Then came another incident as Sainz clipped the rear of Ocon’s car exiting the tunnel, leaving him with a damaged front-left endplate that worked itself loose on the following lap and was subsequently run over by Hamilton and Leclerc, but with no punctures caused. Up front, Verstappen got into a rhythm and edged away from Alonso, bringing his lead just over the two-second mark as Lap 10 of 78 approached, with Ocon some 10 seconds adrift, followed by Sainz, Hamilton and Leclerc – all circulating nose to tail. Stewards acted quickly to give Hulkenberg a five-second time penalty for his over-ambitious move on Sargeant, while the panel also noted a potential incorrect starting position for Russell, though ultimately decided against taking any further action. The rest of the runners were split between mediums and hards, with Zhou the only driver to go with softs as he looked to make up ground from 19th on the grid, which was completed by the out-of-position Perez after he dramatically crashed in qualifying.Īs the lights went out, pole-sitter Verstappen put his softer tyres to good use by charging away from his grid spot and maintaining his advantage over Alonso into the first corner, with Ocon holding third from Sainz, Hamilton, Leclerc, Gasly, Russell, Tsunoda and Norris.įurther back, there was all sorts of drama as Hulkenberg locked up under braking for Mirabeau and thumped his way past Sargeant, before Stroll got caught between Albon and the right-hand side barrier at the hairpin, shedding some carbon fibre in the process.įollowing further contact in the bottleneck effect, Hulkenberg and Zhou pitted at the end of the lap to move onto the hard tyres, with Perez also coming in for a set of the white-marked rubber, all three seemingly bidding to run all the way to the chequered flag. When the blankets came off, an intriguing mixture of starting tyres were revealed, with Verstappen, Ocon, Hamilton, Tsunoda and Norris the top 10 runners to opt for the medium compound, and Alonso, Sainz, Leclerc, Gasly and Russell picking hards. It marked yet another setback for the Monegasque, whose troubles on home soil over the years have left fans wondering whether he is ‘cursed’, as Ocon, team mate Sainz and Hamilton all gladly accepted a gained grid spot at a venue where track position is vital.īut all eyes were on the front row of the grid and whether Verstappen or Alonso would make the better start and win the dash to Sainte Devote, with the Aston Martin driver teasing after qualifying that his Red Bull rival’s starts so far this season had been “inconsistent”. Just as the dust was settling on a frenetic qualifying hour around Monaco’s tight and twisty streets, the stewards dropped a communication that would see Leclerc fall from third on the grid to sixth position for his home race, having impeded Norris in the Q3 phase. Home favourite Charles Leclerc crossed the line where he started in sixth, having been given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lando Norris in qualifying, followed by the other Alpine of Pierre Gasly and Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz, who lost out with a spin in the wet. Mercedes’ updated W14s racked up a solid haul of points as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell took fourth and fifth respectively, the latter’s five-second time penalty for clashing with Sergio Perez when he rejoined the track from an off in the slippery conditions not affecting his finishing position. Crucially, Verstappen went straight from his starting mediums to intermediates, surviving contact with the wall before pitting, getting back into a rhythm in the mixed conditions and controlling proceedings to the chequered flag.ĭespite that extra stop, Alonso had enough in hand to retain second and score Aston Martin’s best result of the season so far, with Ocon converting his eye-catching qualifying performance into the final podium spot.
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