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Tag: Monaco
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Charles Leclerc tops both practice sessions; Piastri and Hamilton follow Leclerc in FP2
Monaco, 23 May 2025: After topping the opening practice session for home grand prix, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc made it a Friday clean sweep as he went quickest in the second practice session for Sunday’s 2025 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand, beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton to top spot in a session twice halted by red flags.
Earlier, Leclerc went quickest in the first free practice on the streets of his hometown as the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix got underway.
In FP1, Leclerc, topped the timesheet with a lap of 1:11.964 set close to the halfway mark of the one-hour session and though with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris got close the Ferrari driver’s time kept him in control until the chequered flag.
IN FP2: It was championship leader Piastri and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris who led the way early in the session before they were usurped by Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. However, at the 10-minute mark the session was halted for the first time when Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar clipped the barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane.
The French rookie suffered a rear left puncture and stopped on track, bringing out the red flags. He was, however, able to limp back to the pit lane and one the brief stoppage had ended he was able to rejoin the action.
When the session resumed Piastri returned to the top of the order with a lap of 1:12.548, with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli slotting into just 0.039s behind. Leclerc was going even quicker, however, and the local hero posted a lap of 1:12.103 to take top sport.
However, almost immediately after Leclerc’s heroics, Piastri brought out the red flags again. The Australian went straight on at Sainte Devote and broke his front wing. He too was able to continue and after returning to the pit lane under the caution and he was soon repaired and back out once the track went green again.
After the resumption, Aston’s Fernando Alonso and Hamilton traded the lead on hard Pirelli rubber before the field began to make the switch to the C6 Pirelli tyres for qualifying simulations.
And it was Leclerc who found the most time on the red-banded tyres. The Ferrari driver opened with a 1:11.414 before working his way down to 1:11.355 just after the halfway mark. The Monegasque driver might have gone even quicker but after a personal best opening sector he lost fractions of time across the rest of the lap.
Piastri got closest to the Ferrari star and his lap of 1:11.393 left him 0.038 off top spot and a little under seven hundredths clear of Hamilton who popped in a strong lap of 1:11.460 in the other Ferrari.
Lando Norris ended up in fourth place, 0.322 off Leclerc in the other McLaren, while Liam Lawson took a surprise fifth for Racing Bulls with a lap of 1:11.823, while team-mate Isack Hadjar recovered to finish sixth, just two hundredths of a second behind the New Zealander.
Alonso finished in P7 ahead of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli, while Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda finished 10th and 11th respectively.
2025 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:11.355 32 168.358
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:11.393 0.038 28 168.268
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:11.460 0.105 30 168.110
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:11.677 0.322 32 167.601
5 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:11.823 0.468 32 167.261
6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:11.842 0.487 17 167.216
7 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:11.890 0.535 30 167.105
8 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:11.918 0.563 34 167.040
9 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:12.002 0.647 32 166.845
10 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:12.068 0.713 29 166.692
11 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:12.072 0.717 30 166.683
12 George Russell Mercedes 1:12.092 0.737 32 166.637
13 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:12.151 0.796 32 166.500
14 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.234 0.879 29 166.309
15 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:12.259 0.904 33 166.251
16 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:12.262 0.907 32 166.245
17 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:12.404 1.049 34 165.919
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:12.512 1.157 30 165.671
19 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:12.541 1.186 33 165.605
20 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:13.415 2.060 31 163.634 -
Kush Maini ready to kickstart 2025 season with a win after taking reverse pole: FIA F2
Monaco, 23 May 2025: Indian star Kush Maini is hopeful that his reverse grid pole position in Monte Carlo will turn into a victory on Saturday in the Principality and give him and DAMS Lucas Oil a season-boosting result in the FIA Formula 2 World Championship.
So far in 2025, Maini confessed he has not had the season he envisaged since joining the French outfit but says there are positive signs even if there aren’t results to show that yet.
He also believes that a Sprint victory could be exactly what he and the team needs going into the rest of the European leg of the F2 season.
“Pace has never been a question mark. Jeddah, Imola – it’s always been there. Stuff hasn’t come together in a while now, but I hope this is the change for the better and I really enjoy working with my team. We get along really well. And I feel for sure like the best is yet to come.
