Monaco - Race

Saturday's qualifying was won by Lando Norris. Despite Charles Leclerc's best attempt, the speed of his Ferrari just couldn't match the McLaren. With overtaking nearly impossible on the tight street circuit, the best way to change position is by choosing the right strategy. This is even more important now that the two-stop rule was introduced in an effort to make the Monaco Grand Prix more interesting for viewers. 

There were many strategies predicted for Sunday's race, so all three types of tires could be seen on track. Leclerc began pushing Norris the second the lights went out. Despite the pressure and the slight lockup he experienced in the first turn, the British driver kept the lead. 

The first incident of the race happened before the end of lap 1. As he was battling with Kimi Antonellin, Gabriel Bortoleto found the wall right by the entrance to the tunnel. A yellow flag waved over the track, and a virtual safety car was deployed. Yuki Tsunoda, Oliver Bearman, and Pierre Gasly used the opportunity to drive to the pits alongside the damaged Bortoleto. They were hoping to get one of the two mandated pit stops out of their way as soon as possible. The VSC ended on lap 4. 

The second incident happened on lap 9, when Gasly's brakes malfunctioned, causing him to hit the back of Tsunoda, lose his front wing, and then cut through the Nouvelle chicane, barely avoiding making contact with his teammate, Franco Colapinto. Gasly managed to make it back to the pits on his own, but most viewers still expected a SC or a VSC to be called in due to the Alpine's front wing still lying on the ground and in the way of other drivers. Surprisingly, the issue was resolved under a yellow flag. 

Isack Hadjar was the first driver from the top 10 who made an appearance in the pits. He did so on lap 15, and the detour pushed him to P8. He didn't stay there for long as both Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon pitted a lap later. While Alonso came out in front of the RB, the Haas did not. Hamilton decided to change his tires at the end of lap 18. He came out of the pits in P5, moving past Alonso and Hadjar, who started the race in front of him. 

Norris decided to change his tires for the first time on lap 19. Piastri followed his lead only a lap later, but Leclerc decided to stay out a while longer, possibly hoping to overcut his McLaren rival. The strategy didn't work quite as Ferrari might have hoped, and, after his appearance in the pits on lap 22, his position didn't change: he was still between Norris and Piastri. Verstappen became the temporary leader until his change of tires on lap 28. Then the order was restored with Norris, Leclerc, and Piastri serving as the top three. 

The race wasn't going too bad for Alonso until lap 38. It was then that smoke began coming out of the back of his Aston Martin. The Spaniard was forced to retire the car, but managed to stop it off track, so no safety car, virtual or otherwise, was needed. 

While the top cars were battling for the lead, many interesting tactical fights broke out in the middle of the pack. Alex Albon completed his two mandatory pit stops quite early, while his teammate, Carlos Sainz, still had two to go. The two were right by each other and quickly swapped places. While Sainz pushed hard to create a gap large enough to pit without losing position, Albon focused on holding back the cars behind them. After Sainz's first stop, the two repeated the pit, allowing him two essentially free tire changes. 

The strategy that worked so well for them was ruining the race of the two Mercedes. Both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell had significant issues in qualifying and began the race behind the two Williams. Due to Albon's deliberately slow pace, they were losing precious time with every lap. Around lap 53, Russell decided that he'd had enough of letting the team dictate his race. He cut through the Nouvelle chicane and overtook Albon off track, all while telling his team that he would serve whatever penalty the race stewards decide to give him. He was handed a drive-through penalty, which he served on lap 55. 

Having rejoined the race, he found himself in front of his teammate, Antonelli, and since neither of the two Mercedes had pitted at that point, they decided to go for the same strategy Williams had used before. Antonelli held up the cars behind them, giving Russell two free pit stops. He then had to change his tires, but with no one to help him, he quickly tumbled down the order. 

At the front, it seemed like everything would come down to the final pits. Piastri pitted for the second time on lap 49. Leclerc and Norris followed his lead on laps 50 and 51, respectively. They came out in the same order they had driven into the pits in, and made up the net podium, despite Verstappen being the de facto race leader. 

Verstappen's only chance of winning the Grand Prix was a red flag coming at just the right time. Instead of changing his tires, he tried to stretch them out as long as he could, bunching up the other condenders in the process. With the Red Bull in his way, Norris couldn't take advantage of the full power of his McLaren, and Leclerc managed to get close enough to put some real pressure on the Brit. For a while, it seemed like the home hero might be able to do the impossible and overtake his rival on track. 

Unfortunately for all Tifosi, on lap 77, Verstappen dove into the pit lane and finally gave Norris the chance to truly spread his wings. His McLaren soared away from Leclerc and straight towards the checkered flag. For the first time in his career, Lando Norris won the Monaco Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc had to settle for a podium on his home soil. 

Order of the grid:

1. Lando Norris

2. Charles Leclerc

3. Oscar Piastri

4. Max Verstappen

5. Lewis Hamilton

6. Isack Hadjar

7. Esteban Ocon

8. Liam Lawson

9. Alex Albon

10. Carlos Sainz

11. George Russell

12. Oliver Bearman

13. Franco Colapinto

14. Gabriel Bortoleto

15. Lance Stroll

16. Nico Hulkenberg

17. Yuki Tsunoda

18. Kimi Antonelli

DNF: Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly