Leclerc Finally Wins His Home Grand Prix!
After many years of bad luck at his home race, Charles Leclerc has finally done it—he is the first Monegasque to win in Monaco! Congratulations.
Oscar Piastri finished second in his McLaren, which sported a yellow Senna design this weekend. Carlos Sainz finished third in the second Ferrari, lucky that the race had to be stopped with a red flag in the first lap; otherwise, after suffering a puncture in the first corner, he would have had no chance of making it to the podium.
Speaking of the red flag, it was once again triggered by Kevin Magnussen, who saw a gap between the wall and Sergio Perez after the first corner that only he could see. There definitely wasn't one, and squeezing in with his front wing beside a car, knowing that the other driver might not see him (blind spot), borders on madness. As a result of the crash, Checo’s Red Bull was completely destroyed, and both Kevin and his teammate (Hülkenberg), who was actually uninvolved, were taken out of the race. Why the race officials didn't issue a penalty here is beyond me.
Also in the first lap, before entering the tunnel, Ocon tried to squeeze past his teammate, which didn't go well, leading to an internal Alpine collision and damage to both cars, especially Ocon’s. He couldn't resume the race after the interruption because his left rear suspension was damaged. Alpine team boss Famin announced "drastic measures."
Otherwise, the race was very boring, as usual, with no real overtakes and a very slow pace just to conserve the tires from the second lap to the finish. Most drivers didn’t make another pit stop after the red flag, removing the last element of excitement—strategy—from the equation.
I also found it very nice how relaxed Prince Albert was during the award ceremony. First visibly moved by Charles' victory, then he spontaneously grabbed a bottle himself and joined in the celebrations.
