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2022 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix highlights

Introduction

 

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez won his first race this year by 1.1 seconds after a nailbiting end to the 2022 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen unable to make it past the Mexican – and Charles Leclerc losing out after dropping from pole to P4.

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Rain saw the start delayed and, at 1518 local time, drivers completed one lap, heading back to the pits as a red flag was called. Gazebos unfurled and teams waited until 1605 for a rolling race start behind the Safety Car on wet tyres. The Safety Car pulled in for Lap 3 of 77 and Leclerc led away with Sainz, Perez and Verstappen in tow.

The front-runners swapped to intermediates, with Perez coming in first on Lap 17, Leclerc and Verstappen following two laps later, while Sainz skipped straight to hards with a switch on Lap 21, Leclerc following for a Ferrari double-stack. Red Bull followed one lap later and pulled off an overcut with their own double-stack – the order was now Perez, Sainz, Verstappen and a furious Leclerc in P4.

Mick Schumacher spun and crashed spectacularly at Swimming Pool on Lap 27, bringing out another red flag on Lap 30. He walked away, the gearbox and rear suspension having detached from his Haas. Resumption came with a rolling start on Lap 33, Ferrari on hards while Red Bull opted for mediums.

Perez held his lead and the mediums held their own on the restart but began to drop off past the Lap 55 mark, with around 10 minutes remaining. It was now that Sainz, Verstappen and Leclerc closed in. The Mexican almost lost out in the dying moments of the race, Sainz almost sticking his nose in front at the hairpin, but victory would be his – a huge statement after a disappointing Spanish Grand Prix.

With the race timer showing zero on Lap 64, Perez’s margin of victory was just 1.154s over Sainz, Verstappen just 0.337s behind the Spaniard, and Leclerc shocked to finish 2.9s off in P4.

Having skipped a stop for intermediates – going straight from wets to slicks – George Russell rounded out the top five for Mercedes ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Alpine’s Fernando Alonso started seventh and finished there despite Lewis Hamilton hanging on his tail for much of the late phase.

Hamilton had taken damage in an early scrap with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, the Frenchman has then given a five-second penalty. Despite finishing ninth, he was thus demoted to 12th, giving Valtteri Bottas P9 for Alfa Romeo and Sebastian Vettel the final point for Aston Martin.

Pierre Gasly’s early charge on intermediates was cut short at P12 when the track dried up and he finished 12th, promoted to 11th thanks to Ocon’s penalty.

Daniel Ricciardo missed out in P13 ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, the last driver on the lead lap.

Late mistakes saw Yuki Tsunoda finish last and 17th behind Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and 15th place Williams driver Nicholas Latifi.

There were three retirees, with Kevin Magnussen bowing out before Schumacher’s heavy crash, and Alex Albon quitting late on from last-place.

Mario Isola – Motorsport Director, Pirelli:

This was one of those unpredictable Monaco races where strategy was dictated by who reacted best to changing circumstances, with those who took a chance sometimes rewarded. The changing weather after two days of sunshine added a number of complications to what should otherwise have been a reasonably straightforward race strategy, with the decision about when to get off the full wet tyre and which tyre to put on next being absolutely critical, on very slippery street asphalt that clearly affected the crossover point, rather than temperatures. Added to this were a number of unforeseeable factors such as the safety car and red flag, which required yet more immediate decisions – influenced also of course by which tyres the drivers had available to them.

Perez’s decision to use the medium for the final stint helped him to seal the race victory, ahead of Carlos Sainz on the hard, although Perez also had to manage his tyres in the closing stages. Every tyre in our Formula 1 range was used during this race, with all performing well despite a completely unknown set of conditions and crossover points on the tightest and most unforgiving track of the season.

2022 Formula 1 Monaco GP Race Results

PosNoDriverCountryTeamTimePointsOverall
1.11Sergio PerezMexicoRed Bull Racing Honda1:56:30.26525110
2.55Carlos SainzSpainScuderia Ferrari+1.154s1883
3.1Max VerstappenNetherlandsRed Bull Racing+1.491s15125
4.16Charles LeclercMonacoScuderia Ferrari+2.922s12116
5.63George RussellGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+11.968s1084
6.4Lando NorrisGreat BritainMclaren Racing+12.231s948
7.14Fernando AlonsoSpainAlpine F1 Team+46.358s610
8.44Lewis HamiltonGreat BritainMercedes-AMG Petronas+50.388s450
9.77Valtteri BottasFinlandAlfa Romeo F1 Team+52.525s240
10.5Sebastian VettelGermanyAston Martin F1 Team+53.536s15
11.10Pierre GaslyFranceScuderia AlphaTauri+54.289s06
12.31Esteban OconFranceAlpine F1 Team+55.644s030
13.3Daniel RicciardoAustraliaMcLaren Racing+57.635s011
14.18Lance StrollCanadaAston Martin F1 Team+60.802s02
15.6Nicholas LatifiCanadaWilliams Racing+1 lap00
16.24Zhou GuanyuChinaAlfa Romeo F1 Team+1 lap01
17.22Yuki TsunodaJapanScuderia AlphaTauri+1 lap011
18.23Alexander AlbonThailandWilliams RacingDNF03
19.47Mick SchumacherGermanyHaas F1 TeamDNF00
20.20Kevin MagnussenDenmarkHaas F1 TeamDNF015

2022 Constructor Standings

PosPictureTeamPoints
1.Red Bull Racing235
1.Scuderia Ferrari199
3.Mercedes-AMG F1 Team134
4.McLaren Racing59
5.Alfa Romeo Racing41
6.Alpine F1 Team40
7.Scuderia AlphaTauri17
8.Haas F1 Team15
9.Aston Martin F1 Team7
10.Williams Racing3

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

The post 2022 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix highlights appeared first on Paddock Magazine.

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