TOPS
Verstappen and Red Bull hit hard
to dream better.
Max Verstappen won the Grand Prix, his first success in Monaco.
The Dutchman took the lead in the drivers' world championship with four points ahead of Lewis Hamilton and the Austrian brand took power among the manufacturers with one unit ahead of Mercedes.
It's called a perfect weekend.
We can even add to this the fourth place of Sergio Perez, he who started ninth.
Red Bull hit hard in the Principality on Sunday.
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Sainz validates his good weekend
He squatted second place in each practice session, before settling for fourth place in qualifying.
We felt the Spaniard a bit frustrated or even annoyed on Saturday.
Sunday's reaction was fine.
Helped by the non-start of Leclerc and the abandonment of Bottas, Sainz managed his boat well on Sunday to take second place and validate his good weekend.
He thus equaled his best result in F1, second also at Monza in 2020, and finally launched his season.
Vettel's nice move
We are no longer used to seeing the German so high in the rankings.
Probing eighth in qualifying, the Aston Martin driver shone in the race.
In rhythm throughout the race, his strategic move worked perfectly.
He delayed his stop to jump into the Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly pits.
At the finish line, Vettel finished fifth and left with ten points in his suitcases.
With three points from eighth place from Lance Stroll, Aston Martin has its benchmark weekend.
FLOPS
Mercedes out of the box
It's rare but it happens every year. We think of Italy in 2020 or Germany in 2019. Yes, sometimes Mercedes is missing. This time, it was in large widths. Never in the rhythm throughout the weekend, Lewis Hamilton had to settle for a seventh place in the race on Sunday. He thus abandoned the lead in the drivers' standings to Max Verstappen. But what about the unlucky Valtteri Bottas? Second until his stop on lap 30. A catastrophic stop of more than fifty seconds during which the nut of the Finn's right front wheel never wanted to give way. Result? Abandonment for number 2 of Mercedes. A catastrophic weekend which ended with the loss of leadership, also, among manufacturers for the benefit of Red Bull.
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- Cursed in Monaco, Leclerc must throw in the towel before the start despite his pole position
Cruel for Leclerc
Author of the pole before fitting his car into the rails of sector 3 during qualifying, the Scuderia driver had a mixed weekend. From laughter to tears. Its mechanics gave everything to repair the Monegasque car. He was going to start on Sunday but when it came time to reach the starting grid, the driveshaft on the left side of the Scuderia gave way. Forced to retire even before the start of his Grand Prix and thus leaving first place free, Charles Leclerc nevertheless remained dignified: “Things are going a little better. I had time to calm down. It is not easy. The mechanics did everything. It's a problem on the left rear of the car and it's not where we hit. I really wanted to thank the mechanics who did a wonderful job.It will pass and I hope that in Baku, we will make up for it. "
Ricciardo one lap from Norris
He had shown positive signs in Spain, edging his teammate for the first time this season.
Everything flew to Monaco.
Eliminated in Q2 on Saturday, Daniel Ricciardo's Sunday was even more painful.
Stuck in traffic and modest 12th at the finish, the Australian finished a lap behind Lando Norris, his teammate, third at the finish.
A real blow to the former Red Bull driver who has not won in F1 since the Monaco Grand Prix in ... 2018.
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