Charles Leclerc has beaten Australian Oscar Piastri to win the Monaco Grand Prix for the first time.
The native Monegasque led from start to finish, ending years of heartache at his home race where he had qualified on pole twice before.
He became the first native Monegasque to win a Monaco Grand Prix that was part of the F1 championship.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished third, benefiting from a red flag on the first lap, after he had picked up a puncture after with Piastri.
The race was stopped on the first lap after a three-car crash left debris strewn across the famous street circuit.
The Red Bull of Sergio Perez was left with just one wheel properly attached to his car, after he and the Haas of Kevin Magnussen clipped wheels and both went into the barriers, with the other Haas of Nico Hulkenberg being collateral damage.
Former F1 driver turned commentator Martin Brundle described the crash as a “monster of an accident” while commenting on the state of Perez’s car.
“Look at how well the survival cell has worked,” Brundle told Sky Sports after seeing Perez out of the car.
“That’s kind of written-off every single piece of that Formula 1 car.”
The wild opening lap also claimed Esteban Ocon, who retired after causing a collision with his own Alpine teammate.
But once the carnage settled and the race restarted, Leclerc was flawless on his way to a famous victory.
“It’s such a difficult race. I think the fact that twice I have been started on pole position and we couldn’t quite make it, makes [winning] even better,” the Ferrari star said.
“It means a lot obviously. It’s the race that made me dream of being a Formula 1 driver.
“It was a difficult race emotionally because 15 laps to the end you’re just hoping nothing happens.”
From the restart, the race fell into the repetitive pattern of all drivers trying to conserve their tyres.
The red flag allowed all drivers (except Logan Sargent) to make their mandatory tyre compound change, meaning they did not have to come into the pit for the rest of the race.
The top four of Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz and Lando Norris were on the hard compound, which had the best of making it 77 laps, while Verstappen, Russell and Hamilton — who started on the hard compound and switched to the medium — had a much harder challenge to get to the end.
The top four streaked away from the field and in a battle for the race win, with tyre life the major focus.
A game of cat-and-mouse between Ferrari and McLaren developed as drivers conserved their tyres and the teams trying to figure out if they needed to pit, or could stay out and maintain track position.
Ultimately no pit stop was needed for the top four, with Piastri desperately holding onto second place with a damaged floor after the lap one contact with Sainz.
Despite not achieving his maiden win in F1, Piastri was all smiles after his second place finish.
“It’s been a great weekend all around and nice to put a result on the board,” Piastri said.
“I feel like we’ve been very strong for the last few weekends but didn’t really have the results to show for it.
“It’s nice to have a podium — and what better place.”
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