Monaco GP takeaways: Norris returns to top, new rule is dud

We'll offer our takeaways following each race weekend this year. Here are our thoughts after the Monaco Grand Prix:

Moments that decided the race 👀

Lando Norris has weekend he desperately needed

Monaco is a circuit that feasts on drivers who lack confidence and comfortability, and Lando Norris seemed like a candidate to be the track's next victim. Struggling in qualifying when his car is at the absolute limit, the championship contender drove his MCL39 out of the jaws of the Monaco streets and onto pole position, which he then converted into a much-needed victory.

Norris, who hadn't been on pole since the opening race of the season and faced scrutiny over whether championship leader Oscar Piastri had passed him as McLaren's No. 1 driver, proved he won't roll over. Not only did he out qualify Piastri, he became the first man in Formula 1 history to finish a qualifying lap in Monaco in under 70 seconds. The pole was McLaren's first in Monaco since 2007, and Norris followed it up by delivering the team's first win in the principality since 2008.

The 25-year-old has become a whipping boy for pundits and fans this season due to the perception that he's under performed in the grid's fastest car. He punched back in Monaco, leaving little doubt that he still possesses the speed and precision needed to be the team's leader and its strongest option in the drivers' championship.

Norris cut 13 points into Piastri's lead over the last two races, putting him just three points behind with two-thirds of the season remaining.

Mandatory 2-stopper does little to spice up the race

There are few things that bring fans of a sport more satisfaction than feeling like their voices are being heard. For the Monaco GP, Formula 1 decided to cater to its supporters after receiving heavy backlash on last year's processional race. The end result was making Monaco a mandatory two-stop race in hopes of creating a more compelling product.

When the checkered flag waved Sunday, though, the Monaco GP was both a bad product and race.

This year's race deserves credit for being an improvement over 2024, but that wasn't the bar Formula 1 was aiming for. There were still too many issues with the mandatory two-stop rule that heavily influenced the results, all while not improving any of the often-heard criticisms associated with the circuit.

Some drivers, like those from Williams and Racing Bulls, still ran massively off the pace to create a pit stop window for their teammates. With Monaco's tight layout, opposing drivers behind were left powerless. Mercedes driver George Russell even opted to cut the track to pass the slow-moving Alex Albon and was handed a drive-through penalty in return. Liam Lawson backed up the pack for teammate Isack Hadjar, creating a gap for the front four drivers to pit into. The move quickly ended any anticipation of Monaco seeing a surprise result from the likes of drivers who took extreme gambles, such as pitting on the first lap.

Reigning champion Max Verstappen left his last pit stop until the end, hoping for a late red flag that would allow him to satisfy the two-stop rule and win. While sport - even at the highest levels - often includes a stroke of luck, it felt rather unsporting for teams to attempt to fall upwards into glory.

"Overtaking has never been good in Monaco, ever," Norris said post-race, according to Andrew Benson of BBC. "So, I don't know why people have such a high expectation. But I also think Formula 1 should not turn into just a show to entertain people. It's a sport. It's who can race the best, who can qualify the best.

"Everything was about yesterday. That's the way it's been since ... 50, 60 years ago. So, the last thing I want is manufactured racing."

Like every year in Monaco, the drivers put on a show in qualifying. But this time, Formula 1, itself, tried to create a show. There's a big difference between the two, and it's one that begs the question: Is a track worth keeping if it requires this amount of artificial wrinkles and gimmicks? There's no solution to cure Sunday's problems in Monaco - at least not without a drastic reduction in car size - and how far is the series willing to go?

Driver of the Day 🙌

Charles Leclerc: Even when he's not winning or on pole, Leclerc has elevated himself to become Monaco's modern-day final boss. No matter how good or poor the Ferrari he steps into is, the Monegasque driver simply comes alive at his home circuit. While Ferrari looked better than expected, absolutely no one realistically thought Leclerc would be in contention for pole and the win. In Monaco, there's one phenomenon the grid has grown to fear and Ferrari has learned to count on: the Leclerc effect.

They said what? 🗣️

Norris on 1st career win at Monaco: "This is what I did dream of as a kid, so I achieved one of my dreams."

Zak Brown on 3-point gap between Piastri and Norris: "I reminded Oscar, 'I know you're bummed to finish third (in Monaco), but you're still leading the championship.' It's gonna get fun the second half of the year, but they're up for it, and I'm excited to see them race."

Leclerc on failing to repeat at Monaco: "At the end of the day, we lost the race yesterday. We should have done a better job. ... On my side, I realized a childhood dream last year."

Verstappen on if changes at Monaco helped: "You can't race here anyway, so it doesn't matter what you do; one stop, 10 stops. Even at the end, I was in the lead, but my tires were completely gone and you still can't pass. ... Honestly, we were almost doing Mario Kart. We have to install bits on the car and maybe you can throw bananas around."

Albon on backing up pack to secure points finish: "Not how we want to go racing. I know we put on a bad show for everyone and made a few angry drivers behind us. It's just taking advantage of the track and the size of the car. ... Apologies to everyone who watched that because it wasn't very pretty."

What's next?

Formula 1 travels to Barcelona to cap off its tripleheader at the Spanish GP on June 1 at 9 a.m. ET.

The race will be the final one at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya before the event shifts to Madrid from 2026-35.

The Spanish GP has been dominated by two drivers over the last decade. Verstappen has won four times in nine years, including the last three, while Lewis Hamilton claimed victory five straight times from 2017-21.