Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Monaco Grand Prix

  • F1 to race in Monaco through 2035

    F1 has announced an extension of the Monaco Grand Prix until 2035 inclusive, building on the existing agreement with the Automobile Club of Monaco that runs through the 2031 season.

    One of the sport’s most enduring races, having featured on the World Championship calendar in F1’s inaugural year in 1950, the Monaco Grand Prix has played host to plenty of memorable moments over the years.

    Monte Carlo’s tight, twisty streets mean the Grand Prix demands maximum skill and concentration from the drivers, while its glamour and unique setting make it one of the most famous sporting events in the world.

    In 2024, hometown hero Charles Leclerc created history when he became the first Monegasque in F1 history to win the Grand Prix, and this year Lando Norris secured his first-ever win in the Principality.

    From the rest of the current F1 grid, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have all won multiple times on the streets of Monaco. They join legends including Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda, Sir Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill, who have all triumphed around the 3.3 kilometre circuit.

    The streets of Monaco have been echoing with the sound of Formula 1 since the earliest days of the sport, so I’m delighted to announce the extension of this fantastic event to 2035. It is an iconic race that is loved by all drivers and fans, with a unique vibe thanks to its location on the world’s most glamorous Principality. I would like to say a special thank you to His Royal Serene Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Michel Boeri, President of the Automobile Club of Monaco and everyone involved in securing the long-term future of this historic partnership.
    F1 President & CEO, Stefano Domenicali.

    I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco for his unwavering support, as well as to Stefano Domenicali for his continued trust. The Automobile Club de Monaco is delighted with this four-year extension, which reflects the strong and enduring relationship between Formula 1 and the Principality of Monaco. This agreement reaffirms, more than ever, our commitment to delivering an exceptional, unmatched, and world-renowned race weekend to the passionate fans who travel from all over the globe to attend the Monaco Grand Prix, first held in 1929. I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding work of the F1 community and all the volunteers, as well as that of the Monegasque institutions, whose involvement is essential to the success of this extraordinary event.
    Michel Boeri, President of the Automobile Club of Monaco.

  • F3 – Monaco – Day 3 & 4

    Day 3-

    It was a fast start from second for Stenshorne, but pole-sitter Alessandro Giusti had a slow getaway and dropped to fourth before reaching Turn 1.

    Taponen was one of the beneficiaries of Giusti’s start as the ART driver went up to P2 ahead of his teammate van Hopen.

    However, the Safety Car was deployed at the end of the opening lap as James Hedley, Nicola Lacorte, Santiago Ramos and Ivan Domingues collided at Turn 8, with all four drivers’ cars needing to be cleared up.

    In a separate incident, Noel Leon and Callum Voisin made contact, forcing the PREMA Racing driver to stop on track with damage.

    Back to racing conditions, Stenshorne was showing good pace out in front and had pulled out a one second gap to Taponen by the start of Lap 10, the rookie now coming under threat from van Hoepen.

    Onto Lap 12, and the Norwegian’s lead was over 2.1s, while van Hoepen was less than two-tenths away from Taponen.
    However, by the end of the lap, the Finn driver reduced the gap to just 0.6s, while Charlie Wurz, in sixth, was now under pressure from his Trident teammate Rafael Camara.

    Behind them, Mari Boya was under attack from Voisin, with his Rodin Motorsport teammates Louis Sharp and Roman Bilinski keeping a close eye on their battle.

    Lap 15 of 23, Noah Stromsted reported a puncture after colliding with Brad Benavides. The damage forced the Trident rookie to retire after recovering to the pit lane.

    Out in front, Stenshorne had built his lead back up to 1.3s clear by the end of Lap 17, with van Hoepen and Giusti right on the back of Taponen once again.

    Onto the penultimate lap and Boya was having to hold off the Rodin trio for P8. Voisin then hit the rear of the Spaniard at the Nouvelle Chicane, causing him to have a slow exit, which allowed teammate Sharp to take ninth from him.

    Back at the front, Stenshorne stormed off to win by 2.2s from Taponen, as van Hoepen rounded out the top three to achieve his first podium since the same race in 2024.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Stenshorne, P2: Taponen, P3: van Hoepen, P4: Giusti, P5: Tramnitz, P6: Wurz, P7: Camara, P8: Boya, P9: Sharp and P10: Voisin.

    Day 4-

    It was a strong start for Tsolov, who got away well at lights out to keep the lead, but behind him the battle for a place in the top three got off to a fast start.

    Bilinski immediately covered off Boya, but the Rodin driver was coming under attack from the Spaniard and his teammate Callum Voisin.

    The Polish driver was able to keep the position, but Voisin then had a look to the inside of Boya at Turn 4, although the Campos #10 was able to shut the door.

    The race settled down at the start of Lap 6, with Boya right on the back of Bilinski, just three-tenths separating the pair.

    Behind them though and having overtaken Neol Leon at the start to go to fifth, Tim Tramnitz was closing in on the back of Vousun, who was also chasing down Boya for P3.

    Lap 10 of 27 and Bilinski, having set the fastest lap on the previous tour, was within DRS range of Tsolov and built a 2.3s clear of Boya in third.
    Tsolov fought back on the next lap though, and by lap 13, the Campos driver had built his lead back up to two seconds.

    Tsolov now 7.5s clear of Bilinski was the only driver in the top 10 lapping in the 1:26s. However, the Bulgarian’s big lead was taken away after the Safety Car was deployed on Lap 19, following Leon’s collision with the barrier at Portier.

    His PREMA car was cleared and racing resumed on Lap 20, but there was a problem for Charlie Wurz. In P6, the Australian was running with a broken front wing.

    Laurens van Hoepen made his way through at Tabac, but on the next lap, Wurz found the barrier Massanet, releasing the drivers behind him.

    The Safety Car was soon out on track again with PREMA’s Brando Badoer stopped at Portier after a tangle with Nicola Marinangeli. The AIX driver was given a 10-second time penalty for causing the collision.

    The action resumed on Lap 24 of 27 and it was more bad news for Trident, as Rafael Camara lost the rear right wheel on track, forcing him to retire from the race.

    Out in front, Tsolov had marched off into the distance once more and was three seconds clear of Bilinski at the start of Lap 26.

    Onto the final lap, and Voisin was fighting hard to get ahead of Boya, even brushing the barrier at Turn 1. Tsolov though had marched off into the distance and crossed the line to win for the fifth time in Formula 3.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Tsolov, P2: Bilinski, P3: Boya, P4: Voisin, P5: Tramnitz, P6: van Hopen, P7: Taponen, P8: Stenshorne, P9: Sharp and P10: Giusti.

  • R8 – Monaco

    Lando Norris expertly converted pole position into victory during Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, leading home Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.

    Norris survived a massive lock-up at the first corner before working through Virtual Safety Car phases, spells of traffic and the mandated two-stop rule to score his second win of the season and slash Piastri’s championship lead.

    Leclerc applied plenty of pressure at various stages of the race, including that initial run to Sainte Devote and late on when Verstappen backed the pack up, but ultimately had to settle for second with Piastri – now just three points clear of Norris in the standings – completing the podium.

    Verstappen ran an off-set tyre strategy that saw the Red Bull driver go much longer across his stints, giving him the race lead into the very closing stages, but he dropped to fourth after completing his required second stop with a lap to go.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Norris, P2: Leclerc, P3: Piastri, P4: Verstappen, P5: Hamilton, P6: Hadjar, P7: Ocon, P8: Lawson, P9: Albon and P10: Sainz.

