The cars return to the pits and we await a decision on whether the race continues. If it does return, we are down to a 10-lap race. Antonelli is out of the car. The race surface is being checked on that final bend. The asphalt, the marble, is the problem.
Race is red flagged...race suspended
68/78 Russell is noted for failing to serve his penalty. That final bend, where Stroll and Leclerc crashed, has become treacherous. Is that the reason for the red flag being waved?
67/78 Leclerc says: “I am not taking the blame for that.” His crash places Hadjar in third. His crash happened in the same place as Stroll, and at the same speed of 46/47 mph. Leclerc is raging.
Safety car gone - Leclerc crashes - safety car back
66/78 Oh dear, and as the restart begins, Leclerc smashes into the barrier, losing it on a piece of tarmac.
Updated
65/78 Russell is asking about his penalty, some confusion reigning. His team’s response seems vague. Someone’s made a miscalculation. “I just need to know,” says Russell, who gets to be reacquainted with the back end of Hadjar.
64/78 We await the restart, and to see if Kimi Antonelli can get away from Hamilton and Leclerc on the soft tyres. His previous gap was 29 seconds but now we are back to, if not square one, then the previous race order.
63/78 The Aston Martin is taking a while to shift, as Stroll lost it on the bend, smashing into the barrier. The lapped cars are allowed to unlap themselves. Leclerc not happy with his team, not understanding why he is pitting. Russell didn’t serve his penalty in the pit lane, and didn’t serve it, so will get another one. Not a good day for George.
62/78 Leclerc asks: “Why the hell are we pitting?” Antonelli will go into the pit lane, and get a new set of tyres. There’s a hitch with the tyres but Antonelli will still lead.
Safety car called
61/78 Stroll comes to a halt on a corner, a yellow flag goes up. The pit crews are called into action. Piastri and Hamilton pit. Hamilton serves his five-second penalty.
Updated
60/78 Leclerc got a little too close to the barrier, sparks flying when his front left wheel grazes the metal. He checks his steering to see if any damage done.
59/78 Albon and Sainz carry out a planned swap. They await that Lindblad pit.
58/78 Russell has been lapped, meaning only Antonelli, Hamilton and Leclerc remain on the lead lap. Antonelli is 28 seconds clear.
57/78 Uh oh? Antonelli is complaining “there’s something wrong with my engine going up the hill.” His team tell him to forget setting fastest laps.
56/78 Piastri gets the five-second penalty. He was told by his team to be careful and it still happened.
55/78 Sainz pits, and comes out in 10th, and they await Lindblad’s pitting to claim ninth and 10th. Piastri is the next, the fifth, to be investigated for speeding in the pit lane. Something’s afoot?
54/78 Not much fun for George Russell out there, as Antonelli is closing on lapping him. Lance Stroll, second-last, is another looking at a five-second FIA penalty.
53/78 Pierre Gasly is the latest to get a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He’s in seventh.
52/78 A battle between Leclerc and Hamilton. The local lad is under five seconds behind his fellow Ferrari, and with a penalty booked in, he’s in virtual second place.
51/78 Antonelli is told to calm it down and wait for a safety car change to swap tyres.
50/78 The Williams strategy didn’t work, as Arvin Lindblad in Racing Bulls overtakes. Though he still needs to pit so Albon will take the place back.
49/78 Albon isn’t happy. “I don’t get it.” He’s having to drive like an OAP over Snake Pass.
48/78 Norris: “Something’s wrong, I’ve got no battery.” He had been passed already by Russell. Albon sets about his task of blocking, like a tractor down a country lane.
47/78 That’s two successive retirements for Norris. Sainz and Albon are asked to swap places such that Albon does a blocking job to preserve two top-10 places for Williams.
Norris retires
46/78 McLaren give up the ghost as his team tell him power problem will not be fixed, so that’s the fourth driver out. That takes Russell up to sixth, though he also faces another penalty.
Updated
45/78 Antonelli sets another fastest lap. He’s untouchable out there, flying along.
