It was all smiles for Max Verstappen as he maintained the lead from the starting point up till the finish at the Circuit de Monaco to claim his second victory of the season. The Monaco Grand Prix presented its usual twist and turns, but Verstappen managed to remain steady till the end of the race.

Carlos Sainz finished second, making the podium for the first time this season, while Lando Norris came third. On Sunday, we did not get to see the usual Hamilton vs. Verstappen rivalry we have come to get used to this season as Lewis Hamilton started the race at sixth position and finished seventh. Verstappen has now overtaken Hamilton on the Drivers’ Standing with a four-point lead with 105 points while Hamilton stays at second place 101 points. Red Bull has now also displaced Mercedes on the Constructor Standings.

The day started on a very sad, but not entirely unusual note as Monegasque Charles Leclerc, who made his first pole position yesterday had to retire from the race due to a fault with his car’s gearbox.

This allowed Verstappen to start first. It was also a bad day for Mercedes as Valtteri Bottas, who was P2, had to retire early from the race after they could not get the nut out of his front right tyre. The rest of the race went on as normal as most people finished the same way they started, Verstappen did his best to keep Sainz and Norris out of sight as he raced for gold.

For Leclerc, it was just another unfortunate day in his hometown for the fourth year in a row. By some strange event or occurrence, Leclerc has never finished a race on the Circuit de Monaco. This has now come to be regarded as the Leclerc curse. A depressed Leclerc said, “I am getting used to this feeling here, unfortunately. I have never finished a race here.”

Written by: Leon Osamor