New Delhi: Lando Norris takes home the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix, with McLaren’s second driver Oscar Piastri finishing third, ahead of Charles Leclerc maintained his second spot in the podium finish. The race was mostly seeing a centre stage to the new rule where each driver needs to pit twice during the race.
This time around, the rule did generate conversation points in the field after the 2024 Monaco race ended in a red flag just one lap into the race. Max Verstappen, who finished in fourth place, stopped for the last time far out of sync with the other leaders, with some teams using the strategy that allowed one driver to assist their teammate by slowing down opponents behind.
“P1 baby!”#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/MhFiv8I1CV
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 25, 2025
Lando Norris sustains despite early pressure
Despite early pressure from Ferrari driver Leclerc at the first turn itself, when Norris locked up and skidded into what was still one of the most tense moments of the race, the Briton managed to keep his pole start. After Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto struck the barriers, an early virtual safety car period was triggered, which meant the backmarkers stopped much earlier in order to serve the new rule.
The leaders all used the tires in different ways throughout the early stages of the race, with Norris and Leclerc subsequently managing to increase the gap from both Piastri and Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton who had received a two-place penalty, managed to clinch fifth place in the grid as well.
It was another forgettable Monaco afternoon for the two Mercedes, with both teams failing to proceed to Q3 during qualifiers. Even though the teammates were sprinting close to one another, Mercedes stayed out far past the halfway point. Mercedes was the final team to pit, so it was a somewhat surprising action. The weekend’s biggest black mark, however, was when Russell got caught behind Albon, who was reducing the speed of the grid behind him so that Sainz could make a clean pit stop.
Although driving more slowly during a race is permitted, Russell’s manoeuvre to pass the Williams driver was against the law. Which meant Russell had to serve a drive-through penalty, driving in the pits at pit speed, without pitting, and he ultimately finished 11th while his teammate Kimi Antonelli finished 18th.
It was a consecutive “poor luck” for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who failed to finish his race yet again due to a technical error, despite starting on Sunday in seventh place. For both Williams and Racing Bulls, though, it was their teamwork that proved to be the game changer. All four drivers finished in points.
Driver of the Day
Without a question, Lando Norris deserved his much-desired win at the Monaco race. While yesterday he had shown some reservations against the mandatory two-stop, he appeared to be in full control at the front of the pack. While there were some nerves shown from him during the closing stages, Norris, with the win, closes the gap for the Driver’s Championship with fellow teammate Oscar Piastri by just three points.
For McLaren the win meand they are ahead by 172 points from the Mercedes. In a season where Piastri has risen from the shadows and dominated on quite a few occasions, Norris took home his second win of the season. Taking seven podium finishes speaks volumes about the Papaya driver.
Lando Norris takes home win in a manic two-pitstop mandatory race, closing gap to the top of the Driver’s Championship to just three points behind teammate Oscar Piastri. Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
