Lando Norris has won the Monaco Grand Prix from pole position. Max Verstappen finished fourth with Red Bull in a strategic chess match. A gamble on a late red flag did not help him.
Verstappen, in the lead, waited a long time for his mandatory second pit stop, hoping for a red flag in the closing stages. Ultimately, he had to make a pit stop anyway.
That gave Norris the space to take the win, ahead of Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari and teammate Oscar Piastri of McLaren. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in the second Ferrari.
Isack Hadjar crowned a fine performance and strategically strong play by Racing Bulls with a sixth place. Esteban Ocon finished a good seventh in the Haas. Eighth place went to Liam Lawson, ahead of Williams drivers Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz. Mercedes ended up outside the points with two cars in a disappointing result.
Rule for Two Stops Immediately Applies
It was the first edition with two mandatory pit stops. The strategic consequences were clearly noticeable. It started immediately after the start, with a number of drivers immediately diving into the pits to have at least one stop out of the way. In the battle at the front, no one did that.
The new rule had no effect on overtaking opportunities in Monaco. That proved almost impossible once again. Several teams took advantage of that.
In particular, Racing Bulls and Williams had the rear car of the two driving extremely slowly to give the front driver a gap for a pit stop. It was strategically well thought out, but the frustrations among the drivers stuck behind Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz respectively were running high. For example, a grumbling George Russell overtook by cutting a chicane, which earned him a drive-through penalty.
Gambling Verstappen Puts Norris Under Pressure from Leclerc.
At the front, the new rule had little decisive effect for quite some time. Norris was clearly the fastest, Leclerc could follow, everyone made their pit stops, until Verstappen came to be in the lead with a stop still to go as the only one in the top. Red Bull hoped for a safety car or especially a red flag, but it did not come, causing him to drop back to fourth place after his inevitable second stop.
The Norris, held up by Verstappen, withstood the pressure from the urging Leclerc and won his first Grand Prix of Monaco.