© Vladimir RysMax Masters Monaco!The Dutchman claims victory and tops the Drivers’ Championship, with The Team also taking the lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
Maxstormedintotheleadofthe2021F1Drivers’ChampionshipwithabrilliantfirstMonacoGrandPrixvictoryaheadofFerrari’sCarlosSainzandMcLaren’sLandoNorris.
It was a good day too for Sergio with the Mexican rising from eighth at the start to claim fourth at the flag thanks to excellent pace and a well worked strategy.
There was major drama in the build-up to the race. In the wake of his crash at the end of qualifying, Ferrari gave the all-clear to the gearbox in Charles Leclerc’s car. But on the Monégasque driver’s lap to grid he reported an issue and he quickly returned to the pit lane. It swiftly became apparent that the home driver would not be taking part in the race and that Max would start from second with an unobstructed view down to the first corner.
And when the lights went out to signal the start, the Dutchman got away perfectly. He covered the inside line well to cut off any assault from Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and as they powered out of Ste Devote, Max led from Bottas with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz third ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.
Sergio also made a good getaway and at the end of the first lap he was eighth and putting pressure on Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.
As Max built a small but solid gap of 1.5s over Bottas across the first 15 laps, Checo began to reel in Vettel, setting a sequence of fastest laps in the opening phase to close to a little over a second behind the Aston Martin driver.
But toiling in the wake being created by the German’s car, the Mexican driver struggled to make further inroads into the gap and after 25 laps he was 1.6s behind the Aston Martin.
Monaco Grand Prix 2021: Race
Lights Out And Away We Go!© Getty Images
Max Leads The Way On Lap One© Getty Images
A Solid Stop By The Team For Hards© Getty Images
An Awesome Afternoon For checo© Getty Images
A Race Like No Other© Getty Images
Starting Strong On Softs© Getty Images
Taking In The Scenery© Getty Images
Leading At Loews© Getty Images
Checo On The Charge© Getty Images
That In-Tunnel Feeling© Getty Images
Watching The Leader From Wherever© Getty Images
Controlling From The Start© Getty Images
Hot On The Heels Of Vettel© Getty Images
Orange Army Were Back In Full Voice© Getty Images
Checo Claims P4 At The Flag© Getty Images
It was a different story at the front. In clear air, Max was able to gradually extend the gap to Bottas. And as the Finn began to take too much life out of his tyres in an attempt to stay with the race leader, the Dutchman was able to pull away even further. By lap 27 he was almost five seconds clear of the Mercedes driver who was visibly struggling on his starting softs and falling back towards Sainz.
After a steady and uneventful opening stint, the race – as it so frequently does in Monaco – revolved around the pit stop.
Hamilton triggered the switch at the end of lap 29, pitting for hard tyres in a quick 2.0s. However, it was not a change they could replicate with Bottas.
The Finn pitted at the end of the next lap but when he stopped on his marks his pit crew could not remove the front right wheel and with the wheel nut resolutely stuck, he was forced to retire from the race.
Max then made his first and only stop. And after taking on a set of hard tyres in two seconds dead, the Dutchman re-joined in second just behind Checo who had jumped up the order as the field pitted around him.
One of those to pit ahead of the Mexican was Sebastian Vettel and a good stop for the Aston Martin driver saw him jump both Hamilton and Gasly. That was the cue for the Team to then pit Checo and after a couple of superb in-laps – the first being the fastest of the race to that point – the Red Bull driver was able to make a 2.8s stop and still re-join ahead of Vettel, in a superb fourth.
Checo Claims P4 At The Flag© Getty Images
From there, for Max, the race became one of precise management and over the second half of the race the Dutch driver was like a metronome, ticking off the laps with perfect precision.
He gradually stretched away from Sainz and after 78s laps he took his first Monaco win almost nine seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver, with Norris third, 11 seconds further back.
In the final third of the race, Checo showed exceptional pace to turn a nine-second gap to Norris after the pit stops into a one-second deficit in the closing stages. However, though he was routinely able to close up to the McLaren, Monaco’s unforgiving streets offered no opportunity to make an overtaking move and Sergio had to settle for fourth behind the Briton at the flag.
Behind Checo, Sebastian Vettel took fifth with Pierre Gasly collecting a deserved sixth place for AlphaTauri ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Lance Stroll was eighth for Aston Martin, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and the final point on offer went to Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi.
