The sci-fi scenario that gave Perez victory in Monaco

An unexpected victory for Sergio Perez, a bitter first home win for Charles Secler, an honest second place for Carlos Saint who could even win, a quiet podium for Max Ferstappen and another great George Russell. These are the five things that have stayed with us from the Monaco Grand Prix, where weather was the big regulator.

01. The science fiction scenario for Ceko’s victory

It goes without saying that victory in Monaco was judged by Red Bull Sergio Perez putting on intermediate tires ahead of the two Ferraris. The Mexican made the undercut, saving precious time and when Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainth made the second and first pit stops respectively to carry Pirelli on a dry road the game was decided – and not in their favour.

To put it bluntly, we could say that Pierre Gasley was essentially the ‘bunny’ for Red Bull with the Alpha Tauri taking first place in intermediate tyres. The Frenchman was at times quickest on the grid while – hypothetically always – he was able to give his team feedback that sort of reached as far as Red Bull for Perez’s engineers to calculate the right time to call him into the pits and switch his raincoats with intermediates.

So let me believe Ceko’s win is a gift from his team, who are repaying Mexico’s support to Max Ferstappen so the champion can win in Spain. But he also proved his worth in the final laps, defending Saint’s attack with his nails and teeth, but also with worn tires, on a track where overtaking is difficult, if not impossible.

This was Perez’s first win of the year and third of his career, making him the most successful Mexican driver in Formula 1 history as he overtook Pedro Rodriguez, who has two wins.

Let’s not forget something important: Sergio was faster than Max every three days in Monaco. Of course, remember what I said in the analysis of the previous Grand Prix, about the Mexicans’ ambitions for the championship and his opinion on whether the Number 2 in Red Bull should be clear. We’ll see a lot more about that later…

02. Max’s silent pedestal

Both in the test and in the race, the champion seemed neither faster than his teammate nor than the two Ferraris. 4th place is what he usually deserved in the game but the Dutchman benefited from the Italian side who made it a mantra with Leclerc’s strategy – we’ll say more about that below.

You will of course wonder why Red Bull didn’t do to Max what it did to Perez? I think the strategy with Sergio was an experiment that worked for them and they didn’t want to take any risks that would endanger Ferstappen. This was evident in the immediate reaction to Leclerc’s first pit stop – as soon as Monegasque came in for a tire change, Ferstappen drove behind him.

03. Leclerc’s bitter first home goal

Monegasque broke the pomegranate. To date, he had never finished at the Monaco Grand Prix in his own Grand Prix! Today, however, he succeeded. But what can you do? How bitter he was at the end of the game…

Leclerc did everything right: he set up his car perfectly in free practice, took pole position and led the race in a commanding manner. However, he was wronged by his team’s decisions.

At Ferrari they lost, they didn’t know how to deal with the weather forecast and tire changes. Eventually they put Leclerc on intermediate tires after Perez and lost the lead. But the worst was when Monegasque came on dry tires after a few laps. He had already entered the pits when he heard over the team radio that he was falling behind and finally waited a moment for Saint, who had also entered for a change. The result was fourth place on the track, so the game was lost.

The point is crucial for Leclerc and Ferrari. After retiring injured in Spain, a wrong strategy came to rob Charles, who was comfortably first on both occasions. It’s normal for him to lose his temper towards the team, but he will be wrong. Now they must do their best together to regain dominance in the games and in the table.

04. The brave saint who might even win

The last laps alone were not easy for the winner. Saint’s tough Pirelli was still alive, unlike Perez’s battered midfielders. The Spaniard pushed as best he could but in Monaco it’s not enough to be quicker to overtake.

So a fair second place for Carlos Jr., who took a risk with the tyres: he stayed in the rain for more laps, only to switch them straight to dry, but in the end he neither won nor lost anything.

Of course, the fact that the Italian team initially called Saint about tires but eventually told him to stay and follow the tactics he suggested shows that he wasn’t properly prepared in the area of ​​strategy.

Ferrari needs to improve in this area to continue clinching the title. He gave the fastest car to an absolutely perfect Leclerc and a saint who showed at Monaco that he has finally found himself. But he must support them properly and in battle.

05. Russell once again better than Hamilton

George Russell finished fifth ahead of another excellent Lando Norris, and was the best of the rest for one race more – that is Lewis Hamilton. Russell is the only rider to have finished in the TOP 5 in all races so far, which shows his worth but also the fact that the 7-time world champion has finally lost his temper.

The clumsy Mercedes car didn’t allow Hamilton to overtake Fernando Alonso who had a very good showing and finished in 7th place. Mercedes has a huge problem and it’s no longer just about the car…