Verstappen shines in the wet and the dry to master Monaco again
Monday, 29 May 2023
Max Verstappen wins his fourth race this year and at Monaco for a second time after surviving the rain and several scrapes with the barriers, while Fernando Alonso's remarkable resurgence for Aston Martin hits new heights.
Max Verstappen kept up Red Bull Racing's perfect record in 2023, the Dutchman doubling up in Monaco with an assured win from pole to go with his 2021 success at the sport's most iconic venue.
Verstappen led all 78 laps from pole and won for the fourth time this year to extend his already-imposing championship lead to 39 points, but what looked to be a cruise to the flag was made more fraught by rain hitting the circuit two-thirds of the way through the race, Verstappen surviving several scapes with the barriers on intermediate tyres before he regained control and ran away to win by over 27 seconds.
Fernando Alonso was best of the rest for Aston Martin as he has been for most of 2023, the Spaniard finishing second for his best result since the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, when he was second for Ferrari. The 41-year-old, who just lost out to Verstappen for pole in a thrilling qualifying session on Saturday, has five podiums from the first six races this year.
Alpine's Esteban Ocon fought off Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton for the final podium place, while Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez endured a miserable Monaco weekend, the 2022 Monte Carlo winner crashing in qualifying, starting last, and only advancing as far as 16th in the race.
Oscar watch
Oscar Piastri took his second F1® points finish by securing 10th place for McLaren, finishing one lap down on race-winner Verstappen and one place behind teammate Lando Norris on a weekend where the team ran a 'Triple Crown' inspired livery commemorating McLaren's winning heritage at Monaco, in the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours sports car classic.
The Australian qualified 11th, edged out of Q3 by 0.025secs by Norris on his final lap of Q2, and spent 59 of the 78 laps in 11th place, briefly running inside the top 10 after the rain intensified after lap 52 before Norris re-passed him with 20 laps left.
The McLaren duo then hunted down an ailing Yuki Tsunoda, whose AlphaTauri was struggling with brakes in the slippery conditions, and Piastri put a robust move on the Japanese driver into the first corner on lap 68 to confirm his first points since finishing eighth in his home Grand Prix in Melbourne last month.
Unsung hero
Esteban Ocon arrived in Monaco with just six points to show from the opening five Grands Prix of the year, but the Frenchman was superb in the Principality, briefly holding provisional pole with a stunning Q3 lap, and then converting third on the grid into his third F1® podium finish, his first since he won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Alpine driver held station off the line into the first corner, and then had to repel Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard running into the back of Ocon's car at the Nouvelle Chicane on lap 11 and breaking elements of his front wing.
A slow initial pit stop looked to have compromised Ocon's podium chances, but he pulled away from Sainz when the field settled onto intermediate rubber late in the race to help vault Alpine past McLaren into fifth place in the constructors' championship.
Number to know
17: Race day in Monaco (May 28) marked the 17th anniversary of Red Bull's first F1® podium when David Coulthard came third in Monte Carlo in 2006. Verstappen's win on Sunday was the team's 244th podium finish.
It was incredibly slippery … I clipped the walls a few times, it was super difficult out there … that's Monaco!
Monaco Grand Prix: top 10
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 1hr 48mins 51.980secs
2. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +27.921secs
3. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +36.990secs
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +39.062secs
5. George Russell (Mercedes) +56.284secs
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +61.890secs
7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +62.362secs
8. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +63.391secs
9. Lando Norris (McLaren) + 1 lap
10. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) + 1 lap
Standings (top 5)
Drivers' championship
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) 144 points
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing) 105 points
3. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 93 points
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 69 points
5. George Russell (Mercedes) 50 points
Constructors' championship
1. Red Bull Racing (249 points)
2. Aston Martin (120 points)
3. Mercedes (119 points)
4. Ferrari (90 points)
5. Alpine (35 points)
Next race
Round 7: Barcelona, Spain (June 2-4)
