Lewis finished in his starting position of P7 after dropping three places when a failed undercut left him vulnerable to an overcut from the cars behind, however he salvaged an extra point with the fastest lap of the race.
Valtteri was forced to retire when a wheel nut issue prevented his front-right tyre from being changed during a pit-stop on lap 29.
The entire grid gained one place after a driveshaft issue prevented pole-sitter Charles Leclerc from starting the race.
Max Verstappen (105 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by 4 points from Lewis (101) with Lando Norris in P3 (56) and Valtteri (47) in P4. Red Bull (149 points) lead the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team (148 points) by 1 point in the Constructors' Championship.
Toto Wolff: Days like today are the ones we learn the most but that doesn't stop the experience from feeling awful. We had a pretty terrible race day on Sunday, we had a lot of degradation with Valtteri, while still being in the hunt for the podium. Then we machined a wheel nut at the stop, which has never happened to that extent before, and he was forced to retire.
With Lewis, we just didn't have the pace in the car - it's as simple as that. The undercut looked like the only feasible way of clearing Gasly and there wasn't any mistake, the outlap was good, the pit stop was OK but it just wasn't enough.
You have to take a weekend like this on the chin - today we lost a few points but this is a long championship, it is going to swing back and forth and in the end we will see in Abu Dhabi who has their nose ahead. We will regroup and look back, as much as it hurts, to learn the lessons and come back stronger.
Andrew Shovlin: A really difficult day for the team and lots of areas that we need to look at but we'll come away from here and analyse everything objectively. Retiring a car with an issue at a pitstop is clearly not good enough, the nut was damaged to the point where it was never going to come off so we had no option but to park the car. However, our pace wasn't good enough to challenge Max as we were losing grip towards the end of the stint on soft and couldn't keep up.
With Lewis it was always going to be a difficult Sunday because we didn't get him far enough up the grid on Saturday. However, we'd hoped to move forward but our attempt at an undercut failed and Lewis was then helpless as he got dragged back with Gasly whilst other cars overcut them both. We've got a busy week ahead of us as we need to get on top of many of our issues ahead of the next race in Baku. However, our difficult days always lead to us learning and improving and we're looking forward to getting back to the race track in few days' time.
Christian Horner: "It's a phenomenal day for the Team. Max was disappointed yesterday that we didn't get to see him deliver a pole position lap but he dealt with the frustration well and when the opportunity presented itself today he seized it with both hands, driving faultlessly from start to finish to deliver our fifth Monaco victory. Checo also drove an incredibly strong race, the strategy worked well and he had brilliant pace in clean air enabling him to finish fourth. It's Honda's first win here since Senna in 1992, the first time they've led the championship since 1991 and we have to credit them for their hard work in helping us get to this point. They've done a great job and to have three Honda cars in the top six is a fantastic result. As a Team we have great strength in depth and finishing first or second in the first five races of the season is a phenomenal example of teamwork and our ability to fight. There is a long way to go in this championship but we should always enjoy the wins. Commiserations to Charles and Ferrari, it was a tough day for them but great to see them back up there in the mix. The championship is very tight at the top and today was an important step for us."
Andreas Seidl, Team Principal: "An iconic racetrack with an iconic Gulf livery and P3 in Monaco. What a Sunday afternoon. Congratulations - and a big thank you - to the entire team, especially to those at the MTC in development and production. Together with our colleagues at Mercedes HPP, they gave us a quick car this weekend. The race team here at the track did a great job ensuring we had a reliable car, strategy made all the right calls and we had excellent pit-stops. Monaco is a tough weekend for the whole organisation, but a big thank you to everyone in the team, who made this weekend possible.
"Lando was flying all weekend and gave us a great result. Daniel had a very tough one. We'll put that behind us as quickly as possible. He was quick in Barcelona and had good speed in the second half of the race here - that's what we'll be taking to Azerbaijan. We'll head home now, reset, recharge the batteries, and turn our thoughts to a very different street race in Baku."
