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Japan’s Ayumu Iwasa (DAMS) won the 30-lap Formula 2 Sprint Race at the 80th Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon, making the most of the early retirement of Frenchman Isack Hadjar (HiTech), who started from pole position on an inverted grid but suffered an engine failure at the start of lap 6.
The start was delayed by 5 minutes, then Hadjar took off best, passing first at Sainte-Dévote, under threat from Iwasa, another promising member of Red Bull’s young drivers’ network. However, as soon as the harbour chicane was reached by the midfield, a pile-up of single-seaters, caused by Clément Novalak’s touch on Kush Maini’s car, triggered a Virtual Safety Car, followed immediately by a Safety Car which lasted five laps.
On the restart, at the beginning of lap 6, Hadjar immediately fell victim to an engine problem. His momentum was cut short and Iwasa was able to pass him easily, followed in his wake by India’s Jehan Daruvala (MP Motorsport) and American Jak Crawford (HiTech). The Frenchman then returned to his pit, dejected, with his only remaining hope this weekend being a nice finish in Sunday morning’s Feature Race.
With ten laps to go, another race incident – Amaury Cordeel’s touch in the same place as Lewis Hamilton in F1 two hours earlier – led to another Safety Car exit. When the race restarted, Iwasa didn’t let himself be taken by surprise and he drove the last five laps to victory, seven seconds ahead of Daruvala. With another reward, the leadership in the championship.
Further back in the field, Victor Martins (7th) and Théo Pourchaire (8th), were content to pick up a few points, still precious for the championship, despite their distant position on the inverted starting grid. They had been very fast on Friday in qualifying and will be well placed (1st row for Martins, 2nd row for Pourchaire) at the start of the Feature Race (42 laps or one hour). This will take place on Sunday at 9.40 a.m.
The standings for the 3rd Free practice session of the 80th Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco at midday on Saturday were a carbon copy of the results for three out of five Grands Prix this year: Max Verstappen 1st, Checo Pérez 2nd and all the others behind…
We feared it might happen, but it did. In the wake of Friday’s 2nd Free Practice session, in which Verstappen was back in the lead, the Red Bulls dominated the 3rd and final session at midday on Saturday. It was a dress rehearsal for the 4:00 pm qualifying session, when Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will be going all out for pole position.
They won’t be the only ones, however, as Lance Stroll and above all Fernando Alonso have an ace up their sleeve: their Aston Martin, if Friday’s good times and the young Canadian’s 3rd place on Saturday are anything to go by. Ahead of Sainz’s Ferrari (4th), Lando Norris’s McLaren (5th) and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine (6th). As for Leclerc, he only took 7th place, 7 tenths behind Verstappen, at the wheel of a Ferrari that was tailing hard in the S de la Piscine, which didn’t give him much confidence.
Hamilton at fault
Like most practice sessions since Thursday, this one was also cut short by a red flag. This time, it was seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton who lost control of his Mercedes on the Casino descent towards the Fairmont hairpin. He hit the rail at low speed, but his single-seater was stuck in a dangerous spot. Once again, the ACM stewards intervened, very quickly, but the race directors didn’t wait. Session over.
See you at 4.00 pm for suspenseful qualifying, since 16 drivers were grouped in one second at the end of this last free practice session …
The principle of the inverted starting grid for the Formula 3 Sprint Race at the 80th Monaco Grand Prix enabled a young Spaniard, Josep Maria Marti (Campos Racing), to earn a prestigious victory on Saturday morning in the streets of the Principality.
Marti needed to get off to an excellent start, and he did, even though the 23-lap race was neutralized immediately after two MP Motorsport drivers, Jonny Edgar and Mari Boya, hit the safety rail almost simultaneously from Sainte-Dévote.
It wasn’t until the 6th lap that the fight really started, but it never concerned Marti, who was alone at the front and able to extend his lead at the rate of half a second per lap over his closest rival.
The young Catalan finished 8.1 seconds ahead of Italy’s Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident) and 8.8 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Grégoire Saucy (ART GP), who joined him on the podium in the Prince’s box.
