MOTORSPORT: Verstappen takes F1 championship lead

For the first time in his grand prix career, Max Verstappen is leading the Formula 1 world championship.

A runaway win on the streets of Monaco, on the same day that Lewis Hamilton finished a desultory seventh for Mercedes, gave the Red Bull racer the advantage in this year’s F1 title fight for the first time.

But the biggest loser was hometown hero Charles Leclerc, who put his Ferrari on pole position but didn’t even take the start after a gearbox problem from a qualifying crash.

“It’s a difficult one to take. It’s a shame for everyone,” said Leclerc.

Those words could also apply to Daniel Ricciardo, who was far slower than his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in qualifying, got buried deep in the pack during the race, and could only manage 12th as Norris finished third and lapped him.

Norris also jumped to third in the title standings as Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas retired when his pit crew could not remove his right-front wheel at a compulsory pit stop.

Verstappen could not disguise his delight as he tilted the title fight in his favour, with the next race at Baku also likely to suit his Red Bull.

“An amazing race. It’s so special here to win,” he said.

“Of course, you always want to win this grand prix. I’m very proud. But I’m also looking ahead.”

Carlos Sainz picked up the pieces at Ferrari and finished an untroubled second, although he was still bleating about losing his shot at pole position to Leclerc’s Saturday crash.

“It is a good result. It maybe doesn’t taste as good as it should,” the Spaniard said.

But Norris was delighted.

“I didn’t think I would be here today. It’s always a dream to be on the podium here. It’s special here, so I’ll cherish it,” said Norris.

The biggest drama at Monaco 2021 was before the start, as Ferrari gambled and lost on not replacing the gearbox after Leclerc’s crash.

He dribbled around on the formation lap and drove into his pit, instead of heading for the grid, as he discovered terminal damage in the back of his car.

But Bottas’ pit stop came close, as a frantic Mercedes pit crew tried to free a jammed wheel. When every effort failed, he was also pushed into the garage.

And the disaster was made complete when a strategic bungle left Hamilton with no chance to fight his way forward.

“We under-performed as a team all weekend,” Hamilton admitted.

Otherwise, Verstappen took the lead from Bottas in the race to the first corner and then went A-to-B for a simple win.

Sebastian Vettel looked more like a four-times champion as he drove to fifth, his first significant result since joining Aston Martin.

“It’s a great result for us. And we can be happy having two cars in the points,” said Vettel.

But both Verstappen and Hamilton are already looking ahead to the next race at Baku in Azerbaijan, with the reigning champion concerned about another hit for Mercedes.

“We’ll just put our focus onto the next race. It’s another one we could struggle at. We just have to work on how to minimise the loss,” said Hamilton.

2021 Monaco Grand Prix results:

2021 Formula 1 driver standings:

Verstappen, 105
Hamilton, 101
Norris, 56
Bottas, 47
Perez, 44
Leclerc, 40
Sainz, 38
Ricciardo, 24
Gasly, 16
Ocon, 12