Max Verstappen gained victory in Monaco after the Ferrari pole-sitter Charles Leclerc had a cruel last-minute withdrawal to his home GP, putting Max at the top of the grid. With a clear track ahead of him Max led the Monaco GP to victory! Carlos Sainz took second place for Ferrari with Lando Norris of McLaren completing the podium.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has displaced the 7 times World Champion, Sir Lewis Hamilton from the top of 2021 driver’s championship standings after the Mercedes driver finished in the seventh place. The Dutch driver trailed Hamilton by 14 points, and leaves it four points ahead.

"It's so special to win. The first time for me on the podium here. It was all about looking after the tyres. I was pretty much in control," said Verstappen after taking the chequered flag waved by tennis superstar Serena Williams.

Hamilton had a subtle weekend after qualifying in seventh place and finishing in seventh place. His teammate Valtteri Bottas was right behind Verstappen, posing as a challenge, ready to pounce on any mistake. However, his race came to a mortifying end when his routine pitstop took a tragic turn as his right-front wheel refused to come off.

The Finn’s disappointment would have been nothing compared to the heartache Leclerc suffered right before the start crumbling his dream of winning his home grand prix. The Ferrari driver and pole-sitter reported a problem with his left-hand drive shaft which may have been caused as result of his crash in the Qualifying. This was all the more unexpected since a couple of hours earlier Ferrari has announced repairs had been made without a grid penalty after the accident.

After a long series of disappointments, this was a happy race for Sebastian Vettel, who finished in the fifth place. The four-times world champion comfortably came out ahead of Pierre Gasly as he existed the pits, and maintained the fifth position all the way to the end. The German also won Driver of the Day. His teammate, Lance Stroll finished eighth. Overall, the entire race weekend was very entertaining. A sweet combination of happiness and heartache, which is the very essence of this sport. An unusual podium at Monaco, with Mercedes’ noticeable absence. Spare a thought for Leclerc, who was unfortunately robbed of a chance to win his home grand prix. But take nothing away from Max Verstappen, who did everything asked of him to claim his 12th career win, and battle the lead of the championship away from Hamilton.

It's from one city circuit to another, as F1 goes to Baku for the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas took pole and the winning trophy back in 2019 when F1 last raced here - but who will thrive in 2021? We’ll find out two weeks later on June 4-6. Stay tuned!