A collision involving the two Haas cars and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez resulted in a red flag and initiated a race characterized by extreme tire management among the leaders.
Charles Leclerc successfully maintained control over McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, his teammate Carlos Sainz, and McLaren’s Lando Norris throughout the race, with none of them opting for a pit stop. This strategy secured Ferrari’s second win of the 2024 season.
The closing laps witnessed a captivating battle for fifth place between Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Despite Verstappen’s fresher tires, Russell managed to defend his position, despite his tires being over 50 laps older.
Lewis Hamilton, who had pitted just before Verstappen, finished seventh, closely trailing his 2021 title rival.
For Leclerc, the victory marked a redemption story, having previously missed out on winning despite securing pole position twice at Monaco. This time, Ferrari executed flawlessly, planning a race strategy focused on leading from the front.
The red flag allowed Sainz to re-enter the race in his original third-place grid position after suffering a collision with Piastri at the start. It also permitted Ferrari and McLaren to switch to hard tires during repairs to the barriers.
Despite exceeding the predicted tire life, Leclerc and his competitors managed their tires effectively, ensuring they lasted until the end of the race.
In the final laps, Leclerc extended his lead and crossed the finish line seven seconds ahead of Piastri, celebrating with jubilation over the team radio.
Reflecting on his victory, Leclerc expressed gratitude and dedicated his win to his late father, who had supported his F1 aspirations.
The difficulty of passing at Monaco was evident as Verstappen struggled to overtake Russell despite his fresher tires. Verstappen’s sixth-place finish, coupled with Leclerc’s win, narrowed the championship gap to 31 points after seven races.
Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10, with Gasly’s car requiring repairs after a collision with his teammate, Esteban Ocon.
Ocon received a 10-second penalty for causing the collision, resulting in a five-place grid penalty for the next race in Canada.
No blame was assigned by the stewards for the Magnussen-Perez-Hulkenberg collision.
