It was supposed to be a straightforward race for Max Verstappen, who had dominated the weekend and started from pole position. But nothing is ever simple in Monaco, especially when the weather gods decide to intervene.
Verstappen had a comfortable lead over Fernando Alonso, who had qualified second in his Aston Martin, and Esteban Ocon, who had impressed with his third place on the grid for Alpine. The rest of the field was struggling to keep up with the pace of the front-runners, with Mercedes and Ferrari having a disappointing qualifying session.
The race was going smoothly until lap 59, when rain started to fall on the first sector of the track. The drivers had to cope with a tricky mix of wet and dry conditions, as they tried to judge when to pit for intermediate tyres. Alonso was the first to gamble, hoping to catch Verstappen off guard with a switch to fresh mediums. But it turned out to be a costly mistake, as the rain intensified and made the track slippery all over.
Verstappen pitted a lap later for intermediates, and managed to avoid a major crash when he slid into the barriers at Portier. He escaped with minor damage and rejoined the track ahead of Alonso, who had to pit again for intermediates. Ocon also followed suit, and retained his third place.
The race was effectively over after that, as Verstappen controlled his lead over Alonso and Ocon, who had no chance of catching him. Verstappen crossed the finish line with a 27-second margin over Alonso, who scored his first podium since returning to F1. Ocon completed the top three, scoring his maiden podium in F1.
It was a historic win for Verstappen, who extended his lead in the championship over Lewis Hamilton, who finished fourth after a lacklustre race. Verstappen became the first driver to win six consecutive races since Sebastian Vettel in 2013, and the first driver to win Monaco from pole since Nico Rosberg in 2014.
It was also a memorable day for George Russell, who finished fifth in his Mercedes debut after replacing Valtteri Bottas, who had moved to Alfa Romeo. Russell had qualified sixth and drove a solid race, holding off Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.
The race was not without drama, as several drivers crashed out or retired due to technical issues. Lance Stroll hit the wall at Massenet on lap 12 and brought out the safety car. Kevin Magnussen suffered an engine failure on lap 34 and parked his Haas at Mirabeau. Sergio Perez spun at Loews on lap 51 and damaged his front wing, forcing him to pit and drop to 16th place.
The race ended with 18 cars classified, with Logan Sargeant and Oscar Piastri scoring their first points in F1 for Williams and McLaren respectively.
It was a day that will go down in F1 history as one of the most unpredictable and exciting aces ever seen in Monaco.
