Monaco grand prix 2023

Fernando Alonso has played down his own chances of victory at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, with the Aston Martin man predicting a one-two finish for Red Bull in Barcelona. Alonso has emerged as the dominant Red Bull team’s closest threat in the early months of the 2023 season, finishing on the podium at all but one of the six races held so far. His best start to a season since his penultimate year at Ferrari in 2013 has raised expectations that his decade-long wait for a grand prix win could end soon. Alonso’s last F1 triumph came at his home race in Barcelona, but with Red Bull making a perfect start to the season – and Ferrari and Mercedes introducing potentially game-changing upgrades – he does not expect a win to come this weekend. He told the official F1 website: “It feels good. Obviously there is a special energy every time in Spain when I come here and I see all the fans. “I don’t think, realistically, we can fight for the victory. Let’s be clear. “Red Bull … [Read more...] about Fernando Alonso makes worrying Red Bull prediction for Spanish Grand Prix

There’s no rest for the wicked as F1 reaches the end of its first ‘triple-header’ in 2023 – here are the main talking points from the Spanish Grand Prix media day. This weekend marks the third planned race weekend in a row, in what would have been the first proper flurry of races had the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix actually gone ahead. As a result, the Spanish Grand Prix is merely the second race of what became a double-header, and an eagerly anticipated return to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as the third sector has returned to the layout last used in 2006 – the onerous final chicane now removed. Let’s go through some of the key findings and storylines ahead of the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix. All eyes on team upgrades Upgrades aplenty this weekend in Spain, with Ferrari rolling out the upgrade package that was supposed to have been debuted at Imola. This will see them move away from the big bathtub-style sidepods they’ve had since the start of 2022, unsurprisingly heading … [Read more...] about The key storylines to emerge from the Spanish Grand Prix media day

Red Bull boss Christian Horner is adamant that Monaco must stay on the F1 calendar, and believes alterations to create at least one overtake-generating area would go a long way to helping the racing spectacle. Formula 1 has now moved on to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with the Spanish Grand Prix race weekend looming, though the previous weekend offered up a Monaco Grand Prix which did deliver the drama to ensure it was one of the best in recent times. That was though mainly thanks to a heavy downpour at around two-thirds race distance, initially leaving the area around Mirabeau and Portier soaked, but the rest of the track dry, before the rain then spread across the circuit. As for the overtaking action, while there was more than what was seen a year prior, overtaking nonetheless remains extremely difficult when these bulky Formula 1 cars are sent around the narrow Monte Carlo street track. That being said, even the smaller and more nimble cars of Formula 2 and Formula 3 … [Read more...] about Christian Horner offers suggestion to spice up Monaco on-track action

Pictures from the build-up to the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free More images will be added here F1 pictures First pictures from the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix weekend 2023 Monaco Grand Prix in pictures 2023 Monaco Grand Prix qualifying day in pictures F1 drivers pay tribute to family, motorsport greats – and Pac-Man 2023 Monaco Grand Prix practice in pictures View more F1 pictures 2023 Spanish Grand Prix Verstappen is the toughest team mate but I have the speed to beat him – Perez First pictures from the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix weekend Stroll’s problem has been bad luck, not poor performance – Alonso Hamilton and Russell asked Mercedes why W14 didn’t look like rivals’ cars Ferrari’s “new direction” upgrade was “supposed to come a lot later in the season” Browse all 2023 Spanish … [Read more...] about First pictures from the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix weekend · RaceFans

Sergio Perez has revealed his focus is now on maximising each individual race weekend after falling 39 points behind Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen in the F1 2023 standings. The Mexican made his best-ever start to a season this year, winning convincingly in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan to emerge as a potential threat to two-time World Champion Verstappen. Perez spoke optimistically of his title chances after winning the second race of the campaign in Jeddah and boldly declared: “I really believe that I have the full support of the team as much as Max does and I will have every single opportunity to win the Championship as much as he does.” He went on to suffer an embarrassing Q1 elimination at the following round in Australia and suffered the same fate last weekend in Monaco, where he started last after hitting the barrier at St Devote in the first stage of qualifying. Perez endured a bruising race in Monte Carlo and finished 16th after being lapped twice by Verstappen, who … [Read more...] about Sergio Perez renews F1 2023 approach amid rising Max Verstappen points gap