    What a result for Norris and McLaren!! This is exactly what Norris would’ve wanted this weekend, a win to boost his confidence as he has struggled in past weekends but this was a lovely drive by the Brit! As well, Piastri on the podium too, a big points haul for the Papaya team and boosting their lead in the Constructor’s Championship.

    A lovely result for home hero, Charles Leclerc, P2! His second podium of the year too, it’s a shame he didn’t have that bit extra for the win, but McLaren are just so quick and its Monaco unfortunately there’s not many overtaking places where your not gonna risk it. As for his teammate, Hamilton finished P5, a good points haul for the Italian team which has now brought Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari all within 5 points of each other…

    P4 for the reigning World Champion, he struggled with the car a lot this weekend, however he still managed to grab P4, a shame he didn’t get on the podium but a decent strategy from the team, it just didn’t pay off with the red flag they hoped for.

    P6 for Isack Hadjar, what a lovely drive for the rookie, he stayed out of trouble and was rewarded with a decent amount of points! As for his teammate, Lawson also comes home with points finishing 8th, a decent weekend for the team overall.

    P7 for Ocon in the Haas which we love to see! As for Bearman he made a few places up, finishing just outside the points in P12, but a decent effort from the Brit who started P20.

    Now onto Mercedes, a horrible weekend for the team, both drivers out in Q2, they knew from there that it wasn’t their weekend, Russell finished 11th and Antonelli finished 18th.

    Double point finish for Williams too, Albon 9th and Sainz 10th. The smaller teams have really benefited from both Mercedes not being in the top 10 this weekend, and honestly, this is what is going to matter closer to the end of the season when they’ve grabbed points as and when they can.

    Now we don’t have to wait too long, as the next race is this week! For Round 9 we are headed to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix!

  • F2 – Monaco – Day 1 & 2

    Day 1-

    Victor Martins was in a class of one on the opening day of running in Monte Carlo, logging a 1:21.715 to lead the way for ART Grand Prix.

    The Frenchman was the only driver in the 1:21s in Practice, as Luke Browning and Leonardo Fornaroli followed in second and third places for Hitech TGR and Invicta Racing respectively.

    With the first round of laps on the board, Championship leader Alexander Dunne set the pace on 1:25.666 for Rodin Motorsport.

    Sami Meguetounif settled into second less than a tenth behind in the #22 Trident, with Gabriele Mini third for PREMA with 10 minutes gone.

    Jak Crawford and then Martins brought the time to beat down, the ART driver took over P1 with a 1:24.014. The Frenchman then improved to go six-tenths clear, putting in a 1:23.230 on his next attempt.

    Martins continued to fly, with the Williams Racing Academy talent improving onto a 1:22.623, with fellow Williams junior Browning in P2.

    There was a brief lull as drivers returned to the pitlane for a fresh set of tyres before the final 15 minute spell of on-track running.

    With Supersoft tyres fitted, Mini looked set to go quickest but a Red Flag was thrown after Amaury Cordeel nosed his Rodin Motorsport car into the Turn 1 barriers.

    He was out of the car and the Rodin was recovered , leaving seven minutes of Free Practice left to run as things went back to green flag conditions.

    There were several late improvements, with Mini resuming from where he left off prior to the temporary stoppage as he went quickest of all.

    That was until Martins completed his Supersoft lap to go 0.7s clear of the pack with the fastest time of time of the day.

    Browning and Fornaroli found a late improvement to go second and third quickest, splitting Martins and dropping Mini to fourth.

    Day 2-

    The even numbered cars kicked off the first segment and with warm up laps completed, Martins picked up his pace immediately to put in a 1:21.792 for the top spot by over a second.

    Arvid Lindblad cut that gap down to just under three-tenths on his first effort for Campos Racing, going to second.

    Into the final five minutes and Lindblad became the first driver to displace Martins from the top spot, going to provisional pole momentarily until Richard Verschoor secured P1 with a 1:21.520.

    Martins had to abandon his second attempt after cutting the Nouvelle Chicane, but he moved back to provisional pole after a cool down lap, setting a 1:21.145.

    On to the final attempts, Martins couldn’t improve but he had done enough to retain the top sport in Group A, finishing up 0.375s ahead of Verschoor in P2.

    With the target set, the odd numbered cars followed out of the pitlane, and just as the first flying laps were set to get underway, the red flags were waving.

    Rafael Villagomez found the barriers at the final corner after a squabble for track position with Alexander Dunne.

    Once the Van Amersfoort Racing car was recovered, the stewards confirmed the incident would be investigated after the session.

    Preparation laps complete, Dunne set the pace with a 1:21.781 to go to P1 ahead of Leonardo Fornaroli of Invicta Racing.

    As the session ticked into the final three minutes, the next set of laps arrived and the Championship leader improved onto a 1:21.437. Sebastian Montoya found more time also.

    With less than a minute to go, Dunne found a session-best first and second sector time and a final sector good enough to set a 1:21.142.

    Fornaroli improved to second position, but third placed driver Montoya spun to bring out the yellow flags in the final sector.

    The full top 10 overall is- P1: Dunne, P2: Martins, P3: Fornaroli, P4: Verschoor, P5: Montoya, P6: Lindblad, P7: Crawford, P8: Mini, P9: Browning and P10: Maini.

  • F3 – Monaco – Day 1 & 2

    Day 1-

    Nikola Tsolov ended Day 1 of running in Monte Carlo on top, as the Campos Racing driver led the way in Free Practice with a 1:25.622.

    The Bulgarian driver beat MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz to the top time by 0.219s, as Trident’s Charlie Wurz rounded out the top three.

    The drivers were immediately out on track on the carry over Medium tyres from Imola, looking to get up to speed as quickly as possible, as Callum Voisin led the way early on.

    The Rodin Motorsport driver’s 1:29.512 was the benchmark but as the times improved, Tramnitz overtook P1 with a 1:28.875, leading his rookie MP teammate Alessandro Giusti by 0.114s.

    The German continued to set the pace, completing a 1:27.733, before going even quicker to a 1:27.459, wit Giusti in P2 once more, over half a second behind.

    The MP pairing were setting the timesheets alight as Giusti crossed the line to go P1, but only briefly as Tramnitz completed a 1:27.092 to eclipse his teammate by 0.082s.

    After 25 minutes of running, the teams swapped the Mediums for the Soft tyres, looking to give the drivers a feel for the compound they will be using for the rest of the weekend.

    But as the drivers set off on their laps, Trident’s Noah Stromsted collided with the barrier at Turn 1, bringing out the Red Flags with less than 12 minutes to go in the session.

    Green flag conditions returned with six minutes remaining, and it was Campos’ Mari Boya that took to the top on a 1:26.393.

    However, as the chequered flag waved, the fastest time changed hands several times, before Tsolov ended the session on top with a 1:25.622.

    Day 2-

    The first 15 drivers headed out for Qualifying and after a few preparation laps, Tsolov went fastest on a 1:26.072, with PREMA Racing’s Noel Leon in P2, 0.261s behind.

    Tsolov retained his place at the top with a 1:26.647 on his next push lap, but his gap to Leon on this occasion was 0.102s, as Brad Benavides went into the top three for AIX Racing.