The victory in Monaco, allied to Hamilton’s seventh, means the Dutch driver now has a four-point lead over the Mercedes man in the Drivers’ Championship standings with 105 points to 101. The Team also takes the lead in the Constructors’ Championship with 149 points to Mercedes’ 148 points.
That Monaco Winning Feeling
Red Bull Gives You Wings© Getty Images
That Monaco Podium Feeling© Getty Images
Picture Perfect Moment For Max© Getty Images
Standing Proud In P1© Getty Images
Time To Thank Adrian© Getty Images
Celebrating With Car Crew 33© Getty Images
What. A. Team© Getty Images
A First Monaco Win For Max© Getty Images
Oh What A Winning Feeling© Getty Images
Lifting It High And Proud© Getty Images
Smiles For Miles In Monaco© Getty Images
Something Special About This Silverware© Getty Images
I’m super happy to win the Monaco Grand Prix and I’m very pleased with what we have achieved as a Team and of course with Honda.
“I’m super happy to win the Monaco Grand Prix. It’s such a tricky track and you need a smooth weekend so I’m very pleased with what we have achieved as a Team and of course with Honda. I just had to focus on my own race and make sure I had a clean start. Of course it all looked under control but to keep your focus for so many laps is the hardest part because it’s easy to relax when you’re in the lead and make a mistake, so you have to keep reminding yourself to leave your thoughts on the road and stay focused. I think pace wise, we were always in control because every time someone tried to push me in terms of lap time, we were able to respond and increase the gap.
A massive thank you to everyone in the factory and here at the track, we won the Monaco Grand Prix so let’s enjoy it. "I’ve never been on the podium here and then the first time it’s a win, so it’s a bit of redemption for the other races I’ve had here. Looking ahead to Baku, Mercedes I think are still the ones to beat, they are very quick on the normal tracks. We are leading the championship and I hope of course to be there at the end of the season because that’s the most important thing so we cannot get carried away. But for now, a massive thank you to everyone in the factory and here at the track, we won the Monaco Grand Prix so let’s enjoy it.”
Today is a great day for the Team and I’m very happy for Max, he did a mega job and now we are leading both championships.
“Today is a great day for the Team and I’m very happy for Max, he did a mega job and now we are leading both championships. The Team did a fantastic job on strategy and the communication throughout the race was excellent. We saved the tyres and used them when we needed to which was key and we did two or three qualifying laps to jump the queue of cars to get fourth.
I think once I’m more comfortable with the car in qualifying, we’ll be in serious contention and fighting for victories. "I was closing on Lando but he had good tyres left and I never really had a clear chance at him. I was thinking of the long game and getting the points which is important for the Team. The cars are just so wide these days but it is what it is. We managed to minimise the damage from Saturday and I think once I’m more comfortable with the car in qualifying, we’ll be in serious contention and fighting for victories as I’m happy and pretty much there on Sundays.”
We have to credit Honda for their hard work in helping us get to this point, they’ve done a great job.
“It’s a phenomenal day for the Team. Max was disappointed yesterday that we didn’t get to see him deliver a pole position lap but he dealt with the frustration well and when the opportunity presented itself today he seized it with both hands, driving faultlessly from start to finish to deliver our fifth Monaco victory. Checo also drove an incredibly strong race, the strategy worked well and he had brilliant pace in clean air enabling him to finish fourth. It’s Honda’s first win here since Senna in 1992, the first time they’ve led the championship since 1991 and we have to credit them for their hard work in helping us get to this point. They’ve done a great job and to have three Honda cars in the top six is a fantastic result.
There is a long way to go in this championship but we should always enjoy the wins. "As a Team we have great strength in depth and finishing first or second in the first five races of the season is a phenomenal example of teamwork and our ability to fight. There is a long way to go in this championship but we should always enjoy the wins. Commiserations to Charles and Ferrari, it was a tough day for them but great to see them back up there in the mix. The championship is very tight at the top and today was an important step for us.”
| Position | Driver | Team | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Max Verstappen | Carlos Sainz | Lando Norris | Sergio Pérez | Sebastain Vettel | Pierre Gasly | Lewis Hamilton | Lance Stroll | Esteban Ocon | Antonio Giovinazzi |
| Red Bull Racing Honda | Ferarri | McLaren | Red Bull Racing Honda | Aston Martin | AlphaTauri | Mercedes | Aston Martin | Alpine | Alfa Romeo Racing |
