2025 Monaco Grand Prix Recap

By Ryan Wu

Norris Seizes back Momentum for Championship Battle

On a circuit where on-track overtakes are incredibly rare, qualifying at Monaco has become paramount.

Lando Norris stole the pole position from the home favorite and defending winner Charles Leclerc on his last flying lap of Q3 by being the only driver to record a time in the 1:09s. He then started off the race with some drama as the British driver locked up going into the first corner but was able to retain his lead nonetheless. He led for most of the race but found himself being backed up by Max Verstappen in the closing stages and had Leclerc hot on his tail. However, Verstappen had yet to stop for the second time as he would have been in fourth if he stopped on the second lap and the Red Bull team was clearing hoping that a red flag would be employed which would have won him the race.

However, such an event did not transpire and when Verstappen finally pitted with two laps to go, Norris had free track ahead of him and ultimately won the race by just over 3 seconds. This was an important result for Norris in the championship fight with teammate Oscar Piastri (finished P3), as the Australian driver had clearly stolen momentum from Norris over the past few races. The gap between the two McLaren drivers is now 3 points as we head into the Spanish Grand Prix next week.

Monaco Changes Yielded Mixed Results

Monaco remains the crown jewel of the F1 calendar, but in recent years it has become clear that changes are needed. The sheer size of modern F1 cars has significantly reduced the quality of racing and, in turn, the entertainment value of the event.

In response to growing concerns and criticism, F1 leadership introduced a mandatory two-stop rule for this race. The change produced mixed results, but it did lead to some intriguing strategic decisions. Many teams opted to undercut with one driver while instructing the other to hold up the pack, allowing their teammate to rejoin the race in a favorable position. Williams executed this strategy well, turning a 10th and 11th place start into a double-points finish on a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult. Carlos Sainz was tasked with holding up the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli to allow for his teammate, Alex Albon to pit. Albon later returned the favor.

Red Bull also deployed an interesting strategy and had Verstappen wait until the final lap to complete his second and last mandatory pit stop.

Ultimately, the order of the top four drivers after the checkered flag remained unchanged from qualifying, though the new rule change did bring great intrigue to the rest of the field who were vying for positions.

A Rough Weekend for Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli was hoping to bounce back from his DNF at Imola, but his weekend took another unfortunate turn when he crashed at the end of Q1, leaving him to start 15th on the grid. His teammate, George Russell, didn’t fare much better. Russell made a questionable move by clearly cutting the Nouvelle Chicane to overtake Alex Albon, mistakenly assuming the stewards would issue only a mild penalty.

Instead, he was handed a drive-through penalty, which severely impacted his race and left him finishing just outside the points in 11th.

Rookie Report

Racing Bulls had a standout weekend, executing team tactics brilliantly under the new two-stop strategy. Liam Lawson played a key supporting role by backing up the field, allowing Isack Hadjar to make his first stop for soft tires on lap 14 and rejoin the track ahead of him. Hadjar continued to demonstrate impressive pace and pitted again on lap 19 for hard tires, once again rejoining ahead of Lawson. It was a display of strategic sacrifice from Lawson and strong performance from Hadjar. Ultimately, both drivers secured valuable points for the team, with Hadjar finishing P6 and Lawson P8—both ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.

No other rookie driver was able to secure points this weekend.

Racing Refresh Driver of the Day

Lando Norris, McLaren

Final Points Finishing Positions

1st: Lando Norris

2nd: Charles Leclerc

3rd: Oscar Piastri

4th: Max Verstappen

5th: Lewis Hamilton

6th: Isack Hadjar

7th: Esteban Ocon

8th: Liam Lawson

9th: Alex Albon

10th: Carlos Sainz

Next on the F1 Schedule:

Spanish Grand Prix: May 30th-June 1st