F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Ferrari's Leclerc Wins Home Race, Edges Piastri After First-Lap Crash Causes Red Flag
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed a stunning victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, winning his home race after a dramatic first-lap crash took out Sergio Perez and two other cars.
By Divyam Dubey
With a strategic win at the Monaco Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc won his first home race. Leclerc held off Oscar Piastri to secure the top spot, while Carlos Sainz completed a 1-3 finish for Ferrari despite recovering from a Lap 1 puncture before the red flag. Lando Norris finished fourth, ahead of George Russell, while Max Verstappen ended where he started. Leclerc masterfully controlled the pace to avoid a pitstop advantage for McLaren, and he was able to withstand Piastri's push throughout the entire 76-lap race that followed the early red light. Yuki Tsunoda continued his strong performance with an eighth-place RB finish, while Alex Albon scored his first points of the season for Williams in ninth place, and Pierre Gasly did the same for Alpine in tenth. Sergio Perez had a crash on the opening lap, which brought out the red flag and eliminated Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen of Haas. Thankfully, the incident that stopped the race for forty minutes did not result in any driver injuries.
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F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Race Result
Fernando Alonso managed a partial recovery after a challenging Saturday, finishing P11 for Aston Martin. He was followed by Daniel Ricciardo in P12 for Red Bull and Valtteri Bottas in P13 as the lead Kick Sauber driver.
Lance Stroll faced disappointment, finishing P14 for Aston Martin after a puncture following a pit stop in the race's second half. Williams’ Logan Sargeant came in P15, while Zhou Guanyu was the last classified driver, finishing P16 for Kick Sauber.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 78 Laps |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +7.152s |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +7.585s |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +8.650s |
| 5 | George Russell | Mercedes | +13.309s |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +13.853s |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +14.908s |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | VCARB | +1 Lap |
| 9 | Alex Albon | Williams | +1 Lap |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1 Lap |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +2 Laps |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | VCARB | +2 Laps |
| 13 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | +2 Laps |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +2 Laps |
| 15 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | +2 Laps |
| 16 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | +2 Laps |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | DNF |
| 18 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | DNF |
| 19 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | DNF |
| 20 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | DNF |
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Esteban Ocon retired after a collision with Pierre Gasly, which also earned him a five-place grid penalty for the next race in Canada. The first-lap crash also claimed Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen, and Nico Hulkenberg as retirees, making for a dramatic start to the event.
