Heartbreak for Leclerc as victorious Verstappen takes historic win in Monaco.
P1 – VER
P2 – SAI
P3 – NOR
Devastation for Hometown Hero
Charles Leclerc scored a brilliant pole position in his home race on Saturday. Emotions went from ecstatic to heartbreak as the Monegasque crashed at the exit of the swimming pool late in Q3.
All appeared to be okay as the Ferrari garage didn’t find any defects on the gearbox following checks.
All hopes for a historic win for the hometown hero were put to an abrupt stop when Leclerc could be heard on the radio wailing, “No no no guys – the gearbox.”
Hearts broke for the Ferrari driver as he exited his car with minutes until lights out.
A Young Podium
Max Verstappen took advantage of his gifted pole position from Leclerc’s misfortunes. The Dutchman lept off the line keeping Bottas at bay in P2.
Thanks to Valtteri’s unfortunate retirement, former teammates Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris finished P2 and P3, respectively.
Norris’s race wasn’t exactly stress-free, however, as the charging Red Bull of Sergio Perez got eerily close to taking away his trophy.
Trouble at Mercedes?
It was an uncharacteristic off-day at the Mercedes garage. Lewis Hamilton managed only P7, with his teammate Valtteri Bottas having to retire his car after a faulty pit stop due to his right front tire.
It certainly wasn’t the race anyone could have predicted, especially coming off of clear momentum in the previous four races of the season.
All in all, Monaco 2021 will be a weekend Mercedes will want to quickly forget.
Best of the Rest
Red Bull put their time off to good use, swatting back at Mercedes’ recent brilliant strategy with a slice of their own. Perez finished a stellar P4 recovery from P8, which wasn’t music to Lewis Hamilton’s ears as he heard of the undercut. Hamilton managed to score the fastest lap point, but saw his championship lead swing to his rival.
Sebastian Vettel reclaimed his Monaco-glory finishing an admirable P5 for Aston Martin, thanks to similar undercut strategy. His teammate, Lance Stroll, finished P8 after an incredible 58-lap stint on hard tires after starting P13.
Pierre Gasly showed his racing skills by keeping Hamilton behind, scoring his best finish of the year in P6. It’s surely a welcomed sigh of relief from the Frenchman after a difficult start to the season.
The Alpine of Esteban Ocon continues to deliver with a points’ scoring finish in P9. Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi finished P10, securing the team’s first points of the season.
From a weekend to remember to a weekend to forget, aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo fell to P13 after being passed by Lance Stroll and Kimi Raikkonen. Ouch.
Looking Ahead
The season continues at another street circuit. It’s lights out in Baku where Mercedes are hoping for history to repeat itself from 2019.