Otmar Szafnauer, CEO & Team Principal: "Sebastian produced a truly impressive drive today, finishing fifth after a tough race in which he never put a wheel wrong. He spent the early laps in a solid seventh place, keeping in touch with Lewis [Hamilton] in sixth. Then, in the pit stops, he delivered on an excellent strategy devised by our strategists and engineers to jump both Lewis and Pierre [Gasly]. Checo [Perez] then jumped Sebastian but he had a net gain of two places: the outcome was P5. The way Sebastian exited the pit lane and held off Pierre up the hill to Casino Square was white-knuckle stuff: in fact, it was the highlight of the race, and Sebastian was duly voted Driver of the Day, which was both welcome and deserved. Lance also drove extremely well, pushing hard when it mattered to make the overcut work against Ocon and Giovinazzi. His pace was strong and it was a gutsy performance to gain four positions on a circuit on which gaining places is notoriously difficult. So, overall, we are pleased to have scored a total of 14 world championship points here in Monaco today. Roll on Baku!"
Alpine F1 Team scored two points from the 2021 Formula Monaco Grand Prix courtesy of Esteban Ocon's ninth place finish around the legendary Monte Carlo streets. Fernando Alonso was outside the points in thirteenth after a battling drive from seventeenth.
A well-timed pit-stop, matched with solid execution by the crew, propelled Esteban into ninth, for his fourth consecutive finish inside the top ten.
Fernando made a quick getaway off the line, which put him on the cusp of the points, with his stop on lap 45 putting him in a position to capitalise on any mistakes from the group ahead. He crossed the line in thirteenth place.
Esteban too had launched well from the grid, pressuring both Antonio Giovinazzi and Sergio Perez on the run up towards the Casino complex. Eventually, though, Esteban relinquished his spot in front of the pair, settling into tenth place during the early running.
His pit-stop on lap 37 allowed him to overcut Giovinazzi for ninth with an eye on a battle for eighth place with Lance Stroll who was on a reverse Hard to Soft tyre strategy. Stroll was able to pass in the latter stages after his pit-stop, with Esteban settling for ninth place at the flag.
Marcin Budkowski, Executive Director: "It was a tough race for us today. A difficult qualifying made it a challenge in the streets of Monaco where overtaking is nearly impossible. Both drivers made a good start and Fernando gained some positions on the first lap. After that it was the usual Monaco race with very few overtakes. Esteban did well on his first stint and after his pit-stop he was able to jump (Antonio) Giovinazzi for ninth, but we lost out to (Lance) Stroll who was on a different strategy. The bottom line is that it's a poor weekend for us after two encouraging performances in Portugal and Spain. We trust that it's a one-off and for Baku we'll go back to where we were before Monaco. Nevertheless, our competitors in the championship have made the most of this race so we need to do better."
A day of mixed fortunes for Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow. On the one hand happiness that Carlos Sainz finished second to claim his first podium finish in red, the team's 774th and 54th in Monaco. The Spaniard drove in a calm and calculated fashion, making no mistakes and 18 points are a just reward at the end of a weekend where he was always competitive at the highest level.
On the other hand, there's great disappointment that Charles Leclerc was not even able to line up on the pole position slot on the grid, after his magnificent qualifying performance yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, on his first lap to the grid, after a few corners, Charles' car showed signs of a problem with the left side driveshaft fixing to the wheel and he had to pit immediately. It only took a few minutes for engineers and mechanics to realise that the damage could not be repaired in the short time prior to the start. Charles could only follow the race from the team hospitality and after the chequered flag, he went and congratulated his team-mate under the podium along with the rest of the team.
There were several positive aspects to this weekend, including how competitive was the SF21. Both drivers were able to fight at the top of the time sheet in every session of the weekend. Even with just one car in the race, the Scuderia has extended its lead over its closest rival in the classification by three points, although clearly it is regrettable that the points haul could have been much bigger.
