Even though Charles Leclerc’s face wasn’t visible under the helmet, you could make out how emotional he was on the radio. The Ferrari driver had broken a 93-year-old ‘curse’ to become the first Monegasque to win on the streets of Monaco since Louis Chiron in 1931.

Monaco is not just any other race. It is the jewel of the crown of Formula 1. It is the one race where perhaps driver skill matters more than the horsepower of the car. It is the one race all drivers want to win. No wonder Albert II, the Prince of Monaco, couldn’t hold back his tears as he hugged Leclerc on the podium while handing out the winner’s trophy.

But as significant as the result was in the history of the epic street race, it also marked a shift in the current championship order. For the first time since the start of the 2022 season, Max Verstappen in the Red Bull does not appear to be the fastest car out on the grid.

Yes, he won four of the first five races of the ongoing season, but the last three races have shown a shift in the order with both Ferrari and McLaren upgrading their cars to catch up with Red Bull.

The shift started with Lando Norris’ maiden F1 victory in Miami in the first week of the current month. Yes, the safety car did prove to be lucky for the Briton but Verstappen, in second place, simply didn’t have the pace to catch the McLaren at a circuit where overtaking is regular with Norris finishing seven seconds ahead of the Dutchman.

While the reigning world champion was back to winning ways at Imola it was only by the barest of margins as Norris gave him a good run for his money, finishing seven tenths of a second behind the Red Bull. “It hurts me to say but one or two more laps and I think I would have had him,” Norris had said after the race.

Now, Monaco where Verstappen finished sixth – his worst finish since the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix. It is true that Monaco is a unique race where the chassis, the steering, the wings are tweaked for the high downforce circuit. But three races in a row is not an exception.

All of a sudden, Formula 1 fans have found hope in McLaren and Ferrari – who claimed the top four spots in Monaco, reminiscent of the 1990s and 2000s when the two oldest teams of Formula 1 dominated the sport.

It no longer looks like 2024 is going to be a one-horse race as was the case in 2023 which emerged as the dominant season ever in the history of Formula 1.

Though Verstappen has won five of the eight races yet, it is going to be the longest season in history with 24 races, enough time for McLaren and Ferrari to catch up and also beat Red Bull.

A true sign of how the Red Bull is not the fastest car on the grid anymore is manifested by Sergio Perez’s results who finished fourth in Miami, eighth in Imola and was 16th on the grid before crashing out on Sunday.

It has been the sheer brilliance of Verstappen who has driven the wheels of the Red Bull to deliver the results he has. “I would happily invite everyone in this paddock to drive that car and try to go faster than me," Verstappen had said as a reporter questioned his pace in Monaco.

Thanks to his consistent results and the win on Sunday, Leclerc (138 points) is second in the championship and not far behind Verstappen (169). McLaren have clearly emerged as the fastest car in the last few races. Had it not been Monaco where overtaking is next to impossible, Oscar Piastri and Norris would have overtaken Leclerc and Carlos Sainz respectively. They will be fast again in Montreal, a low downforce circuit like Miami where Norris won.

The constructors’ championship is more open than the drivers’ with Red Bull (276) ahead of Ferrari (252) by a mere 24 points. And with McLaren (184) being on the podium the last four races, it won’t be long before they also join the party.

Which means for the first time in 14 years we could have a three-horse race in the championship with Verstappen, Leclerc and Norris fighting for the title, not seen since the 2010 championship where four drivers – Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso – were vying for the crown at the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Vettel unexpectedly claiming the crown.

Still early in the day but one hopes that 2024 turns out to be a similar case as nobody, barring the champion himself, wants to see just driver person winning incessantly.

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