Formula One - Monaco Grand Prix - Two-stop chaos sees return of the 'Alonso train' around the streets of Monte-Carlo!

With a mandated two-stop strategy, the streets of Monaco deliver just a single overtake, while the top six take the chequered flag in the same order as the starting grid!

Contributions by Olly Shakesby and Charlie Thornton

QUALIFYING

Qualifying one was typical of a first qualifying session at Monaco, with the new C6 soft tyre in the Pirelli range the optimal tyre for the session, meaning that all twenty cars were crawling around the legendary streets of Monte-Carlo on their out laps. Inevitably, plenty of impeding occurred, specifically between Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly in turn ten, as the Canadian driver pulled across the track in-front of Gasly into the braking zone for the Nouvelle chicane, forcing the Frenchman to take avoiding action. Qualifying one also saw Lewis Hamilton being noted for impeding Max Verstappen in Massenet, and the final moments of the session saw many drivers improve before a red flag was thrown as Andrea Kimi Antonelli crashed at the Nouvelle Chicane, bringing the session to a close as it would not be resumed.

Out in Q1: Bortoleto, Bearman, Gasly, Stroll, Colapinto

Photo: Sam Bioxham

Qualifying two got off to a rough start for Mercedes, with just a single car in the session due to Antonelli’s crash in the opening qualifying session. George Russell was struggling with power while running through the tunnel, and eventually came grounding to a halt with an apparent engine issue, which caused another red flag to fly.

Out in Q2: Sainz, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg, Russell, Antonelli

The McLarens looked strong throughout the third qualifying session, with Norris and Piastri provisionally first and second with just a few minutes remaining. Charles Leclerc showed good pace throughout the laps, securing a fastest second sector, and snatching pole position from Norris momentarily, just before Lando Norris beat the Monegasque by 0.109 in the end, to claim the revered Monaco pole position.

Top 10: Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Hamilton, Verstappen, Hadjar, Alonso, Ocon, Lawson, Albon

RACE

Lando Norris got off the line with an electric start, but had a major lockup into turn one, narrowly avoiding disaster and managed to get through the corner cleanly, while retaining his lead of the race in the early stages. Trouble quickly followed for Gabriel Bortoleto, who hit the tyre barrier at Portier, after being forced wide by Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Remarkably, the young rookie reversed out of the barriers, and got going again, avoiding an early retirement. The incident, however, triggered a Virtual Safety Car, giving teams a strategic window in order to complete at least one of their mandatory pit stops. Yuki Tsunoda, Oliver Bearman and Pierre Gasly all dove into the pits at the end of the opening lap, although Bearman’s stop was notably long, costing him track position early on.

Photo: Andy Hone

By lap nine, disaster struck for Pierre Gasly, who pitted at the end of lap one. Gasly reported brake issues, and found himself making contact with Yuki Tsunoda in front just before the Nouvelle Chicane. He managed to keep his Alpine out of the barriers, and tried to get the car back to the pits despite only having three functional wheels, in order to avoid stopping on track. His race, however, was over.

The strategic display began by lap seventeen, when Fernando Alonso pitted from fifth position, triggering a cascade of pit stops in the midfield. Esteban Ocon followed him shortly after, while Lewis Hamilton was next on lap nineteen, relinquishing fifth position as he tried to undercut his rivals. Lando Norris, who was still leading the race, pitted on lap twenty, temporarily ceding control, but Piastri followed just a lap later, though his stop was slow and cost him vital time. The leader at this moment, Charles Leclerc, made his first and exceptionally efficient stop of just two seconds on lap twenty-three.

Photo: Zak Mauger

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had been running an alternate strategy, finally pitted on lap twenty-nine, handing the net lead back to Norris once all pit cycles balanced out. Alexander Albon, who was gambling on a long first stint, waited until lap thirty-seven to make his first stop of the race. Drama unfolded just a lap later when Fernando Alonso’s car came to a halt with suspected engine failure, which forced him to retire after pulling off track at La Rascasse, blowing any hopes of Aston Martin scoring any points. The midfield battle once again intensified, with Liam Lawson and Albon pitting on lap forty-two from eighth and ninth place respectively, as the strategies began to differ.

Between lap forty-nine and fifty-one, a flurry of second stops happened with all of the top three coming in for fresh rubber. This second round of pit stops for the leading cars set the tone for the end of the race, meanwhile George Russell was given a drive through penalty on lap fifty-four for skipping the Nouvelle Chicane, a costly mistake that dropped the Brit out of contention. Carlos Sainz, running a more conservative race, pitted on lap fifty-five from ninth. 

Photo: Glenn Dunbar

By lap sixty-six, the two Williams drivers, Albon and Sainz, swapped positions, a tactical decision that hinted at a shift in pace or tyre performance. Tsunoda took on fresh tyres with just a couple laps to go, but then in a shocking twist of events, on lap seventy-eight, Max Verstappen, who had regained the lead, pitted for his second stop, giving up the top spot to Norris in the dying moments. Leclerc and Piastri were immediately behind, but Norris held firm.

Lando Norris crossed the finish line to win the Monaco Grand Prix, his sixth career victory, and his first on the historic streets of Monte Carlo. Charles Leclerc, once again was denied a home win, and came home in second, while championship leader Oscar Piastri completed the podium. Further down the field, Isack Hadjar secured an impressive sixth position, followed by Esteban Ocon in seventh, and Liam Lawson in eighth. Williams filled ninth and tenth, while neither of the Mercedes managed to score any points in Monaco.

BARCELONA AWAITS

Formula One heads to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya next week, where McLaren will hope to continue their domination in the 2025 season.

Lando Norris’ victory in the streets of Monte-Carlo saw him close the title gap to just three points from his teammate Oscar Piastri with 161 points, meanwhile Norris achieved a twenty-two point difference from Max Verstappen in third. McLaren sit on 319 points, and extend their advantage to Mercedes to 172 points, meanwhile the battle for second, third and fourth in the constructors championship sits between Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari, who are separated by just five points in total.