F1 Takeaways: Leclerc finally brings home elusive victory at Monaco GP

Charles Leclerc used to be the exception to the rule that the Monaco Grand Prix was really won on the Saturday during qualifying rather than on Sunday during the actual race. 

Not anymore. 

After failing to convert his previous two poles into victories, or even reach the podium for that matter, the third time was the charm for the Monegasque driver.

Charles was indeed in charge leading all 78 laps to bring home the victory. Others may reside in Monaco or get "adopted" by the Leclerc family, but the Ferrari driver is the only one on the grid who was actually born and raised in the principality. 

"It means a lot, obviously. It’s the race that made me dream of becoming a Formula One driver one day," Leclerc said according to formula1.com. "It was a difficult race emotionally because already 15 laps to the end you’re just hoping that nothing happens, already the emotions were coming.”

Leclerc's previous poles in Monaco were squandered for different reasons. His 2021 race ended before it even began as his car sustained critical damage during a crash in the final minute of qualifying and the team was unable to fully repair it in time for the start of the grand prix. Meanwhile, a botched pit stop unravelled his run in 2022.

Ferrari's cars excel at circuits with low speed corners (see Carlos Sainz's victory in Singapore last year) and it doesn't get much slower around the tight turns than Monaco. Leclerc had a flawless drive through the street circuit and the opening-lap red flag allowed the team to commit to the hard-tire compound ahead of the re-start, thus avoiding any chance of having a problematic pit stop later. Pro tip: You can't screw up your pit stop if you don't need to pit in the first place.

It was Leclerc's first victory since Austria in July 2022 as converting poles to wins in general, not just at Monaco, has been a struggle.

Sainz finished third to make it a double podium finish for Ferrari and it was a lucky break after he sustained a puncture to his front left tire on the opening lap following contact with Oscar Piastri in the McLaren. Fortunately for Sainz, as he was plummeting down the order, Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen crashed to bring a halt the race. Since the red flag came out so soon after the start, the original grid was re-established and Sainz reclaimed his spot in third place ahead of the re-start.

Ferrari have had so many unlucky breaks, they were due to have one finally go in their favour. This calls for a splash party.

GOOD DAY FOR THE LECLERC FAMILY

Piastri has made it a hilarious habit of searching his family tree for any heritage links leading up to every grand prix. As alluded to above, the Australian driver was welcomed by Leclerc this time and what a weekend it was for the family. The "relatives" locked down the front row in qualifying and converted for a 1-2 finish.

McLaren's upgrades have paid dividends for Lando Norris with a victory in Miami and a close second-place finish in Imola. While they've been a bit slower at rolling them out for Piastri, it's starting to show. Let's not forget, Piastri should have started second at Imola as he was only .074 seconds behind Max Verstappen for pole position. However, a penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen sent him back three grid spots and out of the mix.

It's the first podium of the season for Piastri and matches his best result from Qatar last season, where he was not only runner-up in the grand prix but also finished first in the sprint race. Norris' win in Miami was the first GP victory of his career and Piastri could be closing in on his first as well very soon.

Now it'll be interesting to see how Piastri will claim to be Canadian with the series shifting to Montreal in two weeks.

GET THE BALANCE RIGHT

This is probably the farthest we've gone in our F1 takeaways column without delving deep into Verstappen and Red Bull since we've started these, but it just wasn't the weekend for the three-time reigning world champion and current points leader.

Verstappen struggled with the setup right from Friday's practice sessions as he was "jumping like a kangaroo" in his car. We've seen similar things happen before, but Red Bull usually sort it out in time for qualifying, Verstappen takes pole and cruises to victory as we cue up the Dutch national anthem for the umpteenth time. Yeah, no.

Verstappen brushed the wall during qualifying and landed sixth on the grid as his bid for a record-breaking ninth consecutive pole position was not to be. Sixth was also where he finished for his "worst" result (outside of retirements) since the São Paulo Grand Prix in November 2022.

Verstappen's only hope of moving up wasn't even his own doing but rather that of Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton had enough of an advantage in seventh to pit on lap 51 without losing track position, however that also allowed Verstappen to make a pit stop and not suffer any consequence. George Russell remained out on older tires in fifth place, but the Mercedes driver managed to stay half a second ahead of Verstappen to the finish line.

Finishing sixth is still better than not finishing at all.

Verstappen's teammate Perez fared far worse as he was eliminated in Q1 and qualified 18th. Even Logan Sargeant clocked a faster time than Perez. A small consolation came as Perez was bumped up two spots when both Haas drivers of Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg failed inspections for their rear wings and were sent to the back of the pack.

Perez was out of the race just as it had started though. Magnussen attempted to squeeze through as they were running up the hill but collided with Perez and Hulkenberg was collected as collateral damage.

Still, Perez shouldn't be at the back fighting with the Haas cars in the first place with such a superior vehicle but it comes after a second straight disappointing qualifying result.

Perez has now fallen to fifth in the drivers' championship, behind Norris and Sainz, while Ferrari has closed the gap to Red Bull in the constructors' standings to 24 points.

We saw Perez start to slip around this point last year, could it be déjà vu?

PIT STOPS

• More pain for Alpine as what was Esteban Ocon thinking? Ocon took himself out when he rode over teammate Pierre Gasly's car and went airborne just before the tunnel on the opening lap. Gasly finished 10th to at least score his first point of the year, but they should have been in the hunt for a double-points finish, something Alpine haven't achieved this season. In fact, Ocon only has one point as well. It's been a nightmare season already for Alpine, they don't need their drivers causing more headaches.

• Williams driver Alex Albon also earned his first points of the year finishing ninth, leaving Sauber as the only team on the grid with a bagel in the constructors' championship. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu could use a bit of a kick, eh?

• Aston Martin had their first weekend this season walking away without any points as the fifth-place team is closer to sixth-place Racing Bulls instead of joining the front-runners where it was expected they'd be. Fernando Alonso, who failed to get out of Q1 again, finished just out of the points in 11th while Lance Stroll sustained a tire puncture that shuffled him to the back. Stroll managed to finish 14th — yes, it's actually possible to pass at Monaco — but still well back of the points contenders.

• Don't look like a surprised Pikachu by the results. We've come to expect a parade procession at Monaco outside of the odd crash or unforced error since, well, forever. The sparkling jewel in F1's crown is where their series revels in the apex of its glitz and glamour, if the yachts (and super yachts) lining the harbour near the track weren't obvious enough. Monaco still requires a mega drive to make it through the narrow circuit and all its tricky turns unscathed, but if you really want to see passing, you're better off playing Super Monaco GP for the Sega Genesis.