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The Monaco Grand Prix showcases drivers at their very best when they put everything on the line in qualifying.
But the race often underwhelms, as the sheer size of the cars makes overtaking so difficult. In an attempt to create a more varied race, Formula 1 required teams to make two tyre changes this year, but that only resulted in many drivers being held up by rivals who drove deliberately slowly for team strategy reasons.
This weekend’s ratings therefore must take into account the fact several drivers spent a significant part of their races being forced to lap many seconds slower than they were capable of going.
Lando Norris
Qualified: 1st (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.175s)Grid: 1st (2 places ahead of team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)Finished: 1st (2 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Ended a run of poor qualifying performances with a superb pole lap▼ Poor start and lock-up at turn one▶ Quick when he needed to be during the race▲ Calm under pressure as Verstappen backed him up towards Leclerc
8/10: Back on it in qualifying and cool-headed in the race after poor start
Oscar Piastri
Qualified: 3rd (2 places behind team mate, +0.175s)Grid: 3rd (2 places behind team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)Finished: 3rd (2 places behind team mate)
▶ Looked a touch ragged throughout qualifying▶ Didn’t make a great start but Verstappen didn’t pass him this time▶ Delayed by slow pit stop
7/10: Shaded by Norris all weekend
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Charles Leclerc
Qualified: 2nd (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.319s)Grid: 2nd (5 places ahead of team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)Finished: 2nd (3 places ahead of team mate)
▲ On it from the word go, car didn’t look quick enough for pole but beating Piastri to second was an achievement▶ Put Norris under constant pressure during the race but never attempted a risky move
9/10: Showed his usual street track flair, splitting the McLarens was an excellent result
Lewis Hamilton
Qualified: 4th (2 places behind team mate, +0.319s)Grid: 7th (5 places behind team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (H-H-M)Finished: 5th (3 places behind team mate)
▼ Couldn’t match Leclerc’s pace in qualifying▶ Penalty which cost him three places was down to the team▼ Lost a lot of time in his second stint as he appeared unclear how hard he was supposed to push
6/10: Not on Leclerc’s pace and communication problems made matters worse
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Max Verstappen
Qualified: 5th (7 places ahead of team mate, -0.54s)Grid: 4th (8 places ahead of team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (H-M-S)Finished: 4th (13 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Car wasn’t on the pace of McLaren or Ferrari but his final lap wasn’t clean▶ Had a good go at passing Piastri at the start and after the yellow flags before Tabac▶ Nursed his tyres well to run long at the end in the vain hope of a red flag
7/10: Not as clincal in qualifying as in recent races but this was clearly a weaker track for Red Bull
Yuki Tsunoda
Qualified: 12th (7 places behind team mate, +0.54s)Grid: 12th (8 places behind team mate)Start: -5 placesStrategy: Two-stop (S-H-M)Finished: 17th (13 places behind team mate)
▼ Well off Verstappen’s pace when it mattered, if not quite as far away as at other tracks▶ Cleared of changing his line in front of Gasly when the Alpine driver hit him▶ Benefitted from an early Virtual Safety Car period▶ Couldn’t make the gain pay off as he was stuck in traffic
5/10: Lack of qualifying pace not helped by strategy
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Qualified: 15th (1 place behind team mate, +0.373s)Grid: 15th (1 place behind team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (H-M-H)Finished: 18th (7 places behind team mate)
▼ Already at risk of a Q1 elimination when he hit the barrier▶ Put a smart move on Bortoleto to re-pass him at the start▶ Spent virtually his entire race being held up by other drivers▶ Briefly jumped ahead of Albon when he cut the chicane but returned the position
4/10: Paid the usual high Monaco price for crashing in qualifying
George Russell
Qualified: 14th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.373s)Grid: 14th (1 place ahead of team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (H-M-H)Finished: 11th (7 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Consistently off the pace throughout practice▶ Suddenly competitive in Q1 – then car died in Q2▶ Endured almost 50 laps of being forced to drive at a slow pace before cutting the chicane to get ahead▶ Acknowledged he’d get a penalty – so the stewards gave him a harsher one▶ Didn’t finish any lower because of his penalty
6/10: A frustrating weekend which appeared to be coming good when misfortune struck
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Lance Stroll
Qualified: 19th (12 places behind team mate, +0.889s)Grid: 19th (13 places behind team mate)Start: +3 placesStrategy: Two-stop (H-H-M)Finished: 15th
▼ Collided with Leclerc in first practice and was given a one-place grid drop.▼ Collected a second grid penalty for impeding Gasly▶ Red flag in Q1 forced him to abandon his final lap, though he was well off Alonso▶ Tried to gain places with lap 17 pit stop but as others didn’t pit ahead he gained nothing▶ Spent virtually his entire race being held up by other drivers▲ Passed Hulkenberg on the outside at the chicane on the final lap for 15th
4/10: Deserves a high score for that pass but pegged back for errors and poor qualifying pace
Fernando Alonso
Qualified: 7th (12 places ahead of team mate, -0.889s)Grid: 6th (13 places ahead of team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: One-stop (H-H)Finished: Not classified
