The curse is over! Leclerc took the coveted victory on the streets of Monaco, Verstappen didn’t even make the podium

The Monaco Grand Prix is notoriously challenging, with a circuit that forgives no mistakes and offers minimal overtaking opportunities. Unsurprisingly, the top ten finishers finished in the same order in which they started. Charles Leclerc thus became the first Monegasque in F1 history to win on home soil.

The narrow streets of Monte Carlo claimed the scalps of four drivers after the start. Sergio Pérez clipped a charging Magnussen against the barrier on the hill after the first corner, resulting in a nasty crash in which the Red Bull driver, sliding uncontrollably around the track, also shot down the second Haas of Nico Hülkenberg.

None of the three monoposts could continue in the race. Red flags were displayed for necessary repairs to the barriers and track clean-up.

Esteban Ocon also retired after a fight with his teammate. The latter tried to surprise Gasly into the Portier corner, but was briefly thrown into the air after contact with his front tyre and had to retire from the race.

The race seemed to be over for Carlos Sainz as well. The Ferrari driver was left standing on the side of the track with a punctured tyre after slight contact in a duel at the first corner. But he managed to pull back into the pits and was back up to third place on the restart.

The situation between Pérez and Haasy was left unpunished by the sports commissioners. The same conclusion was reached in the fight between Oscar Piastri and Sainz. Ocon earned a five-place penalty at the start of the next race.

The second start was much more orderly. The top four put on a hard compound in an attempt to extend their stint to the end and avoid a pit stop. Despite signs of attack, the field stabilised and the race turned into a promenade as expected.

For the rest of the race, teams just had to watch for gaps that would allow a pit-stop for free. In an effort to create or avoid these gaps, many drivers tried to go as slow as possible and slow down the rest of the field.

Lewis Hamilton’s pit stop, which forced Max Verstappen to stop as well, injected some energy into the race. The Dutchman then quickly caught Russell on fresh tyres and began looking for a gap to overtake. But Russell was able to defend on the old, medium-hard tyres.

Leclerc has broken the curse!

After a flawless drive, Charles Leclerc got his dream win. The Monegasque has always been unlucky on home soil in F1, having only finished two of the previous races, both times off the podium. After his third pole position, Leclerc finally made it to the top step of the podium.

Overshadowed by Leclerc’s success remained one of the best weekends of Piastri’s short career so far. The Australian held on to second place after a fantastic qualifying session, reducing the gap to teammate Lando Norris who finished fourth.

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