Leclerc Tops Monaco Qualifying But Race Spot in Jeopardy After Crash

Photo Credit: FIA Pool/LAT Images/Pirelli

 

In the conclusion of the Spanish Grand Prix, there was a noteworthy statement made by Scuderia Ferrari’s team driver Charles Leclerc ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. He asserted that the group’s strength in the third section of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during the Spanish Grand Prix was an indication that the Italian Formula 1 team would be strong on the Monte Carlo temporary street course.

Following Friday’s on-track action in Monaco, Leclerc's admittance was supported in spectacular fashion. In the second practice session the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished first and second fastest. Entering qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, there was a realistic chance the Ferrari team could capture their first pole position since the 2019 Mexican Grand Prix. In the hands of the event’s home country favourite, the red car squad prevailed in qualifying although a major setback could remove the Ferrari race car from the top place on Sunday’s grid.

Posting a lap time of 1 minute, 10.346 seconds on the time chart of the Q3 session, Charles Leclerc’s #16 Ferrari clipped the turn 15 barrier in the late seconds of the final qualifying session and would crash. A red flag ended qualifying cementing the Monegasque driver as the fastest and provisional pole sitter for the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc’s starting position is contingent to the extent of the damage to the Ferrari SF21 race car. At the time this qualifying recap has been written, the Ferrari team has stated there was no serious damage spotted to the #16 car’s gearbox but an additional inspection will take place prior to Sunday race. A change to the gearbox could require the incurrence of a five-grid place penalty.

 

Said to have mixed feeling regarding the pole effort, Charles Leclerc ended his post-race Ferrari statement saying “Whatever the outcome, I will give my all tomorrow. It feels great to be at home and to see all the fans around the track. It’s Monaco, it’s very unpredictable, and also challenging for us drivers, especially in the race with so many laps.”

Photo Credit: Foto Colombo Images/Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

If not for the wrecked car at the end of the qualifying session at Monaco, Scuderia Ferrari would have had a lot to celebrate. In addition to Charles Leclerc’s top time, Carlos Sainz Jr. delivered a solid performance on Saturday ultimately resulting in a fourth place starting spot on Sunday’s grid. The struggles of the 2020 Ferrari Formula 1 team are well-documented but the COVID-19 pandemic also changed the historic brand’s intentions to commemorate their 1,000^th grand prix start. Meant to take place at the 2020 Monaco race, the event’s cancellation and the reworked Formula 1 schedule caused for a race on Ferrari’s Mugello circuit to be the thousandth event for the team in the series.

Hampered from mounting a late session charge for the pole, Max Verstappen finished Monaco Grand Prix qualifying in the second place position. Along with Ferrari, Red Bull Racing team has displayed the most consistent front-running pace during this weekend on the 19-turn, 3.337-kilometer track. Verstappen was quickest in Saturday’s practice while teammate Sergio Perez posted the fastest time in the first practice session on Friday. Perez will start the Monaco Grand Prix in ninth place as the Mexican was unable to find the same pace as Verstappen throughout qualifying citing dropping track temperatures and traffic.

Photo Credit: Steven Tee/ LAT Images/ Pirelli

The often-dominating force of the Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 Team showed a more temperate performance on the tight street of Monaco. Valtteri Bottas settled for third on the grid for Sunday’s 78-lap event citing the late red flag as costing him a chance to take pole. The winner from the last Formula 1 race in Spain, Lewis Hamilton has appeared out of regular form during this weekend through practice and qualifying. Though Hamilton progressed into Q3 in qualifying, he experienced a lack of grip in his #44 Mercedes-AMG race car mustering a seventh place starting spot for the race.

Running historic Gulf oil colouring for the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, McLaren Racing had a qualifying outing that netted mixed results. Lando Norris will start Sunday’s main event from the fifth grid position but Daniel Ricciardo, 2018 winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, failed to post a top-10 time in Q2 and settling for 12^th place. The remainder of the top 10 starters is also the lone team entrants that broke into Q3. Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly will roll off the grid in 6^th place, 2011 and 2017 Monaco winner Sebastian Vettel will start 8^th for Aston Martin Racing and Antonio Giovinazzi scored an impressive 10^th place starting spot for Alfa Romeo Racing.

Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher crash in the final practice and was unable to post a time in Saturday’s qualifying at Monaco. The Formula 1 rookie will start at the rear for Sunday’s race.

Start time for the 78-lap, 2021 Monaco Grand Prix is set for 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. Eastern time).

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2021 Formula 1 Season
Monaco Grand Prix
Qualifying Results
Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Misson Winnow Ferrari	Ferrari
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	Honda
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
4	55	Carlos Sainz Jr	Scuderia Misson Winnow Ferrari	Ferrari
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia AlphaTauri	Honda
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
8	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
9	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing	Honda
10	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	Ferrari
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine F1 Team	Renault
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
13	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team	Mercedes-Benz
14	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo Racing	Ferrari
15	63	George Russell	Williams Racing	Mercedes-Benz
16	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Scuderia AlphaTauri	Honda
17	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine F1 Team	Renault
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Racing	Mercedes-Benz
19	9	Nikita Mazepin	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	Ferrari
20	47	Mick Schumacher	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	Ferrari

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2021 Formula 1 Season: Monaco Grand Prix Preview

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	Monaco Grand Prix
Race Date	May 23, 2021
Location	Monte Carlo, Monaco
Track Name	Circuit de Monaco
Course Length	3.337-kliometer (2.074-mile)
Laps	78
2019 Pole Winner	Lewis Hamilton
2019 Pole Time	1:10.166
Past Five Grand Prix Winners
No Race Held in 2020
2019	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG
2018	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
2017	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari
2016	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG
2015	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes-AMG

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Ricciardo Driving Red Hot Red Bull Racing Takes Monaco Pole

Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Following the end of the Spanish Grand Prix where the Mercedes AMG juggernaut fell early and Red Bull Racing picked up a fantastic victory through the hands of Max Verstappen. Happening only a few weeks ago, the Formula 1 world is left wondering if the race was a one-time fluke or could it be a sign of a change at the top of the grid. As the 2016 Formula 1 championship tackle the streets of Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix, many are wishing to see prove of either possible reality coming out of Spain being proven true.

In Saturday qualifying, a different leader from a different team stood at the top for each of the three timed sessions held on the narrow street course.In Q1, Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari proved fastest while Nico Rosberg set top time in Q2 for Mercedes AMG. In Q3, Red Bull Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo mounted the pole-winning time of 1-minute, 13.622 seconds. Expressing dejection following the Spanish Grand Prix when he cited pit stop strategy as costing him the potential for battling his teammate Verstappen for the race win, Ricciardo was considerably more upbeat in Monaco. As for the other driver of the Red Bull-Tag Heuer entrants, Max Verstappen faced a rough outing in qualifying in the first grand prix following his major first-time race victory. Making contact with the wall in the first session, Vetstappen will start in 21st place.

Photo Credit: Mercedes-Benz/Daimler AG

Q3 for both Mercedes AMG cars was another oddity from the team that typically dominated qualifying. The race cars of Lewis Hamilton and current Formula 1 championship points leader Nico Rosberg reported fuel pressure problems in the final timed session. While Hamilton was unable to even log a lap early in Q3, the #44 Mercedes AMG was quickly sent back out to log in a fast time ultimately resulting in a third place starting start for the Monaco Grand Prix. On the front row with Daniel Ricciardo is Nico Rosberg who was 0.169 seconds slower than the pole winner.  

Sebastian Vettel starts fourth for Ferrari in a grand prix he won in 2011. The second Ferrari race car of Kimi Raikkonen qualified sixth on Saturday but will be starting from the 11th position following a gearbox change.

