Norris is out of his car, and he goes to celebrate with his team. He gets a big hug from his chief executive, Zak Brown. A few more ideas from readers for Monaco: “At lap 39, make it anti-clockwise,” suggests Christopher. “Pee stop,” says Patrick. “That’s the way to go. The fastest. Ok, they all must drink four pints (no beer of course). It will change the race.” “Just remove it from the championship standings as a race,” says James. “Think more of a Calcutta Cup of F1. Exempt it from the cost cap and some other rules and have teams adapt their cars wacky-races style for this one weekend to take the glory. On race morning draw the grid out of a hat.” Top 10: Norris Leclerc Piastri Verstappen Hamilton Hadjar Ocon Lawson Albon Sainz Job done for McLaren and Norris. The Briton’s sixth race win, his first at Monaco. His first this season since the opening race in Australia. Lap 77/78: Norris leads! Lap 77/78: Verstappen pits! He will finish fourth. Lap 77/78: Verstappen and Red Bull have at least introduced some kind of intrigue with this doomed-to-failure late second stop strategy. “Am I a minute behind?” fifth-placed Hamilton asks his team. “Forty-eight seconds,” he’s told. Lap 76/78: About three seconds separate Norris, Leclerc and Piastri in second, third and fourth. Then Hamilton is 45sec down. Verstappen now has two laps left to pit again. “While it might be true that the race as it is now is a bit of a dud, is it surely more appealing to force teams to change the cars rather than abandon Monaco altogether?” writes Liam. “It’s still a beautiful place to race that newer tracks can only dream of, and the teams are the ones that ruined it by making cars too big to race effectively here. Force teams to make smaller cars, and bring back the drama... and ignore the dollar-shaped elephant in this email.” Lap 74/78: Verstappen still leads! Max “One Stop” Verstappen, I call him. “Y’all are forgetting one thing,” writes Michael. “Monaco is one of the most exciting races in the rain! So how about making a radical experiment and parking water trucks around the streets to shower the track with artificial rain. That’d liven things up as drivers smack into walls and barriers to keep the final placings doubtful until the checkered flag.” Many moons ago, Bernie Ecclestone raised the prospect of artificial rain to spice things up in F1, not just at Monaco. And I immediately wondered – what would happen if a driver died in a crash in artificial rain? Not really an option, is it? “Hi it’s Darren emailing from Lucca,” emails Darren in Lucca. “My son Oliver says the way to make Monaco interesting is to make the cars smaller. In fact, it would make all the races more interesting, he reckons. And he loves F1.” Lap 71/78: Verstappen Norris +1.110sec Leclerc +0.198sec Piastri +1.835sec Hamilton +49.777sec Lap 70/78: “It’s a no brainer for Red Bull,” Brundle says of Verstappen staying out. “If they get a red flag he gets a fresh set of tyres and keeps the lead.” I’m not sure it’s a no-brainer. I reckon they’ve had to think about it. It’s actually a brainer. “These new rules have not delivered,” says Craig. “Either change the track (there’s some nice wide roads nearby that could be incorporated in), lose the track or change the cars.” “I have an idea,” writes Ayubu. Sounds dangerous. “The top 10 cars should race with a puncture and the back 10 without their wings.” “Apologies for my ignorance but what is the sanction/penalty if Verstappen doesn’t pit twice?” asks Andrew. The answer is disqualification. Brundle just said so. Lap 68/78: “I think it is better to make some changes to track rather than mandatory pitstops,” emails B.S.K. “We fans want to see racing as simple as that.” “Brundle on Sky trying to figure out how to make Monaco more exciting fails to add one other option. Get rid of it,” writes David. “It’s a boring waste of everyone’s time and for all the talk of how glamorous and great it looks, neither of these things makes up for an annual three day non-event.” Lap 66/78: On the telly, Brundle qualifies his earlier statement re: Verstappen potentially staying out. Apparently, Verstappen would be disqualified if he deliberately chooses not to pit again. So it wouldn’t just be taking a 30sec penalty or something like that. Lap 65/78: “Verstappen should put on the last lap and deliberately hold everyone up to make a point lol,” emails Nick. Lap 65/78: “What we’re seeing today emphasizes what we’ve known for a while,” emails Bill Taylor. “Monaco, storied as it may be, is no longer viable as a Formula One circuit.” I quite agree. Lap 64/78: “It’s sort of a negative thing, this pitstop rule,” emails Andrew Benton. “No one can do a pitstop in half the usual time, so the only change to the leader board could come if the stop is too slow and they lose a place or more. Seems that its a matter of trying not to mess up the position you started in, which is better than staying there in a procession to the flag, but less good than actual overtaking. Better than nothing though.” Lap 64/78: “The new pitstop rules are a bit of a wild ride for a fan who’s trying to get back into F1 after not watching for near on a decade!” emails Ali. Lap 63/78: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Hamilton is the top five. Did Brundle just say Verstappen is going to stay out and potentially take the penalty? Lap 62/78: “Hi Luke,” email Duncan & Shirley. ”If the reason for racing at Monaco is the spectacle and sense of history, then the TV coverage should focus on the celebrities, yachts, who lives in Monaco, attractive people. “Then TV coverage can just flick to the occasional highlight when someone breaks down and the end of the race.” Haha! Love it. Lap 61/78: Is Verstappen going to aim for one stop and hope they don’t notice? Maverick move if so. Lap 59/78: “I didn’t expect Yuki to make a move and under-brake,” says Gasly of his earlier race-ending shunt. “Once we had the contact, it snapped the brakes.” Lap 57/78: Verstappen is due another pitstop soonish. It does seem as if we are going to end up with a finish that looks much like the starting grid. Although there is still time for intrigue. “As contrived, convoluted and confusing as the mandated double pit stops are, let’s not forget how awful Monaco GPs are,” emails Hugh. “This is interesting at least. The issue is the track, not the rules.” “As a reader,” adds Egil, “action is necessary, pit stops exciting and Monaco sexy.” Lap 54/78: Your top five: Verstappen Norris +2.5sec Leclerc +5sec Piastri +11.4sec Hamilton +22sec Lap 53/78: Verstappen, still with one stop, is our on-track leader. He has 3sec on Lando Norris in second. Marco Bezzecchi won a chaotic British Grand Prix for Aprilia’s first victory of the season in a race that was initially red flagged for an oil spill and riders crashed or retired while in the lead, including Fabio Quartararo. Lap 52/78: I would say this is like watching paint dry, but that would be unfair. (On watching paint dry.) Lap 50/78: Norris pits! He, Leclerc and Piastri have all pitted twice now. Verstappen is our new leader after stopping once thus far. Lap 49/78: Top five: Norris Leclerc +13sec Verstappen Piastri Hamilton Lap 48/78: “It seems we’re talking more about pitstops than actual racing/driving, which seems a shame, since it’s a driving race and not a pit-stop contest,” writes Sheila. And also: “Puts a lot more pressure on the pit lane staff I would think? Certainly makes for a more tactical race for the stables, which should have Ferrari nervous given past c*ck-ups. Be interested to know why Charles L said it was a joke, surely he’s had to pick off back markers in the past? What difference does the rules change make to that? You’ll note that for now, with one pit stop for each, the top 5 are in the positions they left the gird. So unless the 2nd stop changes that radically, could be ‘much ado about nothing’.” Lap 46/78: “I have to say at this point it’s a bit confusing,” emails Alan. “But really a bit soon to pass judgement, after all, this is the first time this format has been used AND on one of the most difficult tracks there is. I’d give it three or four more races before we can see anything productive of this!” The mandatory two-stop thing is for Monaco only though, right? Lap 45/78: “Another artificial means of creating a race sussed by the teams already,” emails Philip. “They may as well try traffic lights as all else has failed to reduce the procession.” Lap 43/78: Both the Racing Bulls have pitted twice and they are running sixth and eighth. Their strategy today is getting plenty of praise in commentary. (It does back up Horner’s pre-race claim that they would be running their own race.) Lap 41/78: The top five: Norris +5.2sec Leclerc +12.9sec Piastri +13sec Verstappen +15sec Hamilton +32sec Lap 