Formula One preview: Monaco Grand Prix
- Peter Johnson
- May 21
- 6 min read
Updated: May 22
Written by Peter Johnson, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
This week, Formula One heads to the glitziest and most glamorous venue of them all — the Principality of Monaco. Taking place on the same day as the iconic Indy 500, the Monaco Grand Prix is the race every driver wants to win, representing one third of the legendary Triple Crown.
Home hero Charles Leclerc claimed an iconic victory last season, becoming the first Monégasque to win on the streets of Monte Carlo for 93 years. However, the action (or lack thereof) behind him was deemed so dull by the FIA that this year a brand new pit stop rule has been introduced specifically for Monaco.
The circuit
It is notoriously difficult to overtake around Monaco, with three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet once comparing driving the circuit to “riding a bicycle around your living room”.
The 2024 edition of the storied race also made history for the wrong reason — it was the first Grand Prix ever in which the top ten drivers finished in the order they had started.
Given the astonishing sight of Formula One drivers threading the needle through the Principality’s narrow streets, and Monaco’s status as the shortest circuit on the calendar at just 3.337 kilometres, Saturday’s Qualifying session generally delivers fireworks. You’re never further than a few inches from a barrier or a rival car, with a driver’s bravery and commitment often worth more in lap time than car performance.
If it doesn’t go to plan on Saturday and you can keep your nose clean in the race, though, there may be an opportunity to pick up a decent result from further back on the grid. Just ask Olivier Panis, who took his only ever Formula One victory around Monaco in 1996, from 14th on the grid, but one of just three drivers to see the chequered flag.
Such is the unpredictability of Monaco, you can have an accident and still claim victory, as Lewis Hamilton did for McLaren in 2008. The young Briton suffered a puncture following contact with the barriers on Lap 6, but still romped home to win.
Despite these momentous feats, it does still very much pay to qualify near the front in the Principality. Since Panis’ famous victory, every single winner in Monaco has started the race from inside the top three, while the race has been won from the front row 50 times.
Only three men have ever won having started outside of the top five. Meanwhile, the top three have finished in the order they started in each of the last two years.
Storylines
Introduction of a mandatory two-stopper
In last year’s Grand Prix, a red flag triggered by a Lap One pile-up involving Sergio Pérez and the two Haas cars opened up the opportunity for drivers to make their one mandatory pit stop at the end of the first lap. The majority of the field neglected to stop again before the chequered flag.
In order to prevent a procession this year, the FIA has mandated a minimum of two stops for each driver, opening up a unique strategy challenge for the teams.
A new name on the Monaco roll of honour?
We have seen six different winners in the last seven Monaco Grands Prix dating back to 2017, with Max Verstappen the only repeat victor. Neither of McLaren’s championship-leading duo of Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri has claimed victory in the Principality, nor has Mercedes’ George Russell, who has claimed four podiums this season.
Will we see a one-off winner?
Several drivers over the years have claimed their one and only Grand Prix victory in Monaco. Jean-Pierre Beltoise in 1972, Olivier Panis in 1996 and Jarno Trulli in 2004 claimed both their maiden and final wins on the famous streets.
Of this year’s field, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and Williams’ Alex Albon appear the two most likely drivers to seize a first-time victory, unless somebody further down the order could spring an almighty surprise.
Will Charles Leclerc’s luck hold out again?
Until his victory last year, Charles Leclerc famously suffered something of a home hoodoo whenever he returned to Monaco.
In 2017, he did not complete either the Formula 2 Feature or Sprint Race. He then failed to finish his first two Monaco Grands Prix, while he didn’t even start the race in 2021 despite claiming pole. Only in his fifth season in Formula One did he finally see the chequered flag in the Principality, bringing home a fourth-placed finish in 2022.
Just last weekend in Imola, Leclerc was again left to bemoan his bad luck due to an ill-timed virtual safety car. Will fortune be on his side this time around?
Does Max Verstappen now have the fastest car?
For the first six rounds of the 2025 season, it was undeniable that McLaren had the fastest car at each event. Even when Max Verstappen won brilliantly in Japan, he had to defend from the two papaya cars immediately behind him for the whole race.
At Imola, however, despite Oscar Piastri’s Pole, once Verstappen took the lead at Turn One it became apparent that neither McLaren could match him for race pace. Was last weekend a one-off, or have Red Bull, at least on Verstappen’s side of the garage, managed to leap ahead of McLaren for good?
Past winners
Ayrton Senna is the King of Monaco, winning the event six times in seven years between 1987 and 1993. Graham Hill won the race five times (1963-5, 1968, 1969), as did Michael Schumacher (1994-5, 1997, 1999, 2001). More recently, 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg was often the man to beat, winning three times in a row between 2013 and 2015.
Of the current field, Lewis Hamilton has won three times in Monaco (2008, 2016, 2019), while Fernando Alonso (2006-07) and Max Verstappen (2021, 2023) have taken the chequered flag twice. Charles Leclerc is the only other current driver to taste victory (2024).
Winner picks
Max Verstappen
It is hard to look past Max Verstappen as a very strong candidate for victory this weekend. The four-time World Champion may well be the man to make the difference on the ultimate driver’s track, especially if he is now at the wheel of the fastest car in the field.
With Saturday’s Qualifying session in Monaco often decisive to the outcome of Sunday’s Grand Prix, Verstappen will no doubt draw inspiration from his sublime Pole lap in 2023, arguably one of the best laps Formula One has ever witnessed.
Oscar Piastri
The championship leader has won four of the first seven races this season, and his relentless consistency in recent months suggests he will be there or thereabouts by the end of Lap 78 on Sunday.
Piastri has finished on the podium at each of the last six races, while he has finished in the points at each of the last 25 Grands Prix, a run stretching back to last year’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Both are the longest active streaks on the grid. In a race that so often turns into one of survival, Piastri is demonstrably well-equipped to make it to the chequered flag, come what may.
George Russell
While last weekend in Imola was a blot on Mercedes’ copybook, with Russell describing the team’s “disastrous” Sunday as the worst for several seasons, the Briton has nevertheless been one of the standout performers of 2025.
Ever-present in the top five in both Qualifying and Grands Prix (until he crossed the line seventh in Imola), Russell will likely again be in a position to capitalise should ill fate befall either of the McLarens or Max Verstappen.
Notes
McLaren will be running a special livery in Monaco and Spain called ‘Riviera’. It was inspired by their ‘M7A’ car, which ran in 1968 and 1969 and won them their first F1 victory at Spa by founder Bruce McLaren.
Monaco is the only race on the calendar that does not meet the FIA’s mandatory race distance of 305 kilometres (189.5 miles), with the 78 laps of the race adding up to only 260.2 kilometres (161.7 miles).
This is one of only three Grands Prix to run a 60 km/h (kilometres per hour) pit lane speed limit (rather than the usual 80 km/h limit), with the other two being Zandvoort (Dutch Grand Prix) and Singapore (Singapore Grand Prix).
Session start times (BST)
Practice 1: Fri 12:30-13:30
Practice 2: Fri 16:00-17:00
Practice 3: Sat 11:30-12:30
Qualifying: Sat 15:00-16:00
Race (78 laps): Sun 14:00-16:00
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