Perez Wins as Leclerc Left Heartbroken Again After Monaco Grand Prix

Monaco hosted their 68th Grand Prix under the Formula 1 calendar this past weekend. A track that has provided a very limited amount of entertainment for the audience in the past few years might have hosted an intriguing Grand Prix just in time before their contract with F1 runs out.

Haas’ Kevin Magnussen running in the rain during the Monaco Grand Prix followed by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Credit: Twitter @HaasF1Team

After an accident in the last seconds of qualifying on Saturday ended the session prematurely, the changing weather in Monaco interrupted the race start procedure. Mechanics and engineers scrambled up and down the pit lane trying to get the correct tires for their drivers. The condition changed from slicks to intermediates to extreme wet tires in a matter of minutes, causing chaos in the pit lane and garages. Race control delayed the start further as they observed a storm cloud approach. The rain started pouring down as the formation lap started and it got heavier. Race control deemed track conditions unsuitable for racing, so the race start was aborted.

Charles Leclerc leads the pack to start the race followed by Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez, and Max Verstappen.

Credit: Twitter @ScuderiaFerrari

After an hour, the skies cleared up and the race started behind the safety car. After running two laps behind the safety car, the drivers were left alone to race under the green flag in wet conditions. Pole-sitter and hometown hero Charles Leclerc immediately pulled away from second place Carlos Sainz. Sainz also has a comfortable lead on the two Red Bulls behind him. 

The track conditions soon became a major factor affecting the results of this race. As cars tumbled around Monte Carlo, the track started to dry rapidly. Pierre Gasly was one of the first drivers to switch from extreme wet tires to intermediate tires. He struggled at first, but soon found the pace that would alert the front runners. Pierre Gasly made his way through the midfield in his new tires, showing other teams that the track was suitable for intermediates. 

Pierre Gasly (Left) launching a move on Guangyu Zhou (Right) at Mirabeau Haute.

Credit: Twitter @AlphaTauriF1

Sergio Perez was the first driver in the leading pack to stop for intermediate tires, Leclerc and Max Verstappen soon followed. Sainz, however, decided to skip the intermediate tires hoping for the track to dry up soon and switch to slicks, saving an extra pitstop. This proved to be the wrong choice as Perez was setting a blistering pace in the new intermediates. Sainz took the gamble to put on medium slick tires. At the same time, Ferrari made a call that changed the results of the race.

Carlos Sainz changed from intermediate tyres to medium slick tyres at lap 21.

Credit: Twitter @ScuderiaFerrari

 As Sainz entered the pits, Ferrari called Leclerc in at the same time. The Ferrari engineers immediately realized their mistakes, telling Leclerc to stay out, but it was already too late. Leclerc was already entering the pits and he was forced to wait behind Sainz to finish his pitstop, losing precious time. Leclerc was absolutely furious with the team over the team radio. He thought he lost the lead to Sainz but it got worse for the Monégasque. Perez and Verstappen did their pitstops one lap later and Perez took the lead after exiting the pitstop. Verstappen stotted between the Ferraris and overtook Leclerc. After the second round of pitstops, Ferrari’s tactical mistake left Leclerc in fourth and Sainz in second. 

Mick Schumacher walked away from his car after his accident at the Swimming Pool Chicane.

Credit: Twitter @F1

The second red flag of the race came laps later. Mick Schumacher ran slightly wide at the exit of Swimming Pool Chicane and spun. He hit the crash fence and then the safety barrier. The speed was not significant but the car was heavily damaged. The gearbox separated from the cockpit, but Schumacher luckily escaped unscathed. Race control had to pause the race with a red flag to repair the barrier. 

Sergio Perez leads Carlos Sainz in the closing laps of the race.

Credit: Twitter @Ben_Sulayem

The race restarted as the two-hour race clock started running down. In F1, a race will end when the clock hit the two-hour mark after the first green flag. With the rain earlier in the race and the red flag that put things to a halt, this year’s Monaco Grand Prix did not run the whole 78 laps. The rest of the race was limited by the ticking race clock instead of the number of laps left. Perez led the pack to restart the race. Sainz, Verstappen, and Leclerc followed closely. Even though Perez was encountering some graining issues on his tires that slowed him down, he was able to defend Sainz on the streets of Monaco. Sainz tried his best for a gap to pass Perez but none of his attempts were successful. In the closing laps of the race, Perez’s lead to fourth place Leclerc was less than two seconds. The top four cars ran nose to tail for an exciting ending. Eventually, Perez’s graining issues improved and he pulled away from Sainz in the final two laps. 

Sergio Perez crosses the line to win his third F1 race and first-ever Monaco Grand Prix.

Credit: @redbullracing

Perez crossed the line after 64 laps to take the chequered flag. The Mexican finally won Monaco on his eleventh attempt. He became the first Mexican driver to win the Monaco Grand Prix and, while wearing a Pedro Rodriguez tribute helmet over the weekend, overtook Rodriguez to become the most successful Mexican driver in F1. Sainz took second place in Monaco for the second year in a row and Verstappen took third to round up the podium. Verstappen’s 100 percent win record in every race he was able to finish unfortunately ended, but he was still able to extend his lead in the driver's standings. 

Charles Leclerc waves at his hometown fans before the start of the Grand Prix.

Credit: Twitter @ScuderiaFerrari

Leclerc finally broke his Monaco curse, but not entirely. He finished his first race in his home country, but not in the position he wanted to be. It was going well for the Monégasque until the second round of pit stops rolled around. It was unfortunate that Alex Albon failed to get out of his way during his in-lap and the team made the wrong call on tactics demoting him to fourth. Leclerc’s search for his first home country win will continue for at least another year.