MAX WINNER AND LEADER OF CHAMPIONSHIP

Max Verstappen is the winner of today's race in Monte Carlo. The Dutchman has never been on the podium in the principality before, but today he used the Ferrari bad luck with the car of Charles Leclerc, so with a good start and concentrated performance he reached his second Victory this season, which took the lead in the general classification among drivers.

Carlos Sainz Jr. finished in a remarkable second place for him, ahead of former team-mate Lando Norris on the last rung of the podium. Next were Perez, Vettel and Gasley, ahead of the very desperate Hamilton in seventh place.

Monaco Grand Prix is back on the calendar after a one-year break due to the coronavirus. Authorities allowed fans access, but only with a new negative test for Covid-19, and although the stands were only allowed to fill 40%, there was a sense of celebration, a gradual return to life, especially as the weekend proved interesting.

For the first time in the history of Formula 1, a driver from Monaco won the Pole position. His collision in the second lap shattered the hopes of many drivers, but there were no complaints about Leclerc's behavior, and the incident was assessed as real.

Ferrari was worried about the gearbox, and his replacement would result in a five-position penalty, but they decided to leave it. But as soon as he got out of his garage and headed for grid, Leclerc anxiously informed his engineer that he had a problem with the car.

The team tried to do something until the last moment, but it was soon determined that Leclerc would not be able to participate in today's race, due to problems with the left side of the drive axle.

Pole position remained vacant. Max Verstappen started from the front row, Botas and Sainz Jr. from second, Norris and Gasley from third. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton started seventh. At the start, Bottas tried to attack, but Verstappen kept the lead. Mick Schumacher managed to overtake Mazepin.

The Dutchman tried to make a gap, but Bottas drove at the same pace, the drivers exchanged a few fastest laps, gradually moving away from Carlos Sainz Jr., who was firmly in third place. After the initial excitement, in the further course of the race the order was kept unchanged. No one even had a chance to try to attack.

In such a situation, Mercedes AMG had to be the first to react, so in the 30th lap, Lewis Hamilton was called, the first driver to change the tires. Valteri Botas was called in the next lap, but his mechanics could not remove the front right wheel and after several attempts the Finn had to withdraw from the race.

To make matters worse, neither strategy with Hamilton worked, so not only did they not come out in front of Pierre Gasly, who was a great Red Bull wingman, but they also lost position to Sebastian Vettel, who after his pit stop managed to come out just ahead of both and thus secured a Top 5 finish.

In the 69th lap, Hamilton changed tires again, marking the fastest lap of the race and earning an extra point. Verstappen's victory and Sergio Perez's fourth place brought Red Bull first place in the constructors' championship, and after five races the fight between them and Mercedes AMG was reset.

Carlos Sainz Jr. recorded his first podium with Ferrari, and Lando Norris secured second place on the podium for the McLaren team. Sebastian Vettel and Antonio Giovinazi scored their first points of the season.

A typical race for the principality, the drivers could fight for position only through the pits, in the race there were no overtaking, except in the first lap. In two weeks time the fight will continue on the streets in Baku,complete opposite of Monte Carlo.

Monaco Grand Prix – Race 78 laps, 260.286km., Weather: Sunny.
CLASSIFICATION:
P.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME/GAP
1.	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1h38:56.820
2.	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Ferrari	+ 8.968
3.	Lando Norris	McLaren	+ 19.427
4.	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull	+ 20.490
5.	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	+ 52.591
6.	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+ 53.896
7.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	+ 1.08.231
8.	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+ 1 lap
9.	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+ 1 lap
10.	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	+ 1 lap
11.	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo	+ 1 lap
12.	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	+ 1 lap
13.	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	+ 1 lap
14.	George Russell	Williams	+ 1 lap
15.	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+ 1 lap
16.	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	+ 1 lap
17.	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	+ 3 laps
18.	Mick Schumacher	Haas	+ 3 laps
FASTEST LAP: LEWIS HAMILTON - 1:12.909
NOT CLASSIFIED:
19.	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes AMG	TYRE
20.	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	DNS
HYBRID ERA - MONTE CARLO 2014 Nico Rosberg - Mercedes AMG - 1h49:27.661 2015 Nico Rosberg - Mercedes AMG - 1h49:18.420 2016 Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG - 1h59:29.133 2017 Sebastian Vettel - Ferrari - 1h44:44.340 2018 Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull - 1h42:54.807 2019 Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG - 1h49.50.443 2021 Max Verstappen - Red Bull - 1h38:56.820 @MkFormula1 - Republic of Macedonia

CLASSIFICATION AFTER 5/23 RACES
DRIVERS:
1.	Max Verstappen	105
2.	Lewis Hamilton	101
3.	Lando Norris	56
4.	Valtteri Bottas	47
5.	Sergio Pérez	44
6.	Charles Leclerc	40
7.	Carlos Sainz Jr.	38
8.	Daniel Ricciardo	24
9.	Pierre Gasly	16
10.	Esteban Ocon	12
11.	Sebastian Vettel	10
12.	Lance Stroll	9
13.	Fernando Alonso	5
14.	Yuki Tsunoda	2
15.	Antonio Giovinazzi	1
16.	Kimi Räikkönen	0
17.	George Russell	0
18.	Nicholas Latifi	0
19.	Mick Schumacher	0
20.	Nikita Mazepin	0
21.		0
CONSTRUCTORS:
1.	Red Bull	149
2.	Mercedes AMG	148
3.	McLaren	80
4.	Ferrari	78
5.	Aston Martin	19
6.	AlphaTauri	18
7.	Alpine	17
8.	Alfa Romeo	1
9.	Williams	0
10.	Haas	0