Places of honour were taken by Argentinian Franco Colapinto (MP Motorsport), 4th on his 20th birthday, and young Briton Taylor Barnard (Jenzer Motorsport), who finished 5th, ahead of Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto (Trident) who keeps the lead of the championship.
The two fastest qualifiers, Italy’s Gabriele Mini (Hi Tech) and Sweden’s Dino Beganovic (Prema Racing), started from the 5th row, thanks to the inverted grid rule. They didn’t manage to move up in the standings, finishing 11th and 12th respectively in this Sprint Race, and therefore out of the points.
Perhaps they’ll find some consolation on Sunday morning, if they take a good start at 8 am for the Long Race (27 laps), on the 1st row of the grid. There will be a lot more points up for grabs…
Larry ten Voorde (GP Elite) will start from pole position on Sunday, as planned, for the Porsche Supercup race at the 80th Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco. As in free practice on Thursday, the Dutchman dominated the proceedings in a qualifying session interrupted twice in succession at the end by red flags. This was the case throughout Friday. The Automobile Club de Monaco’s track marshals, reputed to be the best in the world, had their work cut out for them.
Supercup champion in 2020 and 2021, and last year’s winner on the streets of the Principality, ten Voorde completed his best lap in 1:33.573, just ahead of two Walter Lechner Racing drivers, Britain’s Harry King and Denmark’s Bastian Buus.
The small disappointment of the day came from Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci, on the podium in 2021 and 2022, but only 5th in this somewhat hectic qualifying session, behind another Dutchman, Loek Hartog (4th), ten Voorde’s teammate at GP Elite.
The Supercup Porsches start their 31st season here in Monaco, following the cancellation of the Imola meeting last week. They will set off for 17 laps on Sunday at 11:55 a.m.
The 2nd free practice session of the 80th Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco did not produce the same result as the first, earlier this afternoon: Ferrari remained in good place, thanks to Charles Leclerc (2nd) and Carlos Sainz (3rd), but Max Verstappen, the two-time reigning World Champion, regained the upper hand by setting the fastest time of the day, just ahead of the Scuderia duo.
The main reason for hope for the public, ahead of Saturday’s eagerly-awaited qualifying session, was to see the top four drivers in this session all within 2 tenths of a second of each other. A mere 65 thousandths of a second separates Verstappen and Leclerc, who claimed two pole positions in a row on the streets of his home town, in 2021 and 2022.
Another confirmation from the 1st session is the fact that two serial World Champions, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), are in the mix this weekend. “Nando” again took 4th place and Sir Lewis 6th, ahead of Sergio Pérez in the other Red Bull. Between the Spaniard and the Englishman, nine world crowns between them, the surprising Lando Norris (McLaren), 5th fastest in this 2nd session, showed his face.
The session was interrupted at the end, however, when Carlos Sainz crashed out of the S de la Piscine, putting an end to his attempts to improve his time. We’ll see them all again for the 3rd and final free practice session, on Saturday at 12:30 pm….
Denmark’s Frederik Vesti (Prema Racing), currently 2nd in the Formula 2 Championship, will start from pole position for the Feature Race (42 laps) at Monaco Grand Prix, Sunday morning at 10:45, after setting the fastest time in his qualifying group on Friday afternoon.
Two French drivers, Théo Pourchaire and Victor Martins (ART GP), last year’s F3 champion, will be serious rivals for Vesti. The championship leader from Grasse set the 2nd fastest time in Group B qualifying, just 52 thousandths behind Vesti. He will therefore start on the 2nd row. And Martins, a member of the Alpine Academy, was the fastest in Group A. So he will start on the front row, right next to Vesti.
The Group A half-session was interrupted by Arthur Leclerc’s accident. The Monegasque driver crashed his DAMS single-seater at the Anthony-Noghès bend. As a result, Charles’ brother will have to make do with 10th place on the grid, the other side being reserved for Group B drivers. In front of him, there will be another Frenchman, rookie Isack Hadjar (Hi Tech), who set the 5th fastest time in this Group A session.