2016 Formula 1
Monaco Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Pos # Car # Driver Team Engine

1 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG Heuer
2 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
3 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Mercedes-Benz
4 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari
5 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes-Benz
6 55 Carlos Sainz Jr Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
7 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes-Benz
8 26 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
9 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda
10 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
11 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari
12 9 Esteban Gutierrez Haas F1 Team Ferrari
13 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda
14 19 Felipe Massa Williams F1 Mercedes-Benz
15 8 Romain Grosjean Haas F1 Team Ferrari
16 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault Renault
17 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
18 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault Renault
19 98 Rio Haryanto Manor Mercedes-Benz
20 28 Pascal Wehrlein Manor Mercedes-Benz
21 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG Heuer
22 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari

Nico Rosberg Claims 3rd Monaco Grand Prix in Half-Blundered Mercedes AMG Outing

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

What is commonly regarded as the Formula 1 circuit's most prestigious event, the Monaco Grand Prix twist and turns through the streets of Monte Carlo surrounded by extravagance. A race dating back to 1929, the historic event is one of the slowest for grand prix cars in the season. With Formula 1 teams dealing with less dependence on engine horsepower and overall speed, the circuit presents an equalizing circumstance where some of the smaller teams can compete closely to Mercedes AMG and Ferrari. However, at the end of the 78 laps, the Monaco Grand Prix hosted yet another fine performance by the Mercedes AMG team during the early part of the 2015 Formula 1 season.

The Mercedes AMG team captured the front row spots in qualifying for the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton clocked a lap of 1-minute, 15.098 seconds to convincing claim the pole making it his fifth pole in six qualifying attempts for 2015. Having won the race on the streets of Monte Carlo with McLaren in 2008, Hamilton held onto the lead through much of this year's race. When 78 laps concluded on the streets of Monte Carlo, the outcome of the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix could be measured as a race Lewis Hamilton had to lose before Rosberg could win.

For what is guaranteed to be debated as a controversial call through remainder of the 2015 Formula 1 season as Hamilton battles for a second-straight world championship, the Mercedes AMG team chose to divide pit strategies between their race cars. With minimal tire wear, a one pit stop strategy was utilized by many drivers and teams. Leading handsomely in the late stages of the grand prix by around 10 seconds over teammate Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton's race was shaped in the events following a crash involving Max Verstappen and Romain Grosjean. As a safety car was entering the circuit, Mercedes AMG decided to pit the #44 car of Hamilton for fresh supersoft Pirelli tires. Expecting to come out second behind Rosberg, Hamilton rejoined the field in third as the Ferrari driven by Sebastian Vettel snuck by the #44 Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid. When the race restarted at the end of lap 70, Hamilton's newer tires were not enough of an advantage to contend for the win.

Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO X PIRELLI

Winning his third-straight Monaco Grand Prix, Germany's Nico Rosberg captured his second-consecutive victory of the 2015 season finishing 4.486 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel. With the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix win, the Mercedes AMG driver joined highly exclusive company as a winner of three-consecutive streets of Monte Carlo triumphs. Graham Hill, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna also completed the feat during their careers. Rosberg's effort has again shown a strong potential for the driver to obtain one thing that currently separates him from the other streak winners of the Monaco Grand Prix; a Formula 1 drivers' championship.

The choice of winner Nico Rosberg and second-place Sebastian Vettel, Mercedes AMG decision to place their #44 car driven by Lewis Hamilton on a two-stop plan was clearly a mistake. "I can’t express the way I feel at the moment. I saw the team out in the pit-lane on one of the screens and thought Nico was pitting. I came in with full confidence that the others had done the same. This is a race that’s been close to my heart for years and it’s special to me, so I really wanted to win. The team have been brilliant all year, so I don’t blame them." said Lewis Hamilton in post-race. A mistake that cost Hamilton an almost certain second win on the streets of Monte Carlo, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff publicly apologized to Hamilton for the race-changing decision in post-race. "But this is a day when we simply have to say sorry to our driver, because our mistake cost him the victory here. What happened? In simple terms, we got our numbers wrong.", said Wolff citing a miscalculation of Hamilton's position on the track as the reason for the miscue.

