Race 6 & 7 - Monaco and Barcelona

Race Rundown: Monaco and Barcelona

Round 6: Monaco

There are many people who say that the Monaco Grand Prix is boring due to the fact that overtakes on this track are few and far in between.  Personally though, I love this race due to the history alone.  Monaco has been one of the few locations involved in Formula 1 since the very beginning.  This year’s Grand Prix was anything but boring though, so let’s get to it.  

The race began with Kimi Antonelli starting on pole - this young Italian has been on such a hot streak lately and is also the current championship leader.  Max Verstappen was also on the front line, starting alongside Kimi in P2.  Behind Kimi, in P3, was Lewis Hamilton, who has also been putting on quite the show this season with Ferrari - Kim Kardashian also joined Lewis in Monaco, seemingly confirming their relationship.  Unfortunately though for us Lando fans, he started in P8.  Mclaren are back-to-back Constructor’s Champions, yet this season, Lando and Oscar have been having so many problems, multiple DNFs and DNSs.

When the lights went out, the cars went off, all except Max Verstappen.  Max did not get off the line, he did not even move, while he did eventually get moving, he ended up retiring on Lap 1.  Also during the start, Pierre Gasly got in front of Lando Norris.  Lap 2 rolled around and we had pit stops from Ollie Bearman, Valtteri Bottas, and Gabriel Bortoleto.  Sergio Perez got a drive through penalty.  Isack Hadjar - who was having engine problems - and George Russell battled, another battle that occurred was between Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris. Valtteri Bottas retired on Lap 18.

Then we had three drivers receive 5 second penalties for speeding in the pit lane, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and Franco Colapinto.  While these drivers were receiving penalties, Lando Norris was having power issues and was then overtaken by George Russell. Then, I once again experienced heartbreak due to Lando Norris retiring from the race.  

There was a black and white flag for Lance Stroll.  The Williams team decided to swap their drivers, in a move very similar to last year, we saw Albon move to behind Carlos Sainz.  Then Arvid Lindblad overtook Alex Albon.  

Then we had three more drivers receive 5 second penalties for speeding in the pitlane - Pierre Gasly, Oscar Piastri, and Lance Stroll.  Then we had some mild chaos, Lance Stroll went into the wall.  This triggered a yellow flag and then a Safety Car.  Then we had the Safety Car restart, which had Charles Leclerc going straight into the same wall Lance Stroll had previously gone into, and it was later revealed that he had a braking problem.  More pressing than a brake problem though is the fact that the “Monaco Curse” stuck again and Charles Leclerc had to retire from the Monaco Grand Prix.  We got a second Safety Car and then a red flag due to the track not being in good condition.  During this red flag, Pierre Gasly got hit with ANOTHER 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.  

The race restarted behind the Safety Car and George Russell got a drive through penalty for not properly serving his time penalty.  They then had a standing restart and just when you think all the chaos you could get with the Monaco Grand Prix was over - NOPE!  Carlos Sainz got hit by Nico Hulkenberg and tapped the wall.  He had some damage and then got tapped by Franco Colapinto and got all turned around.  He sadly had to retire.  

The race ended with Kimi Antonelli winning the Monaco Grand Prix, and Lewis Hamilton in P2.  Isack Hadjar got P3 at the time due to Pierre Gasly’s penalties, but the story doesn’t end there.  During Barcelona race week, they repealed Pierre’s penalties and he was reinstated to P3!  So the final standing for Monaco was Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton, and Pierre Gasly.

Round 7: Barcelona-Catalunya

Barcelona started with George Russell starting on pole, Lewis Hamilton in P2, and Kimi Antonelli in P3.  Lando started P4 and Oscar started P7.  Most drivers stayed in the same position during race start and on Turn 1, Arvid Lindblad and Nico Hulkenberg were both noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.  Then on Lap 6 Lance Stroll went into the pits and retired.

Leclerc overtook Piastri on the outside.  On Lap 13, both George Russell and Max Verstappen pitted.  Then Franco Colapinto and Sergio Perez pitted.  Lando Norris pitted on Lap 14.  Next came Hulkenberg, Ocon and Albon to the pits.  Followed by Kimi Antonelli on Lap 15 and then Oscar Piastri, Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz, and Valtteri Bottas.  Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto both pitted on Lap 16 and then Bottas retired on Lap 17.  Charles Leclerc pitted on Lap 17, Bearman pitted on Lap 19.  Arvid Lindblad pitted on Lap 23, then Lewis Hamilton on Lap 28 and Max Verstappen on Lap 30.  Carlos Sainz pitted again on Lap 32.

Kimi Antonelli got a black and white flag and Kimi and George were battling for first.  Lewis Hamilton then overtook his teammate Charles Leclerc.  Both Norris and Ocon pitted again on Lap 36.  Followed by Albon, Lawson, Russell, Piastri, and Antonelli on Lap 37.  Leclerc pitted on Lap 40, then there was a yellow flag.  This yellow flag was due to Fernando Alonso’s DNF, and there was a VSC on Lap 41.  Verstappen, Bearman, Hamilton, Gasly, and Perez all pitted under the VSC.  The VSC ended Lap 42.  At some point both Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg retired from the race.  Isack Hadjar pitted again on Lap 60.

Kimi overtook George for second.  Then Alex Albon UN-retired (?) on Lap 62.  Then tragedy struck for the championship leader - Kimi Antonelli broke down and had to retire.  There was another VSC on Lap 64 and then Bearman made his way to the pits to retire as well.  Leclerc had issues and then went through the gravel.  He made his way into the pit and can you guess what happened?  If you guessed that Charles Leclerc DNFed, you would be correct.  The VSC ended on Lap 65 - Barcelona has 66 laps.

This race ended with George Russell in P2 and Lando Norris in P3.  Then history was made, because Lewis Hamilton won the Barcelona Grand Prix!  It was his very first WIN with Ferrari!

The next two races are Austria and then a Sprint weekend in Britain at Silverstone!