Lando Norris wins Monaco GP as in-race games frustrate drivers

Lando Norris has won the Monaco Grand Prix, triumphing at a rather uneventful occasion at the historic F1 venue.

The McLaren driver converted his pole position into victory, with home favourite Charles Leclerc finishing in the runner-up spot.

The leading cars finished well ahead of the midfield back as team games were played, which saw some drivers deliberately back off to give their team-mate a gap to pit into.

For the first time ever at Monaco, all drivers were required to make two pit stops which created question marks over the strategies in play.

However, the effect was largely dampened by the team games in question, which created large gaps in the order.

The final spot on the podium went to the McLaren of Oscar Piastri.

The opening phase

Leclerc got the better start from the front row and drew alongside Norris on the run to the opening corner.

Norris locked up his front tyres but managed to keep hold his lead, before a virtual safety car was called when Gabriel Bortoleto hit the barrier at Turn 8.

Four cars - Yuki Tsunoda, Pierre Gasly and Oliver Bearman used the opportunity to make a pit stop.

However, just a handful of laps later Gasly hit the rear of Tsunoda’s Red Bull as they exited the tunnel, destroying the front left of his car.

Gasly managed to get back to the pit lane in his stricken Alpine car. Race control opted not to intervene with a safety car, as the debris was cleared under double yellow flags.

With a mandatory two pit stops in play, teams then began to focus on their first stops.

The first pit stops

Isack Hadjar made use of team-mate Liam Lawson going deliberately slowly to create a gap, which allowed the Frenchman to get both of his mandatory pit stops out of the way by lap 20.

Hamilton, Norris and Piastri all made their first pit stops in three successive laps, with the former having trouble on his own stop, halting any chance of an undercut on Leclerc, who pitted one lap later.

Hamilton, meanwhile, was a big gainer as he managed to get ahead of Hadjar.

Verstappen was the last of the front-runners to make the first pit stop, as the Dutchman peeled into the pit lane at the end of lap 28.

The four-time champion rejoined ahead of Hamilton but still behind Piastri, meaning the top four was unchanged after the first round of stops.

Team games in play

Isack Hadjar made use of team-mate Liam Lawson going deliberately slowly to create a gap, which allowed the Frenchman to get both of his mandatory pit stops out of the way by lap 20.

Hamilton, Norris and Piastri all made their first pit stops in three successive laps, with the former having trouble on his own stop, halting any chance of an undercut on Leclerc, who pitted one lap later.

Hamilton, meanwhile, was a big gainer as he managed to get ahead of Hadjar.

Verstappen was the last of the front-runners to make the first pit stop, as the Dutchman peeled into the pit lane at the end of lap 28.

The four-time champion rejoined ahead of Hamilton but still behind Piastri, meaning the top four was unchanged after the first round of stops.

Williams also deployed a team game as Alex Albon let Carlos Sainz through for position after the former made his two stops, while the latter was yet to make his first halfway through the race. They later swapped back after Sainz completed his pit stops.

Run to the flag

As the race ticked to its halfway mark, Alonso became the second retirement of the race after Gasly.

The Aston Martin was struggling with power unit concerns for several laps before smoke began to billow from the back, forcing him to park the car.

On lap 55, George Russell served a drive-through penalty after overtaking a slow Albon off the track, with the Williams driver deliberately slowing to give a gap to Sainz.

Up front, Verstappen extended his third stint and was caught by Norris, who in turn, was caught by Leclerc.

Verstappen finally pitted at the end of the penultimate lap, dropping him to fourth place and releasing the top three of Norris, Leclerc and Piastri.

Hamilton crossed the line in fifth as he was in No Man's Land, ahead of Hadjar who scored his best result to date in his rookie campaign.

Esteban Ocon was seventh to bag another strong haul of points for Haas, while the second Racing Bulls car of Lawson was eighth.

Albon and Sainz rounded out the top 10 for Williams, marking another double-points score for the Grove-based squad.