44/78 Norris is asked to pick up the pace. Russell is on his tail as they whip past the superyachts on the marina. Russell has been noted for crossing the line at the pit exit. Another five-second penalty? Oh George.
43/78 Colapinto’s five-second penalty is confirmed. He’s 15th. Russell is well aware what McLaren are doing to him. There’s not much he can do about it.
42/78 Norris is dropping back, team orders to keep Russell away from Piastri. This race will always present such challenges, right back to the days of Fangio.
41/78 Russell has had a frustrating race; he’s behind Norris. The McLaren team, including Piastri in fourth, are yet to pit. Colapinto, in the Alpine, is the latest to be investigated for speeding in the pit lane.
40/78 McLaren’s team principal confirms that Norris’ car has “power issues”. It’s not been an auspicious 1000th race for the storied team.
Russell gets penalty
39/78 Russell’s five-second penalty is confirmed. Antonelli was told to slow down after his teammate fell so foul.
Updated
38/78 Antonelli pits, and takes 2.3 seconds to change his tyres. He stays in the lead, and now leads by 13.4 seconds. Nothing can go wrong now?
37/78 Hamilton was too quick in going into the pits, rather than leaving it. Russell has been accused of the same offence now, and a similar five-second punishment awaits.
36/78 Norris has been complaining of no power but his team seem to have solved the issue. Hadjar is still having trouble, and telling his Red Bull team he’s having problems.
35/78 So, Antonelli, yet to pit, leads Leclerc, Hamilton, Piastri, Gasly, Norris and Russell.
Hamilton gets a penalty
34/78 Hamilton gets a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. His team accept it, and he will continue on without stopping.
Updated
33/78 Franco Colapinto, in the Alpine comes close to crashing. Russell’s pit works, as Hadjar comes in.
32/78 Norris seems to think his McLaren has a problem. His team will check. Russell pits, and will come out in the vicinty of Norris and Gasly, and does so in eighth.
31/78 Bearman has retired, bad news for Haas. That’s three parked up now. Max Verstappen will be in civvies by now.
30/78 Hadjar cut the chicane and that may see a complaint, especially if he does so again. There’s a battle for seventh, where Gasly is holding off Norris.
29/78 Hamilton asked to stop, and on to hard tyres he goes after a very quick pit-stop.
28/78 Russell has a look, and Hadjar cuts him off. Russell complains, asking for the stewards. “He’s got no tyres,” he tells his teams.
27/78 Hadjar sliding all over the track; this has been a brave drive from the French-Algerian.
26/78 Russell and Hadjar get closer and closer, but this time, on a sharp bend, the Red Bull closes down the space. Antonelli has 33 seconds on his teammate and championship rival. He’s also 10 seconds clear of Hamilton.
25/78 Hadjar and Russell’s battle is a reminder of the difficulty of Monaco. There’s still not much traffic behind them. They are losing two seconds a lap by fighting out this battle.
24/78 Antonelli is pulling further clear, and is eight seconds clear. The race is in the palm of his hand.
Updated
23/78 Hadjar is game but he’s told there’s “no fix” from his team. “Head down” is the advice.
22/78 Russell is all over the back, and really needs to get ahead of Hadjar to have any chance in the race. These two is where the race is at the moment.
21/78 “Something is going to explode,” says Hadjar, who has dropped 15 seconds behind Leclerc in third.
20/78 “I can’t pull first gear,” howls Hadjar. He sounds panicked, to say the least. Russell is well on his tail but Monaco won’t let him pass.
19/78 Antonelli has opened it back up to 4.4 seconds. Hadjar is complaining about his car to his team; the Red Bulls have not had a happy weekend. Russell waits his turn.
18/78 Russell has been advised by his team to mind his tyres so that he can take advantage of Hadjar’s tyres. Bottas’s Cadillac is parked up, it was overheating. That’s the second retirement.
17/78 Hamilton has been complaining of tyre degradation, as has Hadjar, though Russell closing on the Red Bull has also noticed. Hamilton has closed the gap to 2.8 seconds.
16/78 Verstappen speaks: “The formation lap, it wasn’r going very well. The pre-start was terrible and at the start the engine just dropped dead. It sounded awful. It will be a good test to see if we have stepped forward.”
