MONACO'S OWN 'SPIN AND WIN'
Jake Scarbrough-
Sergio Perez managed to hold off Carlos Sainz to win his first Monaco Grand Prix. This being Sergio's 3rd career win in Formula 1, it came a week late in the eyes of many F1 fans who were upset with Oracle Red Bull Racing's decision to have Perez let teammate Max Verstappen by in the closing laps ultimately giving Verstappen the race win in Barcelona and gaining points of Ferrari driver, Charles Leclerc. This race was a huge change in the points standings as Perez sits 3rd, only 15 points back from points leader and teammate, Max Verstappen. Leclerc finishing in 4th to Verstappen's 3rd place race finish allowed for Leclerc to lose 3 more points on the Belgian-Dutch driver meaning, Max Verstappen holds a 9 point lead over the Charles Leclerc.
Perez Wrecks In Qualifying
The Red Bull driver had an incident in qualifying yesterday during Q3 in the closing minutes, losing control on the exit of turn 8 (Portier). The man who ended up finishing 2nd in today's race Carlos Sainz, had little room for hesitation and spun the car into Perez's already wrecked car. This incident ended up ending Q3 allowing Charles Leclerc to get his 2nd straight pole in his home race. Perez later claimed that the cold tires were the cause of his spin. After showing the speed he had throughout the weekend, Perez then had to prove he could win the race after qualifying in 3rd, only 0.253 seconds off the pole time.
Monaco's Rain Start
Today's race barely got to start before the rain came in being a massive factor for the race. Although the rain followed with a red flag for weather conditions, that did not stop the race from happening. The race set up to be Ferrari v. Red Bull, the two top teams of the sport with the 4 drivers total battled amongst each other the entire grand prix. Each driver starting on the wet tire compound around the already fast and technical corners of the famous street circuit allowed for many to believe we were about to see an intense race in Monaco.
Schumacher In The Barrier
Mick Schumacher caused the second red flag of the race after the Haas driver spun the car into the outside barriers of turn 15, scattering debris all over the track and even splitting the car in half. His teammate Kevin Magnussen, retired the car just minutes prior to Mick's crash. This leads people to believe both Haas cars possibly had issues rather than driver error from the German driver. However, Schumacher was quick to get out of the car after the crash, he said over the team radio, "I don't understand it.". Fans quickly reacted on social media after the incident thankful for the safety but voicing more concerns about the track being dangerous.
F1 Endurance Racing
Halfway into the race the FIA made the decision to time the race instead of counting laps. This decision being made due to Monaco obviously being a street circuit and workers needing to reopen the streets at a specific time. This decision was a game changer for the race as it made the teams realize they did not need to pit again for another set of tires. During the red flag, both Red Bull drivers changed to the medium compound as Ferrari decided to stay on the hard compound. This was viewed as a terrible decision in the eyes of many fans as all across social media, memes were made about Ferrari's decision. The massive difference of speed between both tire compounds allowed for Sergio Perez to hold off Ferrari's Carlos Sainz to earn his 3rd career win in Formula 1 at one of the most historic tracks on the schedule.
Comments