Red Bull Max Verstappen drove the Formula Ones to his fourth victory of the season in the Monaco GP and increased his World Championship lead rapidly. The two-time world champion of the sport already leads the drivers’ battle with a difference of 39 points, with only six races behind him.
Driving an Aston Martin in peak season Fernando Alonso achieved his best ranking of the season, being second. The surprise of the race weekend was the cornering French rider Alpine in third place Esteban Ocon.
Alfa Romeo Valtteri Bottas was 11th, i.e. the first driver left out of the points. Urheilu Jukka Mildh go through the topics of the sixth race weekend of the season.
What solved it?
There was a tough battle for the pole position in the qualifying sessions of the Monaco GP. The leading position changed from here to there at the end of the last section.
For a while it seemed that Fernando Alonso would gas up for the pole for the first time in 11 years. However, Verstappen would overtake right at the end.
The final order of the race was exactly the same as in qualifying: Verstappen, Alonso, Ocon. However, the rain that started in the 50th lap of the race brought its confusion phase to the race.
Alonso initially went to change the new medium hard tires, but soon had to come again to change the intermediate tires on his car.
Verstappen eventually won the race with a crushing margin of 28 seconds.
– We have to praise Verstappen’s skills again, especially in these difficult conditions. The solution was, however, that Aston Martin made the wrong tire decision and gave Alonso dry weather tires, even though he should have used intermediate weather tires, says Mildh.
– I think Alonso was challenging Verstappen very well. It was a gamble, as Monaco usually is.
What speaks?
As the biggest talking point of the weekend and the whole week, Mildh brings up the news of the cooperation agreement between Aston Martin and Honda. Honda will start supplying Aston Martin with engines from the 2026 season.
The Japanese manufacturer already had time to leave the Formula 1s before. It most recently worked as Red Bull’s engine manufacturer, but has continued to operate in some way in the background of the Austrian team.
Aston Martin’s power unit has been operated by Mercedes mills for a long time.
– It’s a big deal for the Formula Ones that Honda officially remains in Formula One. The engines will change in 2026, so this is a big deal. Of course, you won’t see the result until a few years later, says Mildh.
Who surprised?
You don’t need a lottery for the surprise of the weekend. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon had a strong drive all weekend.
In qualifying, he was even close to the pole position for a while. Ocon kept his third place in the race and reached the top three for the first time this season.
It was the first podium finish this season by someone other than Red Bull, Ferrari, Aston Martin or Mercedes.
For example, Mercedes’ young star driver George Russell has not been able to visit the podium this season. In the case of Ocon, we can talk about the biggest surprise of the season.
The 26-year-old Frenchman is driving his sixth full season in the series. During his F1 career, he has driven once to victory and three times to the podium.
– Ocon drove a very good weekend. All credit to him getting third place. Ocon is one of those guys who have a hard time really getting out there. This was one good display and certainly gives credit to him and the team.
Mildh emphasizes the value of performance in Monaco.
– A special performance. It speaks of patience and moderation.
A flop?
Red Bull by Sergio Perez the early season was strong. He drove to victory in both Saudi Arabia and Baku.
However, the Monaco weekend was particularly difficult for the experienced Mexican driver. At the very beginning of qualifying, he crashed and broke his car.
Starting from the rear, Perez only managed to get to 17th place. Perez’s difficulty in qualifying was surprising considering that he is usually very good in street track races like Monaco.
In the World Championship points, Alonso was already 12 points behind Perez.
– Perez was a flop. He should fight for the world title. There was also hasty driving in the race. Sure, driving was difficult on a wet track, but that’s the same for everyone. He lost significant points in this race.
What about Bottas?
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was therefore 11th in the race. He raised his ranking by four places in the race.
The Imola race was canceled due to severe weather conditions. Mildh says that it is difficult to show the car’s development on the Monaco circuit.
– Pretty normal performance from Alfa Romeo. Maybe some teams were affected by not driving in Imola. It would have been good to drive in Monaco for points.
What next?
The F1 season continues the very next weekend at the Barcelona track in Spain. Red Bull has won all the races of the season so far.
Red Bull’s phenomenal straight-line speed in particular has been deafening. Monaco might even have had the best winning streak of other teams this season.
Mildh wants to believe that Aston Martin can challenge in some races. Can Red Bull win all the races of the season?
– At this point, I wouldn’t predict the end of the season, but it looks strong. Their top speed and the characteristics of their car are completely different from others.
– In Barcelo, the development can be seen to some extent, but the others still have a lot to do to beat Vestappen. You really have to do magic tricks to catch Red Bull. However, it should not be forgotten that Aston Martin has come close.