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Tyres NorthamptonThe rainclouds gathered over the Principality of Monaco on Sunday to give one of the most entertaining races around the streets of Monte Carlo for many a year. A deluge began ten minutes before the race's scheduled start time that kept the cars in the pit lane for some 45 minutes before tactical blunders by Ferrari gifted the win to Red Bull's Sergio Perez.
Home favourite Charles Leclerc did everything right, including grabbing pole position. However, he finished in P4, off the podium, and crucially behind championship rival Max Verstappen who took the third-place trophy. Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz retained P2 to keep some pride for the Italian constructor. Still, there'll be heated conversations in their Maranello headquarters this week when they debrief how they lost the Monaco Grand Prix.
Although it took a while to get going, the race was dramatic from the first formation lap behind the safety car. Nicholas Latifi couldn't slow his Williams down at the famous Fairmont Hairpin and damaged his front wing, while Stroll picked up a puncture after he also found the wall. The blunders by the two Canadians meant they became the guinea pigs to try Pirelli's Intermediate tyres on the damp track while other cars ran the Full Wet compound.
After two laps following the safety car, the race finally got underway in earnest as the field slid and skidded down the pit straight, eking out any grip their Pirelli tyres could find. Then, with plumes of water shot into the air by the 18" wheels, the 20 drivers demonstrated why they're the world's best by navigating the tight and twisty course in the most demanding conditions.
Usually, there are very few, if any, overtakes in a Monaco Grand Prix. However, this year, we got on-track action as Pierre Gasly somehow made an audacious move down work the inside of the Mirabeau corner on Alfa Romeo's Guanyu Zhou. Lewis Hamilton also tried out some passing moves. Esteban Ocon held the Brit up, but Hamilton pulled alongside the Frenchman into the first corner. The two collided, leaving minor damage on the Mercedes driver's front wing, and Ocon later received a time penalty for his part in the incident.
The leaders, however, were running in single file, with Leclerc extending a gap on Sainz behind. However, without a pass on track looking likely for the win, Red Bull pulled Sergio Perez into the pits on Lap 17. The Mexican driver took the Pirelli Intermediates with the track drying and began to push with his fresh rubber. Ferrari responded two laps later with Leclerc, but their hesitation cost them track position, and Perez passed the Monegasque driver.
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Nonetheless, the other Prancing Horse of Sainz still retained the lead, albeit without a pit stop, but not for long. Not to be beaten to the pits again, the Italians radioed their drivers in for dry Pirelli tyres. However, confusion reigned as they told Leclerc to stay out at the last minute just as the championship hopeful entered the pits. As a result, Ferrari required a double-stack pit stop, losing Leclerc more time. To add insult to injury, Sainz exited into backmarker traffic, further slowing him down.
Red Bull responded one lap later. However, with their duo running one lap longer on the warm intermediate tyres, they had overcut their Ferrari counterparts, putting Perez into the lead and Verstappen into third. The excellent timing of their pit stops had turned the race on its head and gave Red Bull control of the Grand Prix.
The hectic race soon had another red flag. Mick Schumacher lost control of his Haas at Turn 15 and created plenty of mess for a relatively low-speed crash as the rear end of his car tore away from the front. The safety barriers needed to be repaired in the aftermath, causing a virtual safety car, then a safety car, before finally a second red flag.
Red Bull and Ferrari opted for opposite tyre compounds during the stoppage, with the teams free to make changes under the red flag conditions. The two scarlet cars chose the white-walled hard Pirellis while Perez and Verstappen sat with the Pirelli's medium options. With the race restarting to a time limit due to the length of the stoppages, would there be a chance for a pass in the race's final half with the contrary strategies at play?
In a word – no. With the conditions much drier than on the first restart, the Monaco Grand Prix didn't see the same chaos in its final act. The leading four ran nose-to-tail for much of the race but without any noteworthy mistakes. They crossed the line in the same order to hand Perez his first win of the 2022 season.
The Mexican's triumph sees him close in on not only Leclerc in the championship but Verstappen, too. Fifteen points separate the top three, with Verstappen now 9 points ahead of Leclerc and Perez closing in fast. F1 now takes a one week break before another street race in Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on June 12th.
