Max Verstappen tried, but evidently the wheel had to turn in favor of Lando Norris today in Monte Carlo. In front of the enthusiastic eyes of his parents, the McLaren driver won one of the most prestigious GPs of the season ahead of the Ferrari of local idol Charles Leclerc and the other papaya McLaren of Oscar Piastri, still the overall leader with 161 points against his teammate's 158.
Only fourth was the reigning world champion who, along with the Red Bull pit-wall, attempted the single-stop feat by accepting a 30-second penalty for not complying with the regulations that in the Principality imposed two, only to have to come in on the very last lap anyway because of tyres now at the end of their useful life. Fifth place for the Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, lacking in inspiration and strikes, the Briton merely drove his car home, but at least he was saved from the "shame" of being lapped since everyone behind him came within a lap.
Sixth place with a good performance for Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon and the other Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson. Rounding out the top ten were the Williams of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. A disaster for the two Mercedes with George Russell 11th and Andrea Antonelli last. The trophy for unlucky driver of the day went instead to Fernando Alonso, taken out by a crash while lying seventh. A bit of a scare instead for Pierre Gasly, who had a bit of a pileup with the throttle stuck open.
"A fantastic weekend with pole and victory. My childhood dream. The worst moment was the final part, but I managed to administer everything," were the winner's words.
"We lost yesterday. We should have worked better. In any case, we did better than expected. I thought we would struggle to get into the top 10," commented the Ferrari driver.
"First place would have been better, but the start was confusing and already in qualifying I had no confidence. I came close to success, but it wasn't enough," was the analysis of the third-placed finisher.