40/78: Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Hamilton is the top five. “Mercedes are in danger of the two cars being lapped twice, without having pitted yet,” says Brundle on commentary. Their strategy seems weird. Lap 39/78: What do you think of these new Monaco rules and regs then? Email me. Lap 38/78: Alonso has retired. “That tagline, the unluckiest man in Formula 1, continues,” says Kravitz. Lap 37/78: Norris leads Leclerc by 5.1sec. Piastri is 13sec down on Leclerc. Verstappen is 15sec down on Piastri. Live leaderboard is here on the official site. Lap 34/78: Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso, Hadjar, Ocon, Lawson, Albon is the top 10. Hadjar (seventh) and Ocon (eighth) are the highest-placed drivers to have pitted twice. Lap 33/78: “This is a joke,” says Leclerc on the radio as the Ferrari man tries to fight his way through the back markers. Lap 31/78: The race leader Norris is among the back markers now. In fact, he’s just lapped Russell of Mercedes! Yesterday was the first time in 13 years that a Mercedes car failed to make it into Q3. Lap 28/78: Verstappen pits. Norris Leclerc Piastri Verstappen Hamilton … is the top five, so we are back where we started (although Hamilton started seventh and Hadjar was fifth, now I think about it). Lap 27/78: “I’m not liking it,” says Brundle. “These regulations. I don’t want to see drivers all the way through the field playing a game … this is about excellence. I don’t want to see so many drivers through the field going slowly.” As usual, he’s spot on. This is not making for entertaining viewing. But … “There is a lot to play out yet,” Brundle adds, “as we get closer to the end.” “I’m quite liking it,” contributes Kravitz. “Because it’s just random.” Lap 25/78: Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls basically did a bit of a naughty and slowed down the rest of the field, allowing Hadjar plenty of room up front to pit. Hadjar has now pitted twice and is looking good for a high finish if not a podium. Lap 25/78: Top 10: Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Hamilton, Alonso, Ocon, Hadjar, Laswon, Albon. Lap 24/78: Verstappen, yet to pit, now leads. Leclerc is third after his first pitstop. Lap 22/78: Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Hamilton is the current top five. Lap 21/78: Piastri pits but it’s a nearly-four-second stop. He comes out ahead of Hamilton, in fourth, but has lost some precious time to his rivals ahead (Leclerc now in the lead, Verstappen and Norris.) Lap 19/78: “I can’t make my mind up whether this is fascinating or too chaotic, with the pitstops dominating the race,” says Brundle on commentary for Sky Sports F1. “We have to wait and make that decision at the end.” I hear you, Martin, I hear you loud and clear. Norris pits! Lap 19/78: Hamilton into the pits! He rejoins in fifth spot, sneaking out in front of Hadjar. Lap 18/78: What do you think of these new pitstop rules, then? Not really floating my boat so far, if you’ll pardon the pun. But there may be intrigue later. Lap 17/78: Alonso pits in his Aston Martin. He rejoins in seventh, Hadjar up to sixth. Lap 14/78: Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso, Ocon, Hadjar, Lawson, Albon is the top 10. Kravitz says that Lawson created a gap for his teammate to pit and only lose a couple of places. Lap 14/78: Hadjar (Racing Bulls) comes out in eighth place after his first pit stop, which was a good one at about 2.5sec. Lap 14/78: Hulkenberg (Sauber) and Colapinto (Alpine) have also pitted now. And now Hadjar (Racing Bulls) is coming in. Lap 13/78: Gasly “noted” for causing a collision. He’s out of the race anyway but faces an investigation. Lap 12/78: Verstappen is right on Piastri’s tail. It looked like Verstappen was trying to get past his rival while still under a yellow flag. Lap 11/78: “That was not on, what Gasly did,” says Kravitz on Sky. Lap 11/28: Gasly was behind Tsunoda through the tunnel. And he just slammed straight into him when the Japanese driver put the brakes on. “He’ll be in a lot of trouble for that,” Brundle says of the fact that Gasly nursed his car into the pits, rather than take the first available emergency exit. Lap 9/78: “Gasly can’t stop! He’s got no brakes,” says Kravitz in the pits. “That was so dangerous, so dangerous!” Lap 9/78: Yellow flag! Gasly has hit Tsunoda, and knackered his front left wheel