Next stop Baku. The World Championship is back on track in a fortnight's time with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku street circuit.
Mattia Binotto: A weekend of very contrasting emotions for us. Today we had a real chance of winning and so, to leave Monaco with just the points for second place is a touch disappointing. On the other hand, there's the satisfaction of Charles securing a great pole position yesterday, as well as Carlos's first podium in red and especially the signs that the team is making progress step by step.
I was very pleased to see Charles at the podium ceremony to celebrate Carlos's second place with the team. It was a very difficult day for him but he wanted to be with us at what was still an important moment for the team. This is another example of what #essereFerrari means and it is with this sort of attitude that one builds for the future.
Now we have to focus on the next round in Baku. We know it's going to be difficult to be as competitive as we were at this track. It will be important for us to keep going down the path we have taken.
Jody Egginton (Technical Director): "Leaving Monaco with points is obviously good. However, we're slightly disappointed that it's not more! Sebastian managed to sneak in front of Pierre at the pitstop, which is quite frustrating for us, as he'd had a solid opening stint, but this is something we can go away and review as a team. Yuki's race was fairly uneventful, given his Qualifying position it was clear his race would be heavily influenced by traffic, we tried to do something with the strategy during the race, but it was fairly straight-forward so what we could do was limited. He drove a clean race with no mistakes and for sure has picked up experience which he will put to good use going forward. The package has performed reasonably well here and although the next races are quite different the expectation is that we can also be competitive in the upcoming Grands Prix."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "Congratulations to Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen and Honda for this fantastic victory here in Monaco. It was also nice to see spectators here in the grandstands, which added a good atmosphere for the race. Pierre started the race from sixth position and had a good start, defending well against Hamilton and managed his tyres in a very professional way. We called him in for the pitstop on to the Hards and even if we struggled while bringing them to the right window, he could defend well against Hamilton. As for Yuki, he's never competed here in any other category, so this was his first race in Monaco, a track which is of course quite a difficult one to learn in a Formula 1 car. After showing a very good performance in FP1 he had a small accident in FP2, but he could continue to grow his confidence around the track during the Saturday morning session. Qualifying was more difficult for him, he lost some time with the weighbridge and wasn't able to complete an additional lap, which meant he just missed out on Q2 by a small margin. Today he had a clean race and I'm sure he has gained a lot of experience here in Monaco, which will help him in the future. It's good that we finished P6 as now we're back where we started the season and I hope that we can have similar performances in the upcoming races."
The point finally arrived, our first top ten finish of the season, and it took a strong, mature performance on the hallowed streets in Monaco to do so. We bring home a point after a weekend in which we put on display the significant progress we made and in which everyone in the team delivered what was asked of them.
After a Saturday that produced the best qualifying of the season, with Antonio Giovinazzi starting in 10th and Kimi Raikkonen in 14th, Sunday showed the team's progress is no fluke: race pace was there and there is even a little tinge of disappointment we couldn't come home with more than Antonio and Kimi's P10 and P11. On a different track, where overtaking is a possibility, two cars as far high as P8 and P9 would have been a definite possibility.
To bring home points while thinking even more could have been had shows the hunger and determination of this team. It shows the confidence our performance gave us and the will to continue our string of good results. The duck has been broken and we want to continue scoring. Baku next.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "It's great to finally be off the mark and bring home the top ten finish we deserved. We have made great steps forward in the last year, and especially lately: the pace we have shown throughout the weekend demonstrates it. We had a car in Q3 for the first time and continued putting both in Q2; we had the pace to make progress and everyone, from the crew to the drivers and the pitwall, did a very fine job today. Our good race pace would have allowed us to finish even higher on any other track, but we can be very pleased with what we showed. It's a big motivation boost for everyone in the team and can give us confidence to do even better in the next few races, starting in Baku."