Fouled-up pit planning notwithstanding, Mercedes AMG is still living in the fast lane of the grand prix tour with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. So far this Formula 1 season, Hamilton and Rosberg can claimed podium finishes in all the grand prix events for 2015. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has been the closest challenger to the Mercedes AMG team so far. Splitting the Silver Arrows at Monaco has given the German his fifth podium in six races.

Photo Credit: FOTO STUDIO COLOMBO X PIRELLI

Aside from the fight at the front, the late-race crash was also a talking point following the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix. After battling for several laps, Max Verstappen's Toro Rosso slammed into the rear of the Lotus-Mercedes driven by Romain Grosjean. Both drivers were competing for championship points in the race when the incident happened that was ultimately judged to be Verstappen's fault by the FIA. Following the ruling, Verstappen has been vocal in an argument that Grosjean brake-checkered him causing an unavoidable accident. However, Grosjean has refuted to claim that has been supported by the FIA investigation. For the next race in Canada, Max Verstappen will receive a five-grid position penalty after qualifying.    

As is often the case with the narrow street course event, the Monaco Grand Prix produced some desperately-needed good performances for several drivers and teams. Undergoing a rough transition from Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing for 2015, Russian driver Daniil Kvyat recorded a career-best fourth place result. Kvyat finished one position ahead of his teammate Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull-Renault. A past Formula 1 World Drivers' Champion, it may be hard to attempt the importance of an eighth-place finish for Jenson Button but it was meaningful for the 2015 season. Button and teammate Fernando Alonso are veteran drivers for McLaren as the team works to iron out the bugs to the all-new Honda hybrid power unit. The eighth-place result was the first time this season that the McLaren-Honda finished in a points-paying position. For Alonso, the Monaco Grand Prix was his third DNF of 2015.

Next for the Formula 1 tour is the first of three stops on the North American continent for 2015. The Canadian Grand Prix is set for Sunday June 7th.

2015 Formula 1

Monaco Grand Prix

Race Results

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Ferrari
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
4	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	Renault
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	Renault
6	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Ferrari
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	Honda
9	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	Ferrari
10	55	Carlos Sainz Jr	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Renault
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Mercedes-Benz
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	Ferrari
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1	Renault
15	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	Mercedes-Benz
16	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	Ferrari
17	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	Ferrari
18	33	Max Verstappen	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Renault
19	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	Honda
20	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	Mercedes-Benz

Marussia Scores Two Points for the Little Guy

Andrew Hone/ Pirelli

As Formula 1 cars are unleashed on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Canadian Grand Prix, one team arrives having unloaded a heavy burden. More than four non-point scoring seasons, the Marussia Formula 1 organization has become a team that is now registered in the actual Constructors’ points standings. With French driver Jules Bianchi’s ninth place finish at the recent race on streets of Monaco. Despite a time penalty for actions committed under a yellow flag that cost the team an eighth place result, Bianchi’s success with scoring two championship points was greatly applauded. It was a long fight for the team that was originally founded in 2010 as Virgin Racing. A feat that was celebrated like a victory for the Marussia F1 team, the path to achieving the Monaco Grand Prix triumph was a long one for not only an individual team but for a plan to reshape the Formula 1 grid.

In 2010, Formula 1 had just gotten off several difficult seasons that saw big automotive names like BMW, Honda and Toyota leave the sport. While economic problems of the time hit the sport like almost every sector of the global landscape, Formula 1 had been reaching a point where team budgets escalated to obscene amounts. Itself a concern where high-ranking teams would attract a great deal of money to field a front-running car, a shocking truth was money did not buy the results many expected for large car companies in Formula 1. Even as the Toyota Racing team possessed the largest operating budget of all Formula 1 teams for several seasons, it did not equate to a victory in any grand prix from 2002 to 2009. Though Honda and BMW won races, both automotive companies left pondering whether they received value for their investment in the sport. For 2010, the series decided to replenish their racing grid by giving four new teams a chance to compete against the established names like McLaren and Ferrari running on a more cost-efficient model.

