Charles Leclerc Triumphs Over Oscar Piastri to Win Home Race

Charles Leclerc finally won the Monaco Grand Prix, delighting his home fans with a mostly smooth drive to P1 despite early race drama.

The race saw an immediate red flag before the first lap was completed due to a massive collision involving Sergio Perez’s Red Bull and the Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, which took all three out of the race.

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When the race resumed, Leclerc led cleanly, with Esteban Ocon forced to retire after heavy contact with his Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly on Lap 1. The race then became a strategic battle, focusing on whether the leading cars would pit or manage to finish without stopping.

Leclerc maintained his composure throughout, staying ahead of his rivals to claim his first win on the Monte Carlo streets, surpassing his previous best result of P4.

Leclerc finished seven seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, who delivered a strong performance in the McLaren and fended off a late challenge from Carlos Sainz. Sainz secured a double podium for Ferrari by finishing third, while Lando Norris pursued him closely in fourth for much of the latter stages.

George Russell, equipped with an upgraded front wing, was the leading Mercedes in fifth place, successfully holding off a determined Max Verstappen in what was a tough weekend for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh, adding to Mercedes’ points tally.

Yuki Tsunoda had a solid day, finishing eighth for RB, while Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly scored their first points of the season for Williams and Alpine, respectively, finishing ninth and tenth.

Fernando Alonso recovered somewhat from a challenging Saturday. Still, he narrowly missed out on points, finishing eleventh for Aston Martin, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in twelfth for RB and Valtteri Bottas, the leading Kick Sauber, in thirteenth.

Lance Stroll experienced disappointment, ending fourteenth for Aston Martin after a puncture following a pit stop late in the race, with Logan Sargeant finishing fifteenth for Williams.

Zhou Guanyu was the last classified driver in sixteenth for Kick Sauber, with four cars not making it past the first lap.

The collision between Ocon and Gasly resulted in Ocon’s retirement and a five-place grid penalty for the next race in Canada. Perez, Magnussen, and Hulkenberg joined him as early retirees due to their first-lap crash.

Monaco GP Results

2024 Monaco Grand Prix, 26 May 2024

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/Retired	PTS
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	78	2:23:15.554	25
2	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	78	+7.152s	18
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	78	+7.585s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	78	+8.650s	12
5	63	George Russell	Mercedes	78	+13.309s	10
6	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	78	+13.853s	8
7	44	Lewis Hamilton¹	Mercedes	78	+14.908s	7
8	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	77	+1 lap	4
9	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	77	+1 lap	2
10	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	77	+1 lap	1
11	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	76	+2 laps	0
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB Honda RBPT	76	+2 laps	0
13	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	76	+2 laps	0
14	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	76	+2 laps	0
15	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams Mercedes	76	+2 laps	0
16	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	76	+2 laps	0
NC	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	0	DNF	0
NC	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	0	DNF	0
NC	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	0	DNF	0
NC	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	0	DNF	0

¹Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1:14.165 (lap 63)

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.