Five Formula 1 Winners & Losers: Monaco Grand Prix

Photo from XPBImages

It’s F1. It’s Monaco.

Nothing really happened.

C’est la vie.

Here are the winners and losers.

Losers

5. Oliver Bearman

Bearman’s Monaco Grand Prix was over before it began, due to a 10 place grid penalty for not following orders under a red flag.

It was unfortunate, as Bearman didn’t really do anything wrong, but the rules are rules, especially under a red flag.

4. Pierre Gasly

It wasn’t a great race for Gasly as is, and his brakes failing meant he crashed out early on in the race.

A forgettable weekend for sure.

3. Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli crashed in Q1, and George Russell’s engine failed in Q2, meaning the Mercedes pair started 14th and 15th in the race.

If you know anything about Monaco, that means they had no shot at points on Sunday.

2. Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton’s good qualifying session was ruined due to a miscommunication with his engineer and he impeded Verstappen, leading to a three pace grid penalty.

His race was fine, as he ended up 5th, but the team communication with Hamilton and his race engineer continued.

It was very very odd, and feels like a mismatch going forward.

It’s the talk of Ferrari right now, which is a shame considering they finished 2nd and 5th.

1. Fernando Alonso

Alonso doesn’t have any points this season, and he was going to get a good chunk yesterday, but his engine failed and he ended up empty handed again.

He’s been easily the least lucky driver on the grid this year.

Winners

5. Williams

Double points for Williams once again.

Can’t complain about that.

4. Isack Hadjar

Hadjar continues to be one of the most impressive drivers on the grid this season, starting the Monaco Grand Prix in 5th and finishing 6th.

He’s been absolutely fantastic.

3. Charles Leclerc

Leclerc will feel hard done by barely missing out on pole in his home race, but he was closer to a win as he has been all year long.

There’s no moral victories in this sport, but it might give he and his team some confidence.

2. Liam Lawson

Speaking of confidence, Liam Lawson got some in a big way.

Great qualifying. Good race. His first points of the season.

It has been a very difficult year so far for the Kiwi driver, so Monaco was a great sight to see.

1. Lando Norris

Last week at Imola, Norris beat his teammate Oscar Piastri to cut into his points lead. Something he greatly needed to do.

This week, he beat his teammate for pole after Piastri put in a stunning lap.

Then, after Leclerc took pole away from Norris, Norris somehow had enough in the tires to get pole back.

A simple mistake free Sunday followed, and Norris now is right back behind Piastri in the title race, and has a boatload of confidence along with it.

This was a much needed weekend for Norris.

The rest of this season should be very fun.