On May 28, Beijing time, the 2023 F1 Monaco Grand Prix ended the competition for the main race. During the competition, heavy rain suddenly fell, and the scene was very chaotic for a while. After a long 78-lap race, Verstappen achieved pole to win, with Alonso taking the first runner-up trophy of the season and Ocon third, followed by Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc, Gasly and Sainz.
Pre-match news:
1. In yesterday's qualifying session, Verstappen was tied with Alonso, and Verstappen took pole position in 0.084 seconds at the last minute. Today the two will depart from first and second place respectively.
2. In the Q3 stage of qualifying yesterday, Leclerc was sent back 3 starting positions for blocking Norris. Leclerc, who was originally third, will start from sixth place, and teammate Sainz will move up to fourth.
3. In the current drivers' standings, Verstappen and Perez lead the standings with 119 and 105 points respectively, and Red Bull firmly occupies the first place in the constructors' standings, followed by Aston Martin and Mercedes.
4. The weather in Monaco is good, but the weather forecast indicates that precipitation may occur during the competition.
Start: Verstappen holds the lead There were multiple collisions in the formation
Five red lights go out and the Monaco Grand Prix for the 2023 season officially begins. Verstappen held the lead, followed by Alonso and did not collide at Turn One. In successive corners on the first lap, Stoll was forced onto the parapet by Alban, resulting in a flat tire. Hockenburg squeezed inside the wall at Turn Five and hit Sargent for five seconds. Zhou Guanyu took advantage of the congestion when the car array was cornering, overtook from the outside line, and replaced the hard tire at the same circle pit stop. Perez also pit and change tyres in the same lap, waiting for the safety car to appear in the following race.
After ten laps, Verstappen was 2.6 seconds ahead of Alonso and the riders' rankings had not changed much. Ocon was in third place, but more than ten seconds behind Verstappen. This was followed by Sainz, Hamilton, Leclerc, Gasley, Russell and Yuki Tsunoda.
Cruising: Accidents Frequent Sainz and Alonso both malfunctioned
On lap 11, Sainz rear-ended Ocon after exiting the tunnel, causing the front wing end plate of the car to be damaged, but Sainz did not pit to replace the front wing, waiting for a red flag opportunity.
On lap 13, Alonso reported the car to the team, but did not pit to check, and the gap between Alonso and Verstappen was about 6 seconds.
On lap 19, there were a number of wonderful overtakes on the track. Magnussen, Stoll and Perez overtook Sargent. Hockenburg strongly overtook Sargent after exiting the tunnel, and Zhou Guanyu was also ready to make a move on Sargent.
On lap 29, Verstappen reported to the team that the left front tire had decayed severely. At present, the top 12 drivers on the field have not changed their rankings, and they are still in the cruising stage of driving trains.
On lap 32, Hamilton pit on hard tyres and finished 8th after exiting. Ferrari had Leclerc accelerate in hopes of overcutting Hamilton. Ocon made the next pit, but it took longer, with a 4.2-second pit stop, giving Sainz a chance. Sainz made the next pit stop, but still failed to overtake Ocon.
Halfway through the competition: little change in ranking Midstream Group has frequent small scraps
On lap 33, Perez rear-ended with Magnussen, resulting in damage to the front wing end plates, and on lap 36, Perez pit to change tyres and replace the front wing. Stoll had a skirmish with Magnussen and was warned by the club with a black and white flag.
On lap 45, Leclerc reported to the team that the tyres had decayed badly, and immediately pit to change tires, finishing eighth after exiting the station, in front of Yuki Tsunoda.
On lap 52, it rained heavily from Turn 3 to Turn 8 on the track, and there was chaos on the track due to the rain on parts of the track. Bottas and Stoll pit into the station and change into half-rain tires to exit.
On lap 54, Alonso pit and switch to neutral tyres, but it was still raining on the track. Okon and Russell also pit in, changing into half-rain tires to get out. The second section of the track was heavily waterlogged, and Sainz made a mistake at Turn 5 and had to pit and change tires.
On lap 55, Verstappen pit out on a half-rain tyre, and Alonso also pit again on a half-rain tyre on this lap. Leclerc and Sainz entered the station in the same circle, and Leclerc ranked sixth and Sainz eighth. Stoll had to withdraw from the race during a collision in successive corners because the track was too slippery. Russell collided with Perez due to unsafe return to the track and was penalized for five seconds.
On lap 61, Verstappen was still leading the race, with Alonso behind him 18.8 seconds behind Verstappen and Ocon 16 seconds behind Alonso.
Sprint: The rain is getting smaller Verstappen achieves pole to win
On lap 68, the rain gradually subsided and Perez reported to the team that the track was working fast. On the next lap, Yuki Tsunoda was overtaken by Piastri using DRS, and on the same lap, Yuki Tsunoda rushed off the track at Turn 5, and after returning to the track, Yuki Tsunoda fell to 15th place and fell out of the points zone.
On lap 70, the team asked Verstappen if it was possible to pit again and Verstappen replied that it was not possible to change the dry tyres again.
In the end, Verstappen finished the race 26 seconds ahead of Alonso, who won his first runner-up trophy of the season and Ocon took second place.