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Irish Mirror

Sport

Sophie Collins

All Irish viewers need to know about the Monaco GP from track history to standings and likelihood of race day downpours

NOW Monaco Monaco GP Charles Leclerc Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Carlos Sainz Daniel Ricciardo Fernando Alonso Ferrari

Formula One will take to the famous streets of Monaco this weekend for round seven in the 2022 championship season.

Just days ago, the Spanish Grand Prix saw Red Bull's Max Verstappen take the lead in the driver's standings from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc - who has led since Bahrain's season opener.

The battle between this season's front runners will reignite at the Circuit de Monaco as Leclerc looks to bounce back on the streets of his hometown with just six points separating him from the Dutchman.

Another focal point this weekend will be the progression of the Mercedes team after weeks of technical issues pushing them way down the order.

George Russell is currently in fourth behind Sergio Perez in the standings, while Lewis Hamilton is fighting up the order in sixth behind Carlos Sainz.

However, Mercedes have already been subject to a number of issues in Monaco, as seen during Free Practice yesterday, and will be scrambling to prepare for Qualifying later today.

As proceedings get back underway this afternoon, here's everything you need to know ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix:

Circuit

All Irish viewers need to know about the Monaco GP from track history to standings and likelihood of race day downpours (PA Images)

The Circuit de Monaco has hosted 67 Grand Prix in Formula One's history and features 19 corners with just one DRS zone.

Sunday's race will mark its 68th feature on the Formula 1 calendar and will take place over 78 laps of the 3.337km circuit.

It will run across 260.286km from lights out to chequered flag, with top speeds of 290 km/h expected.

In its history, the McLaren team has been the most successful outfit here, with 15 wins under their belt - while Ayrton Senna remains the most successful driver at this Grand Prix, holding a record of 6 wins.

There are four previous Monaco winners on the grid this weekend in Fernando Alonso (2006/2007), Lewis Hamilton (2008/2016/ 2019), Sebastian Vettel (2011/2017), and Daniel Ricciardo (2018).

Weather

On Friday, conditions will be mainly sunny with a chance of rain as the afternoon unfolds in Monaco. FP1 temperatures will reach highs of 27C while FP2 will be around 26C. The lowest temperature across the day will be around 18C and the chance of rain is sitting at 20%.

Saturday will be another sunny day but clouds will begin to move in the direction of the track in the afternoon. FP3 will see highs of 27C while Qualifying will drop by just 1C just hours later to 26C. Lowest temperatures will hit 18C, but the chance of rain is 0%.

Race day on Sunday is due to feature unsettled conditions with rain showers possible at points of the day. The air temperature will be around 22C max during the race with lowest temperatures averaging at 18C. The predicted chance of rain at the moment is 60%.