The latter comment refers to Barcelona, next up. Big week ahead for Team Red Bull.
15/78 The wait for the leaders’ pit strategy begins. How can Ferrari trap Mercedes?
14/78 Lapping is not so common at Monaco but such is Antonelli’s pace and the back-markers’ strategy, that it’s happening today.
13/78 That view of the tunnel, under the hotel, remains the most evocative sight of the race. Hamilton is throwing everything at it. Russell is looking at being 58 points behind Antonelli if the race stays this way.
12/78 Antonelli loses a second by having to make his way through that collection of pitted back-markers. Hamilton will have to do the same.
11/78 Hamilton is pulling ahead of Leclerc.
10/78 The field is stretched in a fashion that’s not the usual way at the Monaco GP. Perez serves his five-second penalty for the second race running.
Updated
9/78 From Perez in 14th down, they have all pitted in the hope of keeping their tyres alive for the rest of the race. Bortoleto has overtaken Bearman to be 20th.
8/78 So, it’s Antonelli, Hamilton, Leclerc, Hadjar, Russell, Piastri, Gasly, Norris, Lawson and Albon in the top 10.
7/78 Antonelli is hoping to get so far clear he won’t pit and come out behind Leclerc, and thus fall into the hands of the Ferrari team.
6/78 That gap at the top has climbed over four seconds now. It seems Russell has escaped censure but Perez, in 14th, is facing a similar VAR look from the stewards.
5/78 Antonelli has set a fastest lap, he is flying. Russell awaits judgment on what looks a false start. A look at that start, Verstappen starts like a sleepy commuter, and asks his team “what the ***?”.
Updated
4/78 Antonelli is blasting away, giving it the full Keke Rosberg. This is a real test of Hamilton’s new broom.
3/78 Dreamland for Antonelli, with Hamilton on his trail. Russell is being penalised for a false start. Verstappen was telling his team that the engine was broken. The lead for Antoneilli climbs towards four seconds.
Verstappen retires!
2/78 “What should I do?” Verstappen asks, and the reply is ro “bring it home, Max”. He goes into the pits, and that’s it: retired.
Lights out in Monaco, and horror start for Verstappen
1/78 Antonelli gets away, and Verstappen has stalled! And he’s behind even Bortoleto, Antonelli sets off, ahead of the two Ferraris, Hamilton and Leclerc. Gasly overtook Norris to split the McLarens.
Updated
For a cloudy day, it looks very sunny. Bortoleto, starting from the pits, takes his time to get to his starting position.
Weather report, with apologies to Wayne Shorter, is warm and cloudy, no rain forecast. Ideal conditions, around 21 degrees. Here goes the formation lap.
The Formula One version of the Monaco GP was first won by Juan Manuel Fangio on 21 May 1950.
Martin Brundle is on his pit walk, into the throng he goes. It’s ram-packed in there, and meets the actor Cynthia Erivo, who seems a bit camera share. The McLaren chief exec sends props to the McLaren family, before meeting the legendary John Watson, who seemes amped up. Karen Gillan is there, and she’s excited, having travelled to be with the Haas team. Brundle meets Bortoleto, who confirms he must start in the pit. And here’s Kim Kardashian, who is with Khloe, and they and their people blank the great man. Max Verstappen is more accommodating: “Everything is alright.” Brundle is behind the podium on which the drivers stand for the Monaco national anthem, and then makes his escape to the commentary box. Shame Kim refused to speak; there was no Ozzy Osbourne moment.
Updated
Liam Lawson’s car is up and running and he thanks the Racing Bulls garage: “well done, everyone, I will do my best.”
Gabriel Bortoleto in the Audi has been having problems, and stalled but he also looks good to go.
Some quotes from Max Verstappen, second on the grid in his Red Bull: “Try not to overthink it too much, that works best. We will try to do the best start we can. It is a long race, anything can happen. It is not always easy and I hope today, we can have a normal start.”
Lewis Hamilton has appeared fresh and full of his previous self.
