Monaco Grand Prix: Max Verstappen beats Fernando Alonso to rain-affected win

Verstappen took his 39th vocation win

Red Bull's Max Verstappen survived a mid-race downpour to triumph the Monaco Grand Prix from Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

And Aston Martin appeared to miss a accidental to bushed Verstappen by pitting Alonso for a acceptable of adust tyres arsenic the rainfall was intensifying.

Had Alonso been fixed treaded tyres, his halt - portion Verstappen was inactive connected untreaded slicks - could person led to the Spaniard taking the lead.

But Alonso had to halt again for intermediate tyres connected the pursuing lap, erstwhile Verstappen did the same, and his triumph chances were gone.

Verstappen's win, his 4th successful six races this year, moves him 39 points wide of team-mate Sergio Perez successful the championship.

The Mexican had a nightmare contention aft starting from the backmost pursuing his clang successful qualifying and finished down successful 17th place.

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Rain causes chaos

The rainfall started lightly connected thigh 51 and intensified dilatory implicit the adjacent fewer laps, but the information it was initially mostly implicit the conception from Casino Square to the passageway made decisions arsenic to tyre choices difficult.

By thigh 54, with 24 to go, fractional of the way was bedewed and fractional dry, and Verstappen starring from Alonso, Mercedes' George Russell, Alpine's Esteban Ocon, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen had been hanging connected with his fading mean tyres overmuch longer than helium wanted arsenic Red Bull waited for the rain, portion Alonso down him connected hard tyres was much comfy but 13 seconds adrift.

Aston Martin chose that thigh to pit Alonso, but they fitted medium, untreaded slick tyres, alternatively than the treaded intermediates that Russell, Hamilton, Ocon and the different Alpine of Pierre Gasly each chose erstwhile they pitted 30 seconds oregon truthful later.

Verstappen and the Ferrari drivers stayed out, but the intensifying rainfall led to the Dutchman hitting the partition astatine Portier and Sainz spinning astatine Mirabeau.

Had Alonso been connected intermediates, it looked astatine look worth arsenic if mightiness person had a accidental to marque up capable clip to walk Verstappen erstwhile the Red Bull operator pitted the adjacent clip around, though a speedy investigation of the thigh times suggested helium astir apt would not person made it.

Instead, some had to pit connected thigh 55 to acceptable intermediates and Verstappen retained the lead.

Alonso's vantage implicit the remainder of the starring runners, each of whom had pitted different than Russell, ensured helium maintained 2nd place, portion Ocon vaulted backmost into the 3rd spot helium had held from the commencement but mislaid arsenic the pit-stop play started earlier the rainfall developed.

Alonso closed connected Verstappen rather rapidly successful the archetypal laps aft changing tyres, cutting his vantage by 5 seconds successful arsenic galore laps portion besides lapping seconds faster than immoderate different operator successful the field.

But Verstappen past began to borderline distant again and controlled the contention to the end.

More questions for Ferrari's strategists

Ocon was near holding disconnected Hamilton and Russell, which helium did with aplomb to the extremity of the race.

Ferrari mislaid retired by delaying their pit stops a thigh longer than Verstappen and Alonso and Leclerc and Sainz dropped down to sixth and eighth.

It was the 2nd questionable strategical determination they had made during the race, having pitted Sainz against his wishes aboriginal for a operator moving hard tyres and outgo him the accidental of trying to walk Ocon.

Sainz raged connected the vigor afterwards, telling them that it was precisely what helium had warned them astir not doing, and helium finished a disappointing eighth, besides losing retired to Gasly.

McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed the points positions successful ninth and 10th places.

Perez's rubric hopes fade

Red Bull chose an inventive strategy for Perez, pitting him for hard tyres aft conscionable 1 thigh and readying to tally to the extremity connected them and summation erstwhile others pitted.

But aft making little progress, the determination near him stuck down Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and his vexation grew.

When Verstappen came up to thigh them connected thigh 33, Perez sought to instrumentality vantage too.

He tried an overtaking determination connected the extracurricular of the harbour beforehand chicane that was ne'er connected and helium had to springiness the spot back.

His contention unravelled from there. Two laps later, helium deed the backmost of Kevin Magnussen's Haas and broke his beforehand wing, requiring different pit stop.

He besides crashed during the rainfall precocious successful the contention and made a full of 5 pit stops for a contention to hide which surely ends his title hopes.

Whilst they were ever slim, which helium was convincing himself helium could support them live for overmuch longer than six races into the season.