Sergio Perez earned his third career Grand Prix victory in Formula One, as "Checo" took the checkered flag Sunday in Monaco.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz came in second while Perez's Red Bull Racing teammate, Max Verstappen, finished third. Pole-sitter and hometown hero Charles Leclerc finished off of the podium in fourth following a questionable and lengthy pit stop that saw him lose crucial track position.
Here's what you need to know from the Monaco Grand Prix:
Ferrari's flub proves costly for Leclerc
Ferrari: What were you thinking? Or maybe that's just it. They weren't thinking, and their gaffe ended up costing Leclerc a chance to win his hometown grand prix.
The confusion came when Ferrari called both Sainz and Leclerc, who had already made one stop to fall behind his teammate, into the pits on Lap 22. After Ferrari realized they double-stacked tightly and shouted at Leclerc over the radio to stay out, it was too late. The Monegasque driver had already entered the pits and lost precious time during the wait.
Leclerc dropped to fourth although his team assured him the Red Bulls still had to pit again as well. That was little consolation as Red Bull timed their double-stack beautifully and both Perez and Verstappen came out ahead of Leclerc.
Monaco isn't a track known for many (if any) passing opportunities and the Perez-Sainz-Verstappen-Leclerc train chugged along intact nearly bumper to bumper to the finish line.
"No words, no words. We cannot do that," Leclerc said over his radio after the disappointing finish.
Just how costly that error will not be truly known until the end of the season when all of the points are tallied — and the ones that got away stick out.
Ferrari protested the result, claiming Perez and Verstappen crossed the pit exit line, however, the stewards dismissed those accusations upon review.
Redemption for Perez
There were no team orders calling Perez to surrender the lead to championship leader Verstappen — mainly because there was too much risk with Sainz sandwiched in the middle.
Still, for everyone who believed Perez was robbed during last week's Barcelona Grand Prix when he was forced to step aside for Verstappen, are you happy now? Perez picked up the win at the most prestigious event on the calendar.
Verstappen extends lead
Reigning world champion Verstappen cushioned his lead on Leclerc in the drivers' standings by three points to extend the gap to nine. Verstappen, who scored 15 points for finishing third, now tops the leaderboard with 125 points through seven stages while Leclerc, who picked up 12 points, sits second with 116 points.
Perez remains in third but is now only six points back of Leclerc.
Splish splash
There were clear skies all through practice and qualifying sessions but the splendid weather came to a halt on the actual race day when heavy rain flooded the track just prior to the scheduled start and caused an hour-long delay.
Fortunately, the social media managers brought their A-games to keep us entertained and we gathered the best moments here.
Russell continues his impressive streak
Mercedes driver George Russell scored another top-five finish for the seventh consecutive race this season with his new team.
With his P5 result, Russell also outperformed teammate Lewis Hamilton once again as the seven-time world champion ended up in P8. Hamilton had a collision with Alpine driver Esteban Ocon, who received a five-second time penalty added after the race that cost him a couple of points.
Speaking of drivers who outperformed their teammates, McLaren's Lando Norris came in sixth and set the fastest lap to score the bonus point while former Monaco winner Daniel Ricciardo had another miserable weekend finishing an unlucky 13th. Something tells me Ricciardo needs a hug.
Schumacher splits car in two
Haas driver Mick Schumacher retired from the race after crashing out on Lap 25. Schumacher's car spun and sliced in two when he collided with the barriers.
Thankfully, Schumacher was all right after the accident although it's going to be a hefty repair bill for his team. Let's not forget Schumacher also crashed during qualifying for the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix and missed that race as a result.
"With Mick, we obviously saw what happened," team principal Guenther Steiner told Formula1.com. "It’s not very satisfactory having a big crash again. We need to see how we move forward from here."
Uh-oh. If this was Drive To Survive, insert the "ominous music playing" warning.
Not-so-Super Monaco GP
It seems incomprehensible a legacy track like Monaco would be on the chopping block and yet here we are with the principality's contract set to expire. Monaco reportedly pays a $15-million USD sanctioning fee — a paltry figure when you consider other venues pay upwards of $60 million USD to host a grand prix.
This isn’t like IndyCar where its pinnacle event, the Indianapolis 500, overshadows the entire series. And with the rise in popularity of F1, there’s also surely no shortage of replaceable suitors should Monaco attempt to bluff.
The challenging Monaco track has often led to uneventful races lacking in drama and typically won in qualifying — unless there's a comedy of errors during what should be a routine pit stop but how likely is that? (Oh, too soon, Ferrari fans?)
It would be a shame if negotiations fell apart but as Hamilton once said, “cash is king,” and historic value doesn't hold a dollar amount.
Up next
It's back to Baku with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix a fortnight away. Perez is the defending race winner as Verstappen sustained tire failure and crashed into the barriers while Hamilton locked up his brakes late and dropped to the back of the field.
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