Lando Norris clinched his maiden victory in the 2025 Monaco GP after conquering the challenges of the Monte Carlo Street circuit. The victory means that Britain has narrowed the lead of the World Championship heading into the next leg in Spain. The race, which hoped to reshape itself with a mandatory two-stop, ended up being the same old but in a different style.
Norris’s win had excellent precision, fending off Charles Leclerc in 2nd and Oscar Piastri in 3rd. They were followed by Max Verstappen in 4th and Lewis Hamilton completing the top 5. However, the 78 laps saw no on-track overtake, and drivers gained or lost places due to driver retirements or pit stops. Lets look into the winners and losers of the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix
Winners of the 2025 Monaco GP
1. Lando Norris
Lando Norris has had an average season, as per what everyone thought. The 2025 Monaco GP was one of his most convincing weekends this season. He delivered an excellent lap in qualifying and avoided heading to the escape road at the first corner of the race. However, that was the only major issue he had in the race, and he easily fended off any pressure on him during the race.
2. Ferrari
Ferrari had a solid pace throughout the weekend, and it looked like Leclerc could take the win once again in Monaco. After narrowly missing on pole, he had a smooth drive and claimed second place in the race. The car was competitive with the McLaren and was in contention for a race victory. The track-specific features of the Ferrari allowed them to be competitive, but they might struggle in more conventional tracks.
3. Esteban Ocon
Esteban Ocon has had an up-and-down season so far, and Oliver Bearman looked like the faster of the pair. However, his empathic performance in Monaco qualifying ensured that he finished a comfortable 7th in the race. He was helped by Lawson, but the team and the driver ensured that they capitalized on it and got a good points haul.
4. Racing Bulls
Racing Bulls haven’t implemented the best race strategy in the 2025 season. However, in Monaco the team perfectly played it as per the mandatory 2-stop race. Instead of racing Lewis Hamilton to get the 5th spot, the team used Liam Lawson as a roadblock. This ensured that Hadjar comfortably finished sixth. After Williams mimicked the strategy, even Lawson managed to get a good haul of points, finishing 8th in the race.
Losers of the 2025 Monaco GP
1. F1
The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix was one of the most boring races from last season. To combat this, F1 introduced 2 stops to make things interesting. However, things didn’t go as planned, and it was another boring race. After an interesting start, the race soon turned into a team race, with several drivers creating a roadblock, causing traffic jams. This helped create a space for their teammates to pit while they created a traffic jam, manipulating the race.
2. Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso, as he says, is the unluckiest driver on the grid. After an excellent position in Monaco qualifying, he looked destined to get his first points this season. However, the Mercedes power unit in his car gave out, and he got out of the race. This is the worst start to a season the Spaniard has had since joining the grid.
3. Mercedes
Mercedes looked quite clueless during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. With a bad qualifying session, where neither of their drivers could get into Q3, the race was going to be tough. However, from the get-go, the team didn’t have any strategy to get past its competitors. Eventually, Russell finished 11th and Kimi Antonelli 18th on the track.
4. Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda was doomed to fail after having a poor qualifying session. Like I said in my Monaco Preview, the track will be hard for Tsunoda. It looks like Tsunoda, like his predecessors, cannot get on top of the Red Bull. On Fridays, the Japanese driver looks close to Verstappen, but he fades away as the weekend goes on. To further amplify his misery he finished not only behind Verstappen but also both the Racing Bulls.
5. Pierre Gasly
At the start of the race, expecting points from Alpine was a far cry. After pitting on lap one, people thought this was a golden strategy, but there was no evidence of that. However, Gasly barrelled his car into Tsunoda and headed with a broken suspension straight into the pits. This can turn out to be bad for the Frenchman, and he looks destined for a penalty in the next race.
2025 Monaco GP Final Standings
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
- Alex Albon (Williams)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Ollie Bearman (Haas)
- Franco Colopinto (Alpine)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
- Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
- Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
DNF Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
DNF Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Leave a Reply