    The drivers had time for a couple more laps and the timesheets were being set alight as there were several personal best times being set.

    Leon went quickest on a 1:25.502, but he was soon beaten by the other Campos of Mari Boya by 0.022s with Charlie Wurz in P3 for Trident, just 0.034s off provisional pole.

    Tsolov was flying though, and he completed a 1:24.882 to take provisional pole. Wurz followed him across the line to go second, over half a second behind the Bulgarian.

    But Boya was improving once again and set the fastest first sector of the session. However, the Spaniard just did not have enough to beat Tsolov, crossing the line to go P2, 0.127s off his teammate.

    Leon’s late lap took him to P3 ahead of Wurz, with Tuukka Taponen in fifth for ART Grand Prix, as Martinius Stenshorne rounded out the top six for Hitech TGR.

    With another 16 minutes on the clock, the second set of drivers went out on to the track with a 1:24.882 the time to beat.
    Trident’s Rafael Camara set the early pace with a 1:25.635, 0.123s quicker than Voisin in second.

    On the next set of laps, Voisin’s 1:25.359 was now the benchmark for the rest of the field to beat, and Bilinski made it a Rodin one-two by going to within 0.104s off his teammate’s time.

    However, as the drivers set off on their next laps, PREMA’s Brando Badoer hit the barrier at Turn 1, bringing out the Red Flags.

    Green flags were waved and the drivers had only just three minutes and 21 seconds to try and get their best time of the day in.

    Bilinski was one of the few that could improve though. His 1:25.332 put him in P1, but it was not enough to beat Tsolov’s pole-sealing time, giving Campos their first FIA F3 pole since Spa-Francorchamps in 2023.

    The full top 10 are- Pole: Tsolov, P2: Bilinski, P3: Boya, P4: Voisin, P5: Leon, P6: Tramnitz, P7: Wurz, P8: Camara, P9: Taponen and P10: van Hoepen.

  • R8 – Tyre Selection

    The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most iconic and prestigious events on the Formula 1 calendar, not just because of its long history but also because of the mystique that surrounds it.

    Narrow streets, tight turns, steep climbs and descents and the famous tunnel that leads onto the harbour are some of the defining characteristics that make Monaco a track like no other. It’s a place where precision is more important than power, with virtually no room for mistakes.

    Winding its way through the streets of the Principality usually open to normal traffic, the track is 3.337 kilometres long and tackled 78 times in the race.
    Very narrow with 19 corners, some of them very tight, there are virtually no run-off areas and the barriers are so close that the drivers often brush up against them.

    Around half the track has been resurfaced, specifically from Turn 12 to Turn 3, so that this section should now be as smooth as the rest of the circuit.
    This type of surface does not promote tyre grip and could lead to graining, especially in the first couple of practice sessions.

    For a second consecutive race, Pirelli has selected the three softest compounds from the 2025 range.
    As in Imola last week, the C4 (Hard), C5 (Medium) and C6 (Soft), with the first two being the mandatory compounds for the race.

    This weekend will see an important change to the regulations, specifically for this event only.
    During the race, two pit stops will be mandatory, the aim for this is to inject more excitement into a race that has often been very linear and predictable.

    In the Monaco Grand Prix drivers usually pit just once to change tyres, but last year out of theoretical field of 20, only six drivers made an actual in-race pit stop.

    That was because the race was red flagged on the opening lap so that all the drivers still in the race were able to immediately adhere to the rule that two different compounds must be used, with the nine who started on the medium switching to the hard and the remaining 11 doing the opposite.

  • McLaren reveal tweaked livery for Monaco

    McLaren have revealed a special ‘Riviera-inspired’ livery enhancement that will run on their Formula 1 cars at the upcoming Monaco and Spanish Grand Prix.

    In collaboration with team partner OKX, the livery change is a nod to McLaren’s iconic M7A race car, while “drawing inspiration from the elegance of the Riviera”.

    The M7A was the car with which founder Bruce McLaren claimed the team’s first F1 victory at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix – as well as being the machine that debuted their now legendary papaya livery.

    McLaren’s new design will run on both MCL39s throughout the entirety of the Monaco and Spanish Grand Prix weekends, with drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri also sporting fresh overalls in Monaco.

    It is not the first time McLaren have run a bespoke livery in Monaco, with the squad unveiling an Ayrton Senna-inspired design for last year’s Grand Prix on the streets of the Principality.

    Before that, they ran a one-off ‘Triple Crown’ papaya, white and black livery at the 2023 event as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations and in 2021 they brought the blue and orange colours of then partner Gulf Oil back to F1.

    We’re always proud to be able to celebrate our storied legacy. Working with OKX on this latest livery enhancement is a great way to not only celebrate this history, but also the innovation and forward-thinking nature that inspires both McLaren and OKX brands. I can’t wait to see the cars on track over the next two race weekends.
    Louise McEwen, Chief McLaren Officer at McLaren Racing.

  • FIA World Motor Sport Council confirm changes to Monaco GP

    The FIA World Motor Sport Council have approved proposals for a mandatory two-stop strategy to be implemented at the Monaco Grand Prix.

    It comes following a meeting between stakeholders, coinciding with the start of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

    The change, which will apply to both wet and dry races, has been pushed through “with the primary intent of improving the sporting spectacle” of the event.

    Drivers will now be required to use at least three sets of tyres in the race with a minimum of two different tyre compounds to be used if conditions are dry.

    The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix saw the top 10 start and finish in the same positions, with a red flag on the opening lap taking out any strategic element.

    Since 2010, F1 rules state that at least two dry tyre compounds must be used in a Grand Prix if the conditions are dry, therefore each driver must complete a pit stop, unless there is a red flag which allows you to change tyres.

    F1 and the Monaco Grand Prix have agreed a new deal last year that will see the event remain on the calendar until at least 2031, so efforts to make the race better have taken place.

  • Formula 1 to race in Monaco until 2031

    Formula 1 will continue to race around the streets of Monaco until 2031 inclusive, following a six year extension to the existing agreement.

    Part of the first Formula 1 World Championship calendar back in 1950 and present since 1955, the Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most famous sporting events in the world and the ultimate test for F1 drivers with pure concentration and skill needed,

    Located on the banks of the French Riveria, the field must navigate the scenic streets of Monte Carlo, tackling the slowest corner on the F1 circuit, the Loews Hairpin, and the iconic Casion Square and Swimming Pool sections.

    Five of the current F1 grid sit alongside legends including Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda in having triumphed around the 3.3km circuit.

    As F1 experiences significant growth around the world, the appeal of the Monaco Grand Prix continues to be felt.
    The 2024 weekend, was watched by a cumulative audience of over 70 million fans.

    The 2025 Monaco Grand Prix will be taking place from May 23rd to 25th next year and will mark the 75th anniversary of the race’s official F1 debut, while from 2026, the event will be contested on the first full weekend in June each year.

    I’m delighted that Formula 1 will continue to race in Monaco until 2031. The streets of Monte Carlo are unique and a famous part of Formula 1, and the Monaco Grand Prix remains a race that all drivers dream of winning. I would like to extend a special thanks to H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Michel Boeri, President of the Automobile Club of Monaco and everyone involved in the extension of this important partnership. This agreement signals a new era of partnership and innovation between Formula 1 and Monaco. It is the future focused leadership of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco which will allow us to create an optimised calendar, which reduces pressure on logistics, and to decrease the environmental impact of our global championship, as we continue the path towards our Net Zero goal by 2030.
    Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1.

