Quai Antoine, May 23: Red Bull's Max Verstappen sailed to his maiden Monaco Grand Prix win to take the lead in the Formula One championship race for the first time in his career on Sunday. Starting effectively from pole after Leclerc's cruel side-lining, Verstappen out-muscled Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas off the line to take a lead that he would only briefly relinquish in the pit stops.

In an off-day for world champions Mercedes, a disgruntled Lewis Hamilton could do no better than seventh (the same position he started) to lose his lead of the championship to Verstappen - who now heads Hamilton 105 points to 101 - while Bottas had even worse luck, after a stuck right-front tyre in his pit stop forced him into retirement.

That left former McLaren team mates Sainz and Norris P2 and P3, Sainz now at Ferrari salvaging the day for the Scuderia to take his first podium in red, while some brilliant strategy from Red Bull allowed Sergio Perez to overcut his way from P8 to P4 in the pit stops.

Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel did similar to take P5, for by far his and his team's best finish of the year - Vettel maintaining his record of never being classified lower than P5 in a race he's finished in Monaco - while AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly was able to hold off Hamilton's Mercedes to claim P6, Hamilton salvaging a bonus point for fastest lap after a late second stop.

Starting on hard tyres from P13 paid dividends for Lance Stroll, who made a 58-lap stint work to claim P8 and add to Aston Martin's joy in Monte Carlo. He finished ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, while Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi took Alfa Romeo's first point of the season after claiming 10th.

For Verstappen, though, Leclerc's DNS in Monaco provided him with a golden opportunity - and the Dutchman did not falter, defiantly hitting back in the title fight against Hamilton, and adding a Monaco Grand Prix win to his CV for good measure. Also, before the race started polesitter Charles Leclerc was ruled out of the event.

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