Lando Norris skillfully maintained his position ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc Monaco Grand Prix victory. and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, effectively managing the strategic challenge of two mandatory pit stops to successfully convert pole position into his first Monaco Grand Prix victory.
The plan to bring tactical variation and therefore more excitement to the narrow streets of Monaco by requiring all driver to use three sets of tyres during the race yielded the expected variety in terms of when teams chose to pit their drivers, but ultimately a cagey approach led to little change in the top 10 order with only Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton picking up a place when he jumped Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar in the early stops and with the drivers behind gaining a spot when Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso retired midway through.
“It feels amazing. It’s a long race. It’s a long, rolling race. But good fun. You know, we could push for quite a lot of the race,” Norris said. “The last quarter was a little bit nervous, with Charles close behind and Max ahead, but we won in Monaco. So, it doesn’t matter how you win, I guess. But an amazing weekend with pole, with today – this is what I dream of. This is what I did dream of when I was a kid. So, I achieved one of my dreams. I think it was you – I saw you in front of my car before the start, and I was like, “if JB is here now, then I’ll always take that. It’s my good luck charm.”
At the race start, Norris recovered from a Turn 1 lock-up to assume the lead ahead of Leclerc. Meanwhile, Piastri successfully resisted a challenge from Max Verstappen to maintain third place as they progressed up the hill toward Casino Square.
At the exit of Portier, Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto was was slightly impeded by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, resulting in Bortoleto making contact with the barriers. Despite the incident, Bortoleto was able to continue, and a Virtual Safety Car was deployed accordingly.
“I’m never really happy with second place. Then if you do a step back and you look at our season, I think this is a very positive result for the whole team,” Leclerc said. “Especially coming here, we had very low expectations, just because our low-speed performance has been very bad all season. However, I think here, it’s a very specific track because there are a lot of bumps, a lot of kerb riding, and I think our car is pretty good on that. That helped us to close the gap. So, yeah, I think we did a really good job, and 18 points plus the 10 of Lewis are very valuable points for the situation we are in. On that, I think we should be proud. Am I over the moon for a second place? Not really, but it’s been a very positive weekend anyway.”
Both Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly took advantage of the Virtual Safety Car period to make pit stops, resulting in their positions improving to 17th and 18th, respectively. As the Virtual Safety Car concluded and the race resumed, the field maintained its order, with Norris maintaining his lead ahead of Leclerc and Piastri. Max positioned himself in fifth place, followed by Racing Bull driver Isack Hadjar.
On lap eight, Gasly appeared to experience brake failure exiting the tunnel, resulting in a collision with the right rear wheel of Tsunoda’s Red Bull. While Tsunoda was able to continue, Gasly, whose front suspension was damaged, skidded through the Nouvelle Chicane. He was able to return to the pit lane under his own power, and the race proceeded without further incident.
Hadjar was the first among the front runners to make a pit stop on lap 15. This prompted a response from the surrounding drivers, and on lap 19, Norris pitted for hard tires, relinquishing the lead to Leclerc. In an effort to execute an undercut on the Monegasque driver, McLaren subsequently pitted Piastri. However, Ferrari responded promptly, allowing Leclerc to make his pit stop on lap 22 and rejoin the race ahead of Piastri.
“There was a lot of action behind, so maybe that was a bit different. But from where I was at, it panned out pretty much how I thought,” Piastri said. “It definitely made the pace of the race a bit higher, certainly compared to last year. So from the cockpit, it was a little bit more intense. We’re still not pushing flat out, but it just made certain points of the race a bit more tense.”
By delaying his pit stop, Verstappen advanced to the lead; however, the Red Bull driver subsequently reported increased wear on his starting tyres. On lap 29, he made his first pit stop, resulting in a position drop to fourth place, approximately four seconds behind Piastri.
On lap 37, Alonso stopped at Rascasse. The Spanish driver’s Aston Martin was promptly retrieved through a gap in the barriers, allowing the race to continue without neutralization.
At the halfway point, Norris began to extend his lead from the pursuing group, and by lap 42, the McLaren driver had established a six-second advantage over Leclerc, who was nine seconds ahead of Piastri, who was experiencing grip issues.
McLaren scheduled Piastri for his second pit stop on lap 49. Concurrently, Leclerc also made a pit stop, and on lap 50, Norris completed his final stop of the race. These changes resulted in Verstappen regaining the lead, with the reigning champion choosing to remain on track in anticipation of a potential late-race incident or red flag.
The Red Bull driver’s strategic decision resulted in gradually closing the gap between Norris and Leclerc, providing the Ferrari driver with an opportunity. However, overtaking proved challenging. Norris maintained his composure during the final laps, and when Verstappen made his second pit stop on the penultimate lap, the McLaren was able to extend its lead, set the fastest lap of the race, and secure his sixth career victory, finishing ahead of Leclerc and Piastri.
Verstappen maintained his starting position of fourth, while fifth place was secured by Lewis Hamilton driving the second Ferrari, who overtook Hadjar after the Racing Bulls driver made two rapid pit stops early in the race. Behind Hadjar, Esteban Ocon of Haas finished in seventh place, followed by Liam Lawson in the second Racing Bulls vehicle. The remaining points-scoring positions were claimed by the Williams drivers, Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Race
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 78 1:40’33.843
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 78 1:40’36.974 3.131
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 78 1:40’37.501 3.658
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 78 1:40’54.415 20.572
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 78 1:41’25.230 51.387
6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 77 1:41’38.925 1 lap /1’05.082
7 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 77 1:41’39.872 1 lap /1’06.029
8 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 77 1:41’40.589 1 lap /1’06.746
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 76 1:40’45.712 2 laps /11.869
10 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 76 1:40’49.075 2 laps /15.232
11 George Russell Mercedes 76 1:41’07.687 2 laps /33.844
12 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 76 1:41’28.536 2 laps /54.693
13 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 76 1:41’30.957 2 laps /57.114
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 76 1:41’42.267 2 laps /1’08.424
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 76 1:41’44.238 2 laps /1’10.395
16 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 76 1:41’45.387 2 laps /1’11.544
17 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 76 1:41’45.692 2 laps /1’11.849
18 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 75 1:40’42.252 3 laps /8.409
Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 36 48’27.102 Retirement
Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 7 10’57.609 Retirement
Photo/McLaren/X