    I would particularly like to thank H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Stefano Domenicali, and everyone involved in the extension of this contract. The signing of this new agreement with the Formula One Group until 2031 not only confirms the strength of our relationship but reaffirms our commitment to offering all visitors an unrivalled, first-class experience at race weekends. The Monaco Grand Prix is the most important sporting event here and continues to attract hundreds of thousands of spectators to the Principality and millions of global television viewers worldwide.
    Michel Boeri, President of the Automobile Club of Monaco.

  • F2 – RND 5 Day 3 & 4

    Day 3-

    Despite a slower getaway than fellow front row starter Bortoleto, Barnard was able to keep a hold of the lead while Hauger tucked into third.
    However, a safety car was required after Victor Martins’ race ended early in the barriers at Turn 1.

    The ART Grand Prix driver appeared to collide with DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford and Campos Racing’s Josep Maria Marti, taking off his front wing and sending him into the wall.

    At the restart, Barnard kept a hold of the lead, but the Safety Car was deployed again on lap 6 when Marti crashed into the wall at the swimming pool section.
    Racing then resumed on lap 8 and by the end of the next tour of the track, the top four from Barnard to Andrea Kimi Antonelli were separated by a second and a half.

    The Virtual Safety Car was then deployed on lap 11 after Richard Verschoor sustained damage on his front wing after hitting the apex at Mirabeua.
    The Trident driver appeared to receive a tap from Joshua Duerksen causing him to lose control.

    Out in front, Barnard’s lead over Bortoleto was now over two seconds by the start of lap 19, the Brazilian driver now coming under pressure from Hauger.

    Bearman’s day was made worse when he a slow moment out of Portier following an issue which dropped him down a few places.
    This promoted Maloney to 11th, who was looking to dive down the inside of Zak O’Sullivan for P10.

    The Championship leader’s day then came to an end at La Rascasse after he locked up into the corner before being sent into a spin by Juan Manuel Correa. This also left Maini without a place to go causing him to stop next to Maloney, with the track blocked it triggered a red flag.

    Racing got back underway with a rolling start on lap 26 and Barnard was now nearly four seconds clear of Bortoleto as they rounded the track for the 28th time.

    As they started the final lap, the gap out front was five seconds leaving Barnard to cross the line in first, giving him and AIX Racing their maiden Formula 2 victory. Boroleto finished in P2 while Hauger followed him across the line to take P3.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Barnard, P2: Bortoleto, P3: Hauger, P4: Antonelli, P5: Colapinto, P6: Stanek, P7: Aron, P8: Hadjar, P9: Fittipaldi and P10: O’Sullivan.

    Day 4-

    Richard Verschoor made a fast start from pole in the Trident, but his fellow front row starter Victor Martins fell down the order. It allowed Hadjar and Aron to move up to second and third.

    Further back, Gabriel Bortoleto was using his supersoft tyres well as he went round the outside of Dennis Hauger at the Turn 6 hairpin putting him up to eighth. He was right behind Oliver Bearman who made his way up from 12th to P7.

    It was not good news however for DAMS Lucas Oil driver Jak Crawford, who stopped on track at Turn 7 after colliding with the Invicta Racing car of Kush Maini.

    On lap 4 of 42, Verschoor was being put under pressure by Hadjar, while Aron was falling back in third. Just behind the top three, Colapinto was feeling the presence of PREMA’s Antonelli for P4.

    The drivers then held station but by lap 10, Bortoleto was given the hurry up from his Invicta Racing team and told to catch berman ahead.

    Trouble came for Trident and Verschoor, with the Dutch driver coming on the radio to report an issue. The Dutchman was able to keep things going but his three second lead to Hadjar was now gone.

    At the halfway stage, Hitech and PREMA rolled the dice by pitting Aron and Antonelli for the supersoft tyres. The latter came out ahead his teammmate Bearman, though the two went wheel to wheel and the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy talent claimed the position.

    On lap 36, Hadjar came on the radio to say he had hit the wall but was able to continue, although he was still coming under attack from Aron.
    Elsewhere, Maloney and Barnard made contact at the Turn 6 hairpin, with the AIX racer losing a piece of his front wing.

    Lap 40, Joshua Duerksen was next to pit but collided with Maloney at Turn 1. The AIX driver stopped on track while the Rodin Motorsport driver continued on.

    This gave Zak O’Sullivan, the last remaining runner on the alternative strategy yet to pit, the chance to come in from the lead.
    Crucially, he was called in by ART moments before the VSC was deployed, making his stop under VSC legal.

    The Brit re-joined ahead of Hadjar on the penultimate lap before holding him off on a tense final lap to take his maiden victory in Formula 2.

    The full top 10 are- P1: O’Sullivan, P2: Hadjar, P3: Aron, P4: Bearman, P5: Correa, P6: Hauger, P7: Antonelli, P8: Bortoleto, P9: Martins and P10: Maloney.

  • F3 – RND 4 Day 3 & 4

    Day 3-

    Tsolov got the launch he needed to retain first, but Tramnitz was able to leapfrog the ART of van Hoepen to take second into Turn 1.

    Further back and coming through Casino Square, contact between the third ART of Christian Mansell and PREMA Racing’s Arvid Lindblad put both into the wall.
    Their clash left the AIX Racing car of Joshua Dufek, MP Motorsport driver Alex Dunne and Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Cian SHields unable to avoid a collision behind.

    It brought out the Safety Car before the first lap was completed, but with five cars needing to be cleared a red flag followed.

    Racing got back underway entering lap 4 with a rolling start and Tsolov retained his lead comfortably over Tramnitz.

    The gaps fluctuated between those in the top 10 in the early phases of green flag racing, as Tsolov was able to repel Tramnitz thereby preventing the MP driver from gaining the DRS advantage.

    Lap 13, the race was run for Kacper Sztuka, who stopped on the inside of Turn 1 with a puncture after contact with Var’s Sophia Floersch, bringing out a Safety Car once again.
    It was a short interruption and racing action then resumed going onto Lap 16, and Tsolov re-launched into a decent lead.

    Over the line to start lap 20, the gap was up to 3.5s over Tramnitz, who had van Hoepen and Leon charging and within a second in the fight for the podium positions.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Tsolov, P2: Tramnitz, P3: Van Hoepen, P4: Leon, P5: Loake, P6: Boya, P7: Beganovic, P8: Browning, P9: Fornaroli and P10: Goethe.

    Day 4-

    Mini got a good launch to hold onto the lead over Mansell into Turn 1 as Browning followed the pair in third position.
    Further round the opening lap, Jenzer Motorsport driver Charlie Wurz was left in the barriers at Portier after contact with Rodin Motorsport’s Piotr Wisnicki to bring out a Safety Car.

    Racing got back underway entering lap 3, with Mini retaining the lead over the chasing pack but with Mansell was right in his wheel tracks.

    Joseph Loake proved overtaking was possible around the Principality, diving to the inside of Mari Boya’s Campos Racing car at La Rascasse on lap 6.

    With the opening third of the race run, Mini still had Mansell for company in second, unable to break out of DRS range to the Australian driver, while Browning had dropped several seconds back in third.

