Sergio Perez of Mexico won the iconic race to deny Carlos Sainz of Spain his first-ever Grand Prix win.

The Red Bull driver managed to fend off Sainz who had the fresher tyres for the win, while his teammate and reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, finished in fifth.

A strategic blunder by Ferrari denied Charles Leclerc a win at his home race, however he took fourth to finish the Grand Prix for the first time.

The Ferrari were the team to beat, however, Red Bull got the overcut on them and this saw Leclerc dropping from the lead to fourth where he stayed for the remainder of the race.

This move saw Perez surge to the lead on medium tyres and he managed the race beautifully to edge Sainz who was running on the hard tyres.

The race also saw a red flag when Mick Schumaker was involved in a serious and costly collision which destroyed his car.

The race was restarted with a rolling start and the was finished with time as opposed to full 77 lapse being completed.

Perez said winning the Monaco Grand Prix was a dream come and it was even sweeter in the way her fended off Sainz.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Red Bull's Driver of the day, Perez.

“As a driver you dream of winning here. After your home race I think there is no other more special race to win.

“To do it and the way we did it, we made it a bit harder for us at the end. With the graining I had, to not make any mistakes, bring it home – keeping Carlos behind wasn’t easy.

“I’m for sure very, very happy. I was running today a Pedro Rodriguez helmet, I’m sure up there he is super proud of what we have achieved together in the sport.”

Verstappen now leads Leclerc by nine points in the drivers’ championship standings.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport