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Formula OneLando Norris is a Monaco GP racewinner after leading the 2025 race from pole position. However, this year's grand prix descended into a farce after much fanfare over a rule change. Multiple teams abused the mandate to pit each driver twice by using their second car to become a rolling roadblock. There will be much dissection in the coming 12 months about what should happen at the next Monaco GP, but this experiment was a complete failure.
As expected, the leading drivers remained in place over the first lap – usually the best overtaking time. Local hero Charles Leclerc couldn't take pole position this year and lined up alongside Norris. The Briton has shaken off his opening lap curse and promptly held his nerve into Turn 1. Despite a lock-up heading into Sainte Devote, Norris retained P1 and effectively won the race.
Behind, the chasing pack fell into position without incident through the first sector. However, some of the five rookies in the field still created a talking point later in the lap. Gabriel Bortoleto made a brave move around the outside of Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the hairpin. Antonelli fought back at Portier and left the Brazilian nose-first in the barriers.
With the two-stop mandate, an early Safety Car slowdown would allow the drivers to change Pirelli tyres with minimal time loss. However, Bortoleto returned to the race with only yellow flags waving. Some did stop anyway, but their gamble didn't pay off with no later Safety Car appearance, minimising their time loss.
A Virtual Safety Car did appear, though. Pierre Gasly's heavily damaged Alpine left debris over the track after a misjudged overtake on Yuki Tsunoda. The Frenchman slammed into the back of the Red Bull when exiting the tunnel, leaving Gasly with a broken front-left wheel and no front wing.
Although Gasly returned to the pit lane, he couldn't slow his car down and tumbled into the Williams pit box. The VSC came, but Gasly's out-of-position car meant the pit lane was closed and ruined the chance for any strategic plays. However, the Racing Bulls team was already in the middle of a Monaco gamble.
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With Isack Hadjar qualifying an incredible P5 for his maiden Monaco GP, the Racing Bulls team opted to have teammate Liam Lawson slow the pack down behind. Alex Albon, unable to pass, was a frustrated cork in the bottle of a 10-car train, which all had to wait for Racing Bulls' gambit to pay off. Hadjar pitted on Lap 15 to emerge ahead of Lawson and followed up with another pit stop just five laps later to secure points.
Annoyed as Albon would've been in the cockpit behind Lawson, Williams copied that same strategy soon after. Fernando Alonso retired from P6 as the race reached half distance, meaning Albon's teammate Carlos Sainz now also had the chance to score points. The Spaniard copied Lawson's go-slow approach to let Albon secure P9 before the duo swapped positions, and the Thai driver returned the favour.
Williams' unconventional approach wasn't without an on-track critic, though. George Russell grew frustrated with Albon's driving and skipped the Nouvelle Chicane to overtake the Williams illegally. Russell admitted he was willing to take a penalty, assuming it would be a standard five- or ten-second stoppage before his pit stop. However, the stewards took a dim view of the pass and slapped the Mercedes driver with a rare drive-through penalty to further ruin his day.
At the front, Max Verstappen led the way after only pitting once. Seemingly hoping for a red flag that never came, the champion took his final Pirelli tyre set on the final lap. Norris retook the lead and drove his way to a sought-after Monaco victory. Leclerc crossed the line in second place, with Oscar Piastri taking third to retain the championship lead by just three points.
It was a rough day for racing fans, with no driver completing any on-track overtakes after Bortoleto's trip to the tyre barrier. The tripleheader concludes with the Spanish GP this weekend. A technical directive that addresses front wing flexibility might shake up the order in Barcelona, but it seems McLaren will remain the team to beat at most races in 2025.