Another red flag, two minutes from the end, was caused by Indian Jehan Daruvala (MP Motorsport), who went off the track but did not lose his 4th place. He prevented Jack Doohan, who was very upset when back in the pits, from finishing a fast lap that could have enabled him, perhaps, to overtake Martins at the very end of the session.
Group B then took to the track, with drivers bearing odd race numbers. This included the weekend’s favourite and championship leader Pourchaire, who had remained a little behind during free practice on Thursday.
The duel with Vesti was very lively and, in the end, the Dane clocked a time of 1:21.053 that will allow him to start from pole position on Sunday morning. His second pole position this season. Nobody could do better than him at the end of the session, as a red flag was brought out two minutes from the end when Clément Novalak (Trident) went off the track, without any serious consequences for the driver.
The first free practice session of the 80th Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco lived up to all its promises, with a great battle at the top of the timesheets, in front of a large and delighted audience.
Ferrari got the ball rolling with the two fastest times at the start of the session, thanks to Carlos Sainz and local hero Charles Leclerc. The relay was then taken, temporarily, by two multiple world champions, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). In the end, Sainz Jr regained the lead and held on to it, much to the delight of the numerous tifosi, under the benevolent gaze of his father, a two-time world rally champion.
Red Bull Racing, which has just racked up five wins and four 1-2s in five races (Verstappen 3 – Pérez 2), remained in the background, probably hiding its game in anticipation of Saturday’s eagerly-awaited qualifying session. Two-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen finished 6th in this first of three free practice sessions, behind team-mate Sergio Pérez (4th). The session was brought to a premature end five minutes too early following Alex Albon’s heavy touch at the exit of Sainte-Dévote.
The Thai driver lost the rear end of his Williams and tore off the entire left-hand side of his blue car, while in possession of the 10th provisional time – a very encouraging performance for the English team. The ACM stewards, as efficient as ever, evacuated the car within minutes. The team’s mechanics now had their work cut out before the next session, scheduled for 5:00 pm.
Both Ferrari drivers in the Top 5, Sainz and Leclerc (5th), and both F1 legends, Alonso (2nd) and Hamilton (3rd), showed that they were happy to be back on one of their favourite playing fields. We may have to reckon with them in qualifying on Saturday, especially if the Aston Martin performs as well as it has on previous circuits this season (4 podiums in 5 races) and if the Mercedes is more efficient with its brand new sidepods. Next F1 free practice session is scheduled from 5:00 pm.
Gabriele Mini (Hi Tech) had set the fastest time in free practice on Thursday. He did it again and will start from pole position at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday for the feature race in Formula 3 at Monaco Grand Prix.
Sweden’s Dino Beganovic (Prema Racing) needed just 16 minutes on Friday to set the fastest Group A time in F3, in a qualifying session held on a perfectly dry, sunny track. A time of 1:23.880 put him ahead of two Hi Tech drivers, Briton Luke Browning and Colombian Sebastian Montoya.
When Group B entered the track, the level was raised a notch and another Hi Tech driver, Italy’s Gabriele Mini, jumped to the top of the timesheet. A member of the Ferrari drivers Academy, Mini further improved his time at the end of the session (1:23.278), to finish this session ahead of Estonian Paul Aron (Prema) and Brazilian Caio Collet (Van Amersfoort Racing).
Mini will not only be on the front row at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday for the long F3 race, he will also be on pole position, having beaten Beganovic by around half a second. And improving his best time on Thursday by almost three seconds.
As for Oliver Goethe, the young German member of Automobile Club de Monaco, who debuts this year in F3, he took a very encouraging 9th place in Group A, enough to aim for a nice finish on Sunday, for the comeback of F3 in the Principality’s sporting calendar.
This is already the 80th Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco, and the story is still the same: mistakes are forbidden on the streets of the Principality. The favourite doesn’t win every time, even if he starts from pole position. This means that Max Verstappen’s rivals can pin their hopes on an unlikely victory on Sunday, thanks to the weather or race incidents.
