Hometown hero Charles Leclerc ended his Monaco curse by winning a processional race that Max Verstappen claimed was “so boring” he wish he had “brought my pillow”.
After near-misses in 2021 and 2022, Leclerc kept McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at bay to take his first victory on home soil and reduce the championship gap to Verstappen to 31 points.
Leclerc’s Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz finished third, one place ahead of British driver Lando Norris.
George Russell crossed the line in fifth for Mercedes with Verstappen sixth and Lewis Hamilton seventh. The top 10 finished in the same order they started.
“No words can explain that,” said Leclerc. “It is such a difficult race, and the fact that twice I have started on pole, and we couldn’t do it, makes this even better.
“It means a lot. It is the race that made me dream of being an F1 driver one day.
“It was a difficult race emotionally because 15 laps form the end you are hoping nothing happens and the emotions started.”
Leclerc, whose father Herve died in 2017, added: “I was thinking about my dad when I was driving. He gave everything for me to be here. It was a dream of ours for me to race here so to win it is unbelievable.”
The race had started in explosive fashion when Sergio Perez was fortunate to walk away from a staggering 160mph crash on the opening lap.
Perez, 16th on the grid, hit the barrier as the field made their way up the hill from Sainte Devote.
The Mexican was sent into the wall after Kevin Magnussen’s front-left wheel made contract with the rear-right of Perez’s Red Bull.
Perez’s Red Bull machinery was destroyed on impact, with all but one of the Mexican’s four wheels ripping off his car. Perez also wiped out Magnussen’s Haas team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in the devastating three-car pile-up.
Mercifully, the trio were able to walk away unscathed. Perez was not even required to head to the medical centre. But with debris scattered across the track, the race was suspended.
The stewards noted the incident but elected to apportion no blame.
Elsewhere, on a chaotic first lap, Sainz, who started third, suffered a puncture in a collision with Oscar Piastri and fell down the order, while the two Alpine drivers were also involved in an embarrassing intra-team collision.
Esteban Ocon took a desperate lunge on Pierre Gasly through Portier and, in doing so, made contact with his team-mate. The impact launched Ocon into the air.
“What did he do?” yelled Gasly over the radio. “Why did he attack me? Oh my gosh. The whole car has damage now.”
Ocon was hit with a 10-second penalty but after he was forced to retire with damage, he will serve his punishment as a grid penalty at the next round in Canada.
As the red flag was deployed before all the cars came through the first sector, Sainz was able to take his original grid slot for the restart.
And under red-flag conditions, the drivers were crucially also able to take on a new set of tyres, effectively meaning they would not have to stop in the race if their rubber could last until the end.
Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz and Norris switched from mediums to the hardest compound giving them the best chance of completing the race without stopping.
So, when the race fired up for a second time, Leclerc held off his rivals on the run down to Sainte Devote – and the procession started.
The top four started to pull away with fifth-placed Russell managing his medium rubber. While the two Ferraris and McLarens were separated by a handful of seconds, Verstappen was 12 seconds behind after as many laps.
“This is really boring," he said over the radio. “I should’ve brought my pillow”.
Despite being considered among the most glamorous events in world sport, the Monaco track has remained largely unchanged from the first grand prix staged here in 1929. And some have claimed it is no longer fit for purpose in its current guise.
F1 bosses have looked at ways to adapt the tight and twisty layout but have made little progress. The heaviest generation of F1 cars ever seen has made overtaking practically impossible.
On lap 39, Leclerc was even instructed to slow down by his Ferrari team to save his tyres.
Lance Stroll attempted to spice up the show when he banged into the wall on the exit of the tunnel and suffered a left-rear puncture.
And, with Hamilton comfortably clear of eighth-placed Yuki Tsunoda, he was able to drop his medium rubber and change to hards.
A lap later and Verstappen followed suit. But although Verstappen was able to catch up with Russell again, he couldn’t find a way past.
And neither could anyone else with Leclerc taking the flag 7.1 seconds clear of Piastri.
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SPEC%20SHEET
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProcessor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Apple%20M2%2C%208-core%20CPU%2C%20up%20to%2010-core%20CPU%2C%2016-core%20Neural%20Engine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDisplay%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2013.6-inch%20Liquid%20Retina%2C%202560%20x%201664%2C%20224ppi%2C%20500%20nits%2C%20True%20Tone%2C%20wide%20colour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMemory%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%2F16%2F24GB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStorage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20256%2F512GB%20%2F%201%2F2TB%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EI%2FO%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Thunderbolt%203%20(2)%2C%203.5mm%20audio%2C%20Touch%20ID%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EConnectivity%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wi-Fi%206%2C%20Bluetooth%205.0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2052.6Wh%20lithium-polymer%2C%20up%20to%2018%20hours%2C%20MagSafe%20charging%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECamera%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201080p%20FaceTime%20HD%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EVideo%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Support%20for%20Apple%20ProRes%2C%20HDR%20with%20Dolby%20Vision%2C%20HDR10%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAudio%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204-speaker%20system%2C%20wide%20stereo%2C%20support%20for%20Dolby%20Atmos%2C%20Spatial%20Audio%20and%20dynamic%20head%20tracking%20(with%20AirPods)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EColours%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Silver%2C%20space%20grey%2C%20starlight%2C%20midnight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIn%20the%20box%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MacBook%20Air%2C%2030W%20or%2035W%20dual-port%20power%20adapter%2C%20USB-C-to-MagSafe%20cable%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh4%2C999%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
'Spies in Disguise'
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
More on animal trafficking
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
New schools in Dubai
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
