Sergio Perez won his second race with Red Bull (F1.com)
Amidst conversation about removing the Monaco Grand Prix from the F1 calendar, the race in Monte Carlo actually delivered a fairly interesting watch. The wet-dry race saw Sergio Perez win the third race of his career, a record for a Mexican driver. Charles Leclerc's Monaco curse came to an end (kind of...) and Carlos Sainz again missed out on a race victory for the umpteenth time.
There was drama all the way down the grid. Despite that, the overtakes were still few and far between, so most of the entertainment stemmed from watching Checo's podium celebrations.
Yet another Formula 1 Grand Prix means yet another edition of the Sincere Sports Power Rankings. Checo took home the 25 points, but was he the top performer of the weekend in the Monaco rain?
As usual, I added all the drivers' scores together to find the top 10 drivers for this particular race and on a season-long basis.
If you've forgotten, we take machinery entirely out of the equation and simply judge the drivers based on how well they did with the equipment they possessed.
Let's begin!
Verstappen had a somewhat shaky weekend in Monaco (F1icom)
1. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Race Position: 1st
Score: 9.1
Sergio Perez must have talked to Michael Jordan at the Miami GP, because he took Red Bull's team orders personally. After his own team let Max Verstappen pass Perez in Spain, Checo had a point to prove in Monaco. He answered the call.
Perez was the better Red Bull driver each and every day of the weekend. He topped FP3 for Red Bull Racing, whereas his teammate Verstappen never looked to be challenging for pole. On Saturday, the Mexican put his car on the front row, but one tiny mistake in the late stages of Q3 cost him and Verstappen a chance to go for pole (though nobody was going to come close to Leclerc's time).
Sunday went perfectly for Checo. He took advantage of his team's superior strategy and then used his tire management to keep Carlos Sainz behind, even though the Spaniard was setting faster lap times. Checo's win puts him firmly in the title fight.
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Race Position: 4th
Score: 9.0
Charles Leclerc had never even finished a Monaco Grand Prix at any level of Grand Prix racing, so the bar was very low for the Monegasque. He finally did break his curse of not finishing, but it was nevertheless a disappointing result for Leclerc.
Leclerc was absolutely dominant on Saturday. Though Perez's crash meant that he could never put together his final lap, it looked like it was going to be a stonking lap, something worthy of the gods. Alas, he got pole regardless.
At Monaco, it looked like Leclerc could drive a relatively unchallenged race to the checkered flag. He got out to a significant early lead, but Ferrari completely blew the pit strategy, trying to undercut the Red Bulls. It cost Leclerc a victory and a podium. An understandably distraught Leclerc was heartbroken on team radio. Though he finally finished his home race, his championship bid took yet another punch to the gut.
3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Race Position: 2nd
Score: 8.5
Carlos Sainz hasn't had a great season under the new regulations. But this weekend, he looked like the Sainz of old. Sainz was third best over one lap for the majority of the weeekend, but that's a nice improvement on his past Grand Prix.
In the race, Sainz nailed the strategy call and vetoed Ferrari's strategy call to pit onto the slicks. It wasn't enough to catch Perez, but it secured Sainz a second place finish. For Ferrari, it shouldn't have been about damage limitation, as they looked to be quite quick around Monaco. But unforeseen circumstances forced the Italian team to feel satisfied with a second place, which Sainz provided.
4. George Russell, Mercedes
Race Position: 5th
Score: 8.4
George Russell's excellent season continued at Monaco. It would've been too difficult of a task for the Briton to compete with the frontrunners. Thus, to get yet another fifth place finish is a pretty impressive result for Russell.
It's important to nail qualifying in Monte Carlo and Russell did so, putting his Mercedes on the third row of the grid. In the race, Russell's out-laps were quicker than Lando Norris', which let him stay ahead of the McLaren driver.
Russell is still holding onto fourth place in the championship. He's really removing doubts about his driving ability this season and the Monaco GP was no exception.
5. Lando Norris, McLaren
Race Position: 6th
Score: 8.3
Norris couldn't keep up with his buddy Russell, but he did still have a solid race. Compared to his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, Norris's Monaco GP was a dominant affair. Despite still suffering from tonsillitis, Norris qualified right next to Russell and was battling with the Mercedes for the majority of the race.
Norris was on the right side of the Fernando Alonso blockade. This helped him compete with Russell. At the end of the day, the McLaren is a slower car than the Mercedes, so it was impressive that Norris could stay next to Russell for the majority of the race.
