Lando Norris has won the Monaco Grand Prix. After a record-breaking run to pole position on Saturday, the British driver survived a lock-up at turn one, as well as stern pressure from Charles Leclerc in the closing stages of the grand prix, to secure his sixth career victory, his first since the season opener in Australia.
Norris has closed to within three points of championship leader and teammate Oscar Piastri. Who, after qualifying third, held station in the grand prix ahead of Max Verstappen.
Having trailed the McLarens all weekend, Red Bull opted for an alternative strategy. One that saw Verstappen go long for both of his stints, pitting on lap 28 for a fresh set of mediums after failing to overcut Piastri and staying on that set until the penultimate lap.
Much of the pre-race chatter leading up to this year’s Monaco Grand Prix revolved around the decision to mandate a minimum of two pitstops. It may have led to an absorbing first stint as the strategists, pundits and fans alike tried to understand the plethora of possible strategies.
But with the top four finishing in the order they started and much of the change within the top ten only occurring due to Fernando Alonso’s DNF, there’s little denying the claim that mandatory pitstops have not been the answer to F1’s Monaco conundrum.
However, the new rule did lead to some outlandish strategies up and down the grid. In addition to Verstappen holding out for a safety car or red flag until the last possible moment, both Williams and Racing Bulls instructed one of their drivers to deliberately reduce their pace, back those behind them up, and create a buffer in which their teammates could pit without losing track position.
Liam Lawson played the team game for Isack Hadjar’s benefit (the Frenchman ended up an impressive sixth, while Lawson himself managed a career-best finish of eighth) while Alex Albon held up the likes of George Russell to protect Carlos Sainz.
Clearly frustrated with the slow-moving Williams in front of him, Russell cut the Nouvelle Chicane on lap 50, opting to willingly take a penalty in order to gain track position over Albon. However, the resulting drive-through forced Russell back down the order, the Mercedes driver eventually finishing 11th behind the two Williams.
Having incurred a three-place grid penalty for impeding Verstappen in free practice, Lewis Hamilton did well to make his way from seventh to fifth after overcutting Hadjar.
Esteban Ocon had a controlled drive to seventh, while his teammate Ollie Bearman made his way up to 12th after starting last due to a ten-place grid penalty. Franco Colapinto pulled off a similarly impressive recovery drive from 18th to 13th, one place ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto who took the chequered flag despite hitting the barriers at Portier on lap one.
Lance Stroll took 15th ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda. The decision to pit Tsunoda early did not yield results, nor did a near-collision with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
That audacious lap one pass on Bortoleto proved to be the highlight of Kimi Antonelli’s race. Much like his teammate George Russell, Antonelli spent much of the race stuck in the train caused by Albon.
Three laps after Russell cleared Antonelli by cutting the chicane, Antonelli adopted a similar approach. However, the decision to go long on his final set of tyres did not pay dividends and Antonelli ended up as the last classified finisher, three laps down in 18th.
In addition to Norris and Piastri now being separated by a scant three points at the top of the table. Ferrari’s solid showing coupled with Mercedes’ blunders sees the Scuderia close to within a single point of Red Bull in third and five points of Mercedes in second.
With McLaren currently on top in both the driver’s and constructors’ races, the three-way fight for second looks set to intensify as we near the end of this triple header.
