Domination of Max Verstappen and Red Bull-Honda in the Monaco GP. It might seem like a piece of cake for the Dutch driver, and indeed it was for most of the race, but the rain arrived in the final stages. The track conditions got bloody complicated, Verstappen caressed the walls a couple of times, until everyone entered the pits to put on rain tyres. They were difficult times for everyone, but there weren’t any particular mistakes and above all the safety car didn’t have to intervene, a rare thing in these parts especially when the asphalt gets slippery. Verstappen thus collected 25 very heavy points for the world championship considering that his teammate Sergio Perez, who started last after the error in qualifying, remained stuck in the bottom of the standings.
Fernando Alonso with the Aston Martin-Mercedes brought home the second position, from which he started. He was never able to significantly approach Verstappen and gradually lost ground. When the rain arrived, strangely enough, the slicks were put back in the pits, an incomprehensible choice and in fact after one lap Alonso had to come back for the rain. Good for him he didn’t lose his position. For Alonso it is the first second place of the season after finishing third four times. Esteban Ocon’s performance with the certainly not competitive Alpine-Renault was incredible. The Frenchman had already performed magic in qualifying by taking the fourth fastest time, then found himself third due to the penalty to Charles Leclerc. Ocon, although slower than those following him, managed not to be overtaken by conquering a remarkable podium for him and for the team. The last time was the sensational victory in the crazy 2021 Hungarian GP.
Behind Ocon, the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, protagonists of a good race also from the point of view of strategy. Ferrari was disappointing, only sixth with Charles Leclerc and eighth with Carlos Sainz, author of a few mistakes too many. The strategy for the two Ferrari drivers was not spot on, an ancient evil for the Maranello team which remains despite the change of men made by team principal Frederic Vasseur. Points also for McLaren, ninth with Lando Norris and tenth with Oscar Piastri.
The record
Verstappen wins ahead of Alonso and an amazing Ocon with the Alpine-Renault. Fourth and fifth for Mercedes with Hamilton and Russell. The first Ferrari was only sixth, the one for Leclerc ahead of Gasly and his partner Sainz. The two McLarens with Norris and Piastri are also in the points.
Last lap – Verstappen faces the last km of a GP he dominated
Magnussen retires to the pits due to technical problems
Lap 76 – Verstappen is on his way to victory, Alonso holds second position well with 11″ on Ocon who always has Hamilton nearby
Perez is doubled for the second time by Verstappen and goes to the pits for the fifth time. In fact, the Mexican strangely had full wets, now he’s switched to intermediates like everyone else
Lap 70 of 78 – Verstappen has a 25″ lead over Alonso, Ocon remains third 16″4 from the Spaniard and has 2″2 over Hamilton who is unable to get close to the Alpine. Lewis has 2″5 over teammate Russell. Sixth, 11″ from Russell, is Leclerc who has 2″ on Gasly who has Sainz in his slipstream
It’s no longer raining at the moment but we will continue with rain tires even if the trajectory is drying out in some sections
Straight ahead of Tsunoda at the Mirabeau, the Japanese had been suffering from brake problems for several laps
Ocon manages to lengthen the gap from Hamilton
Lap 69 – Norris passes Tsunoda for ninth place and Piastri succeeds too
Lap 67 – Tsunoda, ninth, having trouble with the brakes is attacked by Norris
13 laps to go – 19″ between Verstappen and Alonso, Ocon third sees Ocon approaching significantly, Russell is a little behind, 8″6 behind Mercedes is Leclerc
Lap 61 – The track is treacherous, Verstappen risks a lot and holds 18″5 on Alonso. Third is Ocon who has Hamilton at 1″9. Russell is fifth with 6″5 on Leclerc who has 2″ on Gasly followed by 1″5 from Sainz
Russell goes wide at Mirabeau, starts again but cuts Perez’s way who hits him. Both proceed, but Russell is penalized by 5″ for the manoeuvre
Magnussen strangely continues with the slicks, finally goes to the pits to mount the rains
The situation: Verstappen +22″ Alonso +25″8 Ocon +27″5 Hamilton +36″6 Russell +42″ Leclerc followed by Gasly Sainz Tsunoda Piastri Norris Bottas DeVries Zhou Albon Perez Hulkenberg Magnussen Sargeant
Stroll slams and damages the front of his car, the race continues
Lap 56 – In the pits Verstappen, again Alonso Leclerc Sainz Norris Hulkenberg, all with rain
In the pits Ocon Hamilton and Gasly for the intermediate rain tyres.
