[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

That was a brilliant race, the best this season by far. Even when it was dry, it was still the most interesting with the strategic element of the race and all the entertaining overtaking further back. The more difficult overtaking is, the more exciting it is when it does happen.

Then the rain obviously made it a thriller. If Alonso had pitted for intermediates on that lap instead of slicks he would surely have taken the lead and won the race, although of course they didn't know it would rain so much at that point. But it was a thrilling sequence of the race.

And that has to go down as an absolute masterclass from Verstappen and Red Bull, and you can see why they are the dominant force in Formula 1 at the moment. Pitting around lap 30 seemed like such a no-brainer but they predicted perfectly that they would need to stay out until it rained. And for Verstappen to keep matching Alonso's lap-times on those medium tyres was hugely impressive already, but to continue to do so in wet conditions on those old tyres was outstanding. Perhaps Verstappen's greatest drive in Formula 1, along with Spa and Suzuka last year and Interlagos 2016, and he has absolutely cemented his place among the all-time greats now (perhaps just sneaking into the top ten of all time).

Alonso was also very strong, as always, and Esteban Ocon drove a fantastic race to take third, fending off the challenges of Mercedes and Ferrari, as well as outperforming Gasly. It was probably his strongest drive in F1 as well, even better than his Hungary win. Meanwhile, both Perez and Stroll had disastrous races attempting to come back after messing up in qualifying.

Monaco delivers once again! This place absolutely deserves its place on the calendar.

I would say the rain delivered. Up until it rained it had been fairly dull.