Lando Norris won the Monaco Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday. Max Verstappen finished fourth for Red Bull in a strategic game of chess. A gamble on a late red flag didn’t help him.
Verstappen, in the lead, waited a long time to make his mandatory second pit stop, hoping for a red flag in the final phase. Eventually, 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 game from Racing Bulls with sixth place. Esteban Ocon finished a commendable seventh in the Haas. Eighth place went to Liam Lawson, ahead of Williams drivers Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz. Mercedes disappointingly finished outside the points with two cars.
Rule for Two Stops Immediately Applies
It was the first edition with two mandatory pit stops. The strategic consequences were clearly noticeable. It started right after the start. A number of drivers chose to go inside immediately to have at least one stop. No one in the front battle did that.
The new rule had no effect on overtaking opportunities in Monaco. Overtaking again proved almost impossible. There were several teams that took advantage of that.
In particular, Racing Bulls and Williams had the rear car of the two drive 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 who were stuck behind Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz respectively were high. For example, a grumbling George Russell overtook by cutting a chicane, which earned him a time penalty. That cost the Brit about thirty seconds.
Gambling Verstappen Puts Norris Under Pressure
At the front, the new rule had little effect for quite a long time. Norris was clearly the fastest, Leclerc could follow. Everyone made their pit stops, until Verstappen came to drive in front with the only one in the top still having a stop to go.
Red Bull hoped for a safety car or especially a red flag, but it didn’t come. As a result, the Dutchman fell back to fourth place after his inevitable second stop. Norris, held up by Verstappen, withstood the pressure from the urging Leclerc and won his first Monaco Grand Prix.
The next Grand Prix will be held in Spain next weekend.