Featuring Mark Hughes, grand prix editor, The Race. Sergio Perez wins his first Monaco Grand Prix after Ferrari bugles pole-getter Charles Leclerc’s strategy not once but twice.
We launch an investigation into the origins of Klaxon Man and come up with several ways to improve the Monaco Grand Prix that will be typically ignored.
Sergio Perez won a chaotic Monaco Grand Prix in mixed-conditions after polesitter Charles Leclerc conceded the lead in a series of strategic bungles.
The race started 65 minutes late thanks to a burst of heavy rain during the start procedure, and race control got action underway with a rolling start behind the safety car to keep the field on the full wet tire.
Leclerc led Carlos Sainz, Perez, and Max Verstappen easily at the start, but the track was drying quickly, and the timing of the switch to intermediates was looming as the major flashpoint of the race.
Continue reading on RACERSergio Perez blocked Charles Leclerc from whitewashing practice at the Monaco Grand Prixby setting the fastest time in FP3.
The Mexican went to the top of the time sheets by just 0.041s with a lap right at the death of the hour-long session to fire a warning shot across Ferrari’s bows ahead of qualifying.
Perez and Leclerc traded quickest times for the final 10 minutes of the session as they squeezed the final drops of performance from the soft Pirelli rubber.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc swept Friday practice by leading a Ferrari one-two in second practice at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The home favorite set a time of 1m12.656s to edge teammate Carlos Sainz by just 0.44s. His best effort was also less than a second slower than last year’s FP2-topping time, suggesting this year’s new-generation car isn’t as maladapted as feared.
The two Ferrari drivers were in a class of their own on single-lap pace, with Sergio Perez 0.379s off the pace as the next quickest driver. The Mexican bested Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen by just 0.68s.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc narrowly beat Sergio Perez to the top spot in opening practice for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Monegasque’s best lap of 1m14.531s was just 0.039s quicker than the Mexican, with both setting their times on the medium compound in the final 10 minutes of the session.
Carlos Sainz completed a tightly knit top three, just 0.07s behind his Ferrari teammate, but the Spaniard left time on the table. He was set for the fastest lap, complete with purple sectors at the first two splits, when he encountered traffic exiting Swimming Pool and had to abandon the effort, leaving him fractionally adrift.
Both Ferrari drivers complained of bouncing early in the session, but some setup changes halfway through seemed to improve matters, with Leclerc’s floor coming off the car for a time for further configuration work.
Continue reading on RACERCharles Leclerc will start the Monaco Grand Prix from pole position after a Sergio Perez crash ended qualifying early.
Perez was pursing the dominant Leclerc for pole when he lit up his rear tires at Portier, spinning his car and rear-ending the barrier. His broken car came to rest blocking the track, triggering the red flags that brought qualifying to a premature close.
But Leclerc already had the session well in hand. Not only had he put 0.225s on the field after the first flying laps, but he opened his final attempt with a purple first sector that put him another 0.2s up on everyone else before the red flags flew and called off the session.
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