Round 6 of the 2016 Formula One championship is the jewel in the crown for the premier open-wheel series, the Monaco Grand Prix. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race, starting from 10am AEST.
The narrow and challenging 3.3km circuit weaves around the famous streets of the principality, with iconic corners such as St. Devote and La Rascasse.
78 laps will be contested across the Sunday during the grand prix and the soft, supersoft and ultrasoft (and cool looking purple) compounds will be utilised in the tyre bank.
The use of dry tyres may be moot however, with wet weather predicted for the main event come Sunday.
If by a chance the race is unaffected by inclement conditions, then it is likely that a two stop strategy will be adhered too – with the ultrasoft soft being the key.
Nevertheless, during the dry qualifying conditions, it was Australia’s own Daniel Ricciardo who claimed his maiden pole position ahead of the Silver Arrow of Nico Rosberg.
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton befell yet another hardship at the start of Q3, as prior to his pit-lane exit – his Mercedes AMG halted without explanation. The Briton though recovered to qualify third.
Formula One’s new youngest race winner in Max Verstappen succumbed to the close walls of Monaco and crashed out in Q1 and will start in 21st position.
Though considering that overtaking is highly improbable around this constricted circuit, it is unlikely to see the Dutch teenager move his way through his grid.
There’ll be head scratching at Ferrari with fourth and sixth being their respective positions for Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen. Once predicted as the team to be number two to Mercedes AMG, it seems the energy drinks giant with their recent engine boost have trumped them.
In terms of the mid-field, Force India were the best of the rest. Nico Hulkenberg qualified fifth, with teammate Sergio Perez in eighth.
Toro Rosso and McLaren also lead the likes of Williams, who despite their ascendency with the Mercedes-Benz engine, have consistently struggled at Monaco.
As stated above, overtaking is a scarce affair at Monaco, increasing Ricciardo’s opportunities to win his first grand prix in over a year.
His compatriot in the retired Mark Webber won this race three times during his career, can Ricciardo be the next Australian to add his name to the Monaco winner’s list?
Join me on The Roar then from 10pm for full coverage of the historic Monaco Grand Prix.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- AMENDED CONSTRUCTOR'S STANDINGS ----- 188 - Mercedes AMG 121 - Scuderia Ferrari 112 - Red Bull Racing 66 -- Williams Mercedes 37 -- Force India Mercedes 30 -- Scuderia Toro Rosso 24 -- McLaren Honda 22 -- Haas Ferrari 6 --- Renault Sport 0 --- Sauber Ferrari 0 --- Manor Mercedes
steveng
Roar Rookie
Ricciardo's pit crew should be blamed for his 2nd place and not the win!!! They muffed the tyre selection from intermediates to hard tyres and that is what cost our Ricciardo the win.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thanks again for joining me for this live blog on The Roar, it was a pleasure as always. The Roar shall be back in a fortnight for the Canadian Grand Prix, but until then it is ciao.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
So with the jewel in crown having been claimed by the reigning world champion, all eyes turn to the next round of the championship in Montreal. It shall be an interesting affair to see how the engine upgrades fair at the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 106 - Nico Rosberg 82 -- Lewis Hamilton 66 -- Daniel Ricciardo 61 -- Kimi Räikkönen 60 -- Sebastian Vettel 38 -- Max Verstappen 37 -- Felipe Massa 29 -- Valtteri Bottas 23 -- Sergio Perez 22 -- Daniil Kvyat 22 -- Romain Grosjean 18 -- Fernando Alonso 16 -- Carlos Sainz 14 -- Nico Hulkenberg 6 --- Kevin Magnussen 5 --- Jenson Button 1 --- Stoffel Vandoorne 0 --- Jolyon Palmer 0 --- Esteban Gutierrez 0 --- Marcus Ericsson 0 --- Pascal Wehrlein 0 --- Felipe Nasr 0 --- Rio Haryanto
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 188 - Mercedes AMG 121 - Scuderia Ferrari 112 - Red Bull Racing 66 -- Williams Mercedes 37 -- Scuderia Toro Rosso 30 -- Haas Ferrari 24 -- Force India Mercedes 22 -- McLaren Honda 6 --- Renault Sport 0 --- Sauber Ferrari 0 --- Manor Mercedes
Simoc
Guest
Lack of class from Ricciardo there. Its tough but second isn't so bad.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Ricciardo then open with his thoughts, certainly feeling that the botched pit-stop ruined his race. But at the same time the cutting of the chicane by Hamilton also dashed his chances. The entire race itself was a bit of a procession, apart from the early stages with the movement and retirements.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
PODIUM INTERVIEWS - Hosted by Martin Brundle: HAMILTON - "Big thank you to my team. I'm kind of lost with words." RICCIARDO - "I don't want to comment on the race to be honest." "Two weekends in a row I've been screwed." PEREZ - "I'm extremely happy with my team and the strategy."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE RESULTS: 1 L. Hamilton 2 D. Ricciardo 3 S. Perez 4 S. Vettel 5 F. Alonso 6 N. Hulkenberg 7 N. Rosberg 8 C. Sainz 9 J. Button 10 F. Massa 11 V. Bottas 12 E. Gutierrez 13 R. Grosjean 14 P. Wehrlein 15 R. Haryanto RET M. Ericsson RET F. Nasr RET M. Verstappen RET K. Magnussen RET D. Kvyat RET K. Räikkönen RET J. Palmer
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Talk about close finish for sixth place! Hulkenberg pips compatriot Rosberg across the line.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 78/78: FINAL LAP LEWIS HAMILTON wins his first race of 2016, here at the Monaco Grand Prix. A small consolation for Daniel Ricciardo to finish second. Whilst Sergio Perez earns a surprise third place for Force India.
Thanks Rittiarded pit crew for that one..
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 78/78: FINAL LAP Ricciardo continues to lose time to Hamilton, as the showers come to Monaco.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 76/78: THREE LAPS REMAINING
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 73/78: HAM RIC PER VET ALO ROS HUL SAI BUT MAS the current top ten.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 69/78: A brief Virtual Safety Car as marshals recover a plastic sheet that found its way onto the track. Hamilton continues to lead.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 64/78: A steady lead for Hamilton over Ricciardo with 1.6 seconds being the buffer between the top two.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 60/78: HAM RIC PER VET ALO ROS HUL SAI BUT MAS is your top ten at present. The race remains stagnant.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 52/78: No surprise over the stewards investigation into the Sauber team's civil war.