Formula 1 races to the glitz and glamour of the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix in the Principality, following Max Verstappen’s commanding victory for Red Bull at Monza.
2025 Monaco Grand Prix
Sunday 25 May 2025 – 15:00
Circuit de Monaco
The F1 field head’s for Monaco this weekend for what should be a very intriguing grand prix after Max Verstappen managed to break Oscar Piastri’s hot-streak, with the Red Bull man claiming the win at Imola.
The Circuit de Monaco will pose an entirely different test to what the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari did last week, with not many overtaking opportunities up for grabs at the track located in the French principality.
To Win Race Outright:
Lando Norris 37/20 | Oscar Piastri 37/20 | Max Verstappen 7/2 | Charles LeClerc 10/1 | George Russell 18/1 | Lewis Hamilton 18/1 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli 20/1
With this in mind, qualifying and pit strategy could play a huge role here, with the last two races staged at the venue being won by the pole sitter.
Monaco Grand Prix | Sunday 9 May | Circuit de Monaco
Previous Race
Max Verstappen made his intentions clear from the start at Imola with the Dutch ace producing a stunning overtake right off the bat as he passed pole sitter Oscar Piastri through the Tamburello chicane to move himself into the lead.
The veteran Red Bull man would then build up a solid advantage over Piastri.
In response to Verstappen’s fast start, McLaren opted to bring Piastri in for an early pit.
This would prove to be a rather fruitless move as Verstappen built up a bigger lead at the front of the field with Piatri’s move to the hard compounds not really seeing him produce quicker lap speeds.
A virtual safety car on Lap 29 further handed Verstappen the advantage as now he was free to pit while not losing as much time as he would have had the safety car not been on track.
When the reigning world champion emerged from the pits, he was some 20 seconds ahead of the now second-placed Lando Norris.
A repeat of this would happen on Lap 46 with Kimi Anotenlli pulling up with a mechanical issue and the actual safety car now deployed. Verstappen and Norris would pit while Piastri stayed out with McLaren running him on a one-stop strategy.
Following the restart, Norris would move back into second and remain there for the rest of the race while Piastri would stay third despite Lewis Hamilton putting major pressure on him during the later salvos of the race.
Hamilton was extremely impressive on race day as he took his Ferrari from 12th to fourth. The veteran Brit would be followed across the line by Alex Albon, who once again impressed for Williams.
His duel with Charles LeClerc was one of the highlights of the race, with the Ferrari man forced to settle for sixth place after some class wheel-to-wheel action between the duo.
George Russell would manage to salvage some points for Mercedes with the Silver Arrows’ main man finishing in seventh ahead of Carlos Sainz, who took eighth. The final two points scoring berths went to Isack Hadjar (ninth) and Yuki Tsunoda (tenth), with the latter impressing after crashing out in qualifying.
R A C E 🤩 W E E K
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 19, 2025
Next stop, Monte Carlo! 🇲🇨#F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/T2tGhA7VlQ
Track
The tightest track on the circuit may not feature many overtaking scenarios, but it does throw up some great racing and tests teams’ strategies to the max.
The 19 turns are difficult to manoeuvre, and drivers will have to have their wits about them over the race weekend, with qualifying crucial at the track.
So, which of the 19 turns will provide drivers with an opportunity to get a jump on the man in front of them? Well, they could try the Fairmont Hotel hairpin, which is the tightest hairpin turn on the Formula 1 calendar, but that would more than likely end in retirement for them and their victim.
The easier options would be Saint Devote – the first turn on the track – or just after the tunnel into Nouvelle – it’s a tricky move to pull off and requires you to outbrake your opponent in the Nouvelle corner.
Red Bull’s dominance at the track post-COVID came to an end last year with Charles LeClerc claiming the win for Ferrari, with Oscar Piastri finishing second and Carlos Sainz taking third.
Prior to this, Max Verstappen had won the 2021 and 2023 events while Sergio Perez took top honours in 2022.
Looking at the weather for this weekend, we’ve got mostly overcast conditions with a bit of rain forecast for Saturday’s qualifying sessions.
Value Bet – Charles LeClerc Podium Finish – No – 15/10
Qualifying will be crucial here, and Ferrari really struggled with this last time out at Imola. It really shouldn’t be under the value bet segment as the price is extremely short, but I can see Charles LeClerc missing out on the podium here.
To Win Race (Outright)
Oscar Piastri – 37/20
This one has given me nightmares! Originally, I looked at backing Verstappen due to his track record, but I just feel the McLarens have too much pace in qualifying, which puts them at a huge advantage. Oscar Piastri finished second here last year, and my money is on him going one better this time around.
