The crown jewel of the Formula 1 calendar has arrived.
The Monaco Grand Prix.
Set on the streets of Monte Carlo, the Monaco Grand Prix delivers some of the most stunning images of the F1 season. Between the landmarks that dot the circuit and the yachts that line the harbor, the event has become synonymous with the sport, and the date that every team and driver circles on the calendar when the schedule is announced.
However, the race itself? As we will discuss in a moment, that has become something of a question mark.
Here are the key storylines for the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix.
A title fight, renewed
Oscar Piastri’s winning streak — the Australian driver scored victories in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Miami — brought his total to four Grands Prix wins on the season, and led some to wonder if he would run away with the Drivers’ Championship.
With apologies to Lee Corso, not so fast, my friend.
While Piastri did enough on Saturday to take pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Max Verstappen stormed by the McLaren driver on the opening lap in Sunday’s race to take the lead shortly after the start, and the Red Bull driver survived a pair of restarts to take the win, his second of the season.
That, coupled with a P2 from Lando Norris, saw Piastri’s lead over his McLaren teammate cut to just 13 points, with Verstappen lurking only 22 points behind.
Red Bull brought an upgrade package to Imola, one that had Dr. Helmut Marko — who has seemed despondent at times this year with the RB21’s performance — anything but after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
“We brought several new parts here,” said Marko after Imola. “I think we were even better than McLaren. We were simply faster.
“This is the first time in a year that the upgrades have had a positive effect on the car. I am happy and we are going to Monaco next week with a lot of confidence.”
Game on.
Signs of life at Ferrari?
Even after the Miami Grand Prix, which saw Charles Leclerc finish seventh and Lewis Hamilton finish eighth, the seven-time Drivers’ Champion did his best to remain upbeat. “I generally, I had a good day in general,” began Hamilton when speaking with the media, including SB Nation, after the Miami Grand Prix. “Eighth doesn’t really look like that, but I feel optimistic for the future.
“I think this car really does have performance.”
However, Saturday’s dismal qualifying effort — both Leclerc and Hamilton were eliminated in Q2 — had both drivers downtrodden in the aftermath.
“[I’m] very disappointed, especially at home, at such a special Grand Prix for the team – it just hurts,” said Leclerc to the official F1 channel. “It would have hurt anyway, whatever track, but here it hurts even more. I have no words about our performance today.”
“Tough one. Ultimately, I feel super gutted, devastated that we weren’t able to get through,” said Hamilton to Sky Sports F1. “I really feel like we had made so many positive steps through the weekend. The car was generally feeling better, brakes were better today, the balance was really nice.
“In Q2, run one felt decent, and then when we put the new tires on, for some I just didn’t have any more grip and couldn’t go any faster.”
But that optimism was back on Sunday, most notably from Hamilton, as both drivers fought back into the points. Leclerc managed to finish sixth while Hamilton climbed to P4, at one point threatening for a podium.
Now the seven-time Drivers’ Champion is thinking Ferrari can fight at the front.
“Let’s keep pushing,” said Hamilton over the radio as he took the checkered flag. “If we can get that qualifying better and we can race like that then we’ll be winning.”
Speaking with the media, Hamilton said he was “ecstatic” with the result.
“It felt so great to finally get the set-up right and to have that bond with the car throughout the race,” he said to Sky Sports F1. “I’m ecstatic. It would have been great to have had some more laps and challenged for a podium.”
Has Ferrari truly found something?
The new Monaco Grand Prix rules
This season, F1’s governing body confirmed a new set of rules for this year’s Monaco Grand Prix.
To try and improve the race itself — which has become something of a procession in recent years with overtaking becoming almost impossible — the sport is mandating two pit stops for each driver. In a statement released back in February, the FIA noted that in an effort aimed at “improving the sporting spectacle of this Race given the notable difficulty in overtaking at this circuit,” drivers are now required to use three sets of tires, including two different compounds in dry conditions.
Will this improve the racing, or merely update the chaos?
Speaking in Miami, many drivers expressed some skepticism, noting that you could simply pit on the first lap, then pit on the second lap for a set of hard tires, and run to the end.
This is almost what happened last year when a crash on the opening lap brought out the red flag, bringing the grid down pit lane as the race stopped. Everyone bolted on the hard tires, and most of the points finishers stayed out for the rest of the race, following behind Charles Leclerc, who finally tasted a win at home.
Hamilton and Verstappen were the only point scorers who made a second pit stop.
I asked Alexander Albon about the rule change recently, and he expressed some skepticism that the new rule will improve the racing.
“The cars are getting bigger but the circuit stays the same, so I think overtaking will always be tricky until the regulations change,” detailed Albon.
We’ll find out for certain this week.
Can Williams keep their hot streak alive?
Speaking of Albon …
Williams left Jeddah after the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix sitting fifth in the standings with 25 points, thanks to a P8 from Carlos Sainz Jr. and a P9 from Albon. That put them five points ahead of sixth-place Haas.
They head to Monaco still in fifth place, but now with 51 points on the year, which has them 31 points ahead of sixth-place Haas.
The team has secured a double points result in two straight race weekends, first in Miami and then last week in Imola. Sainz finished ninth in Miami and eighth in Imola, while Albon has delivered back-to-back P5 results.
While Sainz has expressed some frustration with how things have unfolded for him the past two race Sundays, the fact is Williams is fighting at the front of the midfield, and putting pressure on both Mercedes and Ferrari with their pace.
Can they keep that going in Monaco?
Who wins on Saturday?
As noted above, the Monaco Grand Prix itself has become a rather dull affair, due to the difficult nature of overtaking on the narrow Monte Carlo streets.
Which means if you want to win the crown jewel of the F1 season, you need to win on Saturday.
In only ten races since 1950 has a driver won despite starting lower than third. The last time that happened came in 1996 when Olivier Panis won despite starting P14. That race also made some history as it holds the record for the F1 race with the fewest finishers. Only podium scorers Panis, David Coulthard, and Johnny Herbert finished the race.
But generally speaking, if you want to win the Monaco Grand Prix, you need to win on Sunday.
