| 2025 Monaco Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 8 of 24 in the2025 Formula One World Championship
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 Layout of the Circuit de Monte Carlo, Monaco | |||||
| Race details[1] | |||||
| Date | 25 May 2025 | ||||
| Official name | Formula 1 TAG HeuerGrand Prix de Monaco 2025 | ||||
| Location | Circuit de Monaco La Condamine andMonte Carlo,Monaco | ||||
| Course | Street circuit | ||||
| Course length | 3.337 km (2.074 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 78 laps, 260.286 km (161.772 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Sunny | ||||
| Attendance | 250,000[2] | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:09.954 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:13.221 on lap 78 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Ferrari | ||||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2025 Monaco Grand Prix (officially known as theFormula 1 TAG Heuer Grand Prix de Monaco 2025) was aFormula One motor race held on 25 May 2025, at theCircuit de Monaco inMonaco. It was the eighth round of the2025 Formula One World Championship.Lando Norris ofMcLaren took pole position for the race, which he went on to win, his second of the season, withCharles Leclerc ofFerrari second and Norris's teammateOscar Piastri third. This was the first McLaren race victory at Monaco since2008.
The event was held at theCircuit de Monaco inMonaco for the 82nd time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 23–25 May.[3] The Grand Prix was the eighth round of the2025 Formula One World Championship and the 71st running of theMonaco Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.[4]
Going into the weekend,Oscar Piastri led theDrivers' Championship with 146 points, 13 points ahead of his teammateLando Norris in second, and 22 ahead ofMax Verstappen in third.McLaren, with 279 points, led theConstructors' Championship fromMercedes andRed Bull Racing, who were second and third with 147 and 131 points, respectively.[5]
The drivers and teams were the same as published in the season entry list with two exceptions;[6]Yuki Tsunoda atRed Bull Racing was in the seat originally held byLiam Lawson before the latter was demoted back toRacing Bulls from theJapanese Grand Prix onward,[7] andFranco Colapinto replacedJack Doohan atAlpine from the precedingEmilia Romagna Grand Prix onward until at least theAustrian Grand Prix on a rotating seat basis.[8]
Tyre supplierPirelli brought the C4, C5, and C6 tyre compounds—the softest three in their range (designated hard, medium, and soft, respectively)—for teams to use at the event.[9]
With the aim of promoting better racing, there was an increase in the number of mandatory pit stops for the event. The Grand Prix saw the implementation of a minimum two-stop strategy, in both wet and dry conditions. The teams were also mandated to use at least three sets of tyres in the race, with a minimum of two different tyre compounds if it was a dry race.[10]
Threefree practice sessions were held for the event.[1] The first free practice session was held on 23 May 2025, at 13:30 local time (UTC+2), and was topped byCharles Leclerc ofFerrari ahead ofMax Verstappen ofRed Bull Racing andLando Norris ofMcLaren. A red flag was observed after Leclerc hitAston Martin driverLance Stroll at turn 6.[11] The second free practice was held on the same day, at 17:00 local time, and was topped by Leclerc followed byOscar Piastri of McLaren and Leclerc's teammateLewis Hamilton. Two red flags occurred due to crashes ofIsack Hadjar ofRacing Bulls and Piastri.[12]
The third free practice was held on 24 May 2025, at 12:30 local time, and was topped by Leclerc ahead of Verstappen and Norris. The session was red-flagged in the closing stages due to Hamilton crashing at turn 4, ripping off hisFerrari's front-right tyre.[13]
Qualifying was held on 24 May 2025, at 16:00 local time (UTC+2), and determined the starting grid order for the race.[1]
Two red flags were observed throughout qualifying. The first was at the end of the opening segment of qualifying (Q1) due toKimi Antonelli ofMercedes crashing at theNouvelle Chicane, damaging his front-left suspension.Gabriel Bortoleto,Oliver Bearman,Pierre Gasly,Lance Stroll, andFranco Colapinto were eliminated in Q1. The time Antonelli set was enough to make it to the second segment of qualifying (Q2), but he did not run any laps. The second red flag was observed in Q2 after Antonelli's teammateGeorge Russell suffered a battery failure and stopped in the tunnel.Carlos Sainz Jr.,Yuki Tsunoda,Nico Hulkenberg, Russell, and Antonelli were eliminated in Q2.McLaren’sLando Norris set the fastest ever recorded lap at theMonaco Grand Prix with a time of 1:09.954 to takepole position.[14]
Notes
The race was held on 25 May 2025, at 15:00 local time (UTC+2), and ran for 78 laps.[1]
