Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fulfilled a childhood dream on Sunday by becoming the first local driver to win the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix since Louis Chiron in 1931.
The 26-year-old celebrated his first time on the Monaco podium after six attempts. The race included two standing starts from pole position and was interrupted by first-lap collisions that eliminated 20% of the field.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri came in second place, trailing by 7.1 seconds after completing 78 laps on a circuit notorious for its parade-like races, with no opportunity for passing. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz secured the third spot.
“It means a lot,” Leclerc expressed, his voice filled with emotion over the team radio as he crossed the finish line to the sight of French football star Kylian Mbappe waving the checkered flag amidst the roaring cheers of the spectators and Prince Albert’s approving gesture. “It’s the race that made me dream of becoming a Formula One driver one day.”
Red Bull’s top racer and last year’s Monaco victor, Max Verstappen, began and ended in sixth place, marking the third instance in this season’s eight contests where the celebrated triple world champion didn’t come out on top.
Lando Norris of McLaren finished fourth, while George Russell secured fifth place for Mercedes. The illustrious seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, clinched seventh position, earning an extra point for the fastest lap. Yuki Tsunoda, representing the Red Bull-owned team, finished eighth.
Alex Albon earned Williams their initial points of the year with a ninth-place finish, and Pierre Gasly grabbed the last point available for Alpine, despite an early collision with his teammate Esteban Ocon, which led to an abrupt end to Ocon’s race.
The race was halted due to a significant collision involving Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and the Haas team’s Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, which necessitated repairs to the barriers and the clearing of wreckage.
This interruption gave the teams a chance to switch tyres, eliminating the need for additional pitstops that could have altered the race standings, and it also proved beneficial for Carlos Sainz.
After veering off track and halting at Casino Square due to a tyre puncture from a tussle with Piastri, the Spanish driver managed to make it back to the pits and rejoin the race in his initial third-place starting position.
“It was a tight one and a very bad feeling in lap one which very quickly turned into a really good feeling after getting reinstated in P3,” he recounted.
“I’m incredibly happy to see Charles win on his home Grand Prix,” he continued. “To be able to share this podium with him in P3 is great for the whole team, and it feels like we’re getting stronger and stronger.”
To conserve his tyres and prevent a gap large enough for his competitors to pit and obtain new, quicker tyres, Leclerc intentionally reduced the pace of the race upon its restart. For more updates, follow Feedbinge.
