Following the opening race in Melbourne, Lando Norris secured his second victory of the season on Sunday in Monaco. He achieved this from pole position in a strategic chess match, a direct result of the new rule requiring two mandatory pit stops. Behind Norris, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) finished second and World Championship leader Oscar Piastri third. Max Verstappen had to settle for fourth place in the principality. The race proceeded without major incidents.
Here is a bird’s-eye view of the Monaco GP:
ROUND 1/78: Lando Norris maintains the lead from pole position into the first corner (with locking brakes) and is immediately under heavy pressure from Charles Leclerc. Behind them, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen have a slight contact, but it remains without consequences. Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto hits the wall. The car can continue, but the stewards decide on a virtual safety car. Tsunoda, Gasly, Bearman, and Bortoleto immediately head in for the first of two mandatory pit stops. The poker game has begun…
9/78: The yellow flag appears following a crash by Pierre Gasly, who clumsily rear-ends Yuki Tsunoda when exiting the tunnel. The Frenchman drives with a damaged car to the pit lane, where he then stops in front of the Williams box. The stewards decide on a temporary closure of the pit lane.
19/78: Lewis Hamilton is the first driver from the top teams to go in and has clear air on his return to the track, in P5, well behind Max Verstappen. A lap later, Norris also comes in for the first time. Meanwhile, someone like Hadjar has already been in for the second mandatory stop. He returns to the track in eighth place. Points are in sight!
Verstappen’s Late Pit Stop
28/78: Max Verstappen comes in and swaps his hard tires for mediums. He returns to the track behind Piastri and several backmarkers, but ahead of Hamilton. Norris leads the race, with a comfortable margin of five seconds over Leclerc.
Grand Prix Updates
38/78: Fernando Alonso is forced to park his Aston Martin vehicle, powered by a Mercedes engine, due to engine problems. Midway through the race, Norris leads, followed by Leclerc, Piastri, Max Verstappen, Hamilton, and the surprising Hadjar, who is the only one of the top six to have already made two pit stops.
44/78: The new rule of two mandatory pit stops leads to clever strategic discoveries among the smaller teams. For instance, Carlos Sainz, representing Williams, leads a train of cars for several laps to allow his teammate Alexander Albon a free pit stop. Later, the roles are reversed when Albon, after his pit stop, lets Sainz pass to then set the pace himself. This way, Sainz also gets a free stop.
Penalty for George Russell
50/78: Russell deliberately cuts the chicane to overtake Alexander Albon, who is setting the pace. Russell refuses to give back the gained position and decides to accept a five-second penalty. However, the stewards later impose a drive-through penalty on him, causing the Mercedes driver to lose much more time.
57/78: Lewis Hamilton makes his second stop from P5 and returns to the track in fifth place. The current situation is as follows: Verstappen leads (with one stop to his name), followed by Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, and Hamilton, each with two stops.
71/78: Max Verstappen waits – despite worn tires – as long as possible with the mandatory second pit stop, hoping for an event (a red flag, for example) that could suddenly win him the race. Behind Verstappen, Norris, under pressure from Leclerc, is getting nervous…
Final Race Results
78/78: A smile breaks through on Lando Norris. The Brit secures his sixth GP victory in the narrow streets of Monaco. Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri finish second and third, respectively. Max Verstappen, who waited a long time for his second stop, finally makes it in the last lap. He is eventually classified fourth.
Top-10: Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Hamilton, Hadjar, Ocon, Lawson, Albon, Sainz.
