Perez wins rain-delayed Monaco GP

AFP/ LOIC VENANCE

Sergio Perez won a rain-delayed, crash-halted and ultimately nail-biting Monaco Grand Prix for Red Bull on Sunday to make his dream come true as another evaporated for Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

The Mexican's team mate Max Verstappen finished third to stretch his Formula One championship lead over Leclerc, who was fourth, to nine points after seven of 22 races.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was second, for the second year in succession.

Leclerc had started on pole position but Ferrari were outsmarted on strategy and he was leapfrogged by the Red Bull drivers in the pitstops.

He at least ended a home jinx to become the first Monegasque to score in Monaco since Louis Chiron finished third in 1950, the year the championship began, but the race had promised so much more.

The win was the third of Perez's career and second for Red Bull, and it ended with a thrilling chase on a treacherous street circuit where the difference between success and failure is measured in millimetres.

The top four at the chequered flag were separated by a mere 2.9 seconds.

The showcase race, whose future is being increasingly questioned as Formula One expands to new venues in the Americas and Middle East, was twice red-flagged and shortened from 77 scheduled laps to 64 after running out of time.

Perez was only the third driver to win a race this season, with Verstappen winning four of the previous six and Leclerc the other two.

Verstappen, who had been chasing a fourth win in a row, now has 125 points to Leclerc's 116 with Perez on 110. George Russell was fifth for Mercedes, ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and Alpine's Fernando Alonso.

Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton took eighth for Mercedes, with Valtteri Bottas ninth for Alfa Romeo and Sebastian Vettel 10th for Aston Martin. 

Red Bull forged 36 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors' standings.

More from Sports News

  • Manchester City striker Haaland suffers ankle injury

    Manchester City's Erling Haaland sustained an ankle injury in their FA Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth over the weekend, the Premier League club said on Monday, with the striker requiring further tests to determine the full extent of the injury.

  • Rory McIlroy battling injury with Masters approaching

    Rory McIlroy acknowledged he is dealing with an elbow injury as he prepares to head to Augusta for next week's Masters. The World No. 2 made a spirited run up the leaderboard at the Texas Children's Houston Open on Sunday, carding a 4-under 31 on the front nine that included an eagle.

  • Caitlin Clark sports card sets record after selling at auction

    WNBA star Caitlin Clark's 2024 Panini Prizm WNBA Signatures Gold Vinyl Prizm card, numbered 1-of-1, has set a record sale for a female sports card after going under the hammer for $366,000 (AED 1.3 million) at auction.

  • Saka ready to return, says Arsenal manager Arteta

    Arsenal's Bukayo Saka could make his long-awaited return against Fulham in the Premier League on Tuesday after recovering from a hamstring injury, his manager Mikel Arteta said.

  • Teenager Mensik denies Djokovic 100th title in Miami Open upset

    Nineteen-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik beat his childhood idol Novak Djokovic 7-6(4) 7-6(4) in an upset for the ages on Sunday, claiming his first ATP title at the Miami Open as he denied the former number one his bid for a milestone 100th.

Coming Up