F1 2025 Monaco Grand Prix Was Unsurprisingly Trash

Monaco, in the world of Formula 1, represents traditions.

The tradition of holding the worst race of the calendar, where both drivers and the fans fall asleep due to a lack of action.

Last year’s Monaco Grand Prix was horrible, thanks to an early red flag caused by a dope crash between Perez, Hulkenberg, and Magnussen. The red flag enabled drivers across the field to change their tires without losing track position.

Then, it was all about managing the pace until the chequered flag.

To prevent it from happening, the FIA, the most corrupt and ineffective sporting authority in the world, suggested a change —- two mandatory pit stops for every driver.

Of course, that didn’t work because, again, Monte Carlo, in the world of F1, translates to traditions.

In this article, let’s discuss why the FIA’s dumb recommendation failed and how the teams dealt with it strategically through the power of friendship.

The FIA is avoiding the root cause

The fundamental reasons why the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, especially since the turbo-hybrid era, delivers the dullest race of the year are a narrow track and wider cars.

None of the low-IQ tips, such as mandatory pit stops, will make the race exciting until the aforementioned foundational issues are tackled. 

Perhaps the track could be made wider in some corners? Maybe reduce car width through a regulation change?

All mandatory pit stops did was give everyone the same handicap or superpower, depending on how you interpret it. Many morons, such as the commentators and journalists, speculated how it will encourage drivers to push because the pressure to manage tires will be low.

The reason I call them ‘morons’ is because they don’t understand the objective of F1 pilots on Monte Carlo race day is. They simply want to hold track position and not get undercut. If a nearby car pits to come out in free air, you do the same.

If you are on worn-out tires, you merely need to manage the exits at the Nouvelle Chicane and the final corner to avoid getting overtaken.

And that’s exactly what the drivers did.

Anyone who believed that FIA’s compulsory double pit stop rule could prevent a snoozefest at the 2025 F1 Monaco Grand Prix is as deluded as Lawrence Stroll believing that his son can ever win a race.

To me, it was just unsurprising. The FIA pretends to solve the problems by implementing decorative solutions without addressing the root cause. This reminds me of the American healthcare system, where a patient’s symptoms are ‘treated’ through medication rather than curing the ailment and focusing on prevention.

Anyway, I started wondering if there’s anything that could be done to fix the issue at hand, because Monaco will be on the F1 calendar until 2031, at least (ffs). 

I totally disagree with Brundle and Croft’s brain-dead suggestion of mandating the first of the two compulsory pit stops within a certain window. Because every team will follow suit, considering track position is essential as overtaking is impossible.

There are plenty of comical solutions on the internet. Some suggest adding a roller coaster, and others recommend extending the track into the harbor.

However, amid the jokes, there was a decent solution, which can be implemented quickly — doing the race in reverse. This will invert the first and the last corners, opening up a great overtaking opportunity.

Currently, the first corner is narrow due to the pit exit. But if that is transformed into the last corner of the lap, drivers can use the opportunity to close the distance and leverage the upcoming DRS zone to try and pass before the braking zone.

The change can make Monaco much interesting due to the availability of a clear overtaking opportunity while requiring minimal investment from the organizers. There will be edits, particularly shifting the kerbs at certain corners, but they will be minor.

Another ‘fun’ suggestion includes giving the drivers a drug of their choice. It could be Ritalin, Adderall, or good ‘ol fashioned Colombian cocaine. The sport can get good money from some wealthy sponsors, that’s for sure, and the Grand Prix will certainly become the most exciting one of the year.

Strategic team games in F1 Monaco 2025

One of the biggest stars of the race was Liam Lawson. The New Zealander scored his first points of the season and held off the field behind him to allow Issac Hadjar to pit twice without losing track position.

Together, the Racing Bulls brought home 12 points.

Anyway, Lawson wasn’t the only one who employed the strategy of back-the-pack-up to help elevate the overall team result by protecting valuable track positions.

Williams was another team that achieved a double points finish through this tactic. The only difference is that Sainz and Albon helped each other while Liam only helped Hadjar.

And both phenomena were connected.

When James Vowles, the team principal of Williams Racing, realized their race was getting ruined due to the Racing Bull’s back-the-pack-up gameplan, he deployed the same strategy against the faster Mercedes pairing behind them.

First, Carlos Sainz held up George Russell and Kimi Antonelli (plus there were others behind Kimi) to create a safe pit stop gap for Alex Albon ahead. After the Thai driver was done with his pit stops, he returned the favor to his Spaniard colleague.

The funniest part is Osama bin Russell getting frustrated and deciding to cut the chicane to overtake Albon, who was, according to the Brit, driving dangerously slow. As a result, he received a drive-through penalty.

To add salt to the injury, he was yet to make his pit stops and was running outside the points.

After he served his penalty and did the compulsory tyre changes, he actually finished ahead of where he would’ve been if he stayed behind a deliberately slower Albon. It's interesting how FIA’s efforts toward making the grid more fairly competitive backfire, especially in recent years.

It was a messy weekend for Mercedes altogether; a story for another day. The once dominant German force had already lost it all on qualifying day when Kimi crashed out and George’s car had a mechanical failure during Q2.

Basically, the teams found a smart workaround to neutralize the potential ‘chaos’ the mandatory pit stops would’ve brought. As overtaking is impossible, you can drive at any pace and create a gap ahead for your teammate to drop in safely in clean air after their pit stop.

And I expect it from them. They don’t give a damn if the worst track on the current F1 calendar doesn’t entertain the fans. They are least concerned with the incompetency of FIA and F1 in making the sport fun and exciting.

Their first and only focus is getting the most points on race day. Because that determines how much money they make and how much bonus everyone takes home.

Hopeful for Spain

At least we got some classic Leclerc memes from the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix. Norris won and closed the championship gap to Piastri. Now they are separated by three points.

Verstappen drops further from Piastri due to a P4 finish, the best his RB21 could manage on Sunday. He needs to make up a 25-point deficit to Oscar. Toto Wolff once said that a championship lead of that magnitude can evaporate with one DNF. Then, Silverstone 2021 happened.

My expectations for Spain right now include Fernando scoring points and a Max victory.

Alonso is pointless so far this season, and Verstappen winning will keep the championship fight alive and exciting.

A bit of action in the race will also stop Crofty and Brundle from giving dumb suggestions to spice things up.