“It’s tough, it was tough the years before, I’m slowly getting used to disappointments at my home race,” said Leclerc. Perez, on the other hand, was in a party mood. “Winning here is what you dream of as a small child”said the Mexican.
Ferrari’s protest against Perez and Verstappen
After the end of the race, Ferrari protested against Perez and Verstappen for alleged rule violations. Both should have driven their cars over the yellow line when exiting the pit lane.
However, the world automobile association FIA announced in the evening that the protest had been rejected. The FIA came to the conclusion that both cars touched the line but did not illegally cross it.
Verstappen extends lead
“We lodged the protest because we want to ensure clarity,” said Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto on Sunday evening in a media round: “It’s not against Red Bull in particular, it’s about dealing with the line at the pit exit.”
Despite a rather weak weekend, Verstappen extended his lead over Leclerc in the overall standings to nine points. For Perez it was the third Grand Prix victory of his career. Previously this year only Verstappen (four) and Leclerc (two) had shared the victories among themselves.
Mick Schumacher’s serious accident
The seventh round of the season was overshadowed by a serious accident involving Mick Schumacher in the swimming pool chicane just before the middle of the race, which caused a longer interruption. As with his mishap in qualifying in Saudi Arabia in March, his Haas racing car was badly destroyed.
The son of record champion Michael Schumacher apparently suffered no major injuries. “physically okay” he was, said Schumacher. The accident is one “bit annoying”, he got himself a “little misjudged”. Compatriot Sebastian Vettel scored a point in the Aston Martin in tenth place.