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POWER RANKINGS: Who put on a perfect performance in the Principality?
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Charles Leclerc hit the jackpot on his home streets with a commanding display throughout the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. But who else impressed in the Principality? Our latest Power Rankings scores are in...
How it works
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Our five-judge panel assess each driver after every Grand Prix and score them out of 10 according to their performance across the weekend – taking machinery out of the equation
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Our experts’ scores are then averaged out to produce a race score – with those scores then tallied up across the season on our overall Power Rankings Leaderboard (at the bottom of the page)
As touched on above, Leclerc was faultless from first practice to the chequered flag on race day in Monaco as he banished the demons of previous misfortune on home soil to secure the victory he had been craving – converting pole at the third time of asking. Our judges were suitably impressed and gave him 10s across the board.
Piastri pushed Leclerc all the way with an assured performance on Monte Carlo’s streets, giving his side of the McLaren garage a result that had been deserved for some time after a mid-race Safety Car at the Miami Grand Prix and traffic-related qualifying blunder at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix cost him a shot at the ultimate prize.
Tsunoda has impressed at almost every race held so far this season, with the twists and turns of the Principality no exception. He again led the RB charge to reach Q3 in qualifying and bag some more valuable points on race day, giving Red Bull chiefs something to think about amid reports of interests from teams elsewhere.
Albon was another star last weekend, finding the balance between risk and reward during Monaco’s all-important qualifying session to record Williams’s first appearance in the top-10 shootout so far this season, before capitalising on that strong qualifying position to give the Grove team their breakthrough first points finish of 2024.
READ MORE: Albon hoping Williams can ‘hit our stride’ after breaking points duck in Monaco
While Leclerc starred at home, it was a relatively quiet weekend for Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz, who admitted to lacking the same level of confidence from Friday’s first practice session. Nonetheless, the Spaniard made it onto the podium to join in the celebrations in what was another strong two-car result for the Scuderia.
F1 NATION: Can Leclerc’s Monaco masterclass ignite Ferrari’s title fight? It’s our Monaco GP Review
Like Tsunoda and Albon further up this list, Gasly pumped in a stellar Q2 lap to make it through to Q3 and give Alpine a coveted top-10 starting position in Monaco. Despite a dramatic clash with his team mate on the opening lap, which Esteban Ocon ultimately apologised for, Gasly took his damaged car to a well-deserved points finish.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull were out of sorts from Friday practice in Monte Carlo as the RB20 took a strong disliking to the bumps and kerbs around the 3.337-kilometre venue. At the end of it all, sixth position represented solid damage limitation, but driver and team will be hoping for much better next time out in Canada.
As they have done on so many occasions this season, Mercedes showed flashes of pace during the early stages of practice before dropping back in qualifying. When they got there, it was Russell who spearheaded the team’s efforts, outpacing the other Silver Arrow of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and staying ahead on race day.
Norris was the star of the show with his maiden F1 win in Miami, and got pulses racing again in Imola when he pushed race winner Verstappen all the way. In contrast, it was a low-key event for the Briton in Monaco, with a run to P4 in qualifying – behind Leclerc, team mate Piastri and Sainz – denting his podium chances.
Hamilton caught the eye by going fastest of all during first practice in Monaco, briefly sparking excitement about him potentially challenging for a fourth win at the famous track. It was not meant to be as the weekend unfolded, though, with the Ferrari and McLaren drivers proving too quick, and Russell also getting his nose ahead in the intra-team battle.
HIGHLIGHTS: Relive all the race action as Leclerc wins at home following a chaotic start in Monaco
Missing out
Nico Hulkenberg was an innocent victim in the first-lap chaos after Haas team mate Kevin Magnussen came to blows with Sergio Perez, whose Red Bull ultimately collected the German. He just missed the cut along with RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, who had a solid but unspectacular weekend.
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