Max Verstappen will chase a second successive win when the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship continues with the Monaco Grand Prix, held at the Circuit de Monaco on the afternoon of Sunday 25 May.
Verstappen secured his second victory in 2025 when he claimed the chequered flag at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix this past weekend.
The Red Bull-Racing-Honda driver made an audacious overtake on pole-sitter Oscar Piastri of McLaren-Mercedes on the first lap, and was able to control the race from then on.
“The start itself wasn’t particularly great – but I was still on the outside line. The normal line,” explained Verstappen. “So I was like ‘I’m going to try and send it around the outside’ and it worked really well!
“Of course, that unleashed our pace because when we were in the lead. The car was good. I could look after my tires.”
The result saw Verstappen move to 124 points in the Drivers’ Championship standings.
He is placed third, trailing leader Piastri by 22 points and the other McLaren driver, Lando Norris, by nine points.
“I just braked too early,” Piastri admitted in regards to the overtake by Verstappen. “It was a good move by Max, as well. Disappointing, obviously. But we made a few wrong calls after that anyway.”
Piastri added, “I tried my best to hang on but just didn’t have the grip [to also hold off Norris late in the race]. I tried my best but it was inevitable he would get past but I wasn’t going to give up without a fight.”
Much of the focus for this Grand Prix will also fall on Monegasque native and Ferrari star Charles Leclerc, who won last year’s race in the principality to become the first home victor in 93 years.
However, Leclerc has admitted to major frustration at having to continually fight to make up for Ferrari’s lack of pace this year, especially relative to the McLaren-Mercedes cars.
“I was saying before, it’s one of the races where you’ve got to race with the heart and put the elbows out a little bit,” Leclerc explained. “When it’s like this you go very much on the limit, sometimes a little bit over. But when you are starting P11, as a driver I cannot accept the situation we are in.”
