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| Photo from BBC Sport |
The 21-year-old was subject to questioning over whether he broke the rules on driving conduct to hold off Championship-leader Hamilton in the middle of the race before the Brit's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas took up the challenge of piling the pressure on the Monegasque.
Another driving error from Sebastian Vettel saw fresh concerns being raised about the German being able to get back to the form that has won him four world championship titles.
 |
| Photo from BBC Sport |
After that, Leclerc locked up at the first chicane on lap 23 giving Hamilton a chance to pass which he couldn't take.
Alongside the world champion into the Roggia chicane, Leclerc moved over, pushing Hamilton off the track.
Hamilton protested at the decision to give Leclerc a black and white flag - a warning - instead of a more serious penalty for not leaving a car's width on his outside when defending.
Leclerc locked up again at the chicane, with Hamilton still tracking him 12 laps after the incident, before Leclerc left it late through Curva Grande to hold Hamilton off.
Hamilton's tyres started going off soon after that, having had mediums fitted when Ferrari had chosen hards.
Hamilton faltered on lap 42, locking up at the first chicane allowing Bottas to pass him into second.
Hamilton pitted for fresh tyres seven laps later and secured the bonus point for the fastest lap.
It was Bottas' turn to attack Leclerc after Hamilton failed, with the Finn's medium tyres eight laps fresher than his team-mates.
But on very worn tyres, Leclerc somehow managed to keep him at bay.
On lap 51, Bottas locked up at the chicane lapping Lando Norris' McLaren, all but confirming Leclerc's victory.
While Leclerc won a thrilling race, his team-mate Vettel wasn't so fortunate.
Running fourth after five laps, he lost control at the Ascari chicane and after rejoining the track crashed into Lance Stroll's Racing Point.
The Canadian did the same to Pierre Gasly, narrowly missing the Toro Rosso after he got going again.
Vettel was penalised 10 seconds, the most serious in race penalty bar disqualification.
But some will feel that isn't strict enough, and think that he should face a grid penalty in Singapore for a ludicrous move for a four-time world champion.
Despite beginning the season at the top for Ferrari, Leclerc has consistently outperformed his older and more honoured colleague.
The German is winless since Belgium last year while Leclerc has taken two wins this season, and out-qualified him on numerous occasions.
Ricciardo and Hulkenberg in Renaults completed the top five with Alex Albon of Red Bull in sixth who recovered after running off early trying to pass McLaren's Carlos Sainz at the first Lesmo corner.
Vettel's three penalty points mean he has nine in the past year, three more equates to a race ban.
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| Photo from BBC Sport |
| # | DRIVER | TIME/RETIRED | pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 1:15:26.665 | 25 | |
| 2 | +0.835s | 18 | |
| 3 | +35.199s | 16 | |
| 4 | +45.515s | 12 | |
| 5 | +58.165s | 10 | |
| 6 | +59.315s | 8 | |
| 7 | +73.802s | 6 | |
| 8 | +74.492s | 4 | |
| 9 | +1 lap | 2 | |
| 10 | +1 lap | 1 | |
| 11 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| 12 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| 13 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| 14 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| 15 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| 16 | +1 lap | 0 | |
| 17 | +2 laps | 0 | |
| NC | K | DNF | 0 |
| NC | DNF | 0 | |
| NC | DNF | 0 |
Formula One Driver's Championship Standings
#/Driver/Team/Points/Wins/Podiums
1/L Hamilton/Mercedes/284/8/12
2/V Bottas/Mercedes/221/2/11
3/M Verstappen/Red Bull/185/2/5
4/C Leclerc/Ferrari/182/2/7
5/S Vettel/Ferrari/169/0/6
6/P Gasly/Toro Rosso/65/0/0
7/C Sainz Jr./McLaren/58/0/0
8/D Ricciardo/Renault/34/0/0
9/A Albon/Red Bull/34/0/0
10/D Kvyat/Toro Rosso/33/0/1
11/N Hülkenberg/Renault/31/0/0
12/K Räikkönen/Alfa Romeo/31/0/0
13/S Pérez/Racing Point/27/0/0
14/L Norris/McLaren/25/0/0
15/L Stroll/Racing Point/19/0/0
16/K Magnussen/Haas/18/0/0
17/R Grosjean/Haas/8/0/0
18/A Giovinazzi/Alfa Romeo/3/0/0
19/R Kubica/Williams/1/0/0
20/G Russell/Williams/0/0/0
2019 Races and Results
Australian Grand Prix
Melbourne, 15-17 March
1. Bottas, 2. Hamilton, 3. Verstappen
Bahrain Grand Prix
Sakhir, 29-31 March
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Leclerc
Chinese Grand Prix
Shanghai, 12-14 April
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Vettel
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Baku, 26-28 April
1. Bottas, 2. Hamilton, 3. Vettel
Spanish Grand Prix
Barcelona, 10-12 May
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Verstappen
Monaco Grand Prix
Monte Carlo, 23, 25-26 May
1. Hamilton, 2. Vettel, 3. Bottas
Canadian Grand Prix
Montreal, 7-9 June
1. Hamilton, 2. Vettel, 3. Leclerc
French Grand Prix
Le Castellet, 21-23 June
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Leclerc
Austrian Grand Prix
Spielberg, 28-30 June
1. Verstappen, 2. Leclerc, 3. Bottas
British Grand Prix
Silverstone, 12-14 July
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Leclerc
German Grand Prix
Hockenheim, 26-28 July
1. Verstappen, 2. Vettel, 3. Kyvat
Hungarian Grand Prix
Budapest, 2-4 August
1. Hamilton, 2. Verstappen, 3. Vettel
Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, 30 August-1 September
1. Leclerc, 2. Hamilton, 3. Bottas
Italian Grand Prix
Monza, 6-8 September
1. Leclerc, 2. Bottas, 3. Hamilton
Singapore Grand Prix
Marina Bay, 20-22 September
Russian Grand Prix
Sochi, 27-29 September
Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka, 11-13 October
Mexican Grand Prix
Mexico City, 25-27 October
United States Grand Prix
Austin, 1-3 November
Brazilian Grand Prix
Sao Paulo, 15-17 November
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina, 29 November-1 December
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