“I think I just need to get my championship and kick-started and hopefully build from there. The last two years, I’ve always been in a very strong position early on and then fallen off so hopefully this year’s the opposite.”
Reflecting on the Qualifying session, Maini says that he felt he was able to get a clean run in and was thankful that traffic didn’t prevent preventing him from getting a laptime in.
The Alpine Academy driver says he handled the issue of clear air well with the team, enabling them to secure a top 10 start in both races.
“Honestly, last two years – 2023 actually, I was on for a really good lap, purple, and then traffic, and last year as well, I was outside the top 10. So it was scary going into qualifying, because there’s a lot of stuff that can be out of your control. But I think our session was very clean, and there were no real issues there.
“It was tricky overall. This time we were P5 but obviously with the groups split, P10 in the end. It’s not been the easiest start to the year. I feel Jeddah, we were very strong, and some things went out of our control, and then Imola, obviously my mistake. So it’s just nice to finally, finally, just be in the top 10 and really get our championship started.”
Looking ahead to the Sprint Race on Saturday, Maini will have a clear view into Turn 1, a coveted perspective around the streets of Monaco.
The Indian driver says he will be aiming to execute an error-free race, with overtaking opportunities so limited around the circuit.
“I think clean air in Monaco is king. You can really just enjoy driving and do a good race, manage everything. The main thing is now the start. Just get the start right and then focus on hitting your marks. It’s still a long way to go. I’m just happy and grateful that at least we’re in the top 10. Anything can happen in Monaco.
“No race is ever straightforward. There’s a lot of things that can happen, and we need to be on top of everything. Brake management and the start itself for example.
“It’s a very tight circuit, so being focused the whole time and taking nothing for granted, but it’s definitely one of the tracks where it’s tougher to overtake, so that is a positive.”
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Max Verstappen conquers rain and Monaco: F1 Round 7
Monte Carlo, 28 May 2023: Max Verstappen survived a long stint on fading tyres, late rain and tricky conditions to win the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, the Round 7 of the FIA Formula One World Championship, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso here on Sunday. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon took a well-worked first podium of the year for the French team.
At the start of the race Verstappen got away well from pole position to take the lead ahead of Alonso and over the opening phase of the race, the Dutchman built a solid lead over his Spanish rival. By lap 25 the championship leader had carved out an almost 12-second advantage at the front, though having started on medium tyres, the Dutchman knew that his lead would come under threat as Alonso went deeper into the race on hard tyres.
Behind the leading pair Ocon was proving to be the cork in a bottle containing Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and all three chose to pit for medium tyres to try to escape the lengthening train.
The skies above Monaco were darkening, however, and at the front Verstappen was now facing a dilemma. Alonso, running on hard tyres, could hold station and wait for the rain to arrive before making a sole pit stop. By contrast, Verstappen was finding the going increasingly difficult on his starting mediums. If the rain held off and he was forced to pit for new hard tyres he would be at the mercy of Alonso should the rain then fall.
The Red Bull driver was told to stay out as long as he could but with his front left tyre looking increasingly angry, he radioed his team to say he didn’t know how long he could go on.
As the race edged towards its final 20 laps, though, the Dutchman’s prayers were answered. Rain began to fall at the top of the circuit and soon began to drift towards the harbour.
Alonso chose to pit on lap 54, but crucially, the Spaniard opted to switch his hard tyres for a set of mediums. It proved to be the wrong choice and as the rain intensified Verstappen was finally called in to shed his ragged mediums for a set of intermediate Pirellis.
Alonso was forced to return to the pits for a set of the green-walled tyres and when he emerged he was more than 20 seconds behind Verstappen and despite the treacherous conditions the Dutchman was firmly in control.
Alonso tried to close in but eventually Verstappen took the flag almost 28 seconds ahead of the Aston Martin driver at the chequered flag.
Behind them Ocon converted his third-place start into a third F1 podium, despite coming under heavy pressure from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the wet closing stages of the race.
Hamilton finished fourth ahead of team-mate George Russell, who was handed a five-second penalty by the race stewards for rejoining the circuit unsafely at Mirabeau.