Lando Norris ofMcLaren got a slightly poorer start than his front row rivalCharles Leclerc ofFerrari, who momentarily challenged him for the lead into the openingSainte Devote turn. However, Norris was able to hold the inside line and maintain his lead. Fighting for fifteenth place,Gabriel Bortoleto ofSauber overtookKimi Antonelli ofMercedes around the outside of theFairmont Hairpin, which Antonelli attempted to respond to by diving up the inside at thePortier turn. Bortoleto, already committed to the corner, was unable to avoid hitting the barrier and, whilst able to reverse back onto the track, lost his front wing and dropped to last in the race. Thevirtual safety car (VSC) was deployed to allow marshals to clear the debris from this incident. Before the race, there had been speculation as to whether the cars at the back of the grid might take one of their two mandatory pit stops on the first lap in order to give themselves clean air.Yuki Tsunoda ofRed Bull Racing,Pierre Gasly ofAlpine,Oliver Bearman ofHaas and Bortoleto did just that, with the time lost compared to other cars being lessened due to the VSC being deployed at the time.[21][22]
On lap 9 Gasly, who was running in 18th position, misjudged his braking for theNouvelle Chicane and drove into the rear of Tsunoda. Gasly's front-left wheel was dislodged by the impact, ending his race, however he was able to drive back to the pit lane and therefore the debris could be cleared under double-wavedyellow flags. As they passed through the yellow flag area, fourth-placedMax Verstappen of Red Bull closed up the rear of McLaren'sOscar Piastri but was unable to pass, complaining over team radio that Piastri "would have taken my front wing off". At the end of lap 14Isack Hadjar ofRacing Bulls, who had been running in sixth position, became the first driver to pit from the top ten but was able to return to the track in eighth thanks to the efforts of his teammateLiam Lawson; Lawson had deliberately slowed down the cars behind in order to give Hadjar the gap necessary to pit and remain in front. The cars behind Lawson had been unable to overtake him, due to the narrow and twisting nature of theCircuit de Monaco. These inter-team tactics would end up being used extensively throughout the Grand Prix. On lap 18Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari made his first stop and was able toovercut both Hadjar andFernando Alonso ofAston Martin, moving him from a net seventh to fifth position.[21][22]
On lap 19, race leader Norris made his first pit stop without incident, switching from mediums to hards. Hadjar made his second pit stop just five laps after his first, and was able to again rejoin ahead of Lawson and the group of cars that were being slowed down behind him. This meant that Hadjar had completed both his mandatory pit stops whilst remaining ahead of cars whom had not yet made either of theirs. On lap 28 race leader Verstappen, who had being running long with the hope of making an overcut on Piastri, made his first pit stop and rejoined in fourth, the same position he had been in before the pit stop phase of the race. On lap 37 Alonso, running in sixth with one stop left to make, suffered an engine failure which ended his hopes for a first points finish of the season. Alonso was able to pull off through a gap in the barriers, thus no safety car intervention was necessary. 10th-placedCarlos Sainz Jr. was using the same tactics seen earlier from Lawson to help hisWilliams teammateAlexander Albon. This frustrated the chasingGeorge Russell of Mercedes to the point where on lap 50 Russell passed Albon by cutting theNouvelle Chicane, ostensibly due to Albon's "erratic driving". Russell refused to return the position, stating over radio that he would rather take a penalty then remain stuck behind the Williams. In response to this radio, the stewards imposed a harsher than usualdrive-through penalty for the illegal overtake.[23][a]
At the same time, Norris made his second and final pit stop; this left him behind Verstappen, who still had one stop left to make. Verstappen decided to delay his pit stop as much as possible in the hope that a safety car orred flag might be deployed, which would possibly allow him to make his stop and remain in the lead. Norris, on fresh tyres, quickly caught Verstappen but was unable to pass, leading to him being caught by Leclerc and Piastri. Despite the gap to Leclerc reaching as little as half a second, Norris held his lead over the Ferrari, and when Verstappen finally pitted on lap 77, Norris retook the race lead. Norris then set the fastest lap on the final lap, winning his firstMonaco Grand Prix and sixth Grand Prix overall by three seconds. Leclerc and Piastri completed the podium whilst both Racing Bulls drivers took their then-best results in a Grand Prix, with Hadjar in sixth and Lawson in eighth respectively – the latter scoring his first points of the season.[21][22]
