LIVE: Monaco Grand Prix
Follow F1i’s live, as-it-happens coverage of the 2016 Formula One Monaco Grand Prix!
It’s time for one of the absolute highlights of the entire season, a race which is so much of a part of the sport’s DNA code that the very sight of the iconic street circuit is enough to get a true motorsport fans’s heart pumping that bit quicker even before the lights go out for the sixth Grand Prix of 2016.
- LIVE: Monaco Grand Prix – FP3
Right from the first free practice sessions on Thursday it’s been clear that Monaco is likely to give us something just a little bit extra special this year, with Mercedes no longer looking invincible. While Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton insist they’ve moved on from their unfortunate crash in Spain, a more serious problem has become clear to them: the sudden rise of Red Bull.
Daniel Ricciardo rocked the paddock by beating the Mercedes pair by over six tenths of a second on Thursday, and he then went on to clinch an emphatic pole position in qualifying on Saturday. He also played a strategy card by making his fastest Q2 run on supersoft tyres which should have been the set he was able to start the race itself on – but heavy rain on Sunday morning has put a spanner in the works if everyone is required to start on wet tyres instead.
Rosberg seemed happy enough with the second front row position for today’s race, but Hamilton looked distinctly unimpressed with third place after his his final qualifying lap was disrupted by a fuel pressure issue. He’s in a precarious position for the start, as he’ll have to make sure he doesn’t make contact with Rosberg into Ste Devote while not giving away position to Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who starts from fourth place.
Alternating Force India/Toro Rosso drivers fill out the next two rows with Nico Hulkenberg impressing in fifth place alongside Carlos Sainz, and Sergio Perez set to start alongside Daniil Kvyat. Kvyat was the subject of a stewards’ investigation last night after the floor of his car failed post-qualifying technical inspection, but the team argued that it was due to damage after he hit the kerbs in Q3. The stewards accepted that excuse – this time – meaning Kvyat keeps his eighth place on the grid ahead of McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Williams’ Valtteri Bottas.
Kimi Raikkonen is out of position in 11th place after being handed a five-place grid penalty as a result of Ferrari having to change his gearbox on Saturday. Also out of position is Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who hit the barriers in Q1 before he was able to set a time. Repairs to the driver safety cell mean that he will have to start from the pit lane, as will Sauber’s Felipe Nasr whose engine let go at the start of qualifying.
With the added element of the rain, today should prove to be one of the livlier and more exciting Monaco Grand Prix events. Overtaking is tough here but both Raikkonen and Verstappen will be on a charge. And as for what happens up front between Ricciardo, Rosberg, Hamilton and Vettel when the lights go out – well, that’s anyone’s guess!
It’s all scheduled to get underway at 2pm local time (1pm BST), and F1i will be right here bringing you all the latest news and information from trackside on F1i’s live page the minute that the action gets underway. Don’t miss a second!
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