Monaco Grand Prix: Formula One live race updates, blog

Its future on the Formula One calendar may be a matter for debate, but in 2022 the Monaco Grand Prix remains the sport’s jewel in the crown and also the seventh round of the world championship. Tune in on The Roar from 10:50pm (AEST) for live blog coverage of yet another edition of the famous race.

The tight and twisty streets of the Principality are unforgiving for those who make mistakes around the 3.3km ribbon of tarmac, though to those lucky few who’ve claimed victory – come the spoils.

78-laps sees little to none overtaking, with qualifying essentially dictating the order in which the procession will run. However the off-chance there is weather to impact proceedings, or reliability and pit-stop problems, there can be some surprises.

In terms of the championship, Max Verstappen jumped to the top of the standings off the back of his recent hattrick of wins – as well as Red Bull over Ferrari in the constructor’s table. Home favourite Charles Leclerc now sits 6-points adrift of the Dutchman.

Ferrari, in need of a comeback, have set the pace in Monaco throughout the practice sessions as Monegasque Leclerc across Friday and then pipped by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in third practice by a slender 0.041-second margin.

Leclerc produced the goods in qualifying to claim pole position on home soil and unlike last year, didn’t crash at the conclusion of Q3 and damage his gearbox. Instead it was Perez who spun and crashed at Mirabeau, with Carlos Sainz miraculously mirroring the Mexican to also bow out.

It remains to be seen whether the Spaniard will be investigated for possibly speeding under the yellow flags, deployed on the scene for Perez’s crash. Though on the provisional charts, he locks out the front-row with teammate Leclerc.

Verstappen was ultimately caught out by the premature end to qualifying, having just set a personal best first sector. The reigning world champion and defending Monaco winner was fourth fastest.

McLaren’s pace to be best of the rest came to fruition with Lando Norris in fifth – who’ll be hoping to back up his 2021 podium finish in Monaco. Behind him though is a pair of Mercedes cars led by George Russell and the Alpines both inside the top ten.

Meanwhile, teammate Daniel Ricciardo’s miserable run continues following the Aussie’s FP2 crash. Qualifying only fourteenth, the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix winner faces a long race running outside the points – as well as his McLaren future being under question.

Who will reign in the Principality in 2022?

Race Information
Lights out: 11:00pm (AEST)
Venue: Monaco
TV: Fox Sports
Online: Kayo Sports, Foxtel

Grid
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull), 4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 5. Lando Norris (McLaren), 6. George Russell (Mercedes), 7. Fernando Alonso (Alpine), 8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin), 10. Esteban Ocon (Alpine), 11. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri), 12. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo), 13. Kevin Magnussen (Haas), 14. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren), 15. Mick Schumacher (Haas), 16. Alex Albon (Williams), 17. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), 18. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), 19. Nicholas Latifi (Williams), 20. Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)

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