The Monaco Grand Prix, eighth round