Formula One returned to the narrow streets of Monaco for the prestigious FORMULA 1 TAG HEUER GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2025, one of the longest-running races on the calendar. To spice things up this year, drivers were required to make two pit stops during the race, making it the most unpredictable Monaco Grand Prix in recent memory.
Lando Norris was side-by-side with Charles Leclerc into the first corner, looking to be the first driver to overtake for the lead in the first corner in two decades. Norris locked up both front tyres, maintaining the lead. Oscar Piastri had a poor start on the row behind, allowing Max Verstappen to pull alongside in the opening corner. The Dutchman thought better of hanging it around the outside, backing out and slotting back into P4.
There was some action further back. Gabriel Bortoleto overtook fellow rookie Kimi Antonelli around the outside of the hairpin. Antonelli did the switchback in the following corner, setting up a very late lunge into Portier. Bortoleto attempted to hold on around the outside but ran out of space and straight into the barriers.
Although he was able to free his Sauber from the barriers and cruise back to the pit lane for a new front wing, the virtual safety car was deployed so the marshals could clear the debris. Five drivers at the back of the field took the opportunity to make their first of two pit stops, but there were no takers out front. Surprisingly, no one took a gamble on making both required stops under the VSC, even though there was enough time.
When racing resumed, Oliver Bearman showcased how slowly the drivers were racing to conserve tyres. Having pitted under the virtual safety car, the Haas youngster was lapping five seconds faster than the race lead, catching up to the rear of the field in a matter of laps.
There was further drama on lap nine at the Nouvelle Chicane. Pierre Gasly was in the dirty air of Yuki Tsunoda through the tunnel. He struggled for grip when braking for the chicane, slamming into the rear of the Red Bull, nearly collecting his Alpine teammate as he sped through the chicane. The collision had sheared off his front tyre, and he shed his front wing. He limped back to the pit lane to retire, avoiding the virtual safety car.
The yellow flags were waved at the exit of the chicane while marshals worked to clear the debris from the Alpine and Red Bull. Verstappen was all over the back of Piastri’s McLaren as they entered the yellow flag zone. Piastri was very slow to avoid running over any debris, compromising his exit. Verstappen looked to overtake the McLaren on the run to Tabac, but Piastri moved to the defensive. Verstappen felt it was a late block, but the stewards didn’t feel the move was worth investigating.
Isack Hadjar, who started the race in P5 after an impressive qualifying performance, was the first of the leading cars to make one of his mandatory pit stops on lap 16. Aston Martin responded by calling Fernando Alonso into the pit to cover off the undercut threat. Alonso, who had wanted to run longer to attempt the overcut, was furious with the strategy decision, yelling at the team over the radio. He was surely frustrated the following lap when Lewis Hamilton managed to overcut Alonso and Hadjar to take P5.
The undercut seemed very weak at the circuit. Piastri had attempted the undercut on Leclerc in his first pit stop on lap 21, but Ferrari released their driver back into a net P2 the following lap. A slow stop from McLaren likely didn’t help Piastri’s undercut pace.
Alonso’s day ended prematurely on lap 38 when his Aston Martin began smoking. The Spaniard parked in a runoff area, so it was unnecessary for race control to neutralize the race. Alonso was looking to score his first points of the season, but will have to wait for another chance. He is the only non-rookie driver yet to score points this year.
One disadvantage of the two-stop strategy at Monaco was that teammates could slow up the field to give each other free pit stops. One such team was Williams. After Alex Albon made his pit stop, he swapped behind Carlos Sainz and began slowing the pack. George Russell was unhappy with this, appearing to deliberately cut the chicane to overtake the slow Williams. Russell attempted to cover his tracks by complaining that the Williams driver had brakes super early and was driving erratically. When instructed by the team to give back the position, Russell said he’d rather take the five-second penalty. It would actually turn out to be a drive-through penalty for the Brit.
Although Russell’s move appeared intentional, his teammate showed that Albon was clearly driving slowly. Antonelli also had to cut the chicane, nearly running into the back of the Williams under braking. However, he returned the position to avoid a penalty. This strategy will surely be a hot topic after the race.
While this drama was unfolding, the leading drivers all made their second pit stops. Verstappen, who had extended his first stint, was the only lead driver yet to make his second stop. He opted to maintain the race lead. Norris, who was in the net lead, caught up to the back of the Red Bull, but Leclerc was also right behind.
Verstappen waited until the final lap of the race to make his second mandatory pit stop, unleashing a last-lap sprint to the finish line. Now in clear air, Norris pulled away from Leclerc. He crossed the finish line to take his first victory around Monaco by nearly four seconds. Leclerc had to settle for P2 at his home race ahead of Piastri, who was less than a second behind the Ferrari. Verstappen claimed P4.
This triple-header will conclude next weekend in Spain for the Spanish Grand Prix on June 1. And, of course, there’s another iconic race to watch today as the drivers prepare to tackle the Indianapolis 500.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78 | 1:40:33.843 | 25 |  | |
| 2 | 78 | +3.131 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 78 | +3.658 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 78 | +20.572 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 78 | +51.387 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 77 | +1 Lap | 8 | ||
| 7 | 77 | +1 Lap | 6 | ||
| 8 | 77 | +1 Lap | 4 | ||
| 9 | 76 | +2 Laps | 2 | ||
| 10 | 76 | +2 Laps | 1 | ||
| 11 | 76 | +2 Laps | |||
| 12 | 76 | +2 Laps | |||
| 13 | 76 | +2 Laps | |||
| 14 | 76 | +2 Laps | |||
| 15 | 76 | +2 Laps | |||
| 16 | 76 | +2 Laps | |||
| 17 | 76 | +2 Laps | |||
| 18 | 75 | +3 Laps | |||
| DNF | 36 | ||||
| DNF | 7 |
| 1 | O. Piastri | 161 |  | |
| 2 | L. Norris | 158 | -3 | |
| 3 | M. Verstappen | 136 | -25 | |
| 4 | G. Russell | 99 | -62 | |
| 5 | C. Leclerc | 79 | -82 | |
| 1 | McLaren | 319 | | |
| 2 | Mercedes | 147 | -172 | |
| 3 | Red Bull | 143 | -176 | |
| 4 | Ferrari | 142 | -177 | |
| 5 | Williams | 54 | -265 | |
