Key events
Leclerc is, needless to say, very happy. “YEEEEEESSSSS!!!” comes over the radio.
We end with the top 10 from the grid. This one of the dullest sporting occasions you will ever see.
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
7. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
8. Yuki Tsunoda, RB
9. Alex Albon, Williams
10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Leclerc wins Monaco GP
The local boy wins his home grand prix for the first time, leading from start to finish. He did not put a foot wrong.
Lap 77/78: I do not think we will see any last-minute risks being taken here. Everyone is happy with their lot.
Lap 76/78: Leclerc could probably have a pit, open a bottle of red and still win.
Lap 75/78: We are set to have the time top 10 from start to finish.
Mbappe has the chequered flag.
Lap 74/78: Leclerc is on his victory parade. He knows this is done. He has had a great race, holding off all the competition without a moment’s concern.
Lap 73/78: Sainz seems to fancy a late attempt to overtake Piastri. This could be fun.
Zhou goes for a tyre change and looks to confirm the fastest lap.
Lap 72/78: Eight seconds ahead for Leclerc. He really is growing the gap in the final stages. All very straightforward. It will be a great moment to win in front of a home crowd.
Lap 71/78: Sainz is very close to Piastri, around 0.7 seconds behind. Maybe this is the final bit of intrigue available in this race.
Lap 70/78: A five-second lead for Leclerc. He can probably taste the champagne already.
Lap 69/78: Ten laps to go!
Leclerc is more than three seconds clear of Piastri. This race is done.
Apart from the first lap, this has been rather tedious.
Lap 68/78: Sargeant hits a wall but manages to carry on. He is dead last.
Russell is told to cool his brakes, ending some jeopardy to his battle with Verstappen.
Lap 67/78: The only thing that can change the final top six is a mistake from one of the drivers and no one has made one since the restart. A nice quiet afternoon in the sun for the pit teams.
Lap 66/78: Tsunoda has been told he can put his foot down. He is in eighth.
Lap 65/78: Sainz v Norris is offering some intrigue with half a second between them.
Lap 64/78: Russell’s tyres are in decent condition and could help him hold off Verstappen.
Lap 63/78: Leclerc is not in any trouble currently. He has judged everything perfectly thus far.
Russell is holding off Verstappen reasonably well but there is plenty of time to go. Hamilton is chasing down Verstappen.
Lap 62/78: The top six has not changed since the start. Thrilling stuff.
It does look like Verstappen will get the better of Russell sooner rather than later.
Lap 61/78: Verstappen looks keen to get past Russell. He is closing the gap and Russell does not look like he can up his speed.
Lap 60/78: At least the long the race goes on, the greater the chance of something going wrong comes into it. Are the drivers tired? Are the tyres struggling?
Verstappen bemoans the state of the battery.
Lap 59/78: McLaren need to decide if they want a quick pit to give Piastri a chance of hunting down Leclerc.
Lap 58/78: Stroll is having the time of his life with a couple of overtakes to move up to 14th.
Lap 57/78: Lando Norris’ dad looks a little nervous as he watches on from the garage. He is guaranteed a top-four spot at the moment. Can he make the podium?
Lap 56/78: Leclerc and Piastri will both go to the end without pitting, unless something strange happens.
Lap 55/78: Russell looks set for 20-odd laps of defence as he cannot afford to pit, otherwise will lose precious time.
Lap 54/78: Bottas overtakes Sargeant. This is racing!
Hamilton irked that his team did not tell him to push while Verstappen pitted.
Lap 53/78: Verstappen comes into pit. His tyres are changed and he’s off on a hard tyre. He stays in sixth.
Russell will be looking over his shoulder.
Lap 52/78: Hamilton has a pit stop. He is 45 seconds ahead of Tsunoda so goes in and out in seventh. Verstappen is going for a bit of a push in sixth to keep himself clear of Hamilton and earn time for a pit and tyre change.
Lap 51/78: Stroll has moved onto the softs for the final 20-odd laps.
Lap 50/78: Same top six.
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Lap 49/78: Hamilton is down in seventh and is not closing in on Verstappen.
Stroll has a puncture and his tyre rolls off as he enters the pit lane. Thankfully the tyre stays in the pit lane and does not emerge onto the track. No need for a safety car.
Lap 48/78: Norris says he will be happy to take a “free stop” for a tyre change.
Lap 47/78: Leclerc needs to ensure that Piastri cannot have enough time to pit stop. An intriguing battle, in a sense.
Lap 46/78: Leclerc is getting closer to winning his home race. It’s all been pretty easy since the restart.
Lap 45/78: Stroll is on the hard tyres and can have fun seeing what he can do by pushing his car a bit more.
Lap 44/78: Stroll pits! Something for everyone. He comes back out in 11th, where he was when he went in.
Lap 43/78: Alpine boss Bruno Fermin: “Ocon’s attack was completely out of line, that is not what we wanted to see. There will be consequences. We have a difficult decision to make.”
Strong words.
Lap 42/78: Russell is speeding up to close the gap on Norris and stop him from having sufficient time to pit.
Lap 41/78: Bottas, who still has the fastest lap, is now being lapped.
Still the same top six:
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Lap 40/78: Piastri is becoming very confused by why Leclerc is going so slow.
Lap 39/78: Norris should have time for a pit stop, which would be very helpful. He is 18 seconds clear of Russell.
Leclerc is slowing down to stop McLaren having a pit stop window. Leclerc things that he is going too slow and putting his tyre temperature at risk.
Lap 38/78: Leclerc has been to slow down by Ferrari. This is exciting stuff.
Lap 37/78: It is clear blue skies in Monaco. It must be tricky going from the sunshine to the tunnel. Yes, I am struggling to think of things to write about.
Five-place grid drop for Ocon in Montreal.
Lap 36/78: I am backing Hamilton: there needs to be some changes to this race to aid overtaking because this is tedious.
Lap 35/78: Leclerc is an impressive 18 seconds clear of Russell in fifth.
Lap 34/78: It is all quite pedestrian as everyone is maintaining tyres.
Lap 33/78: Piastri finds himself a second behind Leclerc. Will he fancy a little dart at the race leader?
Sainz thinks the tyres are starting to grain across the board.
Lap 32/78: Norris almost clips the barrier but just avoids an impact. He sits in fourth, as he did when we started 90 minutes ago.
Lap 31/78: Stay tuned! We think one of the top four will have to pit before the end. Hold onto your hats, people!
Lap 30/78: TYRE CHAT WITH ANTHONY DAVIDSON. Not much is happening so we are talking graining. Stroll is slowing down and is having to maintain his mediums.
Lap 29/78: Norris: “A little bit of an abrasion.” He should be able to avoid pitting however. He has a big gap on Russell so has can pit if he feels the need to.
Lap 28/78: I suspect most of these drivers could be in a Vauxhall Corsa and still avoid being overtaken.
I wonder if anyone is inside the Monte Carlo Casino not watching, instead playing some roulette.
Lap 27/78: Ocon: “It was a big one but it was less than Budapest last year when I was pushed from the back and landed hard. I am OK but unfortunately there was too much damage to repair. I hope the team can cope.”
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