Red Bull Racing's Sergio Perez on the podium after the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 29, 2022 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. REMKO DE WAAL (Photo by ANP via Getty Images)
Red Bull's Sergio Perez crossed the checkered flag first on Sunday to win a captivating Monaco Grand Prix that saw his team extend their lead at the top of the Constructors Standings to 36 points.
The Mexican beat second-placed Carlos Sainz of Ferrari by 1.1 seconds after holding him off fiercely in the final laps of the race, with Max Verstappen also in pursuit.
Verstappen clinched third place ahead of Charles Leclerc, who lost out after dropping from pole to P4.
The start of the race was delayed by several minutes as rain pounded Monte Carlo. At 1518 local time, race officials opted for a start behind a safety car as conditions remained tricky, but more downpour prompted them to sanction a red flag, with all drivers heading back to the pits.
At 1605 officials greenlighted a rolling race start behind the safety car and on wet tyres. The safety car pulled in for Lap 3 of 77 and Leclerc led away with Sainz, Perez and Verstappen in tow.
As the track dried gradually, Perez went in on Lap 17 for intermediates, with Leclerc and Verstappen following two laps later.
Sainz opted for hard tires with a switch on Lap 21, and his teammate Leclerc followed for double-stack. One lap later, Red Bull pulled off an overcut with their own double-stack – one that proved to be the big moment of the game. The order was now Perez, Sainz, Verstappen and Leclerc in P4.
On lap 27, Haas driver Mick Schumacher spun and crashed, prompting another red flag on Lap 30.
The race resumed with a rolling start on Lap 33, with Ferrari on hards while Red Bull opted for mediums.
Perez held his lead with the mediums, but began to drop off past the Lap 55 mark, with around 10 minutes remaining.
The next laps saw Sainz chase the Mexican ferociously, but the Red Bull held off for his first win of 2022.
Mercedes' George Russell clinched fifth place after skipping a stop for intermediates, with McLaren's Lando Norris coming in sixth.
Alpine's Fernando Alonso finished seventh ahead of Lewis Hamilton ho chased him down for much of the race.
Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas finished ninth, and Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel rounded off the top 10.