Grand Prix race results: Verstappen wins in Monaco
With pole position winner Charles Leclerc not starting the race, after the left-side driveshaft of his Ferrari (that he crashed in qualifying) failed on his installation lap, the door was opened to Verstappen.
He led from start to finish, as his closest challenger Valtteri Bottas was forced to retire after a right-front wheel stub axle got stripped in his pitstop, which promoted Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz to second and McLaren’s Lando Norris to third.
From P2 on the grid, but effectively pole position due to Leclerc’s absence, Verstappen chopped across the bows of Bottas to lead at Sainte Devote.
Ferrari’s sole participant Sainz ran third, ahead of Norris and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, with points leader Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in sixth. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) repelled an early attack from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) rounding out the top 10. Aston’s Lance Stroll was the leading medium-tyred starter in 11th.
Bottas began to struggle with his soft tyres at one-third distance, allowing Sainz to close in as Verstappen increased his lead to over 5s.
