Strategic games shadow Norris’ winning triumph in Monaco

Lando Norris may have claimed a long-awaited victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, but his triumph came in a race marred by frustrating strategy rules and unpopular team tactics, reducing Formula 1’s crown jewel to its usual slow-paced self.

The front row starters of Norris and Charles Leclerc got away evenly, running side by side into Sainte Devote, where a slight lock-up from the McLaren driver momentarily opened the door for the hometown hero before Norris quickly composed himself and held firm.

As for the entire field, the order remained primarily uncharged across the first tour of the Circuit de Monaco, with the exception coming at the Turn 6 hairpin when Gabriel Bortoleto made an opening lap pass on Kimi Antonelli — a move that resulted in the Sauber driver being ushered into the barrier at Turn 8 as the Italian reinstated his place in the midfield. 

Taking advantage of the consequent Virtual Safety Car to clear debris from the racing line, Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly and Ollie Bearman all made their first of two mandatory pitstops as the field rounded Rascasse for the first time, with the former two drivers soon finding themselves in a tangle on Lap 9.

Running a slower average pace than the Alpine driver was expecting, Gasly rear-ended his former teammate as they approached the braking zone at Turn 10, ripping the left front wheel off the A525 as he careered across the Nouvelle chicane.

The Alpine driver littered carbon fibre from the moment of impact through to his return to the garage, prompting yellow flags and forcing the pit exit to close as the marshals worked to return the track to a safe condition.

Strategies started to reveal themselves up and down the timesheets, with team tactics leading to a frustrating remainder of the Monaco Grand Prix, kickstarted by Racing Bulls’ bold move to use their second-running driver as a roadblock, creating a pit window to minimise time loss for their lead driver.

On Lap 15, Isack Hadjar was the first top-five driver to make his first pitstop, rejoining in P8 as he completed what eventually turned out to be a successful undercut allowing the RB driver to remain ahead of Fernando Alonso — who later retired with smoke billowing from his Aston Martin — and Esteban Ocon. 

Shortly after, the race leaders followed suit, with Norris driving into the pits on Lap 19, releasing Leclerc into some much-needed clear air as the Ferrari driver attempted to up the pace.

Oscar Piastri matched the move on Lap 20, instructed to “box to overtake Leclerc”, however, losing the impact of the undercut after the McLaren pit crew performed a slow 3.7-second stop, forcing him to rush around the 3.3km circuit on his outlap.

He failed to recover time around the lap, asking his team what the plan for for the rest of the race “because that didn’t work very well” as he settled into a stagnant P4, with his direct rival for the Monaco GP, Max Verstappen holding out in the lead of the race until Lap 29.

The leading quartet quickly became entangled in a long DRS train, with Leclerc branding the disruption a “joke” while Norris grew tired of the back markers’ delayed adherence to the blue flags.

Their ability to move through the likes of George Russell, Antonelli, Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg, Lance Stroll and Bearman was made all the more tougher by Williams’ team tactics that mirrored RB’s earlier method.

Holding his competitors up to favour his teammate running within the points-paying positions, Carlos Sainz didn’t make any friends in Monte Carlo as his team played the two-stop game, building a gap to allow Albon to pit without losing track position.

The Williams teammates traded positions when Albon exited the pits — where the top three soon made their second stop of the race, order unchanging — to allow Sainz to charge into the distance to replicate his teammate’s gain.

Meanwhile, the #23 found himself engaging in a heated battle with a very frustrated #63 that ended in the GPDA Director discarding the rules of conduct as he purposely cut the chicane at Turn 10 to overtake the off-pace Williams.

Unfazed by any penalty that would be sent his way, Russell was handed a strong messaged drive-through penalty which equated to roughly 20 seconds of extra race time, allowing the Williams teammates to swap positions back without losing out — earning them a double points finish in Monaco.

The Mercedes driver had little to say, telling his race engineer “I prefer not to speak” before the Mercedes pit wall had to deal with a replicated moment for his rookie teammate, acting fast to avoid another reprimand.

Out front, the so-called battle for the lead attempted to get underway, with Norris and Leclerc chasing the leading Red Bull driver who was holding out for a lucky late Red Flag. 

The trio formed an unproductive DRS train as Verstappen backed his rivals up with 20 laps remaining, before Piastri joined the party to add more pressure to the final few minutes in Monaco. 

Leclerc tried his best to replicate his triumph 12 months ago, however, the overtaking constraints of his home circuit left him powerless in the first for the net lead as he accepted defeat.

Also accepting defeat was Verstappen, who gave up on his dream of a late Red Flag when the Red Bull pit wall called him at the last possible moment on Lap 77, dropping him to fourth place as he rounded the 19 corners for one last time.

With the #1 no longer an obstacle, Norris instantly pulled out of DRS threat from the Ferrari, cementing a gap of 3.1 seconds as he took the chequered flag to achieve a childhood dream of his own in Monaco.

Despite describing the 78-lap race as “a long, gruelling” one, and admitting that he “hated” the FIA’s new mandatory two-stop regulation, a teary-eyed Norris took to the podium alongside Leclerc, Piastri and McLaren Team Principal Zak Brown to celebrate his sixth career victory.

His persistence in a mentally draining race also rewarded the Brit with 25 points, reducing the gap to his championship-leading teammate to just three points ahead of the final race of the triple-header, the Spanish Grand Prix.

Behind the top four, Lewis Hamilton crossed the line with a disappointing 51-second margin to the driver in P1, however, he was the last driver not to be lapped — his Mercedes replacement in last place even being lapped three times as the chequered flag fell.

Hadjar and Lawson well and truly earned their double points finish in Monaco, with the Kiwi claiming his first points of the season as he crossed the line with a solid eighth-place finish, while Hadjar recorded a career-best result — however, the teammates were split by Ocon who technically started where he finished, only inheriting a position due to Alonso’s Lap 38 retirement.

Copying Racing Bull’s annoying strategy, the Williams duo rounded out the points scorers in P9 and P10, with Team Principal James Vowles not proud of the tactics the team had to employ to get the job done in the unconventional race.

Being held at the refreshingly conventional Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the final time before the Madring takes over, the field will now switch their focus on the Spanish Grand Prix in a few days’ time, with the first practice session kicking off at 21:30 AEST on Friday, May 30.

Image: FIA

Monaco Grand Prix Race Results:

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