Supplied with Cosworth V-8 engines and spec transmissions, the four teams would be able to operate on smaller budgets. With numerous applications submitted to be part of Formula 1, the chosen group of new entrants consisted of HRT, Lotus Racing, USF1 Team and Virgin Racing. Of the four teams named to be additions to the 2010 Formula 1 grid, one never performed a competitive lap. The USF1 Team fell apart before the season begun and faded into oblivion. The three active teams were readied for the 2010 season and failed to score points. HRT spent three seasons in Formula 1 but soon buckled under the financial pressures.

While the top-10 proved elusive for the Lotus Racing and Virgin Racing, eventful management restructuring also saw the teams change greatly over five seasons. Entered as Lotus Racing and initially existing at arms-length from the British sports car brand, personalities clashed between the two entities. In 2011, when Lotus Racing announced they were going to run under the historically significant “Team Lotus” banner, Lotus officially re-entered Formula 1 through a partnership with the Renault Formula 1 organization. After some rather public sparring matches, Team Lotus renamed itself Caterham (related to a car company team owner Tony Fernandes purchased during the 2011 season). Up until the Monaco Grand Prix, it was widely speculated the Caterham F1 Team would have been more likely to score Formula 1 points ahead of Marussia.

Operating as Virgin Racing through the 2010 season, Russian sports car company Marussia Motors bought into the team in 2011. Since 2012, the group has competed at the Marussia F1 Team with drivers Timo Glock and Charles Pic. In 2013, the team signed Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton who were both graduates from GP2 competition. Posting a season-best effort of 13^th place in the Malaysian Grand Prix with Bianchi and a 14^th with Chilton in Monaco, Marussia F1 Team chose to keep their driver line-up intact for 2014. Switching from Cosworth to Ferrari engine power, the Marussia MR03 demonstrated itself as one of the most formidable vehicles the team has produced to date. After years of being in a somewhat bizarre class fight with Caterham, Marussia showed strength against some of the moderate teams in Formula 1. After Max Chilton recorded a pair of 13^th place runs in the first three races of the 2014 season, Jules Bianchi was the driver that pushed the Marussia F1 Team passed the threshold of the top-10 in grand prix results. The point-scoring run came after 83 grand prix events under the Virgin Racing/ Marussia F1 Team banner.

After the ninth place finish in Monaco, Marussia‘s Team Principal John Booth commented on the team website on the effort saying, “Naturally we are overjoyed at today’s result and it is a fantastic reward for all the hard work and determination, not just this year, but over the past four and a bit seasons.” Booth described his team as young and did attribute their success partly to endurance over the other teams.

Now registered in ninth place in the manufacturers’ points standings, the Marussia F1 Team will try to replicate this performance.

Rosberg Rules Monaco: Mercedes Driver Takes Prestigious Street Race

Photo Credit: Andrew Hone/ Pirelli F1 Press

Accepted as a preclusion of racing action on a busy Sunday that also includes the Verizon IndyCar Series' Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600, the Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most treasured locales on the Formula 1 series circuit. A long-running event within a rich setting, the tight, slow race on the Monaco street course is a conspicuous contrast to the current Formula 1 tour. Whereas many tracks in the 2014 Formula 1 tour have giant run-off areas, the narrow roads of the streets of Monte Carlo leave little margin for error.

The driver in focus through much of this weekend's grand prix was the defending event winner Nico Rosberg. Following his signage of a new deal with the Mercedes AMG team through 2016, Nico Rosberg placed his vehicle on pole for this year's event. Recording a 1-minute, 115.989-second lap time in Q3, Rosberg was a little less than 6/100th of a second ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. The pole-winning result did come with some controversy as Rosberg caused a yellow flag by overrunning turn five. This action classified as an "error" resulted in Hamilton being unable to better Rosberg's time. Due to the stakes in qualifying at Monaco, there have been speculation the incident could have been intentional.

At the start of the Monaco Grand Prix, the tight circuit claimed its first victim early. Coming out of Mirabeau, Sergio Perez's Force India-Mercedes was tapped by the McLaren-Mercedes of Jenson Button. With Perez's car stricken, a safety car would come out bunching up the Formula 1 field. Sergio Perez would actually be the second driver to retire from the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix. The Lotus-Renault of Pastor Maldonado did not start the race due to an issue with his car's fuel system.

