The 2025 Monaco GP was one of the most hotly anticipated in recent years. With the field as tight as it is, qualifying of paramount importance and the twist in the tail of the mandatory two pit stops, Formula 1’s ultimate test of endurance looked set to be one of the most intriguing in years. Could Leclerc repeat history and become the first Monegasque to win multiple times in Monaco? Would McLaren claim victory for the first time in over a decade? Could anyone else upset the order? In the end, things unfortunately fizzled out rather unspectacularly. Unless you’re McLaren that is.
Here’s how it all unfolded.
The Chronicle Headlines
- Charles Leclerc dominated all three practice sessions ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.
- Lando Norris struck back for McLaren by snatching Pole Position from the Monegasque in Saturday’s Qualifying Session.
- Mercedes had a woeful time in Qualifying. Kimi Antonelli crashed out at the Nouvelle Chicane and George Russell’s Mercedes died in the Tunnel.
- Lando Norris drove to victory in the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix around the iconic streets of Monte Carlo.
- Charles Leclerc finished close behind in second with Oscar Piastri completing the podium in third.
- The mandatory two pit stop rule switched things up in Monaco. But it was ultimately seen as a failure by many in and out of the sport.
Practice – New Hope for Charles Leclerc
Coming into his home race weekend, Charles Leclerc was adamant that Ferrari wouldn’t be able to perform well around Monaco. Their car doesn’t suit low speed corners and the streets around Monte Carlo are full of them. It was somewhat surprising then, as well as typically Ferrari, for Leclerc to then proceed to top the timing sheets in all three practice sessions.
This was made even more impressive in FP1 as he collided with the rear end of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin. The Canadian jittered back suddenly onto the racing line as Leclerc was coming out of Mirabeau towards the Grand Hotel Hairpin. With nowhere to go, Leclerc crashed into the back of him. Stroll would be given a one place grid penalty for Sunday’s race as a result of this.
Lewis Hamilton took avoiding action in FP2 on the exit of the swimming pool chicane and went airborne. Oscar Piastri went into the barriers at Saint Devote and Isack Hadjar nicked his rear left tyre coming out of the Tunnel.
Behind Leclerc on the timing pages throughout these sessions were the constant names of Verstappen, Piastri, Norris and Hamilton. It’s also worth noting that the Williams of Alex Albon, the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and both Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar were also consistently within touching distance of the lead Ferrari. By the time that FP3 came to end, things were shaping up rather nicely for Qualifying.
Qualifying – McLaren Strikes Back
Qualifying is critical in Monaco. With Ferrari and Charles Leclerc on such a dominant run, could anyone stop them from taking a fourth straight session? In a word, yes.
In the final moments of Q3, the McLaren of Lando Norris was able to pull out a time of 1:09.954,. This would put him just ahead of Leclerc in second. Oscar Piastri would round out the top three. The order of the top ten would be rejigged slightly post qualifying though. Lewis Hamilton received a three place penalty for impeding Max Verstappen in Q3. The incident came up near Casino due to an error in Ferrari communicating to the seven time World Champion where the Red Bull driver was. Hamilton would therefore start Sunday’s Grand Prix from P7. Ahead of him was the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso after an incredibly strong performance from the Spaniard. Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen separated him from Piastri in third.
Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson and Alex Albon rounded out the top ten.
The Rest of the Grid
Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda narrowly missed out on Q3. They would have to settle for sharing the sixth row of the grid. Things were worse behind them however for Mercedes. Kimi Antonelli crashed out at the Nouvelle Chicane and George Russell’s Mercedes died in the Tunnel. This marks the second time in as many weekends that Mercedes have had a significant issue with the car that has led them to retire from a weekend session.
Oliver Bearman received a ten place grid penalty for overtaking under red flag conditions in FP2. He lined up in P20 for the Grand Prix. Both Alpine’s also made an early exit from qualifying. This was somewhat surprising in the case of Pierre Gasly who has been running decently so far in 2025.
