won P1 at the buzzer.
Oddly enough, the second-placed rider has won Monaco more times than the runner has in recent years – which means, there’s a lot of hope and hype for it. Alonso.
Although Alonso and Aston Martin lost the pit stop gamble, at least they did not lose because they were ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who finished very far in third.
Alonso’s best performance in almost nine years, and his fifth time on the podium of the season, bodes well for him to head into his home circuit next Sunday for the Spanish Grand Prix, where Alonso-Mania is sure to go wild.
PEREZ QUESTIONS
There’s only one king in Monaco and it’s not Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. “Street King” crashed in qualifying and was forced to start from the bottom of the squad leaving him unable to even contest points, never mind running again and repeating last year’s victory.
Perez, the only driver other than Verstappen to win this season, was also a little overzealous when he stepped on the gas. He nearly crashed into Lance Stroll and then illegally passed an Aston Martin only to “give up” position after he crashed into the back of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas (which also forced Stroll to drive through the wreckage).
There was also a close call with George Russell even though the Mercedes driver was found guilty in that incident and fined.
It was a weekend to forget and the one that gave Alonso the lead to take second in the standings with Perez now just over 12 points.
OCON AND ALPINE A-OK
Alpine had the best weekend in a long time not only Ocon was on the podium but also teammate Pierre Gasly finished in P7, which was also his best result since joining this year’s team. .
Ocon seems to be known for winning the odd surprise podium after a runner-up result in Sakhir in 2020 and a win-that-that-really-happens in Hungary in 2021.
Alpine is now on the right track — also scoring twice as much in Miami three weeks ago — and overtaking McLaren for fifth place in the constructors rankings and “best of all.” again”. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain that momentum next week in Spain.
THIS WEEK AT FERRARI FLUBS
Oh Ferrari, how did you let yourself down this time? What about before the Grand Prix even begins?
Charles Leclerc, who had won pole position the previous two years at Monaco, was given a three-point penalty this time for obstructing McLaren driver Lando Norris in qualifying. That sent Leclerc down to the P6 starting point, which is also where he ended up.
Carlos Sainz, who started in fourth and finished eighth, soon damaged his front wing when he crashed into the rear of Ocon’s car and continued to argue with the team over strategic decisions. Sainz was also a victim of the rain when he slipped across the track and lost a position to Leclerc.
A positive note is that Ferrari has managed to complete a clean double-piston stop (unlike last year), so at least that should work for them.
MATCHING STOP STOP
• Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton flew under the radar on his business as he finished in fourth place and also earned bonus points for fastest lap. You don’t have to remind Hamilton how important every point is.
• McLaren has been lavishly decorated to celebrate 60 years of history and triple crowning achievement with paint colors inspired by their past winning cars at the Monaco GP, Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours. . An inspiring effort as it earned them just their second double of the season and a comeback against Miami, where they walked away empty-handed. Norris finished ninth and rookie Oscar Piastri placed right behind him in P10.
• Who says you can’t get past Monaco? Everyone seemed able to get past Williams’ Logan Sargeant as the American rookie started in 16th and dropped the order in last place on the line in 18th (thanks to Stroll and Magnussen taking a break). retirement). It’s been a pretty bad season for Williams, who only scored one point thanks to Alex Albon’s opening game of the season in Bahrain.
• Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas is also 5 Grand Prix points short after a solid P8 win in Bahrain. Bottas came close to winning the record in Monaco but made a brief appearance in P11. Teammate Zhou Guanyu took six points of the day (yay) but that was a bit controversial as he still finished in an unlucky 13th place (no).
• Talking about A-teams looks like something, but what’s with AlphaTauri? Yuki Tsunoda had a strong time on Saturday in qualifying to start in ninth but ended up finishing two rounds in 15th. Rookie teammate Nyck de Vries had better results. a bit at 12th but still meaningless for the year.
