F1 Monaco GP: Max Verstappen beats Fernando Alonso to Monaco win after rain causes chaos
Max Verstappen beat Fernando Alonso to victory at the Monaco Grand Prix to further strengthen his F1 championship lead after a mid-race rain shower caused chaos.
The reigning world champion was cruising to victory when a downpour with 25 laps remaining threatened to turn the prestigious race around Monte Carlo’s famous streets on its head as the field were forced to switch to intermediate tyres.
Verstappen clipped the wall on a couple of occasions but ultimately held his nerve to record his fourth victory from six races and his second win at Monaco.
The Dutchman’s win sees him extend his championship lead to 39 points over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who was twice lapped by Verstappen on his way to a lowly 17th place finish on what was a calamitous weekend for his title hopes.
Alonso never appeared to be a genuine threat to Verstappen as he claimed his best result of the season for Aston Martin in second place, marking his fifth podium in six races.
But Aston Martin appeared to miss a chance to potentially beat Verstappen when they pitted Alonso for dry tyres as the rain began to fall, only to call him in again a few laps later to make the switch to inters.
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon converted his stunning lap in qualifying into a podium finish as he held onto third ahead of the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
Ferrari saw both their drivers drop behind the Mercedes pair during the flurry of pitstops for wet tyres, with home favourite Charles Leclerc unable to make inroads in sixth.
Pierre Gasly put his Alpine between the Ferraris, while Carlos Sainz was left angry at his team's strategy on his way to finishing a frustrating eighth.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed a double points haul for McLaren in ninth and 10th.