    ART’s Laurnes van Hoepen was on the move next, making a brave dive to the inside of Van Amersfoort’s Noel Leon at Mirabeau to move into 10th.

    Lap 20, and there was three-car collision at Turn 5 involving Leon, ART driver Nikola Tsolov and Sami Meguetounif.
    The Trident driver was left out of the running, the other pair rejoined but not before the safety car was deployed.

    Tsolov had attempted a pass on the inside but tagged the VAR driver into a spin, leaving Meguetounif nowhere to go in avoidance.
    The Safety Car was withdrawn entering lap 23, and Mini got a good enough restart to keep Mansell behind him.

    Loake attempted another pass on Boya, but with the door firmly shut on him at the Turn 6 hairpin, MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz profited to seize eighth position.

    Mini repelled the last gasp challenge from Mansell to secure his first victory of the season and his second Feature Race triumph on the streets of Monte Carlo.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Mini, P2: Mansell, P3: Browning, P4: Lindblad, P5: Fornaroli, P6: Beganovic, P7: Boya, P8: Tramnitz, P9: Loake and P10: Goethe.

  • RW 8 – Monaco

    Round 8 out of 24 is complete, and we had a different winner this season!

    Charles Leclerc has finally taken his victory in the Monaco Grand Prix, having enjoyed a mostly serene drive to P1 in front of his home crowd. He led home McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in P2 and his teammate Carlos Sainz rounding out the top three.

    The red flags were thrown before the first lap of the iconic event had even been completed after a huge collision which involved 3 cars!

    But before we get into that the full top 10 are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Piastri, P3: Sainz, P4: Norris, P5: Russell, P6: Verstappen, P7: Hamilton, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Albon and P10: Gasly.

    A VERY good result for Ferrari, Charles finally done it! He kept it cool calm and collected to secure this very needed win! A fab result for Ferrari in general as Sainz finished 3rd, a really good points haul for the team, they will be looking to do the same quite a few more times this year.

    The same goes to McLaren a very good result, Oscar getting his first podium this year in P2, and Norris in P4, a good points haul again for the team.

    Max Verstappen finished 6th, not a thrilling race from the world champion, but then again what else did we expect from Monaco… The Dutchman will be looking forward to the next race after this horrible weekend.
    Now onto his teammate, Perez had a shocker in qualifying so would of wanted to at least have a decent race… well he didn’t, he was involved on the lap 1 incident which saw him being tagged by Magnussen up the inside, before he ricochet across the track and then collecting Hulkenberg back past.
    This put all three drivers out of the race immediately, all drivers were okay thankfully. But Perez will also be looking forwards to the next race weekend as well.

    A decent result for Mercedes, both cars in the top 10 and finishing where they started so not a bad result at all for the team.

    First points of the season for Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly! It was touch and go with the Alpine at the beginning of the race due to have a dramatic collision with his teammate, as Ocon tried to overtake him, which caused the driver to bounce into the air following contact, who then later retired.

    Now we have a little wait till the next race, the next grand prix weekend is the 7th – 9th June and it’s the Canadian Grand Prix!

  • F2 – RND 5 Day 1 & 2

    Day 1-

    Victor Martins made a quick start to the Monte Carlo weekend by setting the fastest time in a rain-affected practice session.
    The ART Grand Prix driver’s lap of 1:39.237 lead the field ahead of Richard Verschoor and Dennis Hauger.

    Heavy rain hit the track just before the start of the session, meaning drivers headed out onto a damp circuit.
    This made for tricky running with Enzo Fittipaldi the first to have a close call with the barrier at the hairpin section.

    As conditions improved and the drivers gained more confidence in the wet, the fastest time changed hands multiple times. But after 10 minutes of running, Martins led an ART 1-2, his time of 1:40.531 put him half a second clear of Zak O’Sullivan.

    Martins continued to set the pace and once again lowered the benchmark time to a 1:39.237. Trident’s Verschoor followed him across the line to go to P2, albeit nine-tenths behind.

    But red flags were waved with Franco Colapinto stationary in his MP Motorsport car after contact with the barrier at La Rascasse.

    The action resumed with 20 minutes left, and Dennis Hauger was the next driver to improve, moving up to second.
    The rain began to worsen as the session entered into the final 10 minutes leading the teams to bring their cars back into the pitlane.

    Day 2-

    Group A-

    The 11 even-numbered drivers headed out on to the track with 16 minutes on the clock looking to set their fastest times.

    After crossing the line to complete their first flying laps, it was ART driver Zak O’Sullivan who was the one to beat with a 1:23.118 putting him P1.
    His time was over half a second quicker than his nearest rivan in Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar.

    The Briton continued to set the pace on his next effort, completing a lap of 1:22.202. On this occasion, the gap to second place Verschoor was just 0.113s.

    As the first segment entered into the closing stages, green and purple colours lit up the timing screens as Verschoor went quickest with a 1:21.283 for Trident, a tenth ahead of Hadjar.

    Gabriel Bortoleto was third for Invicta Racing, but he came on the radio to inform his team that he had hit the wall in the swimming pool section.

    The drivers then set off on their final attempts, but despite their best efforts, no one could beat Verschoor’s time.

    Group B-

    The second set of 11 drivers headed out on to the track with Verschoor’s 1:21.283 their target time for pole.

    As the drivers started their flying laps, the red flags were waved early after Rafael Villagomez lost the rear of his Van Amersfoort Racing car on the entry to Turn 1, sending him straight into the barrier.

    With the track clear, drivers left the pitlane with nine minutes left in the segment. They wasted no time going for their push laps and it was Rodin’s Zane Maloney who went to the top of the leaderboard with a 1:21.941.

    But Martins went back to the top of the leaderboard but not for long as Roman Stanek’s 1:21.466 to put him ahead of the Frenchman.

    One final attempt was all there was time for, but Stanek’s hopes were dashed when he collided with the barrier in the second sector. Martins crossed the line to go fastest with a 1:21.310.
    This left Verschoor on pole position ahead of Martins for the feature race.

    The full top overall are- P1: Verschoor, P2: Martins, P3: Hadjar, P4: Aron, P5: Colapinto, P6: Stanek, P7: Antonelli, P8: Hauger, P9: Bortoleto and P10: Barnard.

    However, Bearman, Correa and Maini all have been given a three place grid penalty for impeeding.

  • RW 8 – Monaco Qualifying

    Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc charged his way to a wonderful pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix with a stunning display on home soil.
    He managed to get the better of McLaren rival Oscar Piastri and Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz in the all important grid deciding session.

    Leclerc avoided any slip-ups to safely make it through Q1 and Q2 before he unleashed his full potential in Q3.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Leclerc, P2: Piastri, P3: Sainz, P4: Norris, P5: Russell, P6: Verstappen, P7: Hamilton, P8: Tsunoda, P9: Albon and P10: Gasly.

    A great result for Ferrari! A Pole and a third, they will be looking to grab the win tomorrow, especially as it’s Leclerc’s home race, so they are probably hoping to break the Monaco curse.

    The same goes to McLaren a 2nd and 4th! Qualifying around Monaco is always important, as it pretty much gives the finishing position for the race without strategies coming into play. So McLaren will want to be on their pit-stops and strategies tomorrow to see if they can secure their second win this season.

