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Roar Guru
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Motorsports writer, photographer and sometimes podcaster on Hit The Apex Podcast. Catch me on Twitter @Doctor46th and @HitTheApexMedia.
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From the energetic orange laden grandstands of Zandvoort, Formula One arrives at the passionate red of the Tifosi at the legendary Monza circuit for what should be another exciting Italian Grand Prix. Tune in from 10:50pm (AEST) on The Roar for live blog updates.
The wait is over and official confirmation has come that George Russell will be promoted to Mercedes in 2022, replacing the outgoing Valtteri Bottas to race alongside seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Following the farcical non-race in Belgium, Formula One is embraced by sunshine and a sea of orange in the grandstands, as the sport returns to the Netherlands for the first time since 1985. Join The Roar from 10:50pm (AEST) for live blog updates of all the action. The partisan crowd at the rollercoaster 4.2km Circuit […]
It’s easy to forget sometimes that Kimi Räikkönen is still even on the Formula One grid, with the 2007 world champion and veteran of 341 Grands Prix starts currently racing around the back of the midfield in an Alfa Romeo Sauber.
Drivers and teams would’ve enjoyed a well-earned rest during the mid-season break, but it is time to get the 2021 Formula One world championship back underway at none other than the iconic Spa-Francorchamps. Join The Roar for live race updates and commentary from 10:50pm (AEST).
The mid-season break is over and Formula One gets set to go racing again at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit this weekend, resuming what has been one of the most enthralling championships in recent years.
Although this was an impending inevitability, the announcement that Valentino Rossi will retire from grand prix motorcycle racing at the end of this year still tears through me with a sense of deep emotion.
There’s one last roar before a well-earned break through the month of August, as Formula One gets set for the next chapter of the Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton rivalry at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Tune in for live blog coverage on The Roar from 10:50pm (AEST).
While the British Grand Prix will be remembered for the first lap incident between championship protagonists Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, which left the former out of the race, there was a special moment on Saturday where Formula One debuted Sprint qualifying.
Same track, but it was a different story in Far North Queensland for the Supercars championship, as we switched back to the exciting SuperSprint format at the Reid Park circuit.
The spiritual home of Formula One sees the grandstands filled this weekend, as sport welcomes back capacity crowds and the introduction of a new qualifying format for the British Grand Prix. Join The Roar for live updates and rolling blog coverage from 11:50pm.
The Townsville 500 marked the first street event of the 2021 Supercars championship, which is an odd fact to ponder given the category was formerly synonymous with its season-opening race on the streets of Adelaide.
It’s the final race of this epic Formula One triple-header, with the Red Bull Ring playing host to yet another major race, this time the Austrian Grand Prix. Join The Roar for live scores and rolling blog coverage from 10:50 pm AEST.
After another outbreak of Covid-19 in Victoria saw the Winton SuperSprint cancelled, the Supercars championship returned to the track for the first time in a month and since The Bend SuperSprint in South Australia.
Formula One returns to its European heartland for the first triple-header of the 2021 season, as the French Grand Prix makes a comeback following its absence last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Catch our live blog coverage right here on The Roar from 10:50pm (AEST).
Ahead of the 2021 Formula One season, there was great anticipation surrounding what was supposed to be a record-breaking 23-race schedule – as it was a sign that the sport was returning to normality in this pandemic affected world.
From one concrete jungle to another, Formula One travels to the streets of Baku for the first time since 2019, for a welcome return of the high-speed, high drama Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Catch live blog coverage on The Roar from 9:50 pm AEST.
As if after five races in the 2021 world championship, the burgeoning title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen wasn’t enough: another battle is set to boil over to this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in the form of a protest.
Since the unveiling of the fresh first images of Supercars’ Gen3 future last October, very little has been added to what is already known about the next generation of racing car set to debut in 2022.
After being left off the 2020 Formula One schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the jewel in the crown is back on the calendar for this year as the Monaco Grand Prix takes off. Join The Roar for live blog coverage from 10:50 pm (AEST).