Despite the penalty Russell was still able to clinch fifth ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Pierre Gasly was seventh for Alpine ahead of the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri rounded out the points positions.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Race
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 78 1:48’51.980
2 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 78 1:49’19.901 27.921
3 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 78 1:49’28.970 36.990
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 78 1:49’31.042 39.062
5 George Russell Mercedes 78 1:49’48.264 56.284
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 78 1:49’53.870 1’01.890
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 78 1:49’54.342 1’02.362
8 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 78 1:49’55.371 1’03.391
9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 77 – 1 lap
10 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 77 – 1 lap
11 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 77 – 1 lap
12 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 77 – 1 lap
13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 77 – 1 lap
14 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 77 – 1 lap
15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda RBPT 76 – 2 laps
16 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 76 – 2 laps
17 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 76 – 2 laps
18 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 76 – 2 laps
19 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 70 – Not running
Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 53 – Retirement -
Max Verstappen tops FP2 ahead of Charles Leclerc: Monaco Grand Prix
Monaco, 27 May 2023: Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen topped the second practice session for this Sunday’s 2023 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by just under seven hundredths of a second. Third place went to Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz but the Spanish driver crashed in the final part of the session, bringing out the red flags.
In the early stages of the second hour of practice it was Verstappen who led the way with the Red Bull driver taking P1 thanks to a lap of 1:13.985. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton briefly supplanted the title leader by the slimmest of margins before the Dutchman resumed control with a time of 1:13.857.
Verstappen improved again to lower the benchmark to 1:13.312 as the early running on medium compound Pirelli tyres came to an end.
When the field began to move to soft tyres it was Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso who made the first major move. The two-time champion jumped ahead of Verstappen with a lap of 1:12.786, which stood as the best time of the session for more than 10 minutes before Sainz made his soft-tyre leap with a lap of 1:12.569.
Verstappen slotted into third with his first effort on soft tyres, but then moved ahead with his next run of 1:12.462.
Leclerc then jumped to P2, marginally ahead of his Ferrari team-mate but that brought an end to significant improvements as Sainz then brought out the red flags. The Spanish driver clipped the barrier on the inside as he went to exit the Swimming Pool section.
The contact broke a suspension arm on the front right of his car and he slid into the barriers at the exit, causing further damage to the right side of his Ferrari.
Once his car and the debris had been cleared running resumed with 12 minutes left on the clock but there were few improvements.
Verstappen therefore took top spot ahead of the Ferrari duo, with Alonso fourth fastest ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Hamilton finished sixth for Mercedes, while Sergio Perez was seventh in the second Red Bull RB19. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas ended the session in P8 ahead of the Alpines Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:12.462 30 165.786
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:12.527 0.065 33 165.637
3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:12.569 0.107 22 165.541
4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:12.682 0.220 32 165.284
5 Lando Norris McLaren 1:12.906 0.444 18 164.776
6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:12.960 0.498 29 164.654
7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:12.991 0.529 30 164.584
8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:13.050 0.588 33 164.451
9 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:13.089 0.627 28 164.363
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:13.162 0.700 30 164.199
11 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:13.185 0.723 31 164.148
12 George Russell Mercedes 1:13.191 0.729 32 164.134
13 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:13.354 0.892 32 163.770
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:13.457 0.995 28 163.540
15 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:13.520 1.058 33 163.400
16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:13.641 1.179 22 163.131
17 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1:13.663 1.201 34 163.083
18 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:13.673 1.211 30 163.061
19 Alexander Albon Williams 1:14.217 1.755 10 161.865
20 Logan Sargeant Williams 1:14.238 1.776 33 161.820 -
Formula E moves to Monaco to tackle most-iconic street circuit
The hunt for honours is wide open as ABB FIA Formula E World Championship protagonists prepare to unleash more Monaco magic
Monaco, 7 May 2021: The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is Monaco-bound this week, as competitors in the all-electric single-seater series get ready to tackle the most iconic street circuit in the world in the glamorous Principality on Saturday (8 May).
The three previous editions of the prestigious Monaco E-Prix have all proven to be hard-fought and thoroughly entertaining affairs, and the forthcoming race – round seven of the 2020/21 Formula E campaign – looks certain to deliver more of the same, especially as it will use the full track (3,33 km) for the first time, lightly modified in the chicane layout at T11 on the harbour front at the exit of the tunnel to suit the series’ requirements. Its tight, twisty and technical layout is sure to pose a stern challenge, and its unforgiving nature means no mistake will go unpunished.