“Red Bull is faster than us,” summed up local hero and Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc at Thursday’s press conference. And since Charles “doesn’t believe in luck“, he will be relying on himself first this weekend, starting with qualifying on Saturday. If, as in 2021 and 2022, he manages to set the fastest time, he will start from pole position and have a better chance of winning for the first time in Monaco, on these streets he’s known by heart since he was a child.
“I’ve got friends on every street corner, some of them watching me go by from their terraces,” Leclerc smiled on Thursday. “Saturdays here often go well, we just have to do better on Sundays,” he added. On Friday, to prepare well for “the best qualifying session of the year“, Leclerc will have to manage the two free practice sessions well. As for a renewal of his contract, or the possible arrival of a new team-mate in the Scuderia, Lewis Hamilton or another, “we’ll see later”, said the Monegasque.
Last year’s winner in Monaco, and already twice victorious in five races this year, Checo Pérez trails Max Verstappen in the overall standings by just 14 points. He is keen to keep the suspense alive: “Monaco is not the strongest circuit” for Red Bull”.
Alonso still eager to win
In the provisional championship standings, there are two very big names in 3rd and 4thplaces, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. The two absolute stars of F1, who have amassed nine world titles to their name, seemed very serene at Thursday’s press conference.
“I’d be lying if I said I don’t think I can win when I arrive at a race, especially if it’s on a specific track like Singapore or Monaco,” said the Spaniard, very satisfied with his start to the season: 4 podiums in five races, 75 points amassed, an unexpected result with Aston Martin, his new team.
“Nando” has not won in F1 since 2013, but he’s so enthusiastic that he still believes he could be around in 2026, when Aston Martin becomes powered by Honda engines, against the backdrop of new technical regulations. “I’ll be 44 years old,” he says, with a caveat: “I won’t be in F1 if I’m not as fresh, as fast, as sharp, as motivated as I am today. One day, I’ll wake up and I will raise my hand,” warned the two-time world champion.
Hamilton optimistic
Inseparable in victory and failure, Alonso and Hamilton are often battling it out this season for a place on the podium with the two Red Bull drivers. On Thursday, the Spaniard made a friendly jibe at the Englishman, whom some media are already sending to Ferrari next year: “Lewis always says that in a team, you win together and you lose together. So if he keeps losing, he has to stay with Mercedes…“.
The seven-time world champion is in the process of finalizing a contract renewal with the German team, and “there are just a few small details left to sort out”. As for this season, which has only just begun, he remains very optimistic: “My team is working incredibly hard, and you learn more from defeat than from victory. We have new people in our team, who are really hungry, and updates that were already ready for Imola. We know the direction we need to follow in order to get closer to the guys in front”.
Stay tuned tomorrow, at 1.30 p.m. and 5.00 p.m., for two eagerly-awaited free practice sessions.
The Porsche Supercup may have found its master again, in the person of Larry ten Voorde. The Dutch driver, twice crowned champion in 2020 and 2021, finished at the top of the timesheets, as he often does, in the free practice session of his favorite category, interrupted several times by red flags late Thursday afternoon in the streets of the Principality.
Defeated for the title, last year, by Luxemburg’s Dylan Pereira, ten Voorde was 4 tenths of a second ahead of France’s Dorian Boccolacci, 3rd in 2021 and 2nd in 2022… behind him, in Monaco. With a best lap posted at 1:34.316, the Dutchman marked his territory and showed all his rivals that he was again the huge favourite for this 2023 edition. On a circuit where Porsche Supercup is starting its 31st season, following the cancellation last week of the Imola meeting.
A third driver is hoping to join the fight for the podium on Sunday: Harry King, the Briton from Lechner Racing, took 3rd place in this one and only free practice session. He will have to wait until 6.45pm on Friday evening, after both F1 free practice sessions, to try and deny ten Voorde and Boccolacci pole position. This will be anything but easy. The race is scheduled for noon on Sunday.