    A decent result for Mercedes too, the team have definitely made an improvement as George starts 5th and Lewis in 7th. Lewis has pretty much been on the pace all weekend aswell, so it’s looking like a hopeful turn round for the Mercedes team.

    A bit of a shocker for Verstappen and Sergio Perez, the Dutchman starts P6, which means his consecutive 8 poles in a row has stopped at that for now. Perez qualified 18th but will be starting 16th due to both Haas’s getting disqualified. Not a good weekend at all for Perez, it’s very unlikely he will be scoring points tomorrow.

    A good result for both Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly both drivers getting into Q3 and hoping to score their first points of the season!

    Both Aston Martins didn’t have the best qualifying, Alonso out in Q1 and Stroll out in Q2, the Silverstone based team have dropped down the order quite a bit compared to last season where Fernando Alonso started 2nd.

  • F3 – RND 4 Day 1 & 2

    Day 1-

    PREMA’s Gabriele Mini led the opening session of the Monte Carlo weekend on a 1:27.400 in a session heavily disrupted by Red Flags.

    Overcast conditions gave way to rain, ensuring the Italian’s early laptime remained quickest ahead of Leonardo Fornaroli and teammate Dino Beganovic.

    There were rumbles of thunder as the session got underway though the drops of rain didn’t warrant a move away from dry tyres.
    Rodin Motorsport’s Joseph Loake was the first driver of the weekend to use the run-off area at Sainte Devote before rejoining the track.

    But moment’s later, AIX Racing’s Tasanapol Inthraphyvasak went off into the barriers at the same place to bring out an early Red Flag.
    With running resumed 32 minutes remaining of the session.

    However, another Red Flag quickly followed as Rodin’s Callum Voisin repeated the same incident as the first red flag at Turn 1 to half the session.

    The field went back out onto track with 24 minutes remaining as Mini still led the way with a 1:27.400 for PREMA.
    Rain began to fall though just as the first flying laps began and it was Sami Meguetounif that this time found the barriers.

    With 13 minutes left of practice, the green light was back on and drivers ventured back out fitted with wet Pirelli tyres as the rain intensified, preventing any further improvements.

    Day 2-

    Group A-

    The even numbered cars hit the track first with Oliver Goethe of Campos Racing leading the first 15 runners out onto the circuit.

    P2 in the championship, Luke Browning set the first benchmark to beat laying down a 1:26.170. That was bettered by championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli right away, as he put in a 1:25.963 in the Trident.

    Browning went quicker as the track continued to improve, recording a 1:24.532 on his next effort to return to P1. Whilst Fornaroli couldn’t get back on terms as he filtered through half a second down on the Brit’s lap.

    With three minutes to go Browning found more pace to bring the time to beat down to a 1:24.230, Having gone purple in sector one, Gabriele Mini moved up into P2.

    Under a minute left of qualifying and Boya was pushing to the absolute limit and tagged the inside wall at Turn 15, undoing his effort having gone fastest in sector one.

    Browning had been up on his time and a fastest middle sector put him on course for an improvement. But exiting Turn 16 he tapped the wall, damaging his suspension and forcing him to abandon his lap.

    Mini obliged and set the provision pole time moments later on a 1:23.942, 0.288s quicker than Brownings earlier time.

    Group B-

    Just at the flying laps were about to get underway, the Jenzer Motorsport car of James Hedley went into the barriers at Turn 1, losing his front win and bringing out the red flags.

    Once the session resumed, it was Dino Beganovic that laid down the initial time to beat a 1:25.569, 0.249s quicker than next-best Mansell in the ART car.

    Further improvements from the PREMA duo of Beganovic and Arvid Lindblad took the pace down to a 1:24.9 in the Briton’s favour, that was until Mansell leapfrogged the pair with a 1:24.921.

    Joseph Loake popped his Rodin Motorsport car up to P2 as the drivers began to push the limits further approaching the closing stages.

    Into the final two minutes of qualifying and Lindblad went quickest of all in the first sector, while teammate Beganovic was purple in the middle sector.
    Just before the Swede could finish his lap, the Red Flags were out as Sebastian Montoya and Charlie Wurz were off at Turn 1.

    The full top 10 overall is – P1: Mini, P2: Mansell, P3: Browning, P4: Lindblad, P5: Fornaroli, P6: Beganovic, P7: Boya, P8: Loake, P9: Leon and P10: Tramnitz.

  • RW 8 – Tyre Selection

    The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the classics on the Formula 1 calendar and this year it reaches am impressive milestones as its the 70th edition of the race!

    As usual, Pirelli choice of slick tyre compounds falls to the three softest available this year, which means the C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft),
    As is generally the case on street circuits the track has a particularly smooth surface, given it is in daily use for road cars so the tyres must provide as much grip as possible.

    In Monaco, the tyres are subjected to some of the lowest forces of the whole season as the average speed over the 3.337 kilometre-long track is very slow with some corners taken at less than 50 km/h, while the cars are only at full throttle for 30% of the lap.

    On a track where the margin for error is pretty much non-existent, one factor which affects how quickly a driver’s lap times come down is the confidence they gradually gain, regardless of how well they know the track, as they tackle its 19 corners and all the other hazards it harbours.

    The driver must work towards finding the best lines, getting ever close to the barriers, often brushing them with the shoulder of the tyres. The skill is in doing this without breaking anything on the car and it is the key to securing a good grid position. Which is essential in a race where overtaking is pretty much impossible, even when there is a performance gap between cars that can run into seconds.

    On a track like this, an appearance from the Safety Car is almost inevitable with past experience rating it at 77% probable, on average almost twice per races. Although curiously, last year’s race ran smoothly with no neutralisation periods.

  • McLaren unveil Senna inspired livery

    McLaren will run a vibrant one-off Ayrton Senna-inspired yellow, green and blue full wrap livery at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.

    The livery takes inspiration from Senna’s iconic helmet and is designed to celebrate the Brazilian’s “incredible racing legacy”.

    Three-time world champion Senna is McLaren’s most successful driver, racing for the British operation between 1988 and 1993 – during which time, he secured 35 of his 41 Grand Prix wins, plus three drivers’ titles and four constructors’ championships.

    McLaren chose Monaco as the Monte Carlo track has become synonymous with Senna, the Brazilian – who passed away 30 years ago – winning six times in the Principality, including five times in a row from 1989.
    The race will come a week after a weekend at Imola that saw Senna, and Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger’s lives celebrated three decades on from their fatal accidents at the track.

    In Monaco, the McLaren team will also wear Senna-inspired team kit for the weekend, with race drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri wearing bespoke overalls.

    The livery is a collaboration with Senna Global and McLaren’s partner OKX.

    The team is proud to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary life and racing legacy of Ayrton Senna through this McLaren livery. Senna remains revered and respected as Formula 1’s greatest icon, and McLaren’s most decorated driver. His impact on McLaren is enormous, not only through his racing record but also presence within the team, and now his legacy, so it’s an honour to race for him at his most successful circuit in his green, yellow and blue colours. With it being the 30th anniversary of his passing, the team are choosing to recognise and celebrate his life at one of his favourite and most successful places to race, Monaco. We look forward to racing in this vibrant and beautiful livery this weekend.
    Zak Brown, McLaren CEO.