Long by Sainz at the Mirabeau, with slicks
Lap 55 – Alonso goes to the pits but doesn’t mount the rain tyres, but medium slicks
They mount the Albon Zhou Stroll and Bottas intermediate rains
There is a fair amount of confusion on the track with the dubbed riders in the midst of those in a tussle, a great duel between Ocon and Sainz
Lap 53 – Verstappen and Alonso continue with the slicks, no one stops in the pits for now
It starts to rain in some points of the circuit, Sainz attacks Ocon, but makes a mistake and cuts the variant after the tunnel
Lap 52 – Pit stop for Norris who mounts hard tyres
A few drops of rain have arrived on the Montecarlo track
Lap 50 – Verstappen with the medium tires is unable to extend more than 8-9 seconds on Alonso who has the hard Pirellis, Russell is third with the hard tires with which he started. Following Ocon Sainz Hamilton Leclerc and Gasly who made the pit stop – Nono Tsunoda ahead of Norris Piastri DeVries Bottas Magnussen Stroll Hulkenberg Zhou Albon Perez Sargeant
Lap 48 – In pt-lane Gasly who puts on medium
Lap 45 – In the pits Leclerc who restarts with the medium Pirellis
Lap 43 of 78 – Verstappen continues without problems with the medium tires and has a 9″ lead over Alonso, at 30″9 there is Leclerc who has 1″6 over Gasly and Russell is just behind. These three drivers do not they did the tire change
We are on lap 40 and the rain forecast by McLaren on lap 35 has not shown
Stroll desperately tries to overtake Magnussen, but the Dane doesn’t allow him a meter
La situazione: Verstappen Alonso Leclerc Gasly Russell Ocon Sainz Hamilton Tsunoda Norris Piastri DeVries Bottas Magnussen Stroll Hulkenberg Zhou Albon Perez Sargeant
Lap 36 – Perez must return to the pits to change the wing damaged in contact with Magnussen. Race ruined for the Mexican
35th turn – Verstappen +7″3 Alonso +27″6 Leclerc
Lap 34 – Sainz in the pits, medium tyres, doesn’t change the nose, but stays behind Ocon
After a contact, Perez manages to get the better of Stroll
Lap 33 – Ocon is also in the pits, a slow pit stop
Lap 32 – Verstappen doubles Perez, Hamilton in the pits to mount hard tyre
Verstappen is preparing to lap his teammate Perez, 16th
Lap 30 – Verstappen started lapping the last ones, first Zhou, now Hulkenberg
Lap 29 – Magnussen caught up with the DeVries-Bottas duo pulling Stroll Perez and Hulkenberg behind him
Ferrari, on the other hand, communicates to Sainz that the rain should arrive at the end of the race
According to the McLaren garage, the risk of rain could materialize around lap 35
DeVries and Bottas are also very close in battle for 12th place
Duel between Magnussen and Stroll, with Perez a spectator behind them, for 14th position
24 laps completed by Verstappen with the medium tyres, Alonso has the hards and on paper the degradation is expected much after the compound used by Red Bull
Meanwhile, Sargeant stopped in the pits to put on the soft tyres
Verstappen has 8″7 on Alonso and a good 25″ ahead of Ocon who is followed by 1″ by Sainz. Hamilton is unable to approach the Spaniard from Ferrari, but keeps Leclerc behind.
