Sergio Perez Wins a Crazy Monaco Grand Prix, While Ferrari Is Back With the Usual Mistakes

But as far as racing goes, this is without a doubt the worst track due to the lack of overtaking opportunities. From a statistical standpoint, the last time a driver won from outside the top three was in 1996, when Oliver Panis took his only Grand Prix victory after a chaotic race where only three drivers crossed the finish line.

After the qualifying session from Saturday, Monegasque driver and hometown hero Charles Leclerc took pole, with Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz in second place and Sergio Perez in P3. Defending world champion Max Verstappen finished only fourth while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified in P8.

Leclerc has obtained pole position in four of the six races this season, and the tight Monte Carlo track should have, in theory, favored the Ferrari car. However, Charles Leclerc has a chip on his shoulder because he had never finished a race on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Minutes before the race, the track officials announced that it there 100% chances of rain. Minutes before the start, heavy rain was reported, and the start procedure was delayed. Meanwhile, every driver on the grid switched on the Full Wet Pirelli tires.

After two laps under safety car conditions, the red flag was brought up, with all the cars pulling into the pit stops. At this moment, everybody was starting to freak out because it looked like Spa 2021 2.0. About 30 minutes had passed when F1 officials announced that the race would resume behind the safety car. Bernd Maylander led the pack for two laps, and then it was lights out (sort of).

The weather report said it would be no rain for 30 minutes and at this moment, some drivers felt lucky and pitted for intermediate tires. Part of the tracks like Casino Square were dry, while the main straight or the Rascasse corner were covered in water. On Lap 12, Pierre Gasly on intermediate tires was all over Guanyu Zhou, overtaking him at Turn 5. A lap later, he made a brave move on Ricciardo at the Tabac corner.

Sergio Perez changed from wets to inters a few minutes later as Hamilton touches with Ocon. Leclerc and Verstappen copied the Mexican driver, but they got out behind him. Sainz opted out to stay on the track in hopes of changing directly to dry tires.

At the end of Lap 21, Sainz and Leclerc were brought to the pits, in a colossal mistake by Ferrari because they pitted too early. Sergio Perez and Verstappen stopped a lap later, meaning "Checo" got out in P1 and Verstappen in P3. At this moment, the top five were made by Perez, Sainz, Verstappen, Leclerc and Russell.

Six laps later, the Haas of Mick Schumacher just broke up in two pieces after the German driver lost control of the car at Virage Louis Chiron; another scary crash in which a Haas is involved. Fortunately, Mick was alright. The circuit marshalls brought the second red flag of the race after the water barrier was damaged. With 30 laps down, no rain was expected until the end of the race. On Lap 33, the drivers saw the green flag, with the Ferrari drivers staying on hard tires while the Red Bulls switched on the faster and softer medium compounds.

With 11 minutes before the end of the race, the top four (Perez, Sainz, Verstappen, and Leclerc) got very close to each other, creating a condensed and elite pack of cars. At the same time, they needed to negotiate the slower cars, so many things could have happen. Sainz was all over Sergio Perez, trying everything to overtake the Mexican driver, while Verstappen and Leclerc were ready to exploit every mistake.

Sergio Perez showed why he deserves the Red Bull seat by holding the attackers behind in a superb way with cold blood. It is his third win in his career and probably the best one because a win in Monaco means more than any other. Meanwhile, at Maranello, some serious discussion will be held because Ferrari lost a potential one-two due to the pit stop mistake.

Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen completed the podium, while Leclerc and Russell finished in P4 and P5. In the Drivers ' World Championship, Perez jumped in third place, while Max Verstappen extended his lead over Charles Leclerc.