Leclerc, ‘Prince’ of Monaco in an event with initial chaos and Sainz saves the podium after a puncture

In life you have to believe. And if you fall, get up as many times as necessary to achieve what you desire. Charles Leclerc dreams of winning on the streets of his city, in the Principality of Monaco. Luck and fate made him wait longer than desired. He had to touch it several times. But he kept falling and falling. But he insisted again. And it came. the reward of his life.

“It’s a difficult race… to start on pole twice and not have come this far is more important. It’s the race that made me dream of becoming an F1 driver. The emotions are so wrapped up in me and I think about my father (who died a few years ago) more than possible while he was driving. He did.

Final point

Since he abandoned two Formula 2 races in 2017, luck has always eluded him in his backyard. He has never been on the podium and missed out on two wins from pole in 2021 and 2022 because the Goddess of Fortune simply didn’t want to pick him. Until this Sunday. Charles Leclerc ended the curse that followed him by winning the F1 Monaco GP 2024 in front of Oscar Piastri (2nd, McLaren) and a Carlos Sainz (3rd) who achieved the podium after a great first scare that could have left him and a great subsequent race.

Monaco can be a real procession after the maximum chaos always experienced on Saturday in the qualification, because overtaking the Principality is almost impossible. Race speed hardly counts. It’s about widening and closing gaps by managing the wheels and brakes. And then do the strategy correctly. But after an initial accident, the first four (Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz and Norris) made their obligatory tire change taking advantage of the red flag at the start and opted for the difficult. So, After the restart, they wouldn’t stop, so Charles removed the pits variable. Therefore, the key is to make those tires last 77 laps. An atrocity.

Of course, between walls it is very easy to make mistakes. And then there was the ‘graining’ of the tires, which could cause any failure. Leclerc knows this. I was more than warned and I wasn’t going to take anything for granted until I crossed the finish line. And he drives perfectly, manages the wheels and slows down the pace of the race. Although there was an initial ‘Salvation’ and another ‘virtual Salvation’, there was no chaos that could have given that battle a stir.

In that context, Unnerved in front of young Oscar, he made no mistakes and improved on his excellent pole achieved on Saturday. The ‘Principino’ became the Prince of Monaco.

The race was boring in all its turns except one and that is not the reason it should be criticized. This is Monaco. Sunday could be a soporific 0-0 draw in football (and nobody’s complaining). But the first turn is just the opposite. The chaos did not come in the middle of the test, but in a crazy start in the first sector of the first turn.

Pérez and Sainz’s massive accident was saved

at the exit, ‘Checo’ Pérez received contact from Magnussen while fully accelerating up the climb towards Massenet. He lost control of his car and crashed into the wall in an area where F1 cars reach 270 km/h. As a consequence, inThe daredevil Kevin, whom we should talk to seriously, and his companion Hülkenberg also leftthat hit without breaking the plate.

The race was stopped with a red flag. Fortunately, the three injured pilots were in perfect condition. And since the first sector of the test is not yet finished, the event will continue in the same positions where it started except for the pilots who left.

The podium was saved for Carlos Sainz. The Madrid native started third and went for Piastre with a better exit. He was placed parallel inside Santa Devota, but the Australian responded with better traction on him McLaren. At that moment, they held and Sainz suffered a puncture which caused him to lose track at casino. He was lucky. From the final classification if the race was not stopped, he went on to a second standing start after the red flag in third position, saving the podium for Ferrari has a big defense that is not nervous in front of a friend Lando Norris.

Sainz had the British rider glued to his rear wing. McLaren But far from being nervous, he still had time to remind the team that if Lando stopped he could put Leclerc’s win in jeopardy. But in the end, it’s not like that. Carlos was able to squeeze and stick Oscar Piastri, cutting 4 seconds in the final laps against a very slow McLaren. But in the end, he settled for a very good third place.

Is there a World Cup?

Sainz was third, Norris was 4th, ahead of Russell (5th) and Verstappen (6th) After his failure in qualifying and the problems with his car, one lap on Saturday saw Charles in the points fight for the title. These are the three pilots that add some spice to this thing hamilton (7th), who tried to ‘undercut’ Max but couldn’t do it. Max He defended himself by stopping on the next lap and both, flying, stuck to a Russell who chose not to stop despite having the means. The tires made a huge difference but George continued.

Is there a World Cup? Now Max knows that McLaren and Ferrari can replace him in the fight for victory depending on the type of track. But no one is wrong. Red Bull’s event in Monaco is timely because of its enormous particularity. It’s still the car to beat on normal circuits. But there is no constant and overwhelming dominance. There is a fight.

Alonso, 12th

Fernando Alonso had a very complicated task at the Monaco GP. He started 14th after earlier penalties on the two Haas and he had to turn back after traffic problems ruled him out of qualifying. He knew the points were almost impossible, but he tried. He gained a spot after a rough start to finish 13th and gained another position on the subsequent start to finish 12th.

He won another place (11th) due to a Stroll puncture (after touching the wall) and Fernando also had to defend himself against Ricciardo, who was wearing harder rubber. Alonso, who was starting hard, had to be put in the middle when the race was stopped, forcing him to manage the tires for more than 77 laps. He can no longer fish because there is no more turbulent river. He left Monte-Carlo with no points. For very little.