The car has repeatedly demonstrated how good it is in the slower corners but has struggled with drag on straights and in using a smaller turbocharger than their rivals. It has proved costly on traditional circuits this season where, even when competitive at the off, the Ferrari has been unable to match the Mercedes’ formidable race pace, or that of the upgraded McLaren.
Ferrari’s pace through the twists – Hamilton was quickest in the slow speed corners at the last round in Canada – and that smaller turbo will be vital in Monaco. Energy management should not be an issue with ample recharging, while the smaller turbo will enable it to remain spooled up to be most effective in punching quicker out of the corners.
Celeb spots: Mats Hummels, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, though no Kim Kardashian, not yet at least.
Liam Lawson, who has been showing off his Monaco lifestyle to the Sky broadcast, has problems with his Racing Bulls car; there seems to be a power problem, and it seems he may be starting from the pit lane.
It’s a gala weekend for McLaren, a team with such rich history.
McLaren, as leader, driver and designer, motivated by inexorable will, battled on. In 1968 he took their first win at Spa, a mighty result for the still fledgling outfit, and more would surely have followed but for his death in 1970. While testing the team’s M8D sports car at Goodwood, McLaren was killed when he spun off the track and struck a concrete marshal post. He was 32. Yet he had already instilled such passion and motivation in his team there was no consideration of not continuing. “He was the greatest leader of men I have ever met in all my life,” Ganley said.
On they went, Emerson Fittipaldi, also in Monaco this weekend, took their first drivers’ championship in 1974 and more followed. James Hunt’s title in 1976 and then under Ron Dennis’s leadership from 1981, McLaren claimed seven constructors’ titles between 1984 and 1998, a level of success that was admired and envied.
The Mercedes team are in the box seat, leading the constructors’ championship, and it’s likely to be a battle between their drivers for the title. Qualifying didn’t go so well for Russell.
The British driver, having taken time to reset and regroup since Montreal, maintained that he was unaffected by the setback in Canada, which was beyond his control. “In the past I’ve never really sort of believed in: ‘This is going to determine my destiny.’ I’m pleased that I did the job that I knew I was capable of and delivered in every moment when it was required,” he said.
“Of course it was annoying, but I didn’t lose much sleep over it and I think I can continue doing that job for the 17 races to go.
“I don’t think I’ve got anything to lose, really. I feel I’m still going with that same mindset, that if I look at it from my competitor’s [Antonelli’s] position, you’re kind of in a position now that you’ve got such a buffer, it feels like you can only keep it or you can only lose it. I think it’s his to lose.”
Read Giles Richards’ qualifying report.
The drivers championship standings
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1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 131 points
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2. George Russell (Mercedes) - 88 points
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3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 75 points
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4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 72 points
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5. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 58 points
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6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 48 points
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7. Max Verstappen Red Bull) - 43 points
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8. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 20 points
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9. Ollie Bearman (Haas) - 18 points
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10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 16 points
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11. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) - 15 points
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12. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 14 points
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13. Carlos Sainz (Williams) - 6 points
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14. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) - 5 points
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15. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) - 2 points
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16. Esteban Ocon (Haas) - 1 point
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17. Alex Albon (Williams) - 1 point
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18. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) - 0 points
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19. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) - 0 points
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20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) - 0 points
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21. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 0 points
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22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 0 points
The starting grid:
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1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
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2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
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3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
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4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
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5. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
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6. George Russell (Mercedes)
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7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
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8. Lando Norris (McLaren)
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9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
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10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
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11. Alex Albon (Williams)
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12. Carlos Sainz (Williams)
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13. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
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14. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
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15. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
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16. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
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17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)
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18. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
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19. Ollie Bearman (Haas)
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20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
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21. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
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22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Preamble
Monaco, the creme de la creme of F1 events, a test different to the rest, and the one every driver wants on their palmares. The principality stages the most scenic event in the sport, and this time, there’s a loaded grid, with Kimi Antonelli on pole, Max Verstappen alongside him, Lewis Hamilton, a three-time winner in third, with Charles Leclerc, the local boy making for a Ferrari second row.
Lights out at 2pm UK time. Join me.
