Russell on Red Bull surprise and Mercedes Monaco challenge
George Russell says Red Bull have been “a bit of a surprise” on pace in practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, with Mercedes finding the weekend “slightly more challenging than we would have hoped”. Russell said: "We expected Ferrari to be the guys to beat, and a lot of people thought that was just chat, but they clearly seem to be. I think Red Bull have also been a bit of a surprise for us, we knew out of the races so far that this was going to be our most challenging, but it's probably been slightly more challenging than we would have hoped. But we did make some good improvements from FP1 into FP2, and we need to make the same step again overnight, as I don't think we nailed it."
George Russell reveals Red Bull surprise as Mercedes on rare back foot
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HAMILTON’S SPECIAL HELMET FOR MONACO 🩷
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Design inspired by the Classic Mercedes 280SL Pagoda for Kimi Antonelli 🩶
A silver arrow @MercedesAMGF1 theme and dark blue leather look for the Monaco Grand Prix
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🚨 Most podiums in Monaco this decade:
Max Verstappen - 3
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Charles Leclerc - 2
Lando Norris - 2
Oscar Piastri - 2
Sergio Perez - 1
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Los neumáticos disponibles para lo que queda de fin de semana
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Think it’s noteworthy that in Monaco - where engine power is less important - none of the top 3 drivers in FP2 were Mercedes powered.
And the top 10 included
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43 points separate Kimi and George! ↔️
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Piastri on McLaren being off the pace in Monaco practice
Oscar Piastri said McLaren were “hoping we would be a fair bit closer” in Monaco practice after ending Friday more than a second off the pace in seventh. 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. We always expected Ferrari to be quick... but we were hoping we would be a fair bit closer."
McLaren facing pace and reliability woes after difficult Monaco start
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Leclerc on tight Monaco qualifying after Friday practice
Charles Leclerc says qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix will be “very tight” after Ferrari topped Friday practice, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen looking “very strong”. Leclerc said: "Max has been very strong. Red Bull have been very strong and Lewis has been very strong. At the end of the day, it's not been a disastrous day. We are very close to Lewis in FP2. I'm not so worried but it's going to be a tough qualifying for sure, and it will be very tight. If we can do a step forward with the brakes, it can help us for the fight for pole."
'Lewis has been very strong'- Ferrari favourites for 'tight' Monaco pole fight
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Leclerc on ongoing Ferrari brake issues in Monaco
Charles Leclerc says he is still “struggling” with Ferrari’s brakes at the Monaco Grand Prix and that the team has not yet found a solution, with the issue continuing from the Canadian Grand Prix. Leclerc said: "Unfortunately, for the past two weekends I've been facing some issues with the brakes, and I'm struggling on my side with them at the moment. So we're trying to find a solution. We haven't found one so far, but we'll keep working on it and try to make sure we take a step forward for tomorrow."
Charles Leclerc reveals crucial Ferrari problem continuation: 'I'm struggling'
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Alonso on 2026 cars being the worst generation in Monaco
Fernando Alonso says the 2026 Formula 1 cars are “probably the worst generation” he has driven in Monaco, blaming the battery-charging rules for making the engine braking inconsistent. Alonso said: "No, I don't think so [that the 2026 cars were at their best in Monaco]. 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. Hybrid cars should not be racing. It's as simple as that."
The Aston Martin issue risking 'stupid' crashes
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Stroll on Aston Martin gearbox sync issue at Monaco hairpin
Lance Stroll says Aston Martin’s gearbox will “completely lose sync” through Monaco’s Lowes Hairpin, forcing the team to “re-sync gears” and costing “huge lap time”. Stroll said: "It was a little bit better in Canada, but then every time we're under like 40 kph, we lose sync of the gears, so we have to re-sync gears. So here, for example, every time we go through Lowes Hairpin, we're going to completely lose sync of the gears, and then we're gonna have to sync those again, which is huge lap time every time you have to sync a gear."
Lance Stroll details astonishing issue plaguing Aston Martin in Monaco
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Everything we've learned at F1's Monaco GP so far
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Ocon on Monaco practice dispute with Bearman
Esteban Ocon says his Monaco Grand Prix practice dispute with Haas team-mate Ollie Bearman was “fine” once the situation was communicated, after he was blocked by Bearman on consecutive push laps. Ocon said: "It's fine, because Ollie was getting blocked like three times. The problem is that I wasn't getting blocked [by other people], I was only getting blocked by him. As soon as that was communicated, we swapped places and it was fine."
Esteban Ocon explains Monaco blocking dispute with F1 team-mate Ollie Bearman
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What the teams said – Friday in Monaco
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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 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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Related stories (3)
McLaren fined €30,000 after causing Monaco practice red flag
McLaren hit with £25,900 fine for taping over ‘neutral' button on Norris’s car
McLaren handed huge punishment after Lando Norris Monaco failure
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