Charles Leclerc finally ended his wait to win an emotional home Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, leading from start to finish in a race that won’t be remembered as a classic.
All the action from the 78-lap race was concentrated during the first few corners with a red flag brought out following Sergio Perez’s collision with the two Haas cars.
Charles Leclerc nailed his restart and led Oscar Piastri around the Monaco circuit for the rest of the Grand Prix and posted on his Instagram to celebrate his win.
The young Australian pushed Leclerc for the majority of the race, dropping off in the final few laps almost conceding defeat after a faultless effort from the 26-year-old.
Piastri was amongst the drivers who sent Leclerc a message after their battle in Monaco and won’t want to see the back of a Ferrari for a long time after spending nearly two hours studying the Monegasque’s rear wing.
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Oscar Piastri sends Charles Leclerc a message after Monaco Grand Prix victory
As is so often the case in Monte Carlo, qualifying was arguably the most important session of the weekend.
The big shock came in Q1 when Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez were eliminated in a huge blow to Red Bull’s chance of disrupting the status quo at a track that didn’t particularly suit their car.
Max Verstappen could only qualify 6 after making a mistake at the beginning of his final run leading to a four-way shootout between the Ferrari and McLaren drivers.
Lando Norris had been beaten by his teammate throughout the weekend and could only start 4, with Carlos Sainz unable to match Leclerc at his home race joining the Brit on the second row.
It came down to Piastri against Leclerc in Monaco and if the Australian had combined all of his best sectors then he would have taken pole position.
However, it came down to a matter of tenths and Leclerc secured the most important pole of the season in the principality.
That doesn’t necessarily guarantee victory as Leclerc will tell you from his past experience, but he nailed both starts and managed what was a tactical battle that mainly revolved around Mercedes driver George Russell.
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F1 drivers laud Charles Leclerc after finally winning Monaco Grand Prix
Posting a selection of pictures on Instagram including celebrating with the team and joining team principal Frederic Vasseur in jumping into the harbour, Leclerc said: “BEST DAY EVER. Thank you for everything, I love you all.”
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez replied: “Bravo Charles!” while his close friend and Alpine star Pierre Gasly said: “Way to go Champ!! So happy for you!!”
Oscar Piastri showed his respect for Leclerc after their tense battle in Monaco and simply commented: “Congrats bro.”
George Russell also said “Congrats mate!” although his influence on the race can’t be ignored.
The Mercedes driver was trying to protect his medium tyres and take them to the end of the Grand Prix and Leclerc had to make sure he didn’t create too big a gap between him and Lando Norris.
With nothing to lose, it would have allowed the McLaren driver to put on faster tyres and attack Sainz but thankfully for the home crowd, he managed the gap well.
Leclerc has closed the gap to Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship to 31 with the Constructors’ Championship also looking like a very close battle.
Verstappen admitted the only positive from the race was identifying a key weakness with the RB20.
They’ll hope they can fix that before arriving in Canada for the next Grand Prix.
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