Madness at Monaco: F1 Grand Prix Recap

For what was anticipated to be an unexciting race with minimal position changes, this weekend’s Monaco GP delivered nothing short of chaos and surprise.

Firstly, we have to recognise Kimi Antonelli’s victory, marking the teenager’s fifth straight win in spite of two safety cars and a red flag restart. This was the 19-year-old’s first Grand Slam, meaning he also secured pole position, fastest lap, and led all 78 laps.

After starting seventh on the grid, Pierre Gasly received a 10-second time penalty hours after the race ended for exceeding the pitlane speed limit by a mere 0.1km/h and 0.4km/h. This lost him his third-place finish, but Alpine are in the process of appealing these penalties.

This is the type of moment that for me can’t be taken away from us by unfair reasons

Pierre Gasly during post-race media

Gasly wasn’t the only one however: Hamilton, Piastri and Russell were all investigated or penalised for minor pitlane breaches also.

Gasly claimed afterwards that he had been “robbed” of a podium and stated that: “When you have three or four teams that get caught for speeding… hopefully it rings a bell to the guys that they need to check exactly what’s going on because it’s just not right.”

He also expressed his frustrations in post-race media, claiming: “I don’t think there is anything that could hurt me more right now. It’s ten years I’m f***ing working my ass off for this type of moment… This is the type of moment that for me can’t be taken away from us by unfair reasons.”

Before he was cleared by the stewards, Hamilton expressed his surprise at being investigated for speeding. He stated: “Yeah, I wasn’t speeding, I think it’s just the way the pit lane is. I’ve done this pit lane for years, it’s not like I came in and didn’t press the button or something like that.”

Antonelli leads the championship by 66 points

Monte Carlo also saw Kim Kardashian’s debut as a WAG. Unsurprisingly, there was some controversy over her refusal to speak to Martin Brundle (Sky Sports F1 legend) during the pre-race grid walk. This proved to be divisive, with some labelling it as rude, and others justifying her right to not stop for an interview. Alongside this, Hamilton’s anti-billionaire comments from 2023 have made their way back into the spotlight now that he is dating the billionaire. Regardless, her support for Lewis was clear to see as she filmed him being awarded second place on the podium.

Teammate LeClerc had a lot less luck, with his crash into the barriers at Turn 19 warranting the red flag being raised for the final quarter of the race.

As a result of Gasly’s penalties, 21-year-old Isack Hadjar was awarded his second-ever podium and his first for Red Bull. He was allowed to keep this podium finish after a post-race investigation concluded that Red Bull hadn’t changed the spark plugs/coils on Hadjar’s car, meaning it was in the same condition as when it arrived in the pits. In keeping with the theme of Red Bull engine issues, Verstappen was forced to retire on Lap 1 after his engine stalled.

As things stand following the events of the weekend at the Circuit de Monaco, Antonelli leads the championship by 66 points, bringing him to 156 total, with Hamilton at 90 and George Russell close behind him at 88 points.