Mercedes EQ’s Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne lead the Formula E field into the weekend, separated by nine points at the summit of the standings following the opening three double-headers. Between them, the pair have won half of the races disputed so far this season, but they have also notched up four retirements and neither scored in the most recent contest in Valencia. They will be determined to regain their momentum in Monaco, where de Vries twice triumphed in FIA Formula 2 and Vandoorne emerged victorious in GP2
Jaguar Racing’s Sam Bird and his former team-mate, Envision Virgin Racing ace Robin Frijns, are the Mercedes duo’s nearest pursuers, currently tied for third place in the classification. Bird was a winner in Diriyah and reached the rostrum again in Rome but endured a difficult weekend in Valencia, while Frijns has enjoyed a strong start to the campaign that he is aiming to build upon this weekend.
Mitch Evans in the second Jaguar entry is just behind in fifth, and like Bird, the New Zealander is eager to quickly bounce back from a subdued Spanish double-header for the British outfit.
With four top six finishes to-date in 2020/21, René Rast has been a model of consistency for Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler and has twice tasted victory champagne in Monaco in the Porsche Supercup. DS TECHEETAH’s Jean-Éric Vergne, meanwhile, is one of only two drivers on the grid to have won around the streets of the Principality in Formula E, leading from lights-to-flag in 2018/19 en route to his second championship crown.
The other active driver to have mastered Monaco in Formula E is Nissan e.dams’ Sébastien Buemi, who converted pole position into the top step of the podium in both 2014/15 and 2016/17. The Swiss driver is searching for a repeat performance this time around, following a disappointing start to the season that sees him just 22nd in the title table. His team-mate Oliver Rowland qualified fastest for the race in 2018/19 prior to a grid penalty being applied, so hopes are high for a bumper points haul on Saturday to fire the pair up the order.
Fellow Briton Jake Dennis launched himself spectacularly into the top ten in the standings courtesy of a brilliant maiden triumph in only his sixth Formula E start a week ago in Valencia. The BMW i Andretti Motorsport man has never previously competed in Monaco, but buoyed by his breakthrough success, he is excited to push for more silverware.
Edoardo Mortara and rookie ROKiT Venturi Racing team-mate Norman Nato have both displayed flashes of real pace over the six rounds so far, with the latter in particular unfortunate not to have more to show for his efforts. The Frenchman won in Monaco in Formula Renault 3.5 and raced to the runner-up spoils in GP2, so will surely fancy his chances of securing his first big Formula E result this weekend on his team home event.
Pascal Wehrlein has also shone in the Principality in the past – posting fastest lap in the Formula E race there in 2018/19 – while TAG Heuer Porsche stablemate André Lotterer finally got his challenge off the mark with a superb second place in Spain, following a troubled opening five outings.
Somebody in need of a similar result – and who has twice finished second in Monaco in Formula E – is 2016/17 champion Lucas Di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler), who is languishing down in 19th place in the points at present. Both the Brazilian and fellow title-holder António Félix da Costa (DS TECHEETAH) have been left ruing missed opportunities to win this season, but both are more than capable of kick-starting their campaigns around a circuit renowned for springing surprises.
The Monaco E-Prix is set to begin at 16:00 CET on Saturday, 8 May.
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Monaco GP separates men from boys… but Oh boy, what a win!
Daniel Ricciardo celebrating his win at the Monaco GP. Photo: Red Bull Racing Monaco, 27 May 2018: The Monaco GP is as extreme as it’s brutal. Hot-footing it for 78 laps while avoiding the ever-welcoming walls on this unique circuit does separate the men from the boys but in this case, the boy won! And in great style too.
To soak in the pressure from the likes of Vettel and Hamilton is not for the weak-hearted. However, the ever-smiling assassin, Ricciardo, had the comfort of leading the race from the get-go knowing very well that to catch him was one thing but to overtake was another story, all together.
Vettel and Hammy were not losing much sleep over his victory as they had racked up valuable points where it mattered since Ricciardo was not their title contender for the time being. Redbull’s pace is for real, however, and as the circus moves to more-traditional circuits such as Canada, the wheat shall be separated from the chaff! By and large, F1 is having the best season ever with so many drivers and teams in contention.Kimi and Bottas played the role of mere spectators at the Mecca of F1 and all they could do was go round and round the mulberry bush just hoping for a safety car to show up! When it actually did it was only a virtual safety car a few laps before the checkered flag that didn’t threaten the proceedings much. The winner, however, had to go through many anxious moments throughout the race as his car had a myriad of technical issues that threatened his otherwise perfect weekend. He, of course, had a far-better weekend than his teammate, Max Verstappen, who has become a famous trouble magnet! He simply has to take one step back to go two forward. His eagerness is his downfall. Currently a maverick but hopefully soon a champion!