    It’s an honour to recognise Ayrton through these liveries in collaboration with both McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive. It’s a fantastic way to celebrate his life and legacy through his iconic colours on both cars. McLaren meant a lot to him, and together they achieved a lot of success, much of which he is still remembered for today by so many. It will be special to see it race the streets of Monaco, a circuit which gave him so much joy and many triumphs.
    Senna’s niece Bianca Senna of Senna Global.

  • F3 – RND 4 – Day 3 & 4

    Day 3-

    Marti maintained the lead off the line to break away from Fornaroli, who found himself forced to go on the defensive from Taylor Barnard.

    The Safety Car was deployed on the first lap following contact into the opening corners at Sainte Devote where Jonny Edgar got sent into the barriers. His MP Motorsport teammate Mari Boya also suffered Turn 1 contact, resulting in retirement also.

    Out front, Marti looked untroubled, steadily building his advantage lap-by-lap. The Spaniard pulled over five seconds clear in six laps through the middle phase of the race. This left Fornaroli driving on his mirrors as Saucy closed up to the back of him, with Colapinto staying close to the Swiss driver also.

    As the chequered flag flew, Marti secured victory by an impressive 8.1s margin to Fornaroli with Saucy third. Colapinto made up one place to take fourth as Barnard added more points to his rookie tally with his best ever finish in fifth.

    Bortoleto hold on to sixth ahead of the HiTech Pulse-Eight duo of Montoya and Browning. Collect earned two points in ninth and Aron rounded out the top 10.

    Day 4-

    After earning his first Formula 3 podium in the Sprint Race, Leonardo Fornaroli didn’t get the chance to bring home more points again after the Trident driver stalled on the grid on the formation lap.

    When the five lights went out, Mini got a decent launch off the line to keep Beganovic behind. Fifth placed Collet immediately tried to put the pressure on Browning, but the Van Amersfoort Racing driver had to ease off as he ran out of tarmac.

    Ido Cohen lost his Rodin Carlin on entry to Turn 12, whilst battling with his teammate Oliver Gray and ended up in the barriers, triggering the Safety Car.

    Sebastian Montoya’s attempts at shaping for a move on Collet for fifth ended in heartbreak for both. With the Brazilian suffering from tyre degradation, the Red Bull Junior had great traction out of Turn 1 but made contact with Collet’s rear left tyre on the run up the hill.

    The final stages saw Beganovic pull back into Mini’s one second DRS window, but there was nothing the Swede could do to stop him holding on to claim a maiden victory.

    Despite Browning closing to within three tenths on the final lap, Aron managed to secure his second F3 podium. Bortoleto strengthened his hold on the Championship lead in fifth ahead of Colapinto and Zak O’Sullivan. Barnard’s penalty demoted him to eighth ahead of Marti and Greogoire Saucy, who rounded out the top 10.

  • RND 7 – Monaco Grand Prix

    Round 7 is now complete and we had some late drama in the race due to a rain shower where chaos ensued.

    Max Verstappen kept Red Bull’s 2023 winning record intact by keeping his cool overcoming the rain and the chaos in the final stages of the race. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso came home in P2 and on the final step of the podium is Esteban Ocon in P3!

    The full top 10 are: P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Ocon, P4: Hamilton, P5: Russell, P6: Leclerc, P7: Gasly, P8: Sainz, P9: Norris and P10: Piastri.

    A really good day for Mercedes, and I think the upgrades for the W14’s have improved a little bit, but we won’t know how well until we get to another circuit. With Russell’s five second time penalty for clashing with Sergio Perez when he rejoined the track from an off in the slippery conditions not affecting his finishing position.

    A really good result for Alpine, finally what they need and it’s a podium aswell, which makes it even better for the team. Hopefully this is them on the up as they had pace all weekend and they can keep the good results coming.

    Obviously a bad day for Sergio Perez, started plum last due to his crash in qualifying and we all knew it was going to be a hard race for him. Which means the gap between Max and Sergio in the Drivers standings has gotten bigger.

    A decent day for the McLaren boys, both in the points, but they still have a lot of work to do if they want to be close to Alpine.

    Now we don’t have to long to wait, as the next race is this weekend! We are in Spain for Round 8 the home grand prix of Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz!

  • F2 – RND 6 – Day 1 & 2

    Day 1-

    Ayumu Iwasa ended a frantic Free Practice session fastest of all as the DAMS man set a 1:22.081 to lead the grid. The Japanese driver got his best lap in prior to the third Red Flag of the incident session.

    Next to him was Victor Martins for ART Grand Prix, whilst Richard Verschoor ended up third for Van Amersfoort Racing but found himself in the barriers in the closing minutes.

    The first Red Flag came early into the session, as we saw contact between Ralph Boschung and Roman Stanek, with both cars having to be recovered.

    The second Red Flag of the session came out with just over 20 minutes remaining after Bearman lost the rear of his PREMA at Turn 8 and nosed into the barriers.

    Day 2-

    With Monte Carlo Qualifying split into two groups of 11, the random ballot allocated the even numbered cars into Group A and odd numbered cars going second in Group B.

    The first 16 minute segment began with several warm-up laps but it was Victor Martins who set the initial benchmark. But it didn’t stay that way for long as Richard Verschoor was next to hit the top spot just before a red flag was waved due to home-hero Arthur Leclerc who tagged the barriers and saw him out of the session.

    With a 1:21.231 to beat, group B headed out for their turn and Dennis Hauger laid down the first effort. His 1:22.979 was bettered by several, but it was Theo Pourchaire who went quickest overall.

    Plenty of personal bests followed but the ART Grand Prix man remained on top with a 1:21.354 ahead of Zane Maloney and Frederik Vesti by a tenth with less than five minutes to go.

    The Dane put in three purple sectors on his following attempt to go top with a 1:21.053 ensuring Group B was fighting for pole. It was enough for pole as on the final attempts, Clement Novalak hit the barriers at Portier to bring out the Red Flags, ending the session early.

  • RND 7 – Monaco Qualifying

    Monaco qualifying is complete and the grid is set for tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix, with a few shocks and surprises along the way.

    Max Verstappen took pole position for the first time in Monaco, he pipped out rival, Fernando Alonso in P2 and hometown hero Charles Leclerc in P3.

    The full top 10 are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Alonso, P3: Leclerc, P4: Ocon, P5: Sainz, P6: Hamilton, P7: Gasly, P8: Russell, P9: Tsunoda and P10: Norris.

    But, things are never easy especially for Charles Leclerc, who has been given a 3 place grid drop for the race meaning he will start P6, which bumps up Ocon to P3, Sainz P4 and Hamilton P5.

    However, one Red Bull driver might have been on pole but the other… was down the other end of the grid. Sergio Perez will be starting in P20 due to crashing out in Q1.

    A really really good result for the Alpine’s P3 and P7, obviously it means they should be scoring some good points if they don’t loose out on strategies etc tomorrow.

    A good result to see Yuki in the top 10 also, some good pace there and for his teammate aswell who starts just outside the top 10 in P12, hoping to get his first points of the season…

    Not such a good result for Zhou Guanyu who is starting P19, the Alfa Romeo driver needing to score points but his teammate isn’t starting from the best place either in 15th, a lot of work to do if they want to get further up the constructors.

    Predictions-

    My top five for the race are: P1: Alonso, P2: Verstappen, P3: Sainz, P4: Hamilton and P5: Ocon.

