Red Bull Racing Takes Resounding Victory at F1 Monaco Grand Prix
Honda-powered Red Bull Racing continued its reign of dominance, leaving no doubt in Monaco Victory.
Glamor GP
Aside from being the premiere social event of the year for wealthy travelers and influencers from around the world, the Monaco Grand Prix is still a prestigious and challenging fixture from purely a racing perspective. Many consider the track to be too narrow for modern cars, this writer included. But in a different sense, success around the principality speaks to the ability to take advantage of smart strategy as well as outright pace. And this past weekend, Red Bull seemed to have both down to a science.
Dream Crusher
The practice sessions didn't bring much to light. But the qualifying session was perhaps the most exciting of the season thus far. With Alonso fans hopeful with his stunning pace in Q3, which gave him provisional pole, Max Verstappen once again broke the hearts of F1 watchers by putting in an otherworldly performance in the final sector of the lap to steal pole position from the grasps of Aston Martin and the Spaniard.
Away We Go
On the other side of the Red Bull garage, though, there was nothing but disappointment. Sergio Perez was taken out of the qualifying session due to an incident, leaving him to start from the back of the field. Still, Verstappen's race looked straightforward enough, as the team hoped to start and finish in first place.
Then There Was Rain
But as is often the case, the racing gods had other plans for the Monaco GP. While the race started in classically exciting fashion, Verstappen's place was not in much of a risk from the rest of the pack. That all changed when rain started to become a factor around the 52nd lap. Some drivers decided to pit for the intermediates sooner than others. And Verstappen was among those who stayed on his slicks for longer.
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
As many drivers began to slide all over the place, losing positions and damaging their cars, Max managed to keep his wheels on the track masterfully. When the rain became too heavy to bear, he pitted for intermediate tires at the 55th lap. He managed to maintain his place at the front of the pack using laser focus. His teammate, on the other hand, was the victim of more than one hits to his car, both from the wall and George Russell's Mercedes.
Popping Champagne
And although we did end up getting some excitement over the course of the race, Max Verstappen and Red Bull's dominance was never really in doubt, as the Dutch driver finished comfortably ahead of Alonso to add another win to his resume and another 25 points toward his third drivers' World Championship. All in all, another display of utter superiority from Red Bull Racing, despite the less-than-optimal results from Perez, who finished in 16th.