The Grand Prix – Lando Norris Returns to Winning Ways
Lando Norris won the Monaco Grand Prix for McLaren, his first win since the start of the season in Australia. While the British driver didn’t lead from lights to the flag, the victory was never really in doubt. Much like in Melbourne, Norris didn’t put a foot wrong over the course of the Grand Prix. He was able to keep both Leclerc and Piastri behind him in the closing stages of the race, despite the pressure put on him by both. Piastri meanwhile finished in third after an anonymous race and still leads the Championship by three points.
Ferrari & Verstappen – Best of the Rest
Charles Leclerc had to settle for second place at his home Grand Prix. The Monegasque put pressure onto the McLaren ahead, closing the gap to under half a second at points, but simply couldn’t get past him. Lewis Hamilton recovered to fifth after starting from seventh. The pit stop strategy and the British driver’s pace combined neatly to let him move past Isack Hadjar to achieve this.
Max Verstappen was able to finish in fourth, despite leading until the penultimate lap. The lack of any incidents meant that the Dutch driver had to pit for his second of the two mandatory stops or risk being disqualified. Tsunoda finished down in seventeenth.
Teamwork makes the Dream Work
Racing Bulls had a brilliant weekend with Hadjar in sixth and Lawson in eighth – the New Zealander scoring his points of 2025. The duo worked together really well during the race with Lawson holding up much of the field to Hadjar to solidify his position further up the grid.
Albon and Sainz also worked well together for Williams. Despite James Vowles stating that this (the impacts of the mandatory two pit stop strategy) wasn’t how he wanted to go racing, the Grove outfit made it work for them. P9 for Albon and P10 for Sainz at the end of the Grand Prix added some very welcome points to their already impressive tally in 2025.
Esteban Ocon qualified in seventh and finished in seventh. Barely seen on the race coverage, the French driver won’t mind at all as he was able to bring home a nice haul of points for Haas.
Mercedes’ Woes Continue
Following a disastrous qualifying, things went from bad to worse for the Silver Arrows. Frustrated by the slow (and arguably dangerous) driving from both Williams drivers, Russell appeared to deliberately cut the Nouvelle Chicane.
“I’ll take the penalty.” – George Russell
After stating on team radio that he’d rather be penalised than be stuck behind Albon and give the place back that he’d gained on the Thai driver, the stewards willingly obliged and penalised him. Russell was handed a drive through penalty for his antics. But given the principal of Grand Prix racing that he was attempting to highlight, it’s doubtful that the Mercedes driver cared much about this.
Russell would finish the race in eleventh. Antonelli, hoping for a late safety car, pitted close to the end and crossed the line in eighteenth.
Stuck in a Train
For everyone else, much of the Grand Prix was spent stuck in a DRS train that never seemed to end. As soon as drivers would be able to get within true striking distance of one another, the leaders would arrive to lap them and subsequently force them to move out of the way thanks to the blue flag rule.
Everyone barring the top five runners of the Grand Prix were lapped at least once over the course of the 2025 Monaco GP.
2025 Monaco GP – Ambitious or Rubbish?
The Monaco Grand Prix always has been one of the ultimate tests for racing drivers. There’s a reason that it forms one third of the triple crown. For fans, it may not consistently be the most exciting Grand Prix to watch; but there are ways to pivot around the traditional lens through which to enjoy this fabled race. Watching each driver take on the streets of Monte Carlo has its own unique sense of satisfaction. However, in a bid to course-correct from 2024’s less than action packed race, has Formula 1 gone too far in the other direction on this occasion?
The teams, the drivers, the commentators and the fans were all intrigued to see what kind of an impact the mandatory two stop strategy would have on the race. Ultimately though, all seemed disappointed and it, somehow, made the Grand Prix worse. McLaren and Lando Norris won’t mind as much as the rest of us though. Their win makes it their first at Monaco since Lewis Hamilton won for them back in 2008.
Can McLaren repeat that feat next time out for the Spanish Grand Prix? If they do, it’ll be McLaren’s first win at Catalunya since Kimi Räikkönen in 2005. *
Formula 1 returns 30th May for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Feature Image: McLaren Media Centre