It was all or nothing for Verstappen: 'He had no intention of losing'

With the win in Monaco Max Verstappen is the first Dutchman ever to top the Formula 1 championship. With a lead of four points ahead of Lewis Hamilton, the Red Bull Racing driver travels to Azerbaijan.

Off to an aggressive start

After Charles Leclerc dropped out of pole position, Valtteri Bottas would have a clear path towards the first corner with Max Verstappen on the dirty side of the track. For Verstappen, it was therefore all or nothing at the start. Mark Hughes analysed the start for The Race and said that: "Bottas had much more grip on his side, Verstappen, however, left nothing to chance: the race would be won or lost here. And Verstappen had no plans to lose."

Verstappen angled his Red Bull slightly towards Bottas at the start to get a defensive position towards the Finn as quickly as possible. "He positioned himself super aggressively here. Bottas initially got away faster, but Verstappen managed to close the door just in time. That's all it took for the win."

Opportunities for Sainz

Partly thanks to the loss of Leclerc and Bottas, Carlos Sainz managed to drive to second place. Hughes thinks there might even have been more in it. "Both [Verstappen and Sainz] could have won this race, but Verstappen had started with a two-place lead and hadn't been delayed by Bottas' tire-eating Mercedes."

Leaders in the championship

It was Verstappen's first time on the podium in Monaco. "He was super fast in Monaco before but, as he himself pointed out, he had crashed too often to convert that speed, something Leclerc might start thinking about. It's a fine line." Verstappen and Red Bull Racing additionally now lead the championship. "He now leads the world championship for the first time in his career. The result that catapulted him there came easier than he might have imagined."