Loser: Red Bull
You don’t have to be particularly creative to spot this loser. Nothing went right for Red Bull this weekend. The bulls, spoiled by success, bumped over the kerbs in their car “like a kangaroo” (Max Verstappen quote), the world champion made one of his rare mistakes in qualifying when it mattered most, and Sergio Perez confirmed his dip in form from Imola in Monaco.
There’s something about the European air that doesn’t seem to be doing him any good. Or maybe it’s just a consequence of the fact that the non-RB competition is no longer just on the heels of the Bulls, but is now even on the same level. The accident at the start? His biggest mistake was probably trusting in Kevin Magnussen’s racing intelligence, otherwise the crash is only to a small extent his fault, if at all.
Winner: Charles Leclerc
Tears in the eyes, a jump into the Mediterranean… It’s been a long time since a Formula 1 winner showed as much emotion as Charles Leclerc in Monaco. Who can blame him? Victory in the principality is a lifelong dream for every racing driver, but of course even more so for the Monegasque. Especially for the driver who has been waiting for a Grand Prix victory for two years. Especially for the driver who was brutally robbed of victory in Monaco twice after taking pole position.
The Ferrari driver withstood the pressure that had built up early on as the top favorite since Friday without a single wobble and rounded off a perfect weekend with a flawless administrative drive on Sunday. A picture-perfect victory that Leclerc was able to celebrate on Sunday. Almost too cheesy to be true.
Loser: Esteban Ocon
An attack at this point? Against your own team-mate? After a previously agreed non-aggression pact? Hats off, not everyone has that kind of courage. One can almost hope that Ocon has already signed with another team for 2025 – as rumors in the paddock say – otherwise it was a major own goal. An own goal that, according to team boss Bruno Famin, will have consequences. Sporting consequences? We will probably find out at the Canadian GP at the latest.
Winner: The World Cup
World Championship battle, what? Are we talking about ‘Do you understand fun’? No, at the top of the constructors’ championship of Things are really coming to a head in Formula 1 at the moment. Only 24 points separate Red Bull and Ferrari after Monaco. With a maximum of 44 points that a team can get in a weekend (even more in the sprint), we don’t even have to try to use the future tense, but can stay in the present: The Constructors’ World Championship is exciting.
Especially if Max Verstappen misses out once and even more so if Sergio Perez is left out completely. In the drivers’ championship, too, things suddenly don’t look quite as clear as they did before the race: OK, Leclerc is still a little further away than a race win, so let’s keep things in perspective. But it doesn’t look like a sure thing.
Formula 1 2024: The World Championship standings
Loser: The Circuit de Monaco
The principality was turned upside down when Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line as the winner. Even Prince Albert seemed close to tears when he presented the local hero with the prestigious trophy at the awards ceremony, which is based on the layout of the race track. A layout that many people think should finally change. And after Sunday’s race, it is once again difficult to deny that the course in Monte Carlo really does look anything but contemporary. The race was more boring than it has ever been before – even by Monaco standards. Shifts in position? None! Strategic excitement? None! Cars pushing themselves to the limit? None!
As breathtaking as qualifying in the principality may be every year, the race was once again grist to the mill for all Monaco critics. The red flag at the start, combined with the almost non-existent tire wear, also destroyed any remaining hope of some excitement. A problem that could be alleviated by introducing a mandatory pit stop, but even that would not cure the Formula 1 races in Monaco on its own. At least the motorsport world was compensated on the same day with a spectacular 500-mile race in Indianapolis.
What did you think of the race? Let us know in our voting for the 2024 Monaco GP. At the same time, you can also rate all drivers for their performance over the weekend.
Winner: Oscar Piastri
Monaco will be decided in qualifying and was therefore the perfect playground for Oscar Piastri. He has not yet set any new standards in terms of race pace since arriving at McLaren in 2023, but Lando Norris in front of him will have to brace himself for one lap. In Monaco, his second place on the grid and, as a result, P2 in the race did not come about thanks to a lucky lap or a mistake by Norris. No, in Monaco, Piastri was the faster of the two drivers since Friday and he remained so throughout qualifying. In the race, he was never in danger during the Ferrari-dictated leisurely drive, despite a damage.
Loser: Haas
Well, no one could have known beforehand that this Grand Prix would go so badly. But Kevin Magnussen should have known that the track between Saint Devote and Beau Rivage would be a little narrower. Luckily for the Dane, he did not receive a penalty for his accident with Sergio Perez. It would have been equivalent to a race ban. Nico Hülkenberg was just a defenseless victim of this collision. For him, as well as his team, the rule is: get out of the way and head across the ocean to the next Grand Prix.
Winner: Williams
So they can do it after all: collect points. It only took eight races and a very special track characteristic for solo entertainer Alex Albon to take his first Formula 1 points of the year. But just because it happened in Monaco of all places, one should not conclude that it was just a track-related outlier. Williams made tangible progress in the last few races and began to lose the annoying kilos that have been on the FW46’s ribs since the start of the season. Free performance that played a part in ninth place at the Monaco GP.