There was a tweet someone put out saying what luck Russell has, if Mercedes end up slower than Williams with the new regulations next year. 😂
At last! Mercedes sign Russell and look to the future
I think with that Mat, is that they are being a bit cautious about the Sprint being its own thing. Obviously the point of it is to make the weekend building up to the Grand Prix more exciting, without taking away the grandeur of the main event itself. I agree too that the standard qualifying has been more exciting to watch now, especially there’s no longer that feeling that you already know who’s going to get pole at the end of Q3.
Still I believe that the Qualifying should set the grid for the Sprint and the latter set the grid for the Grand Prix. It does remind me of the format they used for the Sandown 500 endurance race and I recall enjoying watching the sprint for the grids on the Saturdays. As well to your proposed schedule, I would too prefer having Quali before the Sprint on Saturday but F1 wants to give Friday something to show as well for weekend ticket holders.
Ultimately, I’d have left Quali alone as is. But now that we’ve gone down this route, I do feel as an occasional substitute it would be nice. Still I’d love to have a proper Top-10 Shootout/Superpole at tracks like Monaco or Spa and purely put the emphasis on one driver getting one attempt to record that one perfect lap.
Was F1's Sprint experiment a success?
Success ballast though is so contentious on its own and feels too artificial. Even compared to the aero changes we got throughout the last couple of years. Nothing will happen this year, but there’s going to be a lot of pressure on Gen3 to get the parity spot on.
Supercars Townsville 500 talking points
That would be worth considering and I’d be down for that! Especially to see Hampton Downs get a shot on the calendar.
Supercars Townsville 500 talking points
Yeah sadly he did, despite the podium appearance on Saturday.
Supercars Darwin Triple Crown talking points
Having now gone through another lockdown and given I don’t forsee any change from the Federal Government on travel restrictions, it’ll definitely be cancelled.
The decision Formula One should make on the 2021 calendar
Worst case scenario at the moment is that Japan, Mexico, Brazil and Australia also drop off the calendar. Then if you add an extra race in Austin and then Turkey comes back again, there’d be 21 in total which would be enough to satisfy the TV deals. F1 still hope that even China will be able to feature.
The decision Formula One should make on the 2021 calendar
Thanks Andrew!
Look Dan keeps talking about his driving style not suiting the McLaren, but surely that can only go so far considering his teammate has already 2 podiums this season. Guess we have to play the long term game with this one.
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
Well that then concludes this live blog of the Monaco Grand Prix, thank you very much as always for joining me on The Roar and sharing your thoughts.
A short two-week break between races and the championship will get going again on the streets of Baku in Azerbaijan!
Bye for now.
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
——– DRIVER’S ——–
105 – Max Verstappen
101 – Lewis Hamilton
56 — Lando Norris
47 — Valtteri Bottas
44 — Sergio Perez
40 — Charles Leclerc
38 — Carlos Sainz
24 — Daniel Ricciardo
16 — Pierre Gasly
12 — Esteban Ocon
10 — Sebastian Vettel
9 — Lance Stroll
5 — Fernando Alonso
2 — Yuki Tsunoda
1 — Antonio Giovinazzi
0 — Kimi Räikkönen
0 — George Russell
0 — Mick Schumacher
0 — Nikita Mazepin
0 — Nicholas Latifi
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
—– CONSTRUCTOR’S —–
149 – Red Bull Racing Honda
148 – Mercedes AMG
80 — McLaren Mercedes
78 — Ferrari
19 — Aston Martin Racing
18 — Scuderia AlphaTauri
17 — Alpine
1 — Alfa Romeo Racing
0 — Williams Mercedes
0 — Haas Ferrari
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
RACE REPORT
Max Verstappen put in a faultless drive to win the Monaco Grand Prix and for the first time in his career lead the world championship, as pole sitter Charles Leclerc failed to even start the race.
The Monegasque driver suffered from a driveshaft failure on the out-lap to the grid pre-race, as a result of the damaged caused to his Ferrari in the crash during qualifying.
