Upcoming Events
Menu
Starting from pole position, Denmark’s Frederik Vesti (Prema Racing) led from start to finish on Sunday morning in the Formula 2 Feature Race of the 80th Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco, ahead of France’s Théo Pourchaire (ART GP), winner of this race in 2021.
Vesti got off to a good start and wasn’t troubled by Victor Martins and Théo Pourchaire at the first corner, Sainte-Dévote. He continued to set a very good pace until the first major incident of the race, when Jack Doohan (Invicta Virtuosi), son of the former MotoGP world champion, lost control as he reached the Place du Casino.
His single-seater, which had already hit the rail at the Bureau de Tabac, went sideways at the top of the Casino climb and came to a halt on the rope, in a very dangerous position. It even started to catch fire, but within seconds marshals were on hand to extinguish the blaze with carbon dioxide foam.
When Martins arrived on the spot a few seconds later, he narrowly avoided the Australian’s single-seater. But he didn’t slow down enough under the yellow flags and was penalized a little later, dropping from 2nd to 8th place. The red flag was waved and everyone quietly returned to the pits to wait for the track to be cleared.
The race was restarted for a dozen laps, as the 60-minute time limit was about to be reached due to this interruption. In the end, the race lasted only 39 laps instead of 42, and Vesti made no mistakes until the end, to claim his 2nd win this season, after the Feature Race in Jeddah in March, and become the new leader of the championship.
Behind Vesti and Pourchaire, 3rd place on the podium was taken by Zane Maloney (Rodin Carlin), another highly talented 19-year-old from Barbados (British West Indies), ahead of Dutchman Richard Verschoor (Van Amersfoort).
Another Frenchman, Isack Hadjar (HiTech), was forced to retire from the lead on Saturday due to an engine problem. He finished 12th in this main race, well ahead of Clément Novalak (Trident) in 17th place.
Finally, the only Monegasque entered, Arthur Leclerc (DAMS), who started from the back of the grid, was forced to retire a third of the way through the race, when his brakes failed.
In the championship, Pourchaire limited damage and now stands 2nd in the standings, close to new leader Vesti and ahead of Ayumu Iwasa, the winner of Saturday’s Sprint Race. Next meeting in Barcelona, next week.
Sunday’s 80th Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco got off to a flying start with the Formula 3 Feature Race, which ended with a predictable victory for Italian Gabriele Mini (HiTech), a promising member of the Alpine Drivers Academy.
Starting from pole position, Mini managed to keep Sweden’s Dino Beganovic (Prema Racing), next to him on the 1st row, behind him until the end of the 27th and final lap. The podium was completed by Estonian Paul Aron, another Prema driver, after a fine duel with Britain’s Luke Browning (HiTech).
There were a few yellow flags in this uneventful race for Mini and its closest pursuers, such as when Israel’s Ido Cohen (Rodin Carlin) crashed out at Bureau de Tabac, slamming violently into the safety rail.
As for Sebastian Montoya, son of Juan Pablo, winner at Monaco just twenty years ago, his race was ended by a damaged front wing as he tried to overtake Brazilian Caio Collet on the Casino climb. In a matter of minutes, he plummeted from 6th to 28th place.
The places of honour were taken by Briton Taylor Barnard (Jenzer Motorsport), 5th despite a five-second penalty, ahead of Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto (Trident), who stays in the lead of the championship. Thanks to a very wise race, without taking the slightest risk, rewarded by a 6th place under the chequered flag, and several precious points.
Mini and Beganovic, who finished 7 tenths behind the winner, jump up the overall standings, getting closer to Bortoleto. The next meeting for the young wolves of F3 takes place next week in Barcelona.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) will start from pole position in Monaco at 3.00 pm on Sunday, for the first time in his already long career as a double World Champion. Next to him on the front row will be Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), whom he admired when he was younger. A dream duo for this 80thedition.
The gaps were minimal, the commitment total, by all 20 drivers, and there was plenty of suspense throughout qualifying, which began with a major crash: that of “Checo” Pérez at the start of Q1, in Sainte-Dévote. The Mexican ripped off the entire left-hand side of his Red Bull and will start Sunday from the back of the grid, although he is the defending champion. After the compulsory red flag, proceedings continued with more surprises: with one minute remaining in Q1, Yuki Tsunoda was P1 in his Alpha Tauri and Carlos Sainz P17 in the other Ferrari, potentially eliminated, before narrowly escaping.
Q2 was relatively calmer, except for Hamilton, who had to pull off a champion’s lap at the end to advance to Q3, with worn tires and a Mercedes he was struggling to control. The stage was set for a legendary Q3. On the grid: Verstappen’s Red Bull, Alonso’s Aston Martin, both Ferraris, both Mercedes and… both Alpines, Tsunoda’s Alpha Tauri and Norris’s McLaren.
Ocon, then Leclerc, then Alonso on provisional pole
The two-time Spanish World Champion, who has not claimed a pole position since the 2012 German GP with Ferrari, first posted a lap of 1:11.706, ahead of Sainz and Leclerc, Verstappen and the two Alpines, before the Dutchman took the lead by the skin of his teeth. The suspense was intact, as there were still a few minutes available.
The final fireworks began with an incredible 1:11.553 from Esteban Ocon (Alpine) to take provisional pole. This time was then beaten in turn by Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, and finally Max Verstappen, in 1:11.365, beating Alonso by 84 thousandths only, just over 8 hundredths of a second. The Red Bull driver was two tenths down on the Spaniard’s time as he exited the tunnel at the harbour chicane, then he took all the risks, touching the rail twice between the chicane and the finish line. Amazing effort for a sensational result, at the end of a legendary qualifying session.
Verstappen: “I hit a few walls”
“I knew I’d have a better chance if I came out of the pits last. I wasn’t totally confident in my tires at the start of my last attempt, but then I attacked as hard as I could, just like everyone else. I leaned on the walls a bit and it went through,” said Max, delighted with his first pole position in Monaco, at his 8th appearance, and already the 23rd of his F1 career. Then he had a kind word for “Nando”, sitting next to him in the press conference: “I admired Fernando when I was younger. He’s still a role model. But I will not let him win tomorrow”.
As is often the case, Alonso summed up the situation in a few sentences as precise as his driving on Saturday afternoon, at the age of 41: “Monaco really is a unique place and this afternoon we pushed the limits very far, significantly increasing the level of risk,” he smiled. “We might need a little help from Max. There’s very little chance that our three cars will finish the race,” he added, as a last warning. He knows that, in the history of Monaco Grand Prix, the second on the grid has won more often than the poleman, in the 79 previous editions.
Finally, Leclerc said he was “disappointed” by his third-place finish, but offered a technical explanation: “I couldn’t do any better this afternoon. I have a big problem on the bumps, the car jumps a lot and my head goes all over the place. I’m hoping for a dry race on Sunday, as rain hasn’t done me much good here in recent years”, concluded the Scuderia Ferrari driver.
Three hours later, Leclerc learnt that he would have to start three places further back on the grid for having impeded Norris during the hectic session. An incident that went completely unnoticed, except by the race direction. As a direct consequence, at 3.00 pm on Sunday, Leclerc will be on the 3rd row of the grid, in 6th place, and Esteban Ocon’s surprising Alpine will be in 3rd place. Just behind Verstappen.
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.
