PEREZ GETS HIS FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON AFTER FAIRLY HOLDING OFF SAINZ AND VERSTAPPEN AT THE MONACO GP.
It will go down as one of the more dramatic editions of the Monaco Grand Prix in recent memory, with Sergio Perez eventually coming out as the winner in what ended up as a timed race. It is Perez’s first win of the season, his first at Monaco, and just the third of his career. Carlos Sainz took second and Max Verstappen finished third.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez took the chequered flag at a rain-affected Monaco Grand Prix to win the third race of his career, and take victory at the famous venue for the first time.
The initial start of the race was aborted by a red flag. As the drivers got underway for their formation lap behind the safety car after a twenty minute delay, race control decided to call a halt to proceedings due to the treacherous track conditions.
After forty-five minutes, and much deliberating, the race finally got back underway behind the safety car with a rolling start. Three laps later, the green flag signalled that the drivers could finally go racing.
Charles Leclerc started his home race on pole position after a superb showing in qualifying on Saturday afternoon, and the Monegasque driver initially led for the first part of the race. He then pitted for the intermediate tyres after lap 18, with Carlos Sainz staying out on the full wets.
However, the dynamic of the race changed after lap 23, as the teams tried to figure out when the crossover point was to switch from the intermediate tyres to slicks as the track dried out.
Ferrari opted to bring Sainz in first to change to the hard compound, and in a last-minute call, also chose to box Leclerc behind him.
That call cost the Ferrari driver dearly, as Sergio Perez then took the lead of the race on the next lap. The Mexican overcut Sainz by staying out a lap longer on the full wets. Max Verstappen also got ahead of Leclerc and into 3rd, which could prove crucial in the Championship battle.
However, the race was red flagged once again on lap 30, as Mick Schumacher’s Haas went into the barrier at the exit of the swimming pool chicane, leading to the barrier needing to be repaired.
That meant the drivers could change tyres on the grid before the restart, with both Red Bull’s selecting the medium tyres, and both Ferrari’s choosing the hard compound.
It set up a mouthwatering thirty-minute shootout between the top four drivers until the chequered flag, as the 77 lap race distance could not be completed in the two-hour time limit.
Despite his medium tyres graining, and all the top four being separated by less than two seconds, Sergio Perez held on at the end to secure a famous victory on the Monaco streets.
More to follow…
