Sergio Perez triumphs in Monaco
Neither the rain nor the competition got the better of him: the Mexican Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) withstood the competition until the end to win the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, and is gradually coming back on Verstappen and Leclerc in the championship.
After a twisty race cut short due to rain and an accident, “Checo” held off the Ferrari of Spaniard Carlos Sainz, second, itself closely followed by Dutchman Max Verstappen ( Red Bull) and the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who failed at the foot of the podium despite his pole position.
“It’s a dream come true, as a driver you dream of winning here. After our home race, there is no weekend more special than here (…) keeping Carlos behind was not easy”, reacted Pérez, who notably provided a profitable strategy of change of tires in the first part of the race to claim victory at the finish.
At the end of the Monegasque round, if Verstappen (125 points) still wins the championship, nine points ahead of Leclerc (116), the two strong men of the season will now have to keep an eye on Pérez, since the Mexican, third in the general, comes down to six units of Leclerc with 110 points.
Under the eyes of some 24,000 spectators who were expected on the Rock, including an audience of VIPs including French football legend Zinédine Zidane and American actor Patrick Dempsey, Pérez signed his first victory of the season and the third of his career.
courted course
The start of the race was delayed by more than an hour because of the rain – then the GP was interrupted about twenty minutes after the German Mick Schumacher (Haas) left the road, unscathed despite his single-seater cut in half against the security barriers.
Consequence: over the two hours of racing authorized by the regulations, the drivers were deprived of more than ten laps, but enough to award all the points to the first ten drivers.
Starting in pole position but victim of a strategic error on the part of the Scuderia, Charles Leclerc signs, him, the bad operation of the weekend.
“It was a real disaster today. The victory was clearly in our hands, we had the performance, we had everything, I don’t really understand the call I received (the team asked him in confusion to come back to the pits to change his train again of tires, ndr) and I need explanations for the moment”, reacted the local of the stage.
This step he did not succeed but finally managed to complete. Until now, “his” circuit has never really smiled on him since at home, the Monegasque has always had to give up since 2017 after technical problems or clashes.
Behind, 5th place went to Briton George Russell (Mercedes), followed by his compatriot Lando Norris (McLaren), 6th. Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Alpine), Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Finn Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and German Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) complete the Top 10.
Frenchman Esteban Ocon, 9th at the start of the event, fell to 12th place after a 5-second penalty received for his collision with Hamilton on the 18th lap. Starting from 17th place, the other Frenchman Pierre Gasly moved up to 11th place thanks to the sensitivity of his compatriot.
Walk stuck in traffic (QMI Agency)
Quebecer Lance Stroll, for his part, was able to gain a few places, but he had to settle for 14th position at the finish line.
Qualified 18th, Balade had a bad start to his working day. During a warm-up lap behind the safety car, he slipped and hit the wall, which caused a puncture. Penultimate, he opted for the intermediate tires.
The Montrealer was then able to catch up with the peloton, notably achieving a rare overtaking in the streets of Monaco at the expense of Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), not without slipping during the maneuver.
After a red flag improved by Schumacher’s exit from the track, Stroll was unable to pass Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren).
His teammate Sebastian Vettel meanwhile finished 11th, but a finesse to Esteban Ocon (Alpine) allowed him to take the point for 10th place.
The Formula 1 circus will move to Azerbaijan, in two weeks, and to Montreal, in three weeks, for the Canadian GP.