    Obviously with such a mixed up grid it will definitely be interesting but it will be all about strategy and if it works out with safety cars etc, but i’m hoping it will be an exciting one.

  • F3 – RND 4 – Day 1 & 2

    Day 1-

    Gabriele Mini made the most of a drying Monte Carlo circuit to head the field in Formula 3’s first session around the Principality. The Hitech Pulse-Eight driver put his previous experience to good use, clocking in a 1:26.686 in the final jam packed seconds of Free Practice.

    Fellow returnees, Franco Colapinto and Gregoire Saucy benefited from a late switch to the slicks to round out the top three.

    Before the session started, a heavy downpour threw a curveball the drivers’ way, making the challenge of learning the Monaco streets even more difficult. Campos Racing’s Christian Mansell was the first to get a representative time on the board, but they continued to tumble with every lap of the 3.337km circuit.

    Although a dry line had begun to form, there were still plenty of areas to catch the field out. Browning brought the time to beat down to a 1:39.879 before the Red Flag appeared, a spin for Jonny Edgar left the British racer facing the wrong way and in need of recovery.

    Day 2-

    For the Championship’s first appearance in the Principality, the 30 car grid was divided into two groups with 16 minutes each. Group A consists of even-numbered cars and Group B the odd.

    Gabriele Mini put together a masterclass to claim his second pole position of his rookie Formula 3 season. Waiting until the last second of Group B, the Hitech Pulse-Eight driver wrestled pole away from Group A’s Dino Beganovic by over six tenths.

    The full top 10 for Sunday’s Feature race are: P1: Mini, P2: Beganovic, P3: Aron, P4: Browning, P5: Collet, P6: Montoya, P7: Bortoleto, P8: Colapinto, P9: Barnard and P10: Fornaroli.

  • Monaco Grand Prix

    Shall we try this again? It’s Race week and we are in Monaco for Round 7! Obviously last week was meant to be race week but due to the flood in the Emilia-Romagna region it got cancelled, so drivers will be wanting to get the best position possible this weekend.

    We all know qualifying is the most important part of the weekend at the circuit as we know you can’t really overtake on this track…

    It’s Charles Leclerc’s home race this weekend, but will he finally end the Monaco curse he has and take the win?

    Who needs to shine?

    The Alfa Romeo’s need to do a bit of work, they had a better start to last year’s season than this year’s so they will be wanting to get the ball rolling and score some more points as soon as possible.

    McLaren, rough season so far for the team but this weekend they will be hoping to get some points in the bag especially if other teams/drivers have a close moment through the tight corners of Monaco.

    Alpine still have a bit of work to do in the next couple of races, they currently sit 6th in the Constructors’ but tied on points with McLaren who sits in 5th on 14 points. That’s both team’s main competitor at the moment until other teams start scoring a bit more and making a mid field fight.

    Predictions for Qualifying-

    My top five for qualifying are- Pole: Perez, P2: Leclerc, P3: Verstappen, P4: Alonso and P5: Hamilton.

    As I said at the beginning of the post qualifying matters, so drivers will be going even more full out and getting the best position available. In the top 10 it will be the top 4 teams, unless we have a few shock appearances…

  • McLaren to run one-off livery

    McLaren will be running a one-off ‘Triple Crown’ papaya, white and black livery in this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations.

    The special livery, which will also adorn the MCL60 at the following race at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, is a nod to McLaren’s achievement of winning motorsport’s three most known races, known as the Triple Crown, which includes F1’s Monaco race, Indycar’s Indy 500 at Indianapolis and the endurance showpiece – the Le Mans 24 Hours.

    The rear of the car which is driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – will be bedecked in papaya, to celebrate the team’s maiden INdy 500 – winning M16C/D that Jonny Rutherford guided to victory in 1974.

    The centre of the car is what the team call “sharp ice white” from Alain Prost’s 1984 Monaco Grand Prix win, running a red and white colour scheme on the MP4/2 that became synonymous with McLaren in F1.

    The front end of the car is black, in tribute to the McLaren F1 GTR that won the 1995 Le Mans 24 Hours with JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya in McLaren’s first attempt at the endurance race.

    Having achieved the greatest accomplishment in motorsport by completing the Triple Crown, we are proud to celebrate the rich history of McLaren Racing with a special livery at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix. In line with our 60th anniversary celebrations and honouring the legacy of Bruce McLaren, the unique livery pays homage to the three victories which form the Triple Crown accolade.

    Zak Brown, McLaren CEO.

    It’s a privilege to be involved in McLaren Racing’s 60th anniversary celebrations and to combine three iconic race-winning McLaren liveries into one for the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix is going to be a special moment for the whole team. McLaren have an impressive record in Monte Carlo and on a personal level to have experienced a podium at the 2021 race was a huge honour. We’ll be racing hard in a great looking car to celebrate Bruce McLaren and the team’s amazing legacy.

    Lando Norris added.

    The Triple Crown livery looks incredible, and I can’t imagine a better way to experience my first Monaco Grand Prix as a Formula 1 driver with McLaren Racing. Bruce McLaren was a winner in Monte Carlo in 1962 and the McLaren team have such rich history at the Monaco Grand Prix. I will feel incredibly proud lining up on the grid in the MCL60, carrying the same colours as the three Triple Crown-winning race cars.

    Piastri added.
    https://www.instagram.com/reel/Csl24BZIk-4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

  • Monaco Tyre Selection

    The tyres have been chosen for this weekend’s Grand Prix, where we are in Monaco, where qualifying really matters…

    The three softest compounds in the Pirelli F1 range have been chosen, those being: C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

    The total length of this historic track is just 3.337 kilometres with 68 races having taken place and the most successful driver (in terms of wins) being Ayrton Senna.

    Monaco has the lowest average lap speed of the whole championship, which is around 150kph. With very little grip and limited wear. The softer compound offer a good level of adhesion when it comes to traction but mechanical grip is limited.

    All types of tyre brought to Monaco were used in the variable weather of last year’s grand prix: Blue full wet, Green intermediate, and all three slick compounds. On a dry race track, the race is nearly always a one-stopper for everybody but last year most drivers stopped three times.

    We’re heading to a Monaco Grand Prix that’s somewhat different to what we expected. It should have been the second race of a European triple-header but instead it’s going to be the first due to the cancellation of Imola. Those images of devastation are still fresh in our minds and we want to express our solidarity once more with the families of the victims, as well as all those who have suffered such huge losses. 
    Monaco has written its own chapter in the history of Formula 1. The characteristics of this unique circuit, largely unaltered for more than 60 years, make it a true one-off that has often sprung surprises. No other track can allow a driver to compensate for any technical shortcomings of their car in the same way, and just one incident can shake things up entirely. The difficulty of overtaking can sometimes detract from the spectacle in the race, but that only makes Saturday’s qualifying all the more exciting, as grid position assumes a particular importance to the final result on Sunday. As is often the case on street circuits, Pirelli has nominated the softest tyres in the range. One of the peculiarities of Monaco is the fact that the track is opened to normal traffic every evening, which means that it’s very hard for rubber to build up on the racing line, making the surface even more slippery. With Imola having been scrubbed, Monaco could now become the debut for the new Cinturato Blue full wet without tyre blankets, obviously depending on weather conditions: another potential random factor this weekend.

    Mario Isola, Motorsport Director.