On Track

25 May 2025

The Debrief by Aramco: Monaco Grand Prix

The European leg of the 2025 Formula One season continued in Monaco, the jewel in the Formula One crown. Get the thoughts of Lance, Fernando and the team from across the weekend.

A tough end to our weekend, with an unfortunate retirement for Fernando and a P15 finish for Lance.

Read on for full coverage of our weekend in Monaco.

Sunday round-up and reaction

For the first time in history, the Monaco Grand Prix required drivers to make a minimum of two pitstops.
Our drivers had similar strategies, both beginning on the Hard tyre, with Fernando starting sixth and Lance in P19.
Fernando pitted at the end of Lap 16, coming in for another set of Hards and re-joining the race in P7. A lap later, Lance also came in for Hards.
Fernando had been running in sixth. However, a power unit issue meant he unfortunately had to retire on Lap 37.
On Lap 67, Lance made his second mandatory pitstop for Mediums.
Lance concluded racing around the infamous street circuit in P15.
Earlier in the day, Young Driver Jak Crawford claimed victory the F2 Feature Race.

P15

L. Stroll

FL: 1:14.877

DNF

F. Alonso

FL: 1:15.593

#18 | Lance Stroll | Race

"It's Monaco, so when you have a tough Saturday, you know Sunday will always be a challenge. It was always going to be tricky starting from the back of the grid and it was not an exciting race with very few opportunities that could help us gain more positions today.

"We now turn the page and focus on Barcelona in a week's time."

#14 | Fernando Alonso | Race

"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."

Andy Cowell | CEO & Team Principal

"We really feel for Fernando today. A power unit issue appeared just after his pitstop and, despite managing it for a while, we eventually had to park the car. Until then, we had done everything right and had a great opportunity to score a decent amount of points.

"Lance's race was clean and tidy, but it proved difficult to progress up the field. The mandatory two stops rule didn't really open up many opportunities, although some of our competitors used team tactics to favour one of their cars."

Next up

It's another quick turnaround for our team as we make our way to Barcelona for Fernando's home race and the final leg of the triple-header.

Saturday round-up and reaction

The team began Free Practice Three by scrubbing sets of slick tyres ahead of Qualifying and the Grand Prix.
Our drivers ran inverted strategies in FP3. Lance started on the Medium tyre before he made the switch to Softs, while Fernando began on Softs and then pitted for Mediums.
Track evolution played a key role in Qualifying, with sector times getting quicker as the session went on. Towards the end of Q1, a Yellow Flag following a crash for Kimi Antonelli impacted Lance who was on a flying lap, resulting in Lance being unable to complete his lap and unfortunately being knocked out of Q1.
Through to the final Qualifying segment, Fernando claimed P7 in the Principality.

#18 | Lance Stroll | Qualifying

"Unfortunate session for me today, there was lots of traffic at the start of Q1 that cost me valuable time and then a messy end to Q1 with the yellow flag which cost me the chance to improve my lap time and progress to Q2.

"We'll see what we can do with the two-stop strategy tomorrow, if there are opportunities to fight back some positions and with some luck there could be the Safety Car playing into our hands."

FP3

1:12.202

P15

1:12.563

P19

#14 | Fernando Alonso | Qualifying

"I'm very happy with P7 in Qualifying and I think we did the best job possible. It's such a high adrenaline circuit here and you have to take a huge amount of risk around the lap, but this is what makes it the best Saturday of the year. It's extremely rewarding as a driver.

"In a normal Monaco, P7 in Qualifying would normally mean the same result in the race, but with the new rules it creates different strategies and opportunities for everyone. Let's see what happens and if we can be on the right side of the luck tomorrow."

FP3

1:12.101

P12

1:11.674

1:11.182

1:10.924

Andy Cowell | CEO & Team Principal

"Saturday in Monaco is the most important Qualifying session of the year, so it was great to see Fernando deliver some excellent laps and secure seventh on the grid. He really enjoyed those laps, and you could see how much it meant to him and the entire team. Fernando was the only driver to progress through Q2 on the Medium tyres and full credit to the team for a well-executed session.

"Lance was really unlucky today: his opening laps were impacted by traffic and the yellow flag at the end of Q1 cost him the chance to progress.

"There's plenty to play for tomorrow, especially with different strategies expected up and down the grid with all cars pitting at least twice."

Friday

Both drivers began Friday's first Free Practice on the C6 tyre, the softest compound in Pirelli's range for this season.
Setting 28 laps, Fernando finished Free Practice One in P10.
Damage to Lance's AMR25 meant he was unable to continue FP1 running. Our team worked hard to repair the car in time for FP2.
During FP2, amid several Red and Yellow Flags, our duo set a combined 60 laps across the Soft and Medium compounds.

#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice

"It wasn't an easy FP1 for us today: we missed out on a lot of running due to contact with Charles Leclerc. The team in the garage worked hard to get the car back running ahead of FP2 and we made progress with the programme. We now need to see what changes we can make overnight to improve the car and be ready for Qualifying."

FP1

1:15.635

P20

FP2

1:12.512

P18

#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice

"I was a bit happier with the balance of the car in FP2 today after some set-up changes and hopefully we can take another step tomorrow. It's a track where you have to keep building the momentum and confidence. Traffic will be one of the main topics tomorrow, so let's see if we can get some clean laps in Qualifying."

FP1

1:12.727

P10

FP2

1:11.890