Five winners and five losers from F1’s Monaco Grand Prix

A new rule change failed to liven up the racing but a first-time Monaco Grand Prix winner produced a statement F1 drive.

Some gambles failed to come off in a race that was slightly more interesting compared to 12 months ago, though ultimately dictated by team tactics, traffic and no overtaking.

Here are our biggest winners and losers from Monte Carlo…

Winner - Lando Norris

Lando Norris stayed cool, calm and collected despite the potential jeopardy surrounding the mandatory two-stop rule, and late pressure from home hero Charles Leclerc, to secure a first win on the streets on Monaco.

This was a hugely important weekend for Norris. For the second event running he got the better of teammate Oscar Piastri to further eat into his McLaren teammate’s championship lead, which now stands at just three points.

Crucially for Norris, Piastri’s recent streak of momentum has been halted. A second win of the season couldn’t have come at a better time for Norris, who has answered his critics and could regain the advantage in the title race with a repeat result at Barcelona next weekend.

Loser - Mercedes

A rare point-less - and hugely frustrating - weekend for Mercedes. 

With Mercedes’ grand prix effectively ruined by a disastrous qualifying result which left George Russell and Kimi Antonelli 14th and 15th on the grid, the Silver Arrows’ strategy ended up being a case of stay out for as long as possible.

Mercedes ultimately had very little to lose given both their drivers started well outside of the points, so there is some sense in the gamble to throw everything on red in the hope of a fortuitously-timed Safety Car or red flag, but neither one came.

Winner - Ferrari

Ferrari would have taken P2 and P5 in Monaco had they been offered it before the action started, having arrived in the Principality expecting to endure a difficult weekend around a track they thought would highlight the weaknesses of the SF-25.

However, Leclerc emerged as the man to beat until the final lap of qualifying, and gave his all to try and land a second successive win on his home streets. Try as he might, it wasn’t to be, with the Monegasque frustrated to have to settle with second.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was one of the few drivers who made gains in the race as he undercut Fernando Alonso and jumped Isack Hadjar during the pit stops on his way to taking fifth to help Ferrari secure a solid points haul.

Loser - Oscar Piastri

Over the past two weekends, Piastri has seen his championship lead whittled down from 16 points to three after back-to-back defeats to McLaren teammate Norris.

Piastri will be disappointed to have finished third - and squandered vital points - in a car that was capable of both pole and the win. The Australian had a few uncharacteristically scrappy moments across the weekend that he will want to quickly put behind him.

How Piastri responds in Barcelona to prevent this mini setback from becoming something bigger will be fascinating.

Winner - Racing Bulls

Another superb weekend for Hadjar, and a pretty great one for teammate Liam Lawson and the entire Racing Bulls squad.

French youngster Hadjar continues to shine in his rookie F1 season by notching his best result to date with an impressive drive to take P6, while Lawson bagged his first points of 2025 in eighth.

The double points haul sees Racing Bulls jump ahead of Aston Martin into seventh place in the constructors’ championship.

Loser - Fernando Alonso

Alonso must be wondering when his luck will change. 

After a brilliant qualifying left him starting P6 (thanks in part to Hamilton’s grid penalty), the two-time world champion appeared destined to score his first points of 2025 at a track where overtaking is near-impossible.

Despite losing ground to Hamilton after the first round of pit stops, Alonso still looked well on course for a top-10 finish - that was until his Aston Martin conked out with a suspected power unit problem at around mid-distance.

The self-titled ‘unluckiest driver in F1’ is certainly living up to that currently.

Winner - Esteban Ocon

On Esteban Ocon’s side of the Haas garage, it was an excellent weekend.

The Frenchman converted his Q3 appearance into a seventh-place finish, outperforming his rookie teammate comprehensively in both qualifying and the race.

The six points earned ensured Haas remain above Racing Bulls in P6 in the constructors’ championship, while Ocon now has 20 points - 14 more than Oliver Bearman - and is up to ninth in the drivers’ standings.

Loser - Yuki Tsunoda

It has been a pair of bruising weekends with very little sign of progress for Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull.

The Japanese racer was always going to have a tough afternoon after failing to reach Q3 in Monte Carlo’s all-important qualifying, an area he still holds a significant deficit to Max Verstappen.

Tsunoda ended up finishing last of the four Red Bull drivers and will surely be coming under pressure if these kinds of lacklustre performances continue over the coming rounds.

Winner - Williams

It wasn’t pretty, but Williams’ strategy worked to perfection for the British squad as Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz took it in turns to back up the Mercedes of Russell and Antonelli and secured the team’s fourth consecutive double-points finish in ninth and 10th.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff revealed after the race that Williams counterpart James Vowles had texted an apology for his team’s tactics but Williams will come away happy with the result.

Loser - Pierre Gasly

A truly wretched Monaco Grand Prix weekend for Alpine and Pierre Gasly, whose race lasted just nine laps before he rear-ended Tsunoda’s Red Bull after suffering a scary brake issue at the Nouvelle Chicane.