Force India had yet another day to cheer as Esteban Ocon, the cool youngster put his Mercedes powered VJM11 chassis into the sixth slot. He is no fluke and a lot can be expected of him as the season progresses. Against all odds, team FI is punching considerably above its weight.
Monaco would, meanwhile, do well to create more over-overtaking room, otherwise, it may border on boring eventually! Qualifying results should not resemble race results! It’s wildly popular as is expensive and that suits the F1 characteristic. Advantage – partying and the wildlife!
Anyway, the 20-car train does look spectacular to the uninitiated and for some die-hards, it does increase the adrenaline. Whatever works I guess.
Two weeks later at Montreal, the real story may be told but then having seen the lopsided results thus far, for me to hazard a guess to spot winners will be rather foolish!
2018 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Race Results:
1 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 7.336
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 17.013
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 18.127
5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 18.822
6 Esteban Ocon Force India 23.667
7 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 24.331
8 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 24.839
9 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 25.317
10 Carlos Sainz Renault 1’09.013
11 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1’09.864
12 Sergio Perez Force India 1’10.461
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1’14.823
14 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1 lap
15 Romain Grosjean Haas 1 lap
16 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1 lap
17 Lance Stroll Williams 2 laps
Charles Leclerc Sauber 8 laps
Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 8 laps
Fernando Alonso McLaren 26 laps. -
Monaco GP: It’s all about grit, glamour and glory; thrilling battle in the offing
Monaco, 26 May 2018: Let’s start with why this GP is like none other in the calendar.It has an arrogance which is unique due to the patronage of the Uber Rich and the display of wealth per sq ft more than anywhere else on the planet. Last week, it was officially given No.1 status as the second smallest country in the world with citizens living an average age of 89 with more than 30 % worth upward of a million dollars! No wonder they find it gauche to have a brand or title sponsor. Just ‘ The Monaco GP ‘ if you don’t mind! It doesn’t pay any fees to F1, just the berthing rights of the boats during the GP that earn it around 17 million dollars and to add to F1s earning.
No grid girls in 2018 at F1 events was announced by the new management Liberty. Ha, ha, ha, you kidding, was Monaco’s response! Yep, the girls are very much frolicking around!
Any die-hard F1 fan will tell his own about the difficulty of traversing this treacherous 3.337-km street circuit. After the event, the Principality has to remove paint from the walls that was deposited by F1 cars daring to punch the limit! The legendary Ayrton Senna won the event six times! While not all F1 fans and participants approve of this edgy style of racing, it does add to the flavour!
FP 3 session late Saturday morning saw the impetuousness of youth go faster than Max Verstappen himself resulting in his shunt that put him out of the qualifying session much to the obvious delight of his Red Bull team-mate Ricciardo!
The risk and reward is very real in Monaco said the two times F1 pole-sitter Ricciardo, both scored at the same venue!
The Red Bull driver has been on a roll this weekend, topping the time-sheets in the Free Practice sessions, and he carried the form into qualifying, finishing ahead of Vettel, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Bottas. So, as has been the norm this season, the Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes (not necessarily in that order!) have made the front few rows their preserve.
While hypersoft was the preferred compound of choice by the top ten qualifiers, it’s going to be a gruelling event tomorrow and the eventually finishers are highly unlikely to finish in today’s pecking order! The safety car making it’s presence felt in this fascinating race has been the norm rather than the exception, and it’s going to be bumper to bumper all the way!
With no sign of rain forecast tomorrow it’s going to be hot on the circuit in more ways than one! With the unforgiving walls of the Monaco street circuit beckoning, it’s going to be a matter of true grit to the fore!