Following the resumption of the race on lap four, a high-profile name would be next to fall on the streets of Monte Carlo. On lap seven, Sebastian Vettel reported drive problems with his Red Bull-Renault. A power unit problem was related to the early retirement of Sebastian Vettel. The 2011 race winner of the Monaco Grand Prix and reigning World Drivers' Champion after four straight titles, Vettel is winless in 2014 and will be buried in sixth place in this year's overall points.  

In the early part of the 78-lap race, Nico Rosberg was holding a lead over his fellow Mercedes AMG race car driven by Lewis Hamilton with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen in third. Racing action was interrupted again by a safety car on lap 26 when Adrian Sutil crashed into some remaining barriers. Many teams took the opportunity to make pit stops For Raikkonen, his chance for the podium finish was dashed when he needed to return to pit road. Dropped out of the top-10, Kimi Raikkonen was unable to score even a single Formula 1 point after what was a strong start.

Photo Credit: Force India

The fight between the Mercedes AMG remained alive through passed the halfway point in the Monaco Grand Prix. Into the later period of the race, top-10 contenders Jean-Eric Vergne and Valtteri Bottas ended their runs with mechanical problems. The falter by those drivers have led to the emergence of others. In the late stages of the 78-lap race, Romain Grosjean driving a Lotus-Renault and Jules Bianchi piloting a Ferrari-engine Marussia have climbed into the top-10.

It was in the last one-third distance of the Monaco Grand Prix that Nico Rosberg was able to pad his lead over Hamilton. The Mercedes AMG cars were separated by 9.2 seconds when the vehicles crossed the checkered flag. In the case of Lewis Hamilton, his plans for victory changed to defense of second place. Citing problems with vision, the Hamilton fought off the sole Red Bull-Renault in the event piloted by Daniel Ricciardo. The Mercedes AMG driven by the Brit edged out Ricciardo by 2/5ths of a second for the runner-up position.

Photo Credit: Andrew Hone/ Pirelli F1 Press

The big buzz amounting from the conclusion of the Monaco Grand Prix is the potential there may be some growing animosity developing between the Mercedes AMG drivers. A typical result of a top team having two capable drivers, each competitor realizes their main rival is under the same race team banner. Despite Lewis Hamilton winning three of the six races so far this 2014 season, Nico Rosberg has claimed an advantage in the drivers' points standing. Despite the speculation of a Hamilton/Rosberg rivalry, the Mercedes AMG team is benefitting from a mutual effort in widening their F1 Constructors' points gap that is now 141 points greater than second-place Red Bull Racing.

The third and final podium position was happily grabbed by Daniel Ricciardo. His second-straight podium finish, Ricciardo has been experiencing a slightly more consistent 2014 season with Red Bull Racing than his teammate Sebastian Vettel. As a result, Ricciardo is fourth in the overall drivers' standings and has so far outscored Vettel.

In fourth, Fernando Alonso driving for Ferrari was the last car classified on the lead lap. In fifth, Nico Hulkenberg is continuing on a string of consistency resulting in the Force India driver's fifth in the overall points. Climbing from deeper in the starting grid to take points-paying positions is veterans Jenson Button and Felipe Massa. Button's McLaren-Mercedes emerged from 12th to take 6th while Massa soared from 16th starting spot to come across the finish line 7th on the streets of Monte Carlo. Romain Grosjean captured four points for Lotus F1 Team with his eighth place result.

Achieving a feat that must have felt like a victory, driver for the Marussia team Jules Bianchi finished ninth. The first-ever points for the French driver, the result was also the first points-scoring run for the Marussia team. The McLaren-Mercedes of Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top-10 for the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix.

The next race on the 2014 Formula 1 calendar is the tour's first race in the Americas. The Canadian Grand Prix is set for the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 8th.



2014 Formula 1
Monaco Grand Prix
Race Results

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	Renault
4	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
6	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	Mercedes-Benz
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Renault
9	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	Ferrari
10	22	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
11	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	Renault
12	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Ferrari
13	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	Renault
14	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	Ferrari
15	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	Ferrari
16	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1	Renault
17	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Renault
18	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	Ferrari
19	26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Renault
20	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault
21	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
22	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	Renault

Rosberg's Monte Carlo Dream: Mercedes Driver Wins Monaco Grand Prix

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

One of the most anticipated events on the Formula 1 schedule, the Monaco Grand Prix is rich in history and prestige. Holding a grand prix race since 1929, a tight 2.075-mile street course serves as an one-of-a-kind scene for the 2013 Formula 1 season.

On Saturday, Nico Rosberg secured his three-straight pole position driving his Mercedes AMG race car to a small advantage over teammate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg and Hamilton have combined for four consecutive grand prix poles for their German team but were still chasing a first race victory in 2013. The 78-lap Monaco Grand Prix would be the precise period where the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team officially equals the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Lotus F1 Team in 2013.

From the start of the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg asserted control over the 22-car field leading commandingly in the early part of the race. As the Mercedes AMG of Rosberg remained unchallenged at the front, the race from second to fourth had Lewis Hamilton fending off the Red Bull Racing duo. The Red Bull-Renaults driven by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber starting from the second row on a mission to win their fourth straight Monaco Grand Prix.

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

After 28 laps, the only retirement from the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix was the Caterham-Renault of Charles Pic. Pic's exit has been attributed to a gearbox failure. The retirement from the grand prix would came on lap 29 when the Ferrari of Felipe Massa crashed. Massa's crash closely mimicked his accident in final practice on Saturday. The day following the Monaco crash, Ferrari engineers analyzed Massa's car and determined the Brazilian driver's collision was a result of a front suspension failure.

While the appearance of the safety car has grown more common in recent years, it would prove surprising that there had yet to be a grand prix incident requiring the vehicle. It took the sixth race of the 2013 season for the first safety car period to occur. When the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG safety car was put in control of the Formula 1 field, the appearance was a game-changer for the Monaco Grand Prix

The safety car period provoked the top teams to convert to a two-stop strategy. In what could have been the only misstep for the Mercedes AMG team at Monaco, a double pit stop for Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton resulted in a loss of position for one of their team cars. While Rosberg was successful in jetting back into the lead of the race, Hamilton lost two spots due a small gap on the Red Bull Racing cars. The 2008 Formula 1 World Champion would be unable to regain a podium position but still finished respectfully.





Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

The Massa crash would end up not being the last moment where special considerations had to be made for mishaps. On lap 45, a red flag period was needed to clean up a collision between the Williams-Renault of Pastor Maldonado and the Marussia-Cosworth driven by Max Chilton. The accident also caused damage to the second Marussia car piloted by Jules Bianchi An accident resulting from an error made by Chilton, the Marussia team driver was handed a drive-through penalty for the incident that ended the grand prix for Maldonado. Max Chilton would wind up finishing an impressive 14th place as more cars would retire.

Once more in the race, the safety car was deployed around lap 61. An incident where Lotus-Renault driver Romain Grosjean crashed into the back of Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso-Ferrari spread considerable debris on the street circuit. Grosjean will be penalized at the Canadian Grand Prix for the collision.

As the remaining 2013 Monaco Grand Prix field was unleashed again for an 11-lap sprint to the checkered flag, other battle would result in one more retirement. McLaren's Sergio Perez was attempting to pass Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus-Renault for running fifth. Through a chicane, Perez and Raikkonen made contact. Perez would fall out of the race with suspension problems to his McLaren-Mercedes. After attending pit road to replace a punctured Pirelli tire, Raikkonen would finish the race in 10th.




Photo Credit: Nissan/Infiniti

At the flag, Nico Rosberg took the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix in dominating style. Finishing 3.8 seconds ahead of the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel, the multiple safety car periods might have skewed how effective of a day the Mercedes AMG car had in the 78-lap race. Rosberg's second-ever Formula 1 race win, the triumph comes almost on the 30th anniversary of his father Keke Rosberg's Monaco Grand Prix victory.

As the unfortunate pit stop for Lewis Hamilton cost the Mercedes AMG team a presence of two drivers on the podium, the result was another team accomplishing the double-podium finish. Red Bull Racing took second and third with Sebastian Vettel in front of Mark Webber. In the Formula 1 Drivers' standings, 18 points for Vettel gave the three-time champion a major boost at the top of the board over closest challenger Kimi Raikkonen. For the 2013 manufacturers' points, the strong presence on the podium allowed Red Bull to gain a larger advantage over second place Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth ahead of Force India driver Adrain Sutil. Sutil's teammate Paul di Resta finished further back in ninth place but recovered well from a 17th place starting spot. Sandwiched between the Force India-Mercedes race cars was Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Jean-Eric Vergne.


The next race on the 2013 Formula 1 racing tour is the first North America stop in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix.


2013 Formula 1
Monaco Grand Prix
Race Results

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	Renault
4	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
5	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
6	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
7	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari
8	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
9	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
10	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	Renault
11	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	Ferrari
12	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1	Renault
13	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	Ferrari
14	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	Cosworth
15	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	Renault
16	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Renault
18	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
19	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	Cosworth
20	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams F1	Renault
21	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Ferrari
22	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	Renault

Rosberg Accomplishes F1 Pole Three-Peat at Monaco

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG

Historic and unique, the Monaco Grand Prix is the sixth race on the 2013 Formula 1 calendar. Since 1929, the grand prix has ranked at the pinnacle of auto racing alongside the Indianapolis 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans. Second greatest honour to winning the Monaco Grand Prix during the Formula 1 season is capturing the pole for the streets of Monte Carlo affair. For the 2013 edition of the prestigious street race, Nico Rosberg has claimed the pole for Sunday's 78-lap event.

Muscling his Mercedes AMG race car around the tight street corners of Monte Carlo, Rosberg recorded a pivotal 1-minute, 13.876-second time in the Q3 session of Saturday qualifying. The pole position becomes Nico Rosberg's third consecutive victory in Formula 1 time trial sessions. For Mercedes AMG, the success in Monaco qualifying has allowed one of their vehicles to sit in pole position on the grid for four straight events. Clocking a time 9/100ths of a second slower than Rosberg, Mercedes AMG teammate Lewis Hamilton is fast enough to allow the German race team to own the front row of the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix starting grid.

Red Bull Racing has claimed the second starting row of the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel edging out Mark Webber. Webber is the defending race winner and has won the Monaco Grand Prix twice in the past three years. Vettel is the 2011 victor of the famous Formula 1 street race.

Saturday's qualifying consisted of brief period of rain that dampened the race track. Occurring around the Q1 and Q2 portions of qualifying, teams operated on intermediate Pirelli tires before the ten remaining Formula 1 cars were able to use slicks. Complicating the whole qualifying effort on Saturday, Felipe Massa was one driver unable to participate. Massa's Ferrari crashed in final practice for the Monaco Grand Prix leading the Brazilian to start on the final spot on the race grid. The Ferrari driven by recent Spanish Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso is positioned sixth for Sunday's event.

The 2013 Monaco Grand Prix race is set for 2 PM local time (8 am in the Eastern time zone).



2013 Formula 1
Monaco Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Pos #	Car #	Driver	Team	Engine
1	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
2	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes-Benz
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	Renault
5	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	Renault
6	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari
7	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
8	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
9	5	Jenson Button	McLaren	Mercedes-Benz
10	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
11	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	Ferrari
12	19	Daniel Ricciardo	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Renault
14	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1	Renault
15	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	Renault
16	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams F1	Renault
17	14	Paul di Resta	Force India	Mercedes-Benz
18	20	Charles Pic	Caterham	Renault
19	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	Ferrari
20	23	Max Chilton	Marussia	Cosworth
21	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	Cosworth
22	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Ferrari