Max Verstappen extended his championship lead over Leclerc with third place ahead of the home hero, who had dominated the early stages that followed a long delay due to a rain storm soaking the Principality.
Rain began to fall just before the scheduled start time, which was pushed back initially by nine minutes before this was extended to 16 with a safety car formation lap mandated – on safety grounds per the FIA because there had been no prior running in the wet this weekend – and in that gap the deluge intensified.
