McLaren fined over CDS button tape
McLaren has been fined €30,000 (with €10,000 suspended) by the Monaco Grand Prix stewards after admitting it put “transparent tape” over the clutch disengagement system (CDS) button needed by marshals to recover Lando Norris’s car in second practice. The stewards said the tape “completely defeated the purpose of the CDS system” because “it was not possible to break the tape and press the button by hand without the use of a tool”. They suspended less of the fine than a similar Montreal case as that penalty “should have alerted all teams”.
McLaren's bizarre fine for taping a button explained
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Piastri on McLaren needing to improve overnight in Monaco
Oscar Piastri said McLaren has “some things to find overnight” after ending Friday practice at the Monaco Grand Prix about a second off the pace, with team-mate Lando Norris stopping early in FP2 with an electrical issue. Piastri said: "It felt okay, just not as speedy as we would like, unfortunately, so it was a difficult one. We made a bit of progress for FP2, but we went from a second and a half off to a second off. So, it's been a tough day for us. Some things to find overnight."
McLaren floored by "one second" deficit as Lando Norris hits trouble in Monaco F1 practice
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Alonso on 2026 F1 cars and hybrid racing in Monaco
Fernando Alonso said the 2026 Formula 1 cars are “probably the worst generation” he has driven in Monaco and argued that hybrid cars should not be racing, after Friday practice at the Monaco Grand Prix. Alonso said: "This is probably the worst generation of cars I ever drove in Monaco. The way you charge the battery, with the braking and lifting off and things like that, obviously creates a lot of inconsistency into the engine braking of the car... It's just the rules. Hybrid cars should not be racing. It's as simple as that."
“Hybrid cars should not be racing” – Fernando Alonso slams 2026 F1 cars as “the worst ever” in Monaco
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Verstappen on Red Bull needing fine-tuning to close on Ferrari
Max Verstappen says Red Bull need to "fine-tune a few things" and extract more from their package as they try to get closer to Ferrari at the Monaco Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "It was quite a positive day, to be honest. We felt quite good in the car, and it is particularly important, especially around Monaco, to have a positive feeling in the car. We just need to work to fine-tune a few things. Ferrari is looking really strong, so we will try to be as close as we can to them tomorrow."
Max Verstappen hands Red Bull target in Ferrari Monaco pursuit
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Russell on Mercedes' challenging start and Ferrari pace
George Russell says Mercedes’ opening day at the Monaco Grand Prix was “more challenging than we would have hoped”, with Ferrari looking like the team to beat after Friday practice. George Russell said: "We expected Ferrari to be the guys to beat – a lot of people thought that was just chat, but clearly they are the team to beat. We knew out of the races so far [that] this was going to be our most challenging – it's probably been slightly more challenging than we would have hoped, but we did make some good improvements from FP1 into FP2. We need to make the same step again overnight, and I don't think we nailed it today so there is room to improve."
Friday in Monaco ‘more challenging than hoped' – Russell
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Racing Bulls given FIA warning
Racing Bulls has been handed a formal warning by the FIA after Arvid Lindblad was judged to have impeded Oscar Piastri during Monaco Grand Prix opening practice at Turn 12. The stewards said the team wrongly told Lindblad that Piastri had aborted his lap, adding: “This was not the case and was a wrong interpretation by the team engineer.” While they accepted it as “a reasonable mitigating circumstance”, they warned that similar errors “may almost certainly result in more severe penalties”.
Racing Bulls punished by FIA after Oscar Piastri Monaco GP incident
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De la Rosa on Aston Martin's planned summer changes
Aston Martin team representative Pedro de la Rosa says the team does not expect any significant improvement until it introduces “significant changes” around the summer, with the AMR26 currently a “very difficult car” for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. De la Rosa said: "Definitely not yet. We are where we are. However, there are really a lot of things happening behind the scenes in the factory which makes us believe that the upgrades, all the significant changes that we will introduce around the summer, will deliver. What we have right now is a very difficult car."
Why Aston Martin have faith their future upgrades will deliver
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Bortoleto on Audi's Monaco progress after practice issues
Gabriel Bortoleto says Audi still have more to find at Monaco despite ending Friday practice in the top 10 after issues in first practice. Bortoleto said: "I think in P1 we faced a few issues, but still we managed to put the car in the top 10. There are a lot of things we can improve and be better [at]."
Bortoleto satisfied with Monaco practice after early issues
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Hamilton on Ferrari still having performance to find in Monaco
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari still have "performance to be found" at the Monaco Grand Prix despite what he described as a positive Friday in practice. Hamilton said: "It's been a positive day overall, and the car felt quite good right from the first laps. The team did a solid job with the changes we made between the two sessions, and we were able to work through our programme without any major issues. There is still performance to be found, and tonight we'll focus on the details, because the margins are very small here and there's plenty of work to do ahead of qualifying."
