Charles Leclerc wins home race

Charles Leclerc led from start to finish to win the Monaco Grand Prix, giving him his first win at his home race.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri joined him on the podium after finishing second, with Carlos Sainz completing the top three

There was early damage for Sainz when he tried to force his way past Piastri, picking up a puncture when he clipped the back of the McLaren.

There was a red flag a couple of corners later though when Kevin Magnussen tagged the rear of Sergio Perez’s Red Bull, sending the Mexican spinning around, hitting the wall twice and collecting Nico Hulkenberg before the trio came to a standstill with debris strewn across the track.

The Alpines also had a coming together on the opening lap of the race, with Esteban Ocon trying to overtake Pierre Gasly, but they banged wheels, launching Ocon’s car off the ground and resulting in damage for both.

The stoppage enabled mechanics to repair Sainz, Piastri and Gasly’s cars, but the damage to Ocon’s Alpine was too great, preventing him from taking the restart. He was also given a five-place grid penalty for the next race for causing the collision.

Some drivers changed their tyres during the red flag, giving them the opportunity to get to the end of the race without making a further stop, while others stuck with the tyre they started the race on.

At the front of the field, Ferrari told Leclerc to manage his pace in a bid to avoid having to make another pitstop.

Just over half way through the race, Lance Stroll made a pitstop, but he didn’t get to make the most of his fresher tyres as he clipped the barrier at the chicane and gave himself a puncture.

Lewis Hamilton became the first of the drivers in the points to make a pitstop, knowing he had a big gap over Yuki Tsunoda behind, hoping fresher tyres would give him the edge over Max Verstappen ahead, but Red Bull brought the championship leader in on the next lap to protect his position.

Verstappen rejoined the track with an 18-second gap to George Russell in front, but quickly closed the gap to the Mercedes. However, track position proved more important than fresh tyres as Russell kept the Dutchman behind.

Provisional classification:

1 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

4. Lando Norris (McLaren)

5. George Russell (Mercedes)

6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

8. Yuki Tsunoda (VCARB)

9. Alex Albon (Williams)

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

11. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

12. Daniel Ricciardo (VCARB)

13. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber)

14. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

15. Logan Sargeant (Williams)

16. Guanyu Zhou (Sauber)

DNF:

Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

Sergio Perez (Red Bull)