Race Highlights | 2021 Monaco Grand Prix

Not only will Charles Leclerc not start from pole position, he will not start the Monaco Grand Prix at all. Ferrari confirm that it's a problem with the left driveshaft, which is impossible to fix in time for the start of the race. It's lights out and away we go. Bottas got away well. Verstappen comes over to cover him and does cover off the Mercedes into Saint-Novas. Bottas locks up. He's in second. Carlos Sainz third. Then comes Lando Norris taking the inside line. There was Esteban Ocon in the Alpine and not exactly on the track. As up through Massenet they go now. It's Max Verstappen that leads. Sergio Perez having a bit of a tussle there with Esteban Ocon in the Alpine. Perez, I think, just staying ahead of Esteban Ocon. Down now towards the Lowe's hairpin we come. It's Verstappen from Bottas. Then comes Sainz and then comes Norris. After Norris, Pierre Gasly, then Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll. Let's see the start then. Bottas gets away well and here comes Max to cover him off. Max really had to get aggressive there, didn't he? Bottas with the far better start, but driving into a wedge that the Red Bull was creating. Look at the two Hasses right at the back getting extremely friendly. Mick Schumacher decided he wasn't going to stick around behind Nikita Mazepin for this race, and that's how he made up the place on his teammate there. Lewis Hamilton comes into the pits and the nice stop, 2.2 seconds. Now he's got to pin it on the outlap if he's going to clear Gasly. Valtteri Bottas now pits for Mercedes. So they brought Hamilton in, then a lap later, in comes Valtteri Bottas. And it's the hard tides over the... The right front's not even off yet, look. They can't get the right front off. The wheel gun has jammed and this is not the first time this season Valtteri Bottas has had an epically slow pit stop through no fault of his own. And they just can't get that wheel off. Right fronts and Mercedes-Benz pit stops do not go well together. And look at this then. So Hamilton out behind Gasly. Gasly out ahead of Hamilton. How am I still behind him? Gasly, by a car length and a half, is ahead of Hamilton there. Valtteri Bottas could find himself out of this race. That is it. Over for Valtteri Bottas because of a wheel nut that just would not budge. As Vettel comes in for a set of hard compound tyres, Verstappen suddenly pulled the pin. He's in the low one minute 15s. Vettel reacting then and has that inside line as they come through Sainte-Denis. Vettel, is he ahead of Gasly? They're going to go wheel to wheel up Beau Rivage here. I think Sebastian Vettel ahead of Pierre Gasly. Yes, he is. What is this happening, guys? I've just lost two places. As our race leader Max Verstappen now comes in to make his stop. Lap 34. And that's exactly what Red Bull practice and what Red Bull hope will be the case every time Max Verstappen stops a nice two second stop. And he's back out into the race once more. Perez now finally does pit. Where's Lewis Hamilton? Coming round to the swimming pool chicane. 60 kilometres an hour. Sergio Perez making his way down the pit lane. And Perez is going to be comfortably ahead. He has got himself up into fourth place. OK, good job. Currently sitting P4. We've got the jump on Vettel, Gasly and Hamilton. Norris laps Ricciardo. Oh, that hurt. That's an ouch moment, isn't it? It hurt for Daniel Ricciardo. I mean, it's... Yeah. Right. Lewis Hamilton has enough of a gap for Celan Stroll behind him to make a pit stop here. They're going for the fastest lap, which at the moment is held by Yuki Tsunoda. He won't get a point for that because he's not in the top 10. But Mercedes wants an extra point for Lewis Hamilton. Oh, there's the fastest lap. Then 1.12.909 for Lewis Hamilton. Fastest lap in this race. Max Verstappen past the point where he's had a couple of crashes in the past, but nothing has arisen this year to spoil Max Verstappen's party. This is going to be his first podium in Monaco. It's his first win in Monaco. Max Verstappen leads the World Championship and wins the Monaco Grand Prix. What a day for Red Bull. They can celebrate, as does Carlos Sainz. Second place for Ferrari. They didn't get the victory they thought was possible starting from pole, but second will do nicely as Lando Norris comes home to take third and another podium in Formula 1, his third in the sport. Max, that is a fabulous drive, mate. And you're a Monaco Grand Prix winner. Fantastic. Ha, ha, ha! Yes! Oh, nice race! Oh, well done. I think we managed that really well, guys. Oh, I'm sick behind me. A day when Red Bull were very much the fastest. It was despair for Leclerc. Fastest for Red Bull, maybe furious for Mercedes. The championship battle continues on as we head to Baku in two weeks' time. But it's Red Bull after this Monaco victory for Max Verstappen who now lead the way.