Due to theCircuit de Monaco twisty layout, lack of straights and narrow nature, there was only one overtake,[24] and zero inside the top 10,[b] withMercedes calculating a car needed a 4.5-second pace advantage over the car in front to have even a 50–50 chance at an overtake. One of the two on-track "passes" occurred courtesy of Mercedes'sGeorge Russell's intentionally cutting theNouvelle Chicane for which he received a drive-through penalty.[26] Several teams, includingWilliams,Racing Bulls, and Mercedes, gamed the new rule mandating a second pit stop by ordering one driver to hold up the rest of the field so that the other driver ahead of them could race in free air and pit without losing track position.[26][27]Max Verstappen ofRed Bull Racing also attempted to take advantage of the two-stop rule by staying out on old tyres and gambling for a pit stop under safety car or red flag conditions, where he would have lost less time relative to his rivals. He took the lead after polesitterLando Norris ofMcLaren took his second pit stop, but no free pit stop materialised and Verstappen was forced to pit at the end of the race, dropping him to fourth.[28]
Several drivers criticised the Grand Prix following the race. Williams'sCarlos Sainz Jr. andAlexander Albon admitted that while they understood they needed to (legally) block other drivers for tactical reasons, they did not like it. Sainz warned that should there be no further rule changes, the tactic of blocking other drivers would increase in Monaco in future years.[27] Race winnerLando Norris added that the FIA's two-pit-stop rule had made the race more luck-based but not more competitive.[29] On a more humorous note, Verstappen suggested that the organisers would needMario Kart-style gimmicks to make Monaco more interesting,[28] and Russell revivedBernie Ecclestone's idea of using sprinklers to add artificial hazards to the circuit.[26]
Various team principals also commented on the lack of action on race day. Red Bull'sChristian Horner said that the two-pit-stop rule made the race more dramatic but was not a material change.[24][29] He asked the organisers to modify the circuit to permit organic overtakes.[29] McLaren'sAndrea Stella agreed that the two-stop rule did not work but was unsure whether or how the track could be meaningfully modified. Mercedes'sToto Wolff suggested a minimum lap time so that teams could not drive intentionally slowly.[29]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 78 | 1:40:33.843 | 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 16 |  Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 78 | +3.131 | 2 | 18 |
| 3 | 81 |  Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 78 | +3.658 | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 1 |  Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 78 | +20.572 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 78 | +51.387 | 7 | 10 |
| 6 | 6 |  Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 77 | +1 lap | 5 | 8 |
| 7 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | 77 | +1 lap | 8 | 6 |
| 8 | 30 |  Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 77 | +1 lap | 9 | 4 |
| 9 | 23 |  Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 76 | +2 laps | 10 | 2 |
| 10 | 55 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. | Williams-Mercedes | 76 | +2 laps | 11 | 1 |
| 11 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 76 | +2 laps | 14 | |
| 12 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | 76 | +2 laps | 20 | |
| 13 | 43 |  Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Renault | 76 | +2 laps | 18 | |
| 14 | 5 |  Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 76 | +2 laps | 16 | |
| 15 | 18 |  Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 76 | +2 laps | 19 | |
| 16 | 27 |  Nico Hülkenberg | Kick Sauber-Ferrari | 76 | +2 laps | 13 | |
| 17 | 22 |  Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 76 | +2 laps | 12 | |
| 18 | 12 |  Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 75 | +3 laps | 15 | |
| Ret | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco-Mercedes | 36 | Engine | 6 | |
| Ret | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 7 | Collision | 17 | |
| Source:[16][30][31] | |||||||
Following his first win since theseason opener in Melbourne, Norris was able to reduce the gap over Piastri to three points, withMax Verstappen a further 22 points behind in third. The result also meant that McLaren amassed a total of 319 points in the Constructors' Championship, having scored more points than their closest rivalsMercedes andRed Bull combined across the opening eight rounds. After a strong weekend,Ferrari remained in fourth with 142 points, however, they closed the gap to second-placed Mercedes to only five points.
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| Previous race: 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2025 season | Next race: 2025 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2024 Monaco Grand Prix | Monaco Grand Prix | Next race: 2026 Monaco Grand Prix |