Lap 20 – Hulkenberg overtakes Zhou, a mistake at Sainte-Devote, and then Sargeant
Lap 19 – In the Albon pits to mount hard tyres
At the Rascasse Stroll and Perez also manage to overtake Sargeant who is in trouble
Lap 18 – Magnussen manages to overtake Sargeant for 15th place
15° giro – Verstappen Alonso Ocon Sainz Hamilton Leclerc Gasly Russell Tsunoda Norris Piastri DeVries Albon Bottas Sargeant Magnussen Stroll Perez Zhou Hulkenberg
14th turn – Verstappen +5″6 Alonso + 17″1 Ocon +18″2 Sainz +20″ Hamilton +21″ Leclerc
From the Aston Martin team they inform Alonso that the tire pressures are ok
Alonso warns the Aston Martin team by reporting a possible puncture.
Ocon is turning half a second slower on average and is creating a small train behind him
The front wing flap, on the left side, detached from Sainz’s Ferrari and could continue like this
Lap 11 – Sainz approaches Sainz, but at the exit of the tunnel he is too close and damages the front wing by hitting the Alpine
Lap 10 – Verstappen increases his advantage over Alonso to 2″9, Ocon loses again and is 12″ from the leader, but Sainz behind him doesn’t seem able to attack him. 2″2 from Sainz is Hamilton who contains Leclerc
Lap 7 – Verstappen takes the lead over Alonso +7″5 Ocon +8″7 Sainz +10″1 Hamilton +11″ Leclerc to 2″4, then Gasly Russell Tsunoda and Norris in the top 10
Lap 2 – Verstappen leads with 1″5 on Alonso and 3″3 on Ocon, then Sainz Hamilton Leclerc Gasly Russell Tsunoda Norris Piastri DeVries Albon Bottas Sargeant Magnussen Stroll Perez Zhou Hulkenberg
In the pits Zhou Hulkenberg and also Perez who mount hard tires to get to the finish line
A bit of tussle behind with Stroll hitting the barriers
Regular start with Verstappen in front of Alonso Ocon Sainz Hamilton and Leclerc
The line-up that will see Perez last is being completed
The starting grid was cleared of guests, among which the footballer Neymar stood out, ready for the formation lap
With medium tires Verstappen, Ocon Hamilton Tsunoda Norris DeVries Albon Sargeant Hulkenberg and Perez. With the tough Alonso Sainz Leclerc Gasly Russell Piastri Stroll Bottas Magnussen
Only one driver starts on the soft tyres: Zhou
Gp Monaco, live – There are four world titles on the front row of the Monaco GP. Four world championships belonging to riders of two different generations. On pole, Max Verstappen with Red Bull-Honda, 25 years old, author of an amazing lap in Saturday’s qualifying and champion in 2021-2022, while on the second pitch will be Fernando Alonso, 41 years old, champion in 2005-2006 when the Renault was directed by Flavio Briatore. Today Alonso, after a long journey that had also taken him away from F1 to attempt new adventures such as the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans (conquered twice), the 24 Hours of Daytona (won) and the Dakar, confirmed for the umpteenth time that age matters little if talent is immense and the desire to continue racing never wanes. After two years with Alpine-Renault, he found in Aston Martin-Mercedes the means by which to return to the podium and dream of a return to victory, he has 25 and his last time was in 2010 in Singapore with Ferrari.
It is the first time that Verstappen and Alonso share the front row. This year, the Spaniard had qualified second in Jeddah and Miami, but Sergio Perez was just ahead of him on pole. The Mexican, on the other hand, will start sensationally last due to a trivial mistake in Q1 which will have very serious consequences on the championship standings which now sees him second at 14 points behind Verstappen. Gaps that this evening could be even wider. In the second row, there will be Carlos Sainz with Ferrari, fourth in qualifying, but in front of him was an incredible Esteban Ocon with Alpine-Renault. The French in Monaco made the difference. Charles Leclerc was third fastest yesterday, but was penalized three places for having hindered Lando Norris in Q3. A serious mistake not by the driver, but by the team, which did not warn him in time of the arrival of the McLaren driver in one of the most dangerous points, under the tunnel. In the third row with Leclerc is Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes.
Gp Monaco, the direct
At 15 the departure
1970-01-01 00:00:00
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