F1: Lando Norris relishes dream Monaco win as driver’s championship intensifies
McLaren’s Lando Norris clinched a dream victory on the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, Might 25, changing pole place into his second win of the season and slicing Oscar Piastri’s Components One championship lead down to only three factors.
The streets of Monte Carlo provided little when it comes to overtaking, however that didn’t cease Norris from delivering a commanding efficiency. The British driver held off stress from teammate Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to take McLaren’s first Monaco win since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
“That is what I dreamed of once I was a child. I’ve achieved considered one of my goals,” stated Norris, after main all however 4 automobiles and navigating a processional race with two necessary pit stops.
Leclerc completed second in his residence race, adopted by Piastri in third and Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen in fourth — all 4 drivers crossing the road in the identical order they began.
Whereas the brand new two-stop rule added a layer of technique, it did not shake up the same old Monaco order. Verstappen delayed his last cease till the penultimate lap in hopes of a security automotive that by no means arrived.
“Very thrilling. I used to be on the sting of my seat each lap,” Verstappen quipped sarcastically. “Possibly subsequent yr 4 stops. I might have executed 4 stops right now and nonetheless completed P4.”
Norris briefly locked up in the beginning however held his nerve all through. As he crossed the end line, he exclaimed over workforce radio: “Monaco child!”
The win, his second of the 2025 season after triumphing in Australia, marks one other milestone for Norris and additional boosts McLaren’s title credentials. The workforce prolonged their benefit over Mercedes within the constructors’ standings to 172 factors, with Pink Bull one other 4 behind.
Dismal Day for Mercedes
Mercedes endured one other tough outing. George Russell served a drive-through penalty and completed eleventh, whereas rookie Kimi Antonelli ended up 18th, the final labeled finisher. “Finally, qualifying 14th and fifteenth, there was nothing you would do,” stated Russell.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton salvaged fifth place, recovering two spots from a post-qualifying penalty. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took sixth, Haas’s Esteban Ocon was seventh, and Liam Lawson scored his first factors of the season in eighth for Racing Bulls. Williams rounded out the highest 10 with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.
Incidents and Retirements
The race noticed only a few overtakes. A digital security automotive was deployed on lap one after Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto hit the tyre wall at Portier, rejoining with out main injury. Antonelli’s cross on Bortoleto, probably the one clear overtake, was one of many uncommon bits of motion — until Russell’s chicane-cutting transfer on Albon, which earned him a penalty, is counted.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly retired early after crashing into Yuki Tsunoda on the tunnel exit, citing brake failure. He practically collided with teammate Franco Colapinto as he limped into the pits. Later, Fernando Alonso retired on lap 38 with a smoking Aston Martin, extending his scoreless streak.
