McLaren's Lando Norris took victory in Sunday's Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix to close to within three points of teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri.
For the first time in F1 history, all drivers were required to make two pit stops – a rule introduced to address Monaco's notoriously processional nature.
However, Norris successfully navigated the potential jeopardy to convert his pole position into victory, despite coming under late pressure behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who was yet to pit and had backed Norris up into the chasing Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
"It feels amazing. A long, gruelling race, but good fun. We could push for much of the race. The last quarter was stressful with Leclerc behind and Max ahead, but we won in Monaco," said Norris afterwards.
"This is what I dreamed of when I was a kid, so I achieved one of my dreams.
"The worst bit was the end. I felt quite under control the whole race, but Max was backing it up a little bit and I knew Charles had opportunities.
"I tried to back off Max so I could push when I needed to. I'm very happy, my team are very happy. We're going to have a wonderful night!"
Behind Norris, last year's winner Leclerc had to settle for second at his home race, with Piastri rounding out the top three on a weekend where he was overshadowed by Norris.
Verstappen had led until the penultimate lap, clearly hoping for a late red flag or Safety Car that would allow him to make his second stop without losing track position.
But with no such intervention materializing, the Dutchman was forced to pit late and ultimately finished fourth, ahead of Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton, who rose from seventh on the grid.
The two-stop mandate for this year's Monaco Grand Prix followed heavy criticism of the 2024 edition, where a first-lap red flag allowed drivers to change tires without losing track position, resulting in a dull race where the top ten finished in their starting order.
Strategy dominated this year's event, with teams experimenting with varying pit windows to gain track position and deploying teammates to back up the pack, creating space for lead drivers to pit without relinquishing position.
Racing Bulls executed such a move to perfection, allowing Isack Hadjar to finish sixth and Liam Lawson eighth, with Esteban Ocon also taking valuable points for Haas with a strong seventh place.
Williams also deployed similar gamesmanship to see Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz round out the points positions in ninth and tenth.
The difficulty of passing at the tight Monaco circuit was emphasized by the fact that no on-track overtakes were made during the course of the race – a state of affairs that is likely to raise further questions about Monaco's suitability for modern F1 racing.
Following the race, Piastri still leads the Drivers' Championship with 161 points, but Norris has closed to within three points of the Australian, with Verstappen third on 136 points.
In the Constructors' standings, McLaren extend its lead and now has 319 points, a long way clear of Mercedes on 147 and Red Bull on 143 points.
The ninth round of the 2025 F1 season is next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
- Lando Norris
- Monaco GP
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
