Written by Owen Bradley, Edited by Sean McKean
Credit: Mark Thompson
Polesitter Max Verstappen managed to convert his starting position into his second race win at Monaco. However, it was not even close to being easy.
Verstappen put together an excellent qualifying lap which got him Pole Position for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, and started alongside veteran Fernando Alonso, who was in P2. Much of the excitement was built around a potential Alonso and Verstappen psychological and strategic battle, and we got it (for the most part).
The opening laps were fairly quiet for the leaders, as Verstappen managed to build a gap to Alonso, and Alonso pulled a fair distance away from Esteban Ocon. However, just over halfway through the race, a chaotic spell of rain brought complete confusion and many crashes to the race.
Aston Martin elected to box Alonso onto slick tyres, as part of the circuit was fairly dry, but the front half of the track suddenly became a literal swimming pool section!
Max Verstappen managed his medium set of tyres all the way into the 50-lap mark, as he then pitted onto the intermediate tyres. After a few hair-raising moments, he brought it home to the chequered flag, waved by Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland.
Alonso brought his Aston Martin home to finish a brilliant P2, which is a mega achievement for the team, who once again show that they have some circuits where they will surely be in contention for the race victory. Esteban Ocon also managed to defend from Carlos Sainz, who became pretty frustrated with Ocon after attempting to force a move into the Nouvelle Chicane and lost a front-wing endplate. Ocon stayed ahead to come home P3, claiming his first podium at Monaco and in Alpine’s 50th Grand Prix in F1 too.
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows on the other side of the Red Bull garage, as a five-stop strategy and a lot of front wing damage meant that Sergio Perez had a nightmare of a race, finishing well out of the points.
A thrilling Monaco Grand Prix, a thrilling weekend for Formula One, which Red Bull and Verstappen will celebrate for many many days to come no doubt.
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