Lewis Hamilton names Ferrari Monaco demand despite 'positive day'
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McLaren referred to stewards over CDS issue
The FIA has referred McLaren to the stewards over an alleged technical infringement after Lando Norris stopped on track during FP2 at the Monaco Grand Prix. In a note, F1 technical delegate Manuel Leal said that when “car 01 stopped on the track”, marshals pressed the CDS button but “it turned out that the CDS was not working as required” under regulations Article C9.3. Norris and a McLaren representative are due to see the stewards at 1900 local time on Friday.
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Russell on Ferrari setting the pace in Monaco practice
George Russell says Ferrari are “the team to beat” at the Monaco Grand Prix after their Friday practice pace left them fastest in FP2. Russell said: "We expected Ferrari to be the guys to beat. A lot of people thought it was just chat, but clearly they are the team to beat."
George Russell: Monaco F1 pace shows Ferrari hype "wasn't just chat"
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Hadjar on Monaco FP1 crash and rebuilding confidence
Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar said his heavy crash in first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix at the second chicane of the Swimming Pool section “caught me off guard”, as he looked to rebuild his confidence in FP2. Hadjar said: "It really caught me off guard – I didn't expect to lose it here. Also it's not a crash you often see here, losing the rear like that so I was surprised. Definitely a tough one. I tried to build the confidence back again [in FP2]. I took no risks and lap by lap, just explored a bit more."
Monaco FP1 crash ‘really caught me off guard' – Hadjar
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Norris on McLaren investigating Monaco practice shutdown
Lando Norris has urged McLaren to find out what caused his car to shut down in second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, costing him track time after he stopped in the run-off at the Nouvelle Chicane. Norris said: "Tricky day. We're clearly off the pace and need to find time all across the lap. Frustrating to lose track time today, as that's always important here in Monaco. The car simply turned off, so we need to investigate what happened there."
Lando Norris calls for McLaren investigation after costly failure
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Marshall on Norris' Monaco practice electrical problem
McLaren chief technical officer and chief designer Rob Marshall said the team do not yet know exactly what caused Lando Norris’ car to stop during second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, beyond an electrical problem that shut it down. Marshall said: "We don't know conclusively yet. He had an electrical problem on the car and it shut down. We've not had enough time to go through the data and find out exactly what's gone wrong yet. It could be anything, but it's electrical."
McLaren provide update on Norris' car after FP2 stoppage
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Russell on why Ferrari are strong in Monaco
George Russell says Ferrari are “the team to beat” in Monaco because their car’s “inherent DNA” suits the circuit’s slow, bumpy street-track corners, after the Scuderia topped both of Friday’s practice sessions. Russell said: "The trends that we see with Ferrari every year here and on street tracks and what we've seen today have been there for probably 10 years, to be honest. I think every car has an inherent DNA. Their inherent DNA, especially on the mechanical side of the car, clearly works on these street tracks. We're doing everything we can to try and make those improvements, I do think we can close the gap. [Whether] we can overcome it, I'm not sure."
Ferrari's “inherent DNA” makes them team to beat in Monaco – Russell
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Lewis Hamilton set the pace during Friday's second practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, leading the way from Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
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⏱️ FP2 Results
P1) Lewis Hamilton - 1:13.026 P2) Charles Leclerc: +0.111 P3) Max Verstappen: +0.168 P4) George Russell: +0.379 P5) Kimi Antonelli: +0.503 P6) Isack Hadjar: +1.061 P7) Oscar Piastri: +1.062 P8) Nico Hulkenberg: +1.068 P9) Gabriel Bortoleto: +1.333 P10) Oliver Bearman: +1.430 P11) Pierre Gasly: +1.471 P12) Carlos Sainz Jnr: +1.486 P13) Alexander Albon: +1.574 P14) Arvid Lindblad: +1.722 P15) Franco Colapinto: +1.732 P16) Liam Lawson: +1.759 P17) Esteban Ocon: +1.819 P18) Sergio Perez: +2.090 P19) Lando Norris: +2.248 P20) Fernando Alonso: +2.268 P21) Valtteri Bottas: +2.733 P22) Lance Stroll: +3.148
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Lawson avoids penalty for red-light breach
Liam Lawson will not be penalised for passing a red light at the end of Monaco GP first practice after the stewards accepted “mitigating circumstances” linked to confusion over the pit-exit countdown clock. The Racing Bulls driver joined the track as the pit-exit light turned red following the late restart, but the stewards noted the countdown clock “is not official”, is not synchronised with the light, and Lawson had “less than a second to react”, concluding: “no penalty will be imposed.”
Liam Lawson escapes costly Monaco penalty after 'clock confusion'
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Briatore on failed Mercedes talks over Alpine shareholding
Flavio Briatore says Mercedes’ negotiations to take over Otro Capital’s shareholding in the Alpine Formula 1 team collapsed because Otro’s asking price was too high. Briatore said: "It's very easy, the price was too high. Toto was very fair. I don't think [the] Otro people are fair. Toto in all the negotiations was very fair."
Explained: Why failed Mercedes-Alpine F1 negotiations broke down
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