Max Verstappen has put a lid on talk of a Red Bull upgrade for the Spanish GP after Helmut Marko’s “something new” remark generated attention. It is not as if the Red Bull RB19 really needs an upgrade right now it would seem, the Monaco Grand Prix having marked the latest chapter of dominance as Verstappen aced both the dry and wet conditions on his way to victory. And it was a comfortable one at that, his final advantage over Fernando Alonso coming in at just under 28 seconds. The European season is though traditionally where the teams start to ramp up their development plans, with plenty of focus being on Mercedes who introduced their new-look W14 in Monaco, though the Spanish GP will be the first real test of their work. And Red Bull advisor Marko had potentially suggested that the team would have changes up their sleeves, quoted by oe24 as claiming the team would be trying “something new in Barcelona”. Verstappen then was asked by media ahead of the race weekend to shed … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen delivers upgrade update after Helmut Marko teases RB19 changes

Nyck de Vries is not letting Helmut Marko’s praise of his Monaco weekend go to his head, and is aiming to keep the momentum up in Spain. After a rocky start to the 2023 season and his full-time F1 career, in which he has had plenty of incidents and accidents, De Vries put in a steady showing at the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend to finish in 12th place. While not able to keep pace with his much more experienced team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, De Vries kept his AlphaTauri out of the barriers and produced a meritorious drive that earned the praise of Red Bull advisor and junior programme boss Helmut Marko. “This was by far his best weekend for AlphaTauri,” Marko said last week. “Nyck was much closer to Yuki than before. This is what I want to see from him.” Nyck de Vries: You’re as good as your last race Asked about his Monaco weekend and the resulting praise from Marko, De Vries said he was not getting carried away by it and that the mistakes in the first races are caused by ‘being … [Read more...] about Nyck de Vries responds to Helmut Marko praise after solid Monaco showing

Last year's runner-up to Red Bull has now slipped behind Aston Martin and Mercedes to fourth in the constructors' championship ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix. Unlike rivals who chose to bring major upgrade packages anyway to the unrepresentative Monaco lap following the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna GP, Ferrari instead opted to hold off its bodywork upgrades scheduled for Imola until the coming Barcelona event. But by not delaying, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was a representative second in Monaco while the revised Alpine ran to third in the hands of Esteban Ocon . Meanwhile, the Mercedes drivers were content with the performance of upgrades as they ran to a 4-5 finish. Ferrari's top finisher in the principality was home hero Charles Leclerc , who recorded sixth as a legacy of a five-place grid penalty for blocking Lando Norris in qualifying. Speaking to select media, including Motorsport.com, Vasseur said it "would be a mistake to compare … [Read more...] about Ferrari “pushing like hell” to address F1 2023 form

Esteban Ocon started and finished third in the principality, while Gasly took seventh despite being frustrated by making a stop for dry tyres shortly before the rain came. The Monaco performance came after disappointing weekends for the team in Bahrain and Baku, and the ensuing public criticism from Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi. "I'll say I see more smiles," Gasly said when asked by Motorsport.com if he could already sense a more optimistic mood. "Usually from past experience, the more people smile, the more efficient they get. "So I must say I'm pleased for the entire team that we managed to get that result, that it managed to get some weight off their shoulders. "I don't believe that is going to change anything in their approach, because we're all fighting, we're all pushing to get every everything out of the car that we got. "Surely, I think it was a general feeling inside the team that we feel like we were not performing as much as we would have hoped at the start of … [Read more...] about Monaco GP result a weight off Alpine’s shoulders, says Gasly