Uralkali Haas F1 Team drivers Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher classified 17th and 18th, respectively at the Monaco Grand Prix, Round 5 of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Sunday's grand prix marked a return to Monaco's streets after a year's absence and for both Mazepin and Schumacher it marked their first experience in Formula 1 machinery. The rookie pairing opted for Pirelli P Zero Red soft tires for the first stint and battled clearly on the opening lap, with Schumacher holding 18th position and Mazepin 19th. A suspected fuel pressure pick-up issue slowed Schumacher and he ceded track position to his teammate while the setback worked to a resolution.
A one-stop strategy was the order for both drivers, with Mazepin coming in on lap 36 of 78, cycling through to White hard tires, and Schumacher making the same move three laps later. Mazepin and Schumacher duly preserved their positions through to the checkered flag, registering 17th and 18th respectively, to rack up another finish aboard the VF-21s.
Uralkali Haas F1 Team will next be in action at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, to be held at the Baku City Circuit, from June 4 to 6.
Guenther Steiner: "It's a good thing at this race that we got to the end of it with both cars unharmed. Mick (Schumacher) had a temporary power issue which we think was related to the fuel pressure pick up, it was unfortunate, but he was able to keep going at least. We did good laps and the guys learned a lot about Monte Carlo - which is always a tough race. Obviously, there was no big event that happened that would have allowed us any opportunity. Once you start to get into the blue flags, tire temperatures come down and you just keep falling back, and that's what happened to us today. Onwards and upwards - ready for the next one."
George Russell finished 14th and Nicholas Latifi 15th in the Monaco Grand Prix. George started 15th and Nicholas 18th, both on the medium Pirelli tyre. Both drivers ran a one-stop race, switching to the hard compound with George pitting on lap 31 and Nicholas on lap 43.
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: Today has been difficult and with no incidents, we weren't able to make much progress. George lost a place at the start to Alonso, but Nicholas was able to overtake Tsunoda, who had started on the Hard tyre. From there we were locked in a private battle between our own cars and Tsunoda. We were able to manage the cars and tyres, and although we struggled a little in the opening stint, the pace was improved on the Hard tyre and we were able to hold off Tsunoda during the final few laps, with Nicholas doing a great job to stay ahead of a much quicker car.
We always expected this weekend to be tough but having not raced on the streets in Monaco for a couple of years, it was good to come back and learn a few more things about the FW43B on a very different style of circuit. Some of this will help us directly at future events in 2021 and the rest will be valuable when we return to Monte Carlo next year.
Our attention now turns to Azerbaijan and a very different street circuit race in Baku.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen claimed the Monaco win with a one-stop soft-hard strategy from what effectively became pole position, after the original polesitter (Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc) was unable to start. Verstappen's win also moved him into the lead of the drivers' standings. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished second while Lando Norris was third for McLaren.
The top six all adopted the same soft-hard strategy, but both the P Zero White hard and the P Zero Yellow medium tyres were also seen at the race start.
All the drivers stopped only once, with the exception of Lewis Hamilton, who finished seventh for Mercedes with a late second stop to claim the fastest lap on P Zero Red soft tyres.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll started on the hard tyre and ended up eighth after stopping on lap 58 without losing track position. Alpine's Esteban Ocon started on the soft tyre but switched to the medium after 37 laps to finish ninth: the only driver to run this strategy.
Weather conditions were slightly warmer than they had been yesterday and were more similar to free practice on Thursday, with around 20 degrees ambient and 40 degrees of track temperature.
Mario Isola: "Monaco provided quite a few surprises from start to finish with all three compounds seen at the start, as well as three different teams on the podium and four different strategies in the top 10. This underlines how all the tyres brought here were suitable race tyres that played an important role. Nonetheless, the soft to hard strategy used by Verstappen and all the top six proved to be the most popular run plan. Quite unusually, there were no safety cars in Monaco this year, which often influence the strategy, but from the tyre point of view, we're satisfied with the performance. This was demonstrated also by the race lap record from three years ago being broken by Hamilton on softs towards the end of the grand prix. Congratulations to Verstappen for the win, and also for leading the championship for the first time."
