TOPS
He didn’t win but his weekend is almost perfect. Brilliant in qualifying with the fourth fastest time, Esteban Ocon started from third place on Sunday, following the three-place penalty inflicted on Charles Leclerc and the Frenchman held his rank. He held off Sainz on lap 12 who still rammed him from the back and dove into the pits at the right time to put on the intermediates (lap 54). Paying choices that allowed him to keep his third place despite a return from Lewis Hamilton at the end of the race. The Norman is on the podium for the third time in F1 after his second place at Sakhir in 2020 and his victory in Hungary in 2021.
He had signed a legendary pole on Saturday, his first in the Principality, and transformed the test on Sunday by managing the Monaco Grand Prix like a master. Max Verstappen went it alone in the race holding his mediums for more than fifty laps before putting on the intermediates at the right time. Like always. On a wet track, his balancing skills have worked wonders and he has already won his fourth victory in six races this season…
23 points scored in Monaco, it’s Mercedes’ most prolific weekend this season. The German brand raises its head quietly. However with Lewis Hamilton’s fifth place and George Russell’s eighth on the grid, nothing was done for the black cars but the race circumstances and in particular the rain allowed Mercedes to make the difference with a double stop at the lap 54 to put on the intermediates. This allowed Hamilton to take fourth place, with the best time as a bonus, and Russell to finish fifth despite a penalty. On the right path.
FLOPS
The master of street circuits was in huge trouble this weekend. Party at fault in Q1 on Saturday, Sergio Perez therefore started from the last place in Monaco. A real penance for the Mexican who lived a black Sunday. Stuck in traffic, despite stopping at the end of the first lap, the second Red Bull driver made a series of small errors after halfway through the race. With five stops on the clock and a pitiful 16th place, he gave up 25 points to Max Verstappen in the race for the world championship.
The Italian cars were fourth and sixth on the grid and at the finish, Charles Leclerc finished sixth while Carlos Sainz took eighth place. 16 points scored is not enough for the Scuderia which is treading water and does not seem to be progressing weekend after weekend. And the worst thing is that the pilots get annoyed. On Saturday, Leclerc was not satisfied with the behavior of his car and on Sunday, Sainz clearly questioned the strategy of his people in the middle of the race. Morose atmosphere at Ferrari.
