Monaco‘s Formula 1 event is famous for its short, narrow track utilising existing roads around the Monte Carlo central district—a world of difference from the sweeping, purpose-built race tracks at most of the other events on the Formula 1 calendar. Even compared to the other ‘street circuits’ using existing roads (e.g., Australia, Singapore), the Monte Carlo circuit is exceptionally tight and unforgiving; even the slightest lapse in concentration or misjudgement in steering or braking can send the car into the wall. Overtaking on the track is almost impossible, so there is a strong correlation between starting position and finishing position. Whoever starts from pole position, barring any mishaps or strategic blunders, will probably win the race.
In qualifying for this year’s Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix, Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) took pole position, followed by four-time champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull), seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), George Russell (Mercedes), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), and defending champion Lando Norris (McLaren). Mr. Verstappen’s car failed to launch correctly at the start, and crawled around the first lap while the rest of the field took off into the distance; he retired at the end of the lap. At the front, Mr. Antonelli maintained his lead from the starting grid and built up a comfortable distance ahead of the two Ferrari drivers.
The first half of the race proceeded largely without incident. Mr. Norris completed more than half of the race, but then retired with a technical problem. The leading three cars lapped the rest of the field. but then Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) crashed, bringing out the safety car with around 19 laps left. Several drivers stopped under safety car conditions for soft tyres, but many stayed out on hard tyres.
At one point at least, the cars were having to drive through the pit lane rather than taking the start-finish straight, presumably due to some blockage. Mr. Antonelli stopped from the lead for soft tyres as well, and various drivers served 5-second time penalties for speeding in the pit lane in earlier laps.
On the restart, with 13 laps left, Mr. Leclerc crashed apparently due to a pothole, bringing out the safety car again. (Later, it emerged that the same pothole may have played a part in Mr. Stroll’s crash.) With 11 laps left, the race was red-flagged due to damage to the barriers, resulting in a complete race restart from standing positions on the starting grid. One must feel for Mr. Antonelli, who had built up an enormous lead (almost 50 seconds) over the rest of the field before all the chaos.
Since the crashes took place on the start-finish straight, the entire field had to drive through the pit lane a few times, and with some drivers picking up penalties for speeding in the pit lane.
Just before the restart, Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) retired from the race due to contact. Watching a replay afterwards, it looks like his car was hit twice, by two different competitors. From there, the last few laps passed with drivers striving to overtake their competitors, but with no net change.
In the end, following application of time penalties to various drivers, Mr. Antonelli took victory and became the youngest Formula 1 grand slam driver (pole position, fastest lap, led every lap, race victory), Sir Lewis second, and Mr. Hadjar third. After the chaotic developments around the circuit, Mr. Piastri finished in fourth place. Following a penalty to Cadlllac’s Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso scored a rare point for Aston Martin. This was Mr. Antonelli’s fifth race victory in a row, and if he continues this form and Mercedes continues to give him the best car in the field, he will be on his way to the 2026 World Drivers’ Championship.
The race stewards issued an inordinate number of pitlane speeding penalties at this race. The Alpine-Mercedes team asked for a review of the situation, and its driver Pierre Gasly’s penalties were rescinded, putting him into third place in the revised results, ahead of Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren-Mercedes). This year’s Monaco Grand Prix has been a mess of a race; several other drivers received penalties that, it now seems, should be rescinded or at least reviewed—but it seems doubtful that that would happen.