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Race Position: 3rd
Score: 7.8
It's a rare sight to see Max Verstappen get convincingly dominated by his teammate for a whole weekend. Thus, it was stunning to see the Dutchman a level behind Sergio Perez. He hasn't been that far behind his teammate for a very long time, probably since Daniel Ricciardo was still at Red Bull.
Either way, he still came home on the podium to augment his lead over Charles Leclerc in the title fight. While it's probably fair to say that he got lucky with Ferrari's disaster strategy call, if a third place finish is considered a disappointing performance, you know that you've got a special driver on your hands.
Verstappen is now in a title fight with two other drivers. It's hard enough to be the hunted when you only have one hunter, but to have two drivers on your tail is nearly impossible. We are going to learn a lot about Verstappen's title credentials in the next few weeks.
7. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
Race Position: 7th
Score: 7.5
This might be the funniest graphic I've seen in a while. The deadly combination of Fernando Alonso, one of the best defenders in F1 history at Monaco, a track where defending is simple, was too much for Lewis Hamilton was stuck behind Alonso all race.
Alonso's lap times were pretty ugly for the majority of the race, but Alonso stuck to his guns. He had one of his better qualifying runs of the season, equaling his season best. That allowed him to get a chance to pick up a healthy point total.
The only downside to Alonso's strategy was that it likely cost points for his teammate, Esteban Ocon, as the grid was simply too concentrated for Ocon to get past.
8. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
Race Position: 11th
Score: 7.1
Pierre Gasly looked like a guarantee for Q3 after some impressive performances in free practice. Strangely, Gasly couldn't even set a time fast enough for Q2, as the Frenchman went out in the first qualifying session.
Points seemed like an impossible task, especially at a track like Monaco. But Gasly put his head down and barely missed out. Gasly switched onto the slicks first and he started putting in some excellent lap times. He held the fastest lap of the race at a certain point. He was the star of the show on Sunday, making a couple of on-track overtakes, including a scintillating dive at Mirabeu Haute on Zhou Guanyu.
9. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Race Position: 9th
Score: 7.0
It wasn't a signature drive from Bottas, but the Finn still picked up points with a battling drive. Bottas missed out on Q3 for just the second time this season. But Bottas managed his tires well and his late stop put him in a position to pick up a couple of points. Esteban Ocon's penalty improved his position to P9 at the flag.
It wasn't anything special from Bottas, nothing like the brilliance we've been witnessing lately. But after losing running time with a mechanical problem in FP1, it's an accomplishment to keep the car on track, much less finish in the points.
10. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
Race Position: 10th
Score: 6.9
Sebastian Vettel has provided a breath of fresh air into the Aston Martin team. Vettel was arguably the star of qualifying, as he made Q3 in Monaco yet again, even in a clearly slow car. That qualifying performance was crucial for the German, who got put on the wrong strategy, as he pitted for inters a bit too early. It's possible that he could have had a more comfortable race if he had stayed out on the wet tires.
The race was a fairly quiet affair for Seb. He was stuck between Bottas and Gasly, just outside of the points. However, Esteban Ocon's penalty for making contact with Lewis Hamilton gave Vettel P10 and one point as a reward.
JUST MISSED
Hamilton was once again beat by the younger Russell (F1i.com)
Kevin Magnussen is in the midst of a real drought. He put together a solid effort in Monaco, but he couldn't make Q3 yet again. After Haas nailed their pit strategy, the Dane looked like he'd be fighting for a point or two. Unfortunately for Magnussen, a water pressure loss in his ERS forced Haas to retire the car.
THE OVERALL STANDINGS
Carlos Sainz didn't have any gravel to drive into (F1i.com)
The top 5 of the overall power rankings are really starting to stabilize. For the first time this season, the top 5 has gone unchanged, as every driver who was in that range last week stays in their respective positions after the Monaco Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz' return to form thrusts him back into 7th place, tied with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. After an impressive defense in Monte Carlo, Fernando Alonso passes his teammate Esteban Ocon, who had a mixed race performance. Alex Albon drops out of the top 10 this week.
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Season Average: 9.0
Last GP: 1st
2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Season Average: 8.7
Last GP: 2nd
T3. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Season Average: 8.2
Last GP: 4th
T3. George Russell, Mercedes
Season Average: 8.2
Last GP: 3rd
5. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Season Average: 7.8
Last GP: 5th
6. Lando Norris, McLaren
Season Average: 7.7
Last GP: 6th
T7. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Season Average: 7.3
Last GP: 7th
T7. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Season Average: 7.3
Last GP: 9th
9. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
Season Average: 7.2
Last GP: 9th
10. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Season Average: 7.0
Last GP: 8th
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