completely. He limps to the pits. There is debris on the track. “Big risk of a puncture for the leaders,” says Brundle. Lap 8/78: The gap between Leclerc and Piastri, in third, is bigger at 4.558sec. Lap 6/78: Norris leads second-placed Leclerc by 1.650sec. Brundle says Norris is “tyre-managing” having just produced a lap three seconds slower than Ollie Bearman at the back. Lap 5/78: Norris, Leclerc, Piastri, Verstappen, Hadjar is the top five. Lap 4/78: It was Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) who nearly clashed with Bortoletto. The Sauber man claimed on the radio he was forced off the track. Brundle thinks Antonelli had “won the corner”. Lap 3/78: It’s a virtual safety car. Tsunoda, Gasly, Bearman, Bortoletto have pitted. Bearman has a problem of some kind. Lap 2/78: A few cars have gone for the early pit. Wait let me check who … Lap 2/78: A shunt for Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber). A safety car looks inevitable but he manages to slam it into reverse and we’re OK. McLaren’s Norris locks up but makes it through the first turn in the lead, just! Brundle asked Horner a question about them effectively having four cars in this race with the Red Bulls and Racing Bulls. “He didn’t like that,” says co-commentator Karun Chandhok. “He denied it … but he probably has to deny it,” says Brundle. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) lines up in fifth, his best ever start. Hats off to him. The mandated two-stop rule is after a particularly poor race last year when an early safety car meant everyone came in, and then nothing happened for the next 700 laps. “Odd that the jewel in the F1 calendar crown is so different from all the other circuits,” emails Doug. “This is the one that “says F1” more than any other, and yet it is so distinct. Perhaps we could throw another in the mix - my vote is St John’s, Newfoundland. Equally hilly, with strikingly colourful roadside homes, wonderful people, and sea adjacent.” The last thing we need is another grand prix. But thank you. A Mission Impossible advert on the telly. But will this race be Pittin’ Impossible for the teams? Naomi Campbell reveals to Brundle that her first visit to a Monte Carlo GP was following an invite from Michael Schumacher. Brundle talks to Eddie Irvine and first asks him about the late Eddie Jordan. “It’s hard to believe so much life is not here anymore,” says the Irishman. Does he wish he was out there competing? “No. I like watching more than driving. I’m not like you.” The grid here is already heaving, with Monaco the busiest of the year, as F1 takes a step into the unknown with its new two-stop rule for Monte Carlo. No one is quite sure how it will work out, fireworks or a damp squib but there is more of an anticipatory air to the race than in recent years as F1 hopes to have revitalised its dash through the streets of the principality. Now I’m off to try and find Zinedine Zidane. “Always a beautiful race,” says NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. “It’s not my first time. This might be one of my yearly trips.” “Racing Bulls are running their own race, they’re in a great position,” says Red Bull’s Christian Horner, when Brundle asks about their potential crafty strategy with this stops. “We are focused on our race … it’s more down to safety cars and what others do.” Monaco’s place in Formula One history has long since been established but two little-known races from the principality 51 years ago remain etched in the memory of those who took part, when women blazing a trail in the male-dominated motor racing world took to the track in Monte Carlo. Christine Beckers competed in the first Grand Prix Monte-Carlo Féminin on 26 May 1974 and now, at 81 is as irrepressibly enthused about racing as she was when she fell in love with the sport as a teenager. “I lived my passion,” she says. “There’s no better way to live. Driving, I always felt that’s what I like the most in life. That’s where I’m happy. That’s where I forget everything else. Only having the best time.” Brundle’s grid walk is coming up, so get yourself to a telly. The commentator David Croft tells us that Norris’s hot lap for pole position was the first to be completed on this track in under 70sec, at an average speed of 106mph. That’s hot! The lap time was 1:09.954sec. Oliver Bearman of Haas, who has already taken a 10-place grid penalty, had a cooling contraption still attached to his car when he went to leave the pits just then. A member of the crew came and grabbed it, but Haas may face another penalty. Grid positions on the official F1 site don’t seem to be updated with Hamilton’s penalty, but anyway, I believe this is how the cars will line up on the grid in about 40 minutes: 1. Lando Norris (McLaren) 2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 5. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) 6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari, three-place grid penalty) 8. Esteban Ocon (Haas) 9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 10. Alex Albon (Williams) 11. Carlos Sainz (Williams) 12. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) 13. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 14. George Russell (Mercedes) 15. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) 17. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 18. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 19. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin, one-place grid penalty) 20. Oliver Bearman (Haas, 10-place grid penalty) George Russell and Kimi Antonelli qualified 14th and 15th respectively for Mercedes. The team principal Toto Wolff called that “abysmal.” Aston Martin’s designer Adrian Newey has entered what he says his wife calls a “design trance” as he works flat out on the team’s new car for 2026, pointedly noting that if the team are to attract Max Verstappen to their stable the only way is to build a championship-winning car. The 66-year-old’s switch to Aston Martin from Red Bull last year was one of the biggest coups in Formula One in recent years and Newey was speaking while attending his first race with the team at the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend, having begun working with them in March. The presenter Natalie Pinkham is being taken for a spin by George Russell in a Mercedes F1 car, in a pre-recorded feature. It looks … fast. That’s what you get for putting an F1 engine in a road car. “I’ve been driving this car a little bit,” Russell says (he lives in the Principality these days, obviously). “In Monaco, you always find yourself on the track somewhere. Over there, that’s the pitlane.” Oh yes, you can email me if you wish. Lando Norris has long been aware that if he is to revitalise his Formula One world championship challenge he has to click with his McLaren car in qualifying. So his pole position for today’s Monaco Grand Prix is a moment to savour, a performance he has been attempting to nail since claiming the No 1 spot at the season-opener in Australia. Martin Brundle says they haven’t been able to get a clear answer from the teams on strategy, because they don’t have a clear idea of how to handle the mandated two stops. “Under normal circumstances you’d say Lando Norris will win if he leads into the first corner, but not today,” Brundle says. A chat on the telly about today’s mandated two pit stops. “The rules have thrown a grenade into things,” observes the Sky F1 pundit Naomi Schiff. “People might be rolling the dice today, and gambling on what they are going to do. “People further down may be able to put pressure on by taking a different strategy.” What does the Monaco grand prix symbolise in your mind? The magical old-school glamour of motor racing, or modern races so dull they make you weep? Perhaps a bit of both. Regardless of Monaco’s suitability for contemporary Formula 1, we’ve got a race on today, with Lando Norris of McLaren on pole. His teammate Oscar Piastri leads the drivers’ standings by 13 points (Piastri 146, Norris 133) with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third on 124: the title race is heating up after eight rounds. The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc is second on the grid behind Norris, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton had an eventful time in qualifying: he crashed in FP3, recovered to place fourth, but was then penalised three positions for impeding. A new rule for Monaco this season states that all drivers have to take at least two pitstops, so that certainly has the potential to make things more interesting. Drivers’ championship leader Piastri starts third and what can the reigning champion, Verstappen, achieve from fourth place on the grid? Let’s find out! Lights out: 2pm UK time
Author: Luke McLaughlin