Monaco GP: Max wins in rain

Starting from Pole Max wins the Monaco GP despite intermittent rains. Alonso couldn’t pose any challenge to Max. Ocon managed to hold on to his 3rd position to get a surprise podium.

Mega Max in Monaco

Starting from Pole, Max was in control the entire race. He was ahead of Alonso as the race started and there as just no looking back for the flying Dutchman. He steadily built up the lead to Alonso and was comfortably leading the race. Rain did bring up a few hiccups but he managed them well. Max has zoomed in the Championship lead and has no one competing against him – not his team-mate Checo nor Alonso nor Ferrari nor Mercedes. It has been only 5 races in the 2023 season and the Championship seems to be done and dusted. Max is in the form of his life and is driving the best car around. There is no holding him back.

Meanwhile 2022 Monaco race winner Sergio Perez had a nightmare weekend. Thanks to an error in Q1 session in Quali, Perez had to start from the back of the grid. Monaco is notoriously difficult to overtake and Sergio just couldn’t get past in a race marred by rain. He also ended up with a few bumps and minor crashes with other cars as well as the barriers. No one was expecting him to put up a fight to Max but now it seems that we cannot even pretend that there is a Championship fight.

Alonso doing his best

Alonso at 41 is having the time of his life. Starting from the front row he held his position but was never in a position to fight Max. When rains started towards the end, he gambled on the slicks but had to quickly pit to get the Intermittent tyres. Thankfully he was able to retain his position and would be very happy with another podium in the bag. His team-mate Lance had a weekend to forget as he DNFed mid-way.

Ocon snatched a podium

Against all odds Ocon managed to hold on to his starting position and took P3. Carlos Sainz in his Ferrari had better pace but he clipped his front wing while trying overtake Ocon. This effectively ended his forward march but luckily the damage was limited and he was able to sustain the race. Ocon would be super happy with the podium, that too in a season where he has to fight hard against fellow French-man Pierre Gasly. Gasly too scored points but he was disappointed given that his team-mate scored a podium.

Ferrari Fumble

Ferrari as always fumbled when it mattered. First home-hero Charles LeClerc got a 3-place penalty and started the race P3. Then Carlos Sainz clipped his wings and that took away his performance. In the later part of the race as rains started the strategy was not good enough to capitalize on the situation. LeClerc ended up getting P6 and Carlos P8. Mercedes meanwhile got a better deal out of the rains as they went ahead of the Ferraris to get P4 and P5. McLaren would be statisfied with both their drivers finishing in the points at P9 and P10.

Monaco Race Classification : Max winner