Key events
Lap 17/78: The front four a in a nice convoy with around two seconds between them. No risk of overtaking.
Lap 16/78: Bottas is getting his tyres change.
No further investigation on the crash that took out Perez, Magnussen and Hulkenberg. Hmmmm …
Lap 15/78: Leclerc on his home track knows better than anyone how to safely navigate these corners without putting himself in danger. This is risk-free racing.
Lap 14/78: The intrigue is that Norris has opened up a gap on Russell and could earn himself a pit stop in this. Wait and see …
Very much a tactical race here. Leclerc is very much playing this game of chess like a master.
Lap 13/78: Even Sky have accepted this is dull.
Sauber are preparing a tyre change! Here we go!
Lap 12/78: I am not saying this is a bit dull but Sky have cut to drivers’ girlfriends on a couple of times.
Russell told: “We gain nothing by driving faster.” That’s not in the spirit of F1. Russell very much planning to stay on these tyres to the end.
Lap 11/78: There are lots of lovely boats in Monte Carlo. I can almost see why people have them. I once went to Monte Carlo and watched Monaco v Marseille. No cars were racing at the time.
Lap 10/78: This is all quite sedate after the early drama.
Ocon was awarded a 10-second penalty but instead will get a grid penalty for the next GP.
Lap 9/78: Verstappen is nine seconds off the lead. I suspect he will not be winning today.
Current positions:
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Lap 8/78: Piastri has a bit of damage to his car and has lost down force. He looks to be going OK in second, aided by the pace.
Lap 7/78: Leclerc is setting the pace and keeping things pretty smooth. No one is looking to do anything silly at this stage.
Lap 6/78: Russell seems to fancy getting the best of Norris in fourth while the latter’s tyres are waiting to get up to temperature.
It is not particularly quick at the moment because the cars are fuelled up.
Lap 5/78: The front three have opened up a little gap on fourth.
Lap 4/78: Ferrari are on the hard tyres, which is good news for them.
It is all very bunched up, which is unsurprising because of the nature of the circuit.
Russell looks eager to go past Norris, which should be an interesting watch.
Lap 3/78: No one crashed on the first corner, which is a positive.
Leclerc maintains the lead once more.
We are down to 16 cars. Ocon is also out, in addition to Perez, Magnussen and Hulkenberg.
We have started from the third lap so we will effectively have 77.
Away we go (again)
Some more racing.
We have seen a few tyres changes during this 40-minute delay.
The drivers are warming up once more.
From PA Media: “On a chaotic opening lap Carlos Sainz, who started third, went in too deep in his Ferrari at Casino Square, falling down the order, while the two Alpine drivers were also involved in a collision. Esteban Ocon passed Pierre Gasly through Portier, but in doing so made contact with his team-mate, who launched him spectacularly in the air.
“What did he do?” Gasly yelled over the radio. “Why did he attack me? Oh my gosh. The whole car has damage now.” Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on the short dash to the opening corner with Lando Norris promoted to third after Sainz ran off the road.”
We will start again at 1446 BST.
We do have some options for other live sports.
Perez, Magnussen and Hulkenberg will not be back for the restart, that is for sure.
We will have a standing start with Sainz in third. A good result for Ferrari.
Sky are very much filling at the moment as we await next steps.
They need to fix a barrier. We could be here for a while.
Hulkenberg was also taken out in the crash and looks to be fuming as he walks through the pit area.
Magnussen very much at fault for the crash. We are still waiting on the next steps. Verstappen watches a replay of the crash and looks a little shocked.
Perez’s crash described as “a monster of an accident” on commentary.
The track is being cleared of all the rubbish and one Haas has been lifted away.
Sainz’s puncture comes from contact with Piastri.
Perez gets clipped by Magnussen and his Red Bull has lost few wheels and a bit of bodywork after bouncing between the barriers.
Do we need to do a restart or carry on from where we were?
Lap 1/78: We have a red flag! Leclerc gets a good start and maintains first off the grid but Sainz gets a puncture and is limping his way. Sergio Perez and the Haas cars are stopped. There is plenty of debris on the track.
LIGHTS OUT
And away we go!
Is change needed? “100% yes,” says James Jones. “This season actually has some promise of not being a total Max procession to the title, but I’m not going to waste a minute of my day watching a queue of cars canter around Monaco. The race was over in qualifying and it is exceptionally dull.”
Is change needed?
She was in Endeavour which I find very exciting.
Michael Douglas passes on Catherine Zeta Jones’ apologies to Brundle.
Anya Taylor-Joy is here to support Lewis Hamilton and claims she was brought up watching F1. This is classic stuff.
I have no idea who she is. Will Google.
Siya Kolisi has a can of Red Bull and discussing the difficulties of overtaking. It is “all about strategy and when you make the stops”.
Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers actually has some history of attending the event and is looking forward to an “exciting day”.
Ben Chilwell is there with Red Bull and seems to know next to nothing about the motorsport, but who could turn down a trip to Monaco?
Joe Pearson emails: “Growing up in Indianapolis, this was always one of Racing’s biggest days. Monaco GP in the morning, followed by the Greatest Spectacle in Racing (which will almost certainly be delayed by rain today), and then the World 600 (now Coca Cola 600) in Charlotte as a cozy nightcap. Settling in for a day of cars going round and round but getting nowhere, with a temporary detour to watch the Championship Final. I’m tired already.”
Kylian Mbappe says he is not faster than an F1 car. Good to have clarity.
Martin Brundle is wandering through the grid. He has found Diogo Dalot and Antony. He enjoyed winning the FA Cup and is celebrating by turning up for his first F1 race.
The pit stop teams have gone through rigorous warm ups to make sure they are in tip top condition for the race. Pit stops could be crucial today with so little overtaken generally available on this track.
The drivers are warming up the tyres on what looks like a lovely day in Monaco.
There is a lot of celebrity spotting going in Monte Carlo. Michael Douglas, Kylian Mbappe and lots of young famous people.
A tricky day in store for Verstappen.
Nigel Mansell has had a natter with our very own Giles Richards.
The big news is that I am trying a new brand of mint tea for the Unwin household. Will it be welcome back long term? One way to find out.
What happened yesterday.
Starting grid:
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
7. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
8. Yuki Tsunoda, RB
9. Alex Albon, Williams
10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
11. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
12. Daniel Ricciardo, RB
13. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
14. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
15. Logan Sargeant, Williams
16. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
17. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber
18. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
19. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
20. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
Preamble
Charles Leclerc starts on pole and Max Verstappen is way down in sixth after an underwhelming qualifying session. Can the Red Bull perform some magical overtaking on a notoriously difficult circuit for such events? It will be intriguing to see.
This is Leclerc’s home race and he knows more than most what needs to be done to keep the chasing pack in his rear view mirror. The Frenchman winning this grand prix would be the culmination of a lifelong dream but life is rarely that simple, and there will be plenty behind him eager to chase him down.
Verstappen can comfort himself by the fact he starts 48 points clear atop the drivers’ championship and will be confident that no one will be able to catch him over the course of the season.
Race start: 2pm BST.
