The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the classic, pre-eminent driver circuits, requiring a great deal of skill to master this deceptively technical street track. With its unforgiving barriers, it is one of the most challenging circuits on the F1 calendar. But this is narrow, this is Monaco and the track often results in a processional race, and this year was no different.

Charles Leclerc led the Ferrari resurgence by securing pole position front row start. But where were the all-dominant Red Bull and Max Verstappen? Verstappen could only secure the 6th spot after struggling in qualifying, perhaps signalling the end of Red Bull’s era of dominance.

The race red-flagged after the first lap due to a three-car collision, which resulted in a massive crash for an out-of-position Sergio Perez. The crash was caused by Kevin Magnussen, who idiotically went for a non-existent gap.

Magnussen placed his front left wheel into the right rear wheel of Perez’s Red Bull during the high-speed run-up through Beau Rivage, a dangerous place to overtake even under the best conditions. The narrow and high-speed confines of Beau Rivage led to a massive crash that took out a totally unaware Perez, the innocent victim, Nico Hülkenberg and the idiot Magnussen.

Perez’s Red Bull impacted hard with the barriers on one side before bouncing to a stop on the other, ending up in the middle of the track as a twisted and mangled heap of carbon fibre. All three drivers walked away unscathed, but after this Magnussen should walk away entirely from F1 and never return.

Inevitably, the red flag was waved, bringing race to a halt to clear the debris and shards of carbon fibre scattered across the track as if an explosion had occurred. When the race resumed nearly 45 minutes later, a rather processional race unfolded.

Leclerc led from start to finish, controlling the race and his pace, spending 77 laps on the hard tyre. Personally speaking, I was hoping that Ferrari would suffer from its tyre degradation Achilles’ heel, but to no avail. Ferrari has improved its tyre management performance, resulting in a less eventful spectacle.

Nevertheless, Charles Leclerc won his home race, and it’s always good to see a Ferrari victory after a relative drought. While Monaco rarely offers an exciting race, we might have an exciting championship to look forward to.

The Monaco Grand Prix confirmed that Red Bull now faces a genuine threat to the 2024 drivers’ and constructors’ championships on two fronts.

2024 Monaco Grand Prix: Race Result

1 Charles LECLERC 2:23:15.554
2 Oscar PIASTRI +7.152
3 Carlos SAINZ +7.585
4 Lando NORRIS +8.650
5 George RUSSELL +13.309
6 Max VERSTAPPEN +13.853
7 Lewis HAMILTON +14.908
8 Yuki TSUNODA +1 lap
9 Alexander ALBON +1 lap
10 Pierre GASLY +1 lap
11 Fernando ALONSO +2 laps
12 Daniel RICCIARDO +2 laps
13 Valtteri BOTTAS +2 laps
14 Lance STROLL +2 laps
15 Logan SARGEANT +2 laps
16 Guanyu ZHOU +2 laps

Did not finish

Esteban Ocon Alpine crash – lap 1
Kevin Magnussen Haas crash – lap 1
Nico Hulkenberg Haas crash – lap 1
Sergio Perez Red Bull crash – lap 1