The Circuit de Monaco is without doubt one of the most iconic stops on System 1’s schedule, however it is usually one in every of its most treacherous. A hairpin descent. Partitions shut sufficient to kiss. A darkish tunnel that ejects drivers right into a burst of blinding daylight.

And that’s on a superb day.

Sunday was not a superb day: When rain began to fall in the course of the Monaco Grand Prix and tires began to lose their grip, the circumstances deteriorated so rapidly that even probably the most seasoned groups may need been full of trepidation.

However Max Verstappen is just not the common driver. Whereas others struggled, he merely sped away, claiming his fourth win of the season and the thirty ninth of his profession. It was his second win at Monaco in three years, and it prolonged his lead, and Crimson Bull’s, within the season factors standings.

“It was extremely slippery,” Verstappen stated of managing the circumstances, the primary rain of the present System 1 season. “If you find yourself that far within the lead you don’t need to push too arduous, but additionally you don’t need to lose an excessive amount of time.

“We clipped the partitions a couple of occasions — it was tremendous troublesome on the market — however that’s Monaco.”

Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin completed the race the place he began it, in second place, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon did the identical to say a satisfying third. However neither was a critical challenger to Verstappen in a race that lasted almost two hours because the speedy automobiles generally slowed to a crawl as drivers tried to carry their nerve.

The place the Race Turned

Rain that had been on everybody’s radar for the primary half of the race lastly arrived round Lap 50, and that set off a frantic sequence of pit stops and tire modifications for the leaders. The issue was that it was not raining on each sector of the observe initially, so tires that have been advantageous on dry pavement abruptly turned unmanageable the place it was slick.

That produced frantic scenes and totally different choices. Alonso, operating second, pitted twice in fast succession after his staff initially placed on the flawed kind of tires. Ferrari referred to as its two automobiles into the pit on the identical time to make modifications. Different drivers misplaced imaginative and prescient after which management.

The mixture of tight turns, shut quarters and slick tires created dozens of nervy moments. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. glided right into a barrier. Kevin Magnussen misplaced management of his Haas however escaped critical injury. Lance Stroll was not as fortunate; he was compelled out of the race when his Aston Martin couldn’t go on after a late-race mishap.

By all of it, although, Verstappen saved his calm and his staff made the correct calls. He emerged from the chaotic few laps proper the place he was the place he had been when the race started, when the rain started, when the modifications started: within the lead.

The Race in Photographs

Finest Days Ranked

Verstappen. He was masterly in his technique and race administration, even when he couldn’t assist himself within the late going. Main by greater than 20 seconds, he gave his staff one remaining scare when he brushed the boundaries. However on a day when a lot might have gone flawed, that, too, went proper for him and Crimson Bull. His benefit over his teammate Sergio Pérez, who began final after a crash in qualifying and crept residence sixteenth on Sunday, grew to 39 factors, and to 51 over Alonso in third.

Ocon. His third-place end in qualifying was a shock to some, and his podium end could also be extra of 1. However he and Alpine managed their automobile and their place properly all day, and have been rewarded with the staff’s first podium end of the yr.

Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton and George Russell quietly got here residence fourth and fifth. And whereas neither was ever in competition for the lead (or, actually, for the rostrum), Mercedes will discover hope in these performances. Whereas Monaco’s tight quarters didn’t provide the very best laboratory to check the enhancements the staff rolled out final week, Mercedes will depart with factors and a trove of helpful knowledge. For a staff making an attempt to catch as much as its rivals in a rush, that’s a win.

What They’re Saying

• “That was the true Monaco.” — Verstappen.

• “Braking was extraordinarily fragile. I feel everybody did a tremendous job immediately to maintain the automobiles on observe.” — Fernando Alonso, who has seen some issues.

Drivers’ Championship Standings

After 5 begins, Crimson Bull’s solely race stays the one towards itself: