Max Verstappen wins again, but could Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin have stopped him on a different strategy?
Max Verstappen took his second victory at the Monaco Grand Prix with a dominating performance despite a chaotic final 30 laps with the arrival of heavy rain.
Pole-getter Verstappen had beaten second-starting Fernando Alonso off the line easily and was on badly worn medium tires when the showers arrived on lap 50, but he had Fernando Alonso around 10 seconds behind him, depriving him the freedom of immediately responding to weather.
It was a dream scenario for the pursuing Alonso, who had started the race on the hard tire in the hope of running longer than the Dutchman and capitalizing on a late race disruption or the need to switch to intermediates.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen pips Fernando Alonso to pole position after an all-time classic qualifying session to set us up for a fascinating race.
Max Verstappen beat Fernando Alonso to pole position with a last-gasp lap at the end of a thrilling and unpredictable qualifying session at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Pole position changed hands five times after the end of the first runs, with Alonso, the Ferrari drivers and even Esteban Ocon rotating through top spot before Verstappen’s final lap.
Track grip was ramping up constantly, and Red Bull hatched a plan to have Verstappen be the last driver on track to take advantage of the conditions.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen is fastest on Friday, but with Ferrari and Aston Martin right in the fight for the all-important pole position.
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez controlled final practice at the Monaco Grand Prix before a Lewis Hamilton red flag ended the session six minutes early.
Red Bull had changes made overnight to drastically improve the balance of the RB19, having started the weekend unusually wide of the mark, and Verstappen made great use of his new setup to top the timesheets with a lap of 1m 12.776s.
Perez rotated through top spots during the session but ended up a wafer-thin 0.073s adrift of his teammate.
Continue reading on RACERMax Verstappen edged out Charles Leclerc for top spot in second practice at the Monaco Grand Prix after FP1 leader Carlos Sainz crashed out of the session.
Verstappen set the benchmark late in the soft-tire runs at 1m12.462s, though it was enough to pip Leclerc by only 0.065s. The Red Bull driver’s slender advantage was through the first two sectors, with the Ferrari again the car to beat in the final split.
Sainz was third, 0.107s off the headline time, but crashed shortly after setting his fastest lap. The Spaniard, who was comfortably fastest in the first practice hour, clipped the inside apex exiting the second Swimming Pool chicane and snapped his suspension, which sent him careening into the exit barrier.
Continue reading on RACERCarlos Sainz edged Fernando Alonso to top spot in first practice at the Monaco Grand Prix as the Red Bull Racing drivers struggled for composure around the serpentine street track.
With medium tires bolted on, Sainz and Alonso spent the final 15 minutes trading fastest laps, gradually separating themselves from the chasing pack. But with around five minutes to go Sainz set a sizzling final time of 1m13.372s to put top spot beyond reach of the Aston Martin driver, the margin 0.338s.
Despite setting the quickest time in the first split, Alonso lost the opportunity to respond when Alex Albon put his Williams in the barriers at Sainte Devote, bringing out red flags with four minutes remaining.
Continue reading on RACERLewis Hamilton and Ferrari both respond to rumours the Briton could switch to Italy at the end of his Mercedes deal in December.