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F2: Artem Markelov scores stunning victory in feature race; Arjun Maini finishes fifth
Monte Carlo, 25 May 2018: Artem Markelov produced a masterclass performance in the FIA Formula 2 Championship Feature Race at the Circuit de Monaco, as the RUSSIOAN TIME driver weathered drama and a pair of safety car periods to secure victory by 10.7 seconds over Sean Gelael. The PREMA driver took advantage of the alternate strategy to take second, as Roberto Merhi did likewise to grab the final podium place available.
Nineteen cars took to the grid after Sergio Sette Camara was ruled unfit to start following his incident in Thursday’s qualifying session. In a hot, humid Monte Carlo, the race was put on ice almost immediately after the start; the safety car was brought out after Luca Ghiotto was helped into the wall by Antonio Fuoco off the line, as polesitter Alexander Albon preserved his lead of the race from Nyck de Vries and Markelov. Once Ghiotto’s stricken Campos Vexatec Racing car was cleared, Albon dictated the restart to remain ahead of de Vries, while Markelov was left to fend off from Arjun Maini after Fuoco was quickly handed a drive-through penalty.
De Vries began to throw the kitchen sink at Albon, before yellow flags flooded the Rascasse hairpin for George Russell, who hit the wall having botched an overtake on Nirei Fukuzumi. With the threat of a safety car – which remained off-track after the ART Grand Prix car was quickly put out of harm’s way – the supersoft runners began to filter into the pits; Lando Norris, Gelael, Louis Delétraz and Merhi peppering the pitlane with stops for soft tyres.
Norris then brought out a second safety car on lap 13, attempting an overtake on Ralph Boschung at the Anthony Noghes corner and bundling the Swiss driver into the wall – Norris earning a drive-through as a result. Subsequently, leading pair Albon and de Vries both attempted to pit under the safety car; the two found the pitlane entry too tight for both cars and collided – Albon ending up facing the wrong direction and de Vries sustaining damage.
The end of the safety car period shuffled Markelov to the front of the field, and he began to fire in a series of hot laps to build a gap over Maini. De Vries, the lead runner to have completed their mandatory stop, lost eighth to teammate Gelael before haemorrhaging a further raft of positions – the Dutchman calling it a day after 20 tours of the circuit. This left Gelael as Markelov’s benchmark as he sought to build a gap ahead of his own pitstop.
Dropping the hammer, Markelov had preserved sufficient life in his soft tyres to open the gap up to Gelael, eking out as much time as possible to complete his stop. Behind him, Fuoco, Aitken and Fukuzumi all blinked first, pitting while Markelov was setting further hot laps. With his lapped teammate Tadasuke Makino looming larger in his sights, Markelov came in for supersofts at the end of lap 34, crucially emerging ahead of Gelael.
Gelael had soon slashed the deficit to two seconds as Markelov needed time to bring his tyres up to temperature, but the Russian soon took advantage of his softer-compound rubber to light the timing boards up with best sectors, opening up his advantage to cross the line with a 10.7s advantage over the Indonesian. Having also pit before the safety car on the alternate strategy, Merhi capped off a well-managed drive to clinch third – he and Gelael claiming their first F2 podium finishes.
Having also benefitted from the option-prime strategy, Louis Delétraz swept home in fourth for his first points of the season, while Maini emerged ahead of Norris after his stop to grab fifth. Jack Aitken was seventh, while Fuoco recovered from his drive-through to eighth. Nicholas Latifi, having stopped the latest of anyone, clinched ninth from the final row of the grid, while Fukuzumi beat BWT Arden teammate Maximilian Günther to 10th.
Fuoco will start Saturday’s Sprint Race from eighth position and, without mandatory pitstops to make, drivers will undoubtedly have to take more risks to progress through the field. With the streets of Monaco keen to punish the slightest mistake, Saturday’s race promises to be just as exciting.
Albon handed grid penalty for Sprint Race
Following today’s FIA Formula 2 Feature Race, Alexander Albon was found guilty of causing a collision. When entering the pit lane for his mandatory pit stop, the DAMS driver collided with Nyck de Vries, who was making his entrance to the pits at the same time. The contact sent Albon into a spin, before he later retired from the race. The Dutchman from PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing also stopped his run a few laps later, his car sustaining damage after the collision.
As a consequence, Albon was handed a five-place grid drop for tomorrow’s Sprint Race in Monaco. He will henceforth start from last position.
