Five drivers in Monaco's top six have or had contracts with Red Bull

The top six at the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend looked very interesting. The highlight was of course the victory for Max Verstappen, who dominated the race from the start. With Charles Leclerc dropping out, it was once again quite 'easy' for the Dutchman. After the 78 laps, the podium looked very varied thanks to Bottas' retirement: Verstappen, Sainz and Norris.

The Monaco Grand Prix had a very diverse top six of drivers. It consisted of drivers from no less than five different teams. Charles Leclerc's inability to start obviously influenced this, as did the loss of Valtteri Bottas, who had a wheel nut that would not come loose. He was forced to retire during a pit stop.

Lewis Hamilton finished in seventh place, which is unusual for a Mercedes driver who is always up front. The top six consisted of the three drivers mentioned in the introduction, followed by Perez at fourth, Vettel fifth and Gasly sixth. This brings us to a striking fact: five of the six drivers have or had a contract with Red Bull.

Three of the six drivers are still under contract and those are of course Verstappen, Perez and Gasly. Sebastian Vettel is an old hand, having won his four titles with Red Bull Racing and Carlos Sainz made his debut with Verstappen at Toro Rosso. The only exception in the top six is Lando Norris, who has been with McLaren since day one.

An interesting statistic, because it indirectly shows that the Red Bull Driver Academy is something special. It has produced many talented drivers, and while not all of them are under the Red Bull umbrella anymore, most of them have their roots there. The one exception, of course, is Sergio Perez.