Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Monaco

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held his nerve to convert pole position at his home Monaco Grand Prix into a controlled victory after a huge first-lap pile-up.

A collision between the two Haas cars and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez caused a red flag and led to a race of extreme tyre management by the leaders.

Leclerc controlled McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, team-mate Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris all race without any of them making a pit stop to take Ferrari’s second win of 2024.

The final laps were enlivened by a battle between Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, in which the Briton managed to hold out despite having tyres that were more than 50 laps older than Verstappen’s.

Read the full report here

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Charles Leclerc finally gets his winning Monaco moment after waiting a very long time to experience the rub of the green on home soil.

The party will be going long into the night for the Ferrari driver's first win and podium in the Principality. Good job he's well connected with Prince Albert.

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Round nine of the 2024 season is next and we leave Europe for a weekend and head to the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks' time.

Come back and join us on Friday, 7 June from 18:30 BST for coverage of the opening two practice sessions.

Thanks for your company, folks. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

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Charles Leclerc tells Sky Sports he is going to "party like an animal" tonight. If you fancy joining him, he did say he'll be at Jimmy'z night club, which is billed as "Monte-Carlo’s temple of clubbing".

Sergio Perez was involved in a crash with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen on the first lap and he told Sky Sports how he was feeling: "It's a little bit shaky overall but it was an immense crash, one that I'm really disappointed about it.

"It was totally unnecessary at that point of the race and where we were starting, there was no need for that."

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At the stroke of midnight, Oscar Piastri's time in the Leclerc clan will come to an end.

Image source, Oscar Piastri X

Mercedes' George Russell, who finished fifth: "Max put me under a lot of pressure, but it was under control. For sure when the red flag came out it was frustrating for everyone. The spice in Monaco is strategy but that was thrown out with the red flag. I was really surprised with how that [the tyres] lasted. The team has worked hard. I'm excited for the next race."

Lewis Hamilton finished in seventh, he told Sky Sports post-race: "The signs of performance this weekend have been encouraging and I think three races in a row now we've brought upgrades and the people back in the factory have worked so hard.

"That's really positive to see bit by bit. I know in the next race I will hopefully have the front wing as well and we will have more bits coming over the next few races so all is not lost."

The first-lap collision between the two Alpine drivers left Esteban Ocon sitting on the sidelines for the restart and a 10-second penalty, which will be converted into a five-place grid penalty at the next race in Canada, handed down by the stewards.

Pierre Gasly has been speaking to Sky Sports and giving his thoughts on the incident. "I'm just disappointed with Esteban - and for the team," he said.

"It shouldn't have happened. We've got thousands of people working for us and we can't afford this behaviour.

"We had clear instructions before the race and this hasn't been respected. And you should never take that much risk to take both cars out with your team-mate.

"I'm sure it will be discussed, but we can't afford to have a similar situation in the future."

Brit Lando Norris finished the grand prix in fourth, he told Sky Sports: "There's not much going on in Monaco but the red flag simplified things and made things less action packed.

"A good result for us as a team, not a lot to aim for, just get your tyres to the end and don't make mistakes which is pretty simple. For what it is, a fourth and a second, congrats to Oscar for his podium is always a lovely one to have in Monaco.

"We did what we could, I think the pace was strong from the car today which is another positive thing for the future, and our races have been strong lately so we will keep pushing."

Charles Leclerc's brother, Arthur, who is a Ferrari development driver, told Sky Sports: "I'm so happy, it's the first time I [have] cried seeing my brother win, it's just an incredible feeling and I just wish my father was there as well to see this moment."

On what it will mean to the family, he added: "It's just incredible. The weekend has been perfect from the beginning in practice, then in qualifying he did an amazing lap in Q3 putting everything together. Then in the race just managing to put everything together really well."

Over in the constructors' title race, Red Bull's advantage over Ferrari stands at 24 points, after the Scuderia secured two podium places today.

Sauber are now the only team on zero points, as Williams and Alpine are both walking away from the streets of Monaco with points in the bag.

1. Red Bull - 276

2. Ferrari - 252

3. McLaren - 184

4. Mercedes - 96

5. Aston Martin - 44

6. RB - 24

7. Haas - 7

8. Williams - 2

9. Alpine - 2

10. Sauber - 0

Max Verstappen's lead at the top of the drivers' championship over Charles Leclerc in second has been cut to 31 points after the Ferrari driver's Monaco victory.

The race was over on lap one for Sergio Perez and a lack of points in round eight drops the Mexican down to fifth place, below Carlos Saiz in fourth and third-placed Lando Norris.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 169

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 138

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 113

4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 108

5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) - 107

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 71

7. George Russell (Mercedes) - 54

8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 42

9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 33

10. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) - 19

Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur on Sky Sports: [The race] was not very exciting perhaps, it was a long one to manage, and I am more than happy for Charles. A couple of times he's missed it [winning in Monaco], not on his fault.

"This one is a good one, fantastic pole yesterday and a fantastic race today."

Carlos Sainz finished in third in his Ferrari, he said: “It was a tight one and a very bad feeling in Lap One that very quickly turned into a very good feeling after getting reinstated to P3. From then on the race pace was good as expected, it was just impossible to get past the streets in Monaco, but I’m extremely happy to see Charles win his home grand prix.

“To see him driving all weekend and share this podium with him in P3 is a great feeling for the whole team and I think they all deserve it. It looks like we are getting stronger and stronger every weekend.”

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McLaren's Oscar Piastri who finished second in Monaco: "It was a tricky race, the pace in the beginning was incredibly slow. I had one little half look into the tunnel but I didn't have a small enough car to put in the gap. Nice to put a result on the board, we've been strong the last few races but not got the results.

"Charles has been mega all weekend. They've [Ferrari] been quick all weekend. It would have taken something very special in quali to out do him, probably the best lap of my life. I'm happy with P2, good result for the team again. Very happy."

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Thanking the fans, Leclerc said: "A huge thank you, the parade laps were special and seeing so many of my friends and people I know in the balcony, it was just very special. This one means a lot."

On the challenges of the track, Leclerc added: “It’s really difficult, at first I thought we had quite a lot of margin but we knew there was 78 laps to do on the same tyre which was very difficult.

“We did a great management of the tyres, there was a big part of the race where we had to manage the gap with George and in the last ten laps I called to push a bit more and the car felt amazing.

“I want to thank the team who have done incredible work over the last few months and for giving me the opportunity to finally win this race is a very special feeling.”

Charles Leclerc has finally earned his first win at his home race in Monaco, he said post-race: “No words can explain. It’s such a difficult race, I think the fact that twice I’ve started on pole position and we couldn’t quite make it makes it even better in a way, it means a lot obviously.

“It is a race that made me dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver one day. It was a difficult race emotional because already 15 laps to the end you are just hoping nothing happens, already the emotions were coming.

"I was thinking of my dad a lot more than I thought while driving, obviously he’s given everything for me to be here.

“It was a dream of ours and for me to race here and to win and so it's unbelievable."

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While Fred and Charles have a big cuddle, let's have a look what the top three had to say...

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Champagne momentpublished at 16:50 BST 26 May 2024

16:50 BST 26 May 2024

Charles Leclerc didn't even get a chance to shake up his magnum before Carlos Sanz dumped a load of champagne all over his head. Princess Charlene, thankfully, remains dry.

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