Max Verstappen wins the Monte Carlo Grand Prix and reaches 39 victories with Red Bull, thus managing to do better than Sebastian Vettel [+1 ndr] in the years when the German drove for the blue team.
Normal departure in that of Montecarlo, but it was to be expected to be on a circuit where to pass you have to make yourself so small as to be almost invisible. On the go In fact, Max holds the position conquered yesterday with an alien lap without the slightest problem and Fernando had to surrender to the unstoppable pace of the Dutchman who managed to put a good 11 seconds between himself and his first rival in about thirty laps. To the giro 11 the first slight twist occurs with Sainz damaging the external support of the front wing following an impact with Ocon’s right rear after an extreme overtaking attempt at the exit of the tunnel, the damage was not exaggerated, therefore the mechanics decided not to bring Sainz back for a wing change so as not to waste too much time.
Al lap 21 Sainz is called to the pits to attempt an undercut on Ocon, only to continue for a last minute team changeover. But that’s not all and the curtain is repeated on lap 28at Ferrari they are perhaps trying to disorient the Alpine, they evidently believe that Ocon is listening to their team radio and is acting accordingly.
Ocon also comes in to change tires before Sainz (his direct rival in the standings), but despite a rather long pit stop by Esteban (more than 4 seconds), Sainz comes out of the lane after his tire change still behind #31. Perez tries a strategy on Stroll: taking advantage of Max overtaking Lance (who was lapped) the Mexican teammate has tried the trick of following Max and exploiting his trail and his encumbrance to overcome number #18 himself by Aston Martin, but Stroll didn’t like the idea and ended up dragging his front wing on the barriers as Perez cut the chicane.
From the ride 53 starts to rain for about ten laps and it is at this point that hell descends on Montecarlo. First the area from the hairpin to the entrance to the tunnel starts to get very wet, so much so that the drivers who still have the dry tires on are almost unable to keep the cars on the track, then the situation gets worse and worse and the water starts to be really a lot since the ascent of the casino, everyone therefore decides to return to change to intermediate tyres, but the leaders in the standings are reluctant and enter the pits last, including the two Ferraris who try to stay out as much as possible (perhaps hoping the rain would stop immediately), unfortunately for them it doesn’t and the two drivers find themselves literally skating on the track one after the other, thus wasting a lot of time even in the pits for a joint and close pit stop.
Despite the intermediate tires the track conditions are really tough and almost all the pilots make at least one mistake going to engage a twist after another: Max brushes against the wall at the tunnel entrance, Sainz sled with the single-seater at the high Mirabeau and only by a miracle he is not forced to retire, Hulkenberg enters the pits last but not before having sstamped his front wing on the barriers outside of the Rascasse, and even after the stop with which he mounts the full wets (first to do so) he ends up wide at the first chicane. Sargeant does a parking test at the hairpin and must insert the reverse to restart, Perez loses control at the pools and unhings the sticker of the sponsor MSC from the barriers, Russell goes long and on returning he hits Perez who does skip the British car: precisely for having returned to the track in a dangerous way, he is then assigned a 5-second penalty.
In the chaos that was generated by the arrival of the rain on the track, the Mercedes took advantage of it and, having pitted before the two Ferraris, manage to overtake in 4th and 5th position, just behind the two reds of Leclerc and Sainz respectively in sixth and eighth position (Sainz in waiting so long to change the tires lost several positions including the one on his partner and on Gasly). Instead, there was no change for the first 3 at the start who managed to manage the situation in the best possible way and in this way maintained their positions at the start.