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Free Practice 2: Daniel Ricciardo in charge again as Red Bull dominate in Monaco
Daniel Ricciardo….blowing hot in Monaco. Photo: Red Bull Racing Monaco, 24 May 2018: Daniel Ricciardo is in the mood to impress in Monaco this weekend, with the Red Bull star setting a new track record to top the timesheet for the second time on Thursday. His team-mate Max Verstappen was two-tenths back, while the nearest challenger in a rival car, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, was over half a second off the pace.
Lewis Hamilton, who was the leading Mercedes in fourth, spoke of Red Bull’s race-winning potential during Wednesday’s press conference, and they certainly demonstrated their pace in Monte Carlo by following up on their one-two in FP1 with another hugely confident-looking 90 minutes of running.
Raikkonen came home fifth for Ferrari – 0.702s behind Ricciardo – closely followed by his fellow-Finn Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes. Renault were the fourth quickest team in the day’s first session and they repeated those exploits in FP2, although it was Nico Hulkenberg – and not Carlos Sainz – who came home seventh.
Sainz had to settle for tenth, trailing the McLaren pair of Stoffel Vandoorne and ninth-placed Fernando Alonso, who was able to get in a healthy 42 laps after his MCL33 suffered a brake-by-wire issue in FP1 – restricting him to just 16 laps.
As in FP1, there was a mixture of tactics on show in the early stages of this session. Mercedes split their strategy, sending Hamilton out on the supersoft tyres and Bottas on the purple-marked ultrasoft compound, which the two Ferraris also started on, while the Red Bull pair were on the hypersofts.
Red Bull were in charge in the opening session, and they set out to stamp their authority on FP2 with the Prancing Horse of Vettel splitting early pace-setter Verstappen and Ricciardo. The drivers were looking to build momentum but were temporarily forced back to the pits when the red flag was brought out to allow for repair work to be carried out on a drain cover between Turn 4 and Turn 5.
When the action resumed, traffic was proving to be a problem on this tight and twisty circuit. Ferrari’s Raikkonen was among the drivers to improve on his first two sectors, but a slow-moving rival stopped him in his path – with Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin not proving popular with the Finn.
At this stage, Verstappen was keeping his nose clean. That was, however, until he slowed right down on his approach to the hairpin in order to let Grosjean past, and despite the best efforts of both drivers, they had a very minor coming together.
Despite Verstappen’s wing making contact with Grosjean’s rear tyre, there was no damage to either car, and the Dutchman was able to jump back to the top of the leaderboard after Vettel, only fourth fastest in FP1, temporarily set the quickest time.
With all the top three teams running on the new hypersoft tyres, could Mercedes or Ferrari better Red Bull’s pace? They were trying, but then Ricciardo popped up with a superb 1m 11.841s to move into the lead. And neither rival could get ahead of the charging Red Bull pair, with the Australian pipping his team mate for the second time on Thursday.
This time it was Ferrari who were Red Bull’s closest challengers, but a 0.572s gap between Vettel and Ricciardo suggests they have some catching up to do in FP3, as do Mercedes.
In the middle of the field, Renault had an impressive afternoon and McLaren enjoyed a better 90 minutes – but Haas endured an underwhelming session, with their drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean coming home in 16th and 18th respectively.
Where does it leave us heading into Saturday? Red Bull seem on track for their first pole position of the season – but expect Mercedes and Ferrari to have something to say…
Verstappen escapes penalty after reversing to re-join
Verstappen escapes penalty. Photo: Red Bull Racing It’s not often you see a Formula 1 driver reversing, but that’s what Verstappen resorted to after getting his braking wrong into Ste Devote during Monaco GP first practice. The Red Bull driver had a big front-left lock up on the approach to the first turn and opted to take to the escape road rather than attempting to make the corner.
Rather than spin the car round, he engaged reverse and moved back on track, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel cutting the corner to avoid Verstappen.
The Stewards investigated whether Verstappen had returned to the track in an unsafe manner, but after speaking to the Dutchman and reviewing footage, they deemed no further action was necessary.
They said yellow flags had been waved to warn other drivers Verstappen had run off track at the first corner and Verstappen had rejoined in a manner “that posed no danger to the other drivers”.
Verstappen was second quickest in first practice, 0.154s slower than Ricciardo, as the duo lay down a marker on a weekend where they are expected to challenge for pole position and the victory.
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Albon grabs third successive pole in Monaco qualifying, beating de Vries by 100th of a second
Monaco, 24 May 2018: Alexander Albon took his third consecutive pole position in an action-packed FIA Formula 2 Championship qualifying session at Monte Carlo here on Thursday. The DAMS driver clocked a 1:21.727 lap to stave off Nyck de Vries by 0.01s for the fastest time while Artem Markelov (Russian Time) will start from third in tomorrow’s feature race. Indian racer Arjun Maini who clocked fourth fastest in the second group of the split qualifying session for an overall 8th. He will start in P8 and will be looking to turn the trend of the past couple of races.Group A Qualifying sessionQualifying was split into two groups, with Santino Ferrucci leading the first half of the field out onto the circuit, with Markelov and Lando Norris in hot pursuit. Norris soon passed the pair to record the first flying lap, Jack Aitken challenging his compatriot’s time, but the pack soon retreated to the pits to put on sets of fresh supersoft tyres.Markelov – one of the first to make the switch to new tyres – beat Norris’ time, but the Carlin driver seemed destined to put the Russian in the shade with a pair of purple opening sectors. However, the Brit hit the wall on the exit of the Piscine complex, breaking his front wing and ending his hopes of securing pole position. Ferrucci briefly led the session before Markelov reclaimed top spot, the RUSSIAN TIME driver looking busy at the steering wheel throughout the lap.Albon then hurled his way to the head of the timesheets, overcoming Markelov’s benchmark by a tenth to grab first place – the Thai driver’s time holding firm in the final stages of the session.Group B Qualifying sessionThe second group then took to the circuit moments later, Arjun Maini first on scene ahead of George Russell and Sergio Sette Camara – Maini opening with the first flying lap. Sette Camara challenged with a quick first sector, but the Trident driver’s time was ultimately beaten by de Vries before the mid-session pitstop phase.Once the field had collected new tyres, Sette Camara dipped below de Vries’ time before the Dutchman attempted to charge back, but came across a slow Luca Ghiotto while on a quick lap. Undeterred, de Vries used the next lap to surge to the top of the timesheets of the second group, just one hundredth of a second behind Albon’s previous benchmark. With little chance of anyone improving, the second session came to an abrupt end with moments left on the clock after Sette Camara hit the wall at turn 1 to bring out a red flag.With the results aggregated, Albon and de Vries occupy the front row, with Markelov starting alongside Sette Camara behind them. Antonio Fuoco starts from fifth, ahead of countryman Luca Ghiotto. Maximilian Günther and Arjun Maini start tomorrow’s race from seventh and eighth, while Ferrucci and Ralph Boschung complete the top ten.As the current title contenders are dispersed among the grid, and with the potential for a drama-filled event, tomorrow’s race promises to provide plenty of intrigue amid the streets of Monte Carlo.2018 FIA Formula 2 Championship Round 4 Qualifying – Monte Carlo, MonacoGroup ADriverTeamTimeLaps1Alexander AlbonDAMS1:21.72792Artem MarkelovRUSSIAN TIME1:21.834113Antonio FuocoCharouz Racing System1:21.948104Maximilian GüntherBWT Arden1:22.194105Santino FerrucciTrident1:22.408106Roberto MerhiMP Motorsport1:22.569117Jack AitkenART Grand Prix1:22.597118Sean GelaelPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing1:22.654119Lando NorrisCarlin1:22.663710Roy NissanyCarlin1:23.79610Group B1Nyck de VriesPERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing1:21.737102Sergio Sette CamaraCarlin1:21.901103Luca GhiottoCampos Vexatec Racing1:22.241104Arjun MainiTrident1:22.263105Ralph BoschungMP Motorsport1:22.307106Tadasuke MakinoRUSSIAN TIME1:22.42097Nirei FukuzumiBWT Arden1:22.70798Louis DelétrazCharouz Racing System1:22.717109George RussellART Grand Prix1:22.9771110Nicholas LatifiDAMS1:23.15710
Vettel and Hammy were not losing much sleep over his victory as they had racked up valuable points where it mattered since Ricciardo was not their title contender for the time being. Redbull’s pace is for real, however, and as the circus moves to more-traditional circuits such as Canada, the wheat shall be separated from the chaff! By and large, F1 is having the best season ever with so many drivers and teams in contention.