Pole position was left vacant, allowing Verstappen a clear run into Saint Devote ahead of Valtteri Bottas on the second row and the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
A difficult qualifying for reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton saw the Briton start the race in seventh and remain there in the opening stages of the race, behind the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly.
The Briton was the first of the leaders to pit on Lap 30 for the hard tyres, though this ended up further ruining his weekend, as he was overcut by not only Gasly – but Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez, who both started behind Hamilton.
Matters were made worse for Mercedes, when a lap later Bottas pitted and the mechanics couldn’t remove the front-
right tyre. The result meant that the Finn was retired, delivering a significant blow to the Silver Arrows in the constructor’s championship.
This elevated Lando Norris up into the podium places, ahead of Perez, Vettel and Gasly – who all caused Hamilton further fury during the second half of the race. A late stop for the seven-time champion though, did see him the fastest lap of the race and gain an extra point in the standings.
Perez did give Norris a brief run for third, having been quicker than the McLaren in the dying stages of the race, though ultimately the lack of passing opportunities meant that the Briton was ensured a spot on the podium.
Verstappen cruised to an 8.9 second victory over Sainz, who was able to console Ferrari with a maiden podium for his new team – all while the wound of what could have been with Leclerc remained raw.
A second podium of the season for Norris sees him jump ahead of Bottas and back into third in the standings again, while his teammate Daniel Ricciardo endured a difficult weekend off the pace and out of the points.
Aston Martin achieved their best finish of the season, as both Vettel and Lance Stroll delivered points. The four-time world champion also scored his first points in fifth since moving to the British marque from Ferrari.
While Antonio Giovinazzi also put Alfa Romeo on the board for the first time in 2021, capitalising on an excellent top-ten qualifying result from earlier in the weekend.
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
STANDBY FOR RACE REPORT & UPDATED STANDINGS
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
POST-RACE INTERVIEWS – Hosted by David Coulthard
VERSTAPPEN – “It’s so special here and my first time on the podium here. It’s really cool.” “You never know what’s going to happen.” “I was pretty much in control.”
SAINZ – “It is a good result.” “The whole circumstances of the weekend, maybe it doesn’t taste as good.” “It was all about getting the start right.” “I was feeling the car was very good today.”
NORRIS – “I didn’t think I’d be here today!” “It’s down to these guys you know.” “It’s always a dream to be on the podium. A bit of luck and some good driving.”
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
RESULTS FROM THE 78-LAP MONACO GRAND PRIX
1 M. Verstappen
2 C. Sainz
3 L. Norris
4 S. Perez
5 S. Vettel
6 P. Gasly
7 L. Hamilton (Fastest Lap)
8 L. Stroll
9 E. Ocon
10 A. Giovinazzi
11 K. Räikkönen
12 D. Ricciardo
13 F. Alonso
14 G. Russell
15 N. Latifi
16 Y. Tsunoda
17 N. Mazepin
18 M. Schumacher
RET V. Bottas
DNS C. Leclerc
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE MONACO GRAND PRIX!
It may have been heartbreak for Charles Leclerc, but Ferrari can celebrate second for Carlos Sainz.
And another podium in 2021 for Lando Norris and McLaren!
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
Lap 77/78:
It looks like the McLaren in third will be safe.
Meanwhile there’s a late waving of the black and white flag for Tsunoda, who’s been caught abusing track limits by Race Control.
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
Lap 75/78:
Perez drops behind by 2 seconds again, possibly to charge up that ERS battery for one last charge at a podium spot.
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
Lap 74/78:
Verstappen’s lead meanwhile is stretched to 8.6 seconds over Sainz.
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
Lap 72/78:
Perez much quicker than the McLaren of Norris, but at the moment there is no DRS for the Red Bull driver.
Only a mistake from Lando would give Perez the opportunity to pass.
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
Lap 71/78:
Hamilton sets the fastest lap of the race then with a 1:12.909, so that extra point at the moment will be going the way of the Briton. It also happens to be the race lap record too.
Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog
And Mercedes will be quick for many years to come with Russell leading the way as well.
At last! Mercedes sign Russell and look to the future