Lando Norris takes a ‘dream’ Monaco win to reduce Oscar Piastri’s F1 standings lead

MONACO (AP) — Lando Norris realized a childhood dream as he won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, and boosted his chances of achieving an even bigger goal, the Formula 1 title.

Norris took his first Grand Prix win since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix — though he did win a sprint race in Miami this month — and reduced his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri’s lead from 13 points to three.

Starting on pole position, Norris locked up a wheel into the first corner but still managed to hold off last year’s winner, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.

“It feels amazing. It’s a long, grueling race, but good fun,” Norris said. “This is what I dream of. This is what I did dream of when I was a kid.”

Leclerc was second after closing in on Norris late in the race — though he wasn’t able to attempt a pass — while Piastri was third and defending champion Max Verstappen fourth, with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton a distant fifth.

Verstappen’s gambit

Verstappen was the leader on track until the second-to-last lap but only because he had yet to make his mandatory second pit stop under a rule change introduced in an attempt to spice up the Monaco Grand Prix, where overtaking is almost impossible.

Verstappen was almost certain to end the race fourth, no matter when he stopped, so he eased off, slowing down Norris and allowing Leclerc and Piastri to catch up. Verstappen seemed to be trying to pressure Norris into a costly mistake, or maybe hoping for a red-flag stoppage which could have allowed him a free tire change while keeping the lead.

Norris said the end of the race was a “little bit nervous with Charles close behind and Max ahead, but we won in Monaco, so it doesn’t matter how you win, I guess.”

Despite predictions it could allow some teams and drivers to spring a surprise, the rule had little overall impact on the results, except for a few cases of teams seemingly slowing down one car to benefit a teammate.

“We lost the race yesterday,” was Leclerc’s verdict, referring to the importance of qualifying on pole in Monaco, his home race.

Making history at McLaren

It was McLaren’s record-extending 16th win in Monaco and its first since a victory for a young Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Hamilton went on to win his first championship that year.

McLaren leaves Monaco with six wins from the first eight races of 2025 as its two drivers battle for the title. Even with just a third of the season gone, a second successive constructors’ title for McLaren looks all but assured, as the team’s 319 points are more than double the total of any other team.

Piastri was on the podium for the second year running in Monaco, and being disappointed with third was a sign of the progress he’s made in those 12 months. Second place a year ago was only the third career podium finish for the Australian, who had yet to win a Grand Prix. Third place Sunday was Piastri’s seventh podium finish in a row.

“If this is a bad weekend,” Piastri said, “then it’s not going too badly at all.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing