F1Weekly Podcast # 1096

Norris wins strange manipulated Monaco Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz says “I don’t like to race like this! Zack Brown thought this was a fantastic race and…Max says…There’s never any racing in Monaco! We might as well be driving Mario Karts!

Max says maybe throw bananas on the track!

Max says the mandatory two-pitstop rules turned F1’s Monaco Grand Prix into “almost Mario Kart”, and reckons the experiment hasn’t worked.

In an attempt to avoid the usual procession, after a 2024 race in which the top 10 drivers finished in the same order they started, F1 decided to impose a rule forcing cars to run three different sets of tyres, effectively turning the race into a two-stopper.

The additional pitstop added jeopardy to the race and caused unusual tactics, with the Racing Bulls and Williams cars driving slowly to create gaps for their team-mates. Meanwhile Verstappen was waiting until the final lap to make his second stop in the hope a late red flag would hand him a chance to change tyres for free and win the race instead of finishing fourth.

Verstappen acknowledged that F1 and the FIA had to try something to make the Monaco race more interesting, but didn’t feel it worked.

“Of course I get it, but I don’t think it has worked,” Verstappen told Sky. “You can’t race here anyway, so it doesn’t matter what you do. One stop, 10 stops. Even at the end I was in the lead, but my tyres were completely gone, and you still can’t pass. I think nowadays, with an F1 car, you can just pass a Formula 2 car around here.

“We were almost doing Mario Kart. Then we have to install bits on the car. Maybe you can throw bananas around. Yeah, I don’t know. Slippery surface.”

Lando:

“It’s a long, gruelling race, but good fun. We could push for quite a lot of the race. [At] the last corner I was a little bit nervous with Charles close behind and Max ahead, but we won in Monaco. It doesn’t matter how you win, I guess. I had an amazing weekend. This is what I dreamed of when I was a kid, so I achieved one of my dreams!”

Max:

“It wasn’t the most exciting race for me today. At the end we stayed out waiting as I had a huge gap behind me, so was free to do what we wanted with our final pit stop. We had nothing to lose; the tyres were quite old and we couldn’t push so much but we had a big gap behind. We just kept at it to see if we got lucky with the safety car or a red flag.

We did everything right and there wasn’t much more we could have done to change the result. Overall, the two stop format didn’t change much for me, it is a lottery about what is going to happen in the race as it is impossible to overtake here. You don’t push the car to the limit as you can’t pass the car, so we didn’t learn too much from the car today. It was not the most exciting race and I felt pretty neutral. This is not our track, it’s as simple as that and it is just not made for our car. In Barcelona we should be able to race more, so we will see what happens in the final race of the triple header

Carlos:

Today is not how we want to go racing and I think the way us and other teams were able to hold up the pace and build gaps shouldn’t be what the Monaco Grand Prix is all about. We worked well as a team, but I understand the frustrations of the cars around us as we were victims ourselves. Looking at the positives, it’s another double points finish at a weekend that we struggled more than expected in Qualifying. We now head to Barcelona for the final round of the triple-header, so I’m really looking forward to racing in front of my home crowd and hope to share with them a good weekend!

Isack:

“It was a perfect Sunday for us. I’m really happy, and honestly, there was nothing more I could have done today in the race, so I consider it kind of a small victory. We had a plan and we executed it perfectly. I’m really proud of what we achieved today as a team, with Liam also bringing home a P8 and helping me out there. It was a big team effort, and a double-points finish is a nice reward for all of us. I found it quite interesting having to do two stops; there was much more to think about before the race, and we made it work today with our strategy. Since last week in Imola, we picked up some pace and made a step forward, something that we were able to carry on to Monaco. I’m confident and I’m looking forward to going back racing in Barcelona in a few days.”

Liam:

“It was a great result for the team, and it’s always nice to come away with points, which isn’t the easiest around Monaco. Having both cars finish in the points was exactly what we needed. Everything came together nicely this weekend, and we executed the race perfectly. The strategy made sense for us today, with both cars qualifying well and showing strong pace throughout the weekend. The two-stop format didn’t make a huge difference for us, it can create more opportunities but today’s race played out fairly straight forwardly. The pace has been there for a few races now, so it was good to show it this weekend. Looking ahead to Barcelona, we’ll aim to keep the momentum going. It’s a very different kind of track, and we will need to get on top of the regulation changes, we will need to adapt as quickly as possible.”

Fernando:

I had a problem with the engine since lap 15 so we were down on power. I thought we might be able to hold on because overtaking is very difficult here, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. We lost another great opportunity to score some good points today. I am happy with my performance this weekend and we move on to the next race for another opportunity to go again.”

MONTE-CARLO, MONACO – MAY 25: Lance Stroll of Canada driving the (18) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR25 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 25, 2025 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Zak Mauger/LAT Images)

Palou Wins Indianapolis 500 To Earn First Oval Victory, Immortality.

INDIANAPOLIS (Sunday, May 25, 2025) – Alex Palou’s place among the legends is now secure.

Three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou earned the first oval victory of his career, capturing the biggest race of them all, the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Best milk I’ve ever tasted,” Palou said on the Victory Podium after a hearty swig from the traditional winner’s bottle of milk. “It tastes so good. What an amazing feeling.”

Palou won under caution when “500” rookie Nolan Siegel crashed his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet in Turn 2 on the final lap of the 200-lap race, which started 43 minutes late due to passing sprinkles. Two-time defending series champion Palou passed the No. 28 Allegra Honda of Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson on Lap 187 and never trailed thereafter.

“I cannot believe it,” Palou said. “It’s amazing to win. There were some moments that I felt really good in the race, but at the end I didn’t know if I was going to able to pass Marcus or not, but I made it happen. First oval win. What a better place?”

Palou earned his fifth win in six series races this season in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, padding his championship lead to a whopping 115 points over Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren. But more importantly for his legacy as one of the great all-time champions of the sport, he gained a spot on the Borg-Warner Trophy – the first Spaniard to earn that distinction – and immortality.

“It’s going to make Alex Palou’s career, it’s going to make his life, and it certainly has made mine,” winning team owner Chip Ganassi said.

Chip Ganassi Racing earned its sixth victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and first since Ericsson won in 2022.

Ericsson finished second for the second time in the last three years, as he also was the narrow runner-up to Josef Newgarden in 2023. Newgarden’s drive to become the first to win three consecutive Indianapolis 500s ended with a mechanical problem in his No. 2 Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Team Penske Chevrolet, as he ended up 25th after completing 135 laps.

David Malukas, who missed last year’s race with injury, finished a “500” career-best third in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises.

O’Ward finished fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, his fourth top-four “500” finish in the last five years, but with none ending on Victory Podium. Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian.

Robert Shwartzman, the first rookie pole sitter since 1983, ended up in 29th place. He was eliminated from the race during a pit lane mishap on Lap 87 when his No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet skidded through his pit box, hitting the inside wall and a few crew members.

The race, which took place under cloud cover in unseasonably cool air temperatures in the low 60s, featured a chaotic first half with six of the race’s seven caution periods in the first 108 laps. That attrition eliminated seven cars, including in separate incidents marquee drivers such as Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, Marco Andretti of Andretti Herta w/Marco & Curb-Agajanian and NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, who was attempting to complete the “500” and the Coca-Cola 600 this evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the same day.

But once the race settled into a groove, it became a furious contest of dueling pit strategies and breathtaking passes amid thick traffic.

Palou made his final pit stop on Lap 168, playing a potentially dangerous game with fuel mileage, as 32 laps was around the maximum fuel mileage on one tank.

Malukas took the lead on Lap 169 when 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay pitted in the No. 23 DRR CUSICK WEDBUSH SECURITIES Chevrolet, the last of his 48 laps led. Only two-time “500” winner Takuma Sato led more laps, with 51 out front on the 2.5-mile oval. Hunter-Reay stalled on pit exit, ending his chance to contend for a second win.

Chicago native Malukas then made his final stop on Lap 170, handing the lead to Ericsson. Malukas exited the pits ahead of Palou, giving him perhaps a chance to contend for the win once Ericsson made his final stop.

But Palou then hustled past Malukas for position, taking advantage of lapped traffic that slowed Malukas. Ericsson made his final stop on Lap 175 with slick and quick service from Andretti Global and exited the pits in front of Palou and Malukas.

“I’m not going to lie: I was crying coming into the pits (after the race),” Malukas said. “Man, we were just so close to getting it. Lappers came in, and he (Palou) was able to get a run. We were leading, so he had a good tow, and he timed that perfectly. It’s bittersweet because we didn’t get it.”

Palou sat in second while in Ericsson’s aerodynamic draft, saving fuel, stalking and presumably waiting until the last five to 10 laps to pounce. Ericsson was trying to navigate the turbulent air from the cars of Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammates Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster, who were battling for 15th place on the tail end of the lead lap ahead of Ericsson.

But Palou surprised the sellout crowd of 350,000 on Lap 187 by using the aerodynamic tow from Ericsson’s car and diving under the Swede entering Turn 1 for the last of the 22 lead changes in the race.

“We had those lappers ahead of us that were making it difficult,” Ericsson said. “He got a run on me. I didn’t know if he was going to go for it or not. That’s the thing that I’m thinking about constantly now – I should have covered that inside, of course.”

Ericsson stayed close to Palou for the next 13 laps but never got close enough to make a run for his second spot on the Borg-Warner Trophy.

“That was painful,” Ericsson said. “To miss out, so close again. Second time second place here, and this is a winner-takes-all kind of place. It’s really painful. We kept fighting. Congrats to Alex and Chip Ganassi Racing.”