Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen drove to victory on Sunday at the Monaco Grand Prix, which served as round seven of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship.
He finished almost half a minute ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, and approximately 37 seconds ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who claimed the final spot on the podium.
Verstappen started the race on pole and managed to keep the lead spot after the lights turned green, which is always a decisive factor in the narrow streets of Monaco where overtaking is notoriously difficult.
In the fine conditions, Verstappen slowly built up a gap with Alonso, who also started at the front of the grid. And by lap 17, the gap between the two world champion drivers was almost seven seconds.
Max Verstappen at the 2023 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Photo credit: Getty Images
Most drivers at this point planned on making a single stop but then a shower hit the track, resulting in a series of track run offs, contact with the barriers, and a mad dash to pit lane.
Alonso took on medium tires initially but as the rain started getting heavier, he was forced to return for intermediates. Verstappen, after surviving contact with a wall, went straight to the intermediates. Upon emerging from the pits, he managed to control the race through to the checkered flag.
Unfortunately for fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who went into the weekend second in the championship battle, a crash in the first round of qualifying left him at the back of the grid for the race. He only managed to climb to 16th place by the end.
Following the weekend’s action, Verstappen leads the 2023 Drivers’ Championship with 144 points. Perez has held on to second with an unchanged 105 points, while Alonso is edging closer with his total of 93 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull leads with 249 points. Aston Martin is second with 120 points and Mercedes-Benz AMG is third with 119 points. The next race on the calendar is the Spanish Grand Prix, on this coming weekend.
Max Verstappen at the 2023 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Photo credit: Getty Images
Below are the full results from the 2023 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix:
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +27.921 seconds
3) Esteban Ocon, Alpine +36.990 seconds
4) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +39.062 seconds
5) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG +56.284 seconds
6) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +52.988 seconds
7) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri +62.362 seconds
8) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +61.890 seconds
9) Lando Norris, McLaren +1 lap
10) Oscar Piastri, McLaren +1 lap
11) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
12) Nyck De Vries, AlphaTauri +1 lap
13) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
14) Alexander Albon, Williams +1 lap
15) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +2 laps
16) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +2 laps
17) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +2 laps
18) Logan Sargeant, Williams +2 laps
19) Kevin Magnussen, Haas – DNF
20) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – DNF