▲ Fantastic qualifying lap put the Aston Martin further up the grid than it belonged▶ Lost power from his MGU-K after his first pit stop▶ That doomed him to lose sixth to Ocon and Hadjar, but he had to retire anyway
8/10: Terrific in qualifying, utterly luckless in the race
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Franco Colapinto
Qualified: 20th (2 places behind team mate, +0.603s)Grid: 18th (1 place behind team mate)Start: +3 placesStrategy: Two-stop (H-M-M)Finished: 13th
▼ Qualified last, well off Gasly’s pace▶ Got his two pit stops done early so he could benefit when others pitted, rising to 13th at finish▶ Spent virtually his entire race being held up by other drivers
5/10: Did a competent job in a car which wasn’t competitive
Pierre Gasly
Qualified: 18th (2 places ahead of team mate, -0.603s)Grid: 17th (1 place ahead of team mate)Start: -1 placeStrategy: One-stop (M-M)Finished: Not classified
▶ Dropped out in Q1 after experimenting with the medium tyre compound▶ Pitted at the end of the first lap▼ Ran into the back of Tsunoda at the chicane
4/10: Should have exercised more caution with Tsunoda
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Esteban Ocon
Qualified: 8th (9 places ahead of team mate, -0.14s)Grid: 8th (12 places ahead of team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-M-H)Finished: 7th (5 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Wasn’t happy with his car’s pace in practice but it came together in qualifying▶ Stayed ahead of Lawson at the start which was crucial to his race▶ Pressured Hadjar over the second half of the race to no avail
8/10: Reaped the rewards of qualifying well
Oliver Bearman
Qualified: 17th (9 places behind team mate, +0.14s)Grid: 20th (12 places behind team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)Finished: 12th (5 places behind team mate)
▼ Careless mistake under red flags led to a costly 10-place grid drop▶ Showed good pace in qualifying but dropped out early to avoid eliminating Ocon▶ Pitted on the first lap but suffered a very slow pit stop▶ Spent virtually his entire race being held up by other drivers
5/10: Clearly quick but compromised his weekend in practice
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Isack Hadjar
Qualified: 6th (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.206s)Grid: 5th (4 places ahead of team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-S-H)Finished: 6th (2 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Caused a red flag in second practice when he hit a barrier at the chicane, damaging his left-rear wheel, and crashed again in the same session▲ Produced an excellent lap in qualifying for sixth on the grid▶ Made his two pit stops early on while Lawson held the pack up for him▶ Managed a long stint on hards to secure his best finishing position to date
8/10: Another driver who made his weekend with a great lap in qualifying
Liam Lawson
Qualified: 9th (3 places behind team mate, +0.206s)Grid: 9th (4 places behind team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-S-H)Finished: 8th (2 places behind team mate)
▶ Joined his team mate in Q3, achieving his best grid position of the season▶ Performed team service at the start of the race, delaying a queue of cars to help Hadjar▶ Then picked up his pace to make his own two pit stops without losing ninth place
7/10: Threatened to out-qualify Hadjar but fell short when it mattered
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Alexander Albon
Qualified: 10th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.63s)Grid: 10th (1 place ahead of team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-M-H)Finished: 9th (1 place ahead of team mate)
▼ Mystified by his loss of pace in Q3 after a great lap in Q2▶ Lawson held him up to begin with▶ Once he picked up the pace Albon got his pit stops done while Sainz delayed the queue▶ The pair then traded places and Albon did the same for Sainz, infuriating Russell as he did▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.481s faster
7/10: Sudden loss of pace in Q3 could not have come at a worse time
Carlos Sainz Jnr
Qualified: 11th (1 place behind team mate, +0.63s)Grid: 11th (1 place behind team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (H-M-M)Finished: 10th (1 place behind team mate)
▶ Felt he lost his rhythm in qualifying switching between soft and medium rubber, and went out in Q2▶ Spent most of his race in traffic before being waved past Albon so he could make his pit stops, then gave the place back
6/10: Had little racing to do after failing to reach Q3
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Nico Hulkenberg
Qualified: 13th (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.031s)Grid: 13th (3 places ahead of team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-S)Finished: 16th (2 places behind team mate)
▶ Car didn’t look quick enough for Q3, but 13th on the grid was a decent result▶ Decision to pit early while running behind the Williams drivers ended up costing him more places▶ Ran a long final stint on soft which faded at the end▶ Spent virtually his entire race being held up by other drivers▼ Lost a place to Stroll on the final lap
6/10: Decent in qualifying, worn softs made it hard to keep Stroll behind
Gabriel Bortoleto
Qualified: 16th (3 places behind team mate, +0.031s)Grid: 16th (3 places behind team mate)Start: -4 placesStrategy: Three-stop (M-H-S-M)Finished: 14th (2 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Very narrowly missed a place in Q3▲ Put a great pass on Antonelli at Fairmont on lap one…▼ …but should have seen his rival’s Portier lunge coming. He didn’t, and crashed▶ Pitted three times and recovered to 14th thanks to Antonelli and Tsunoda’s late stops
6/10: Close to reaching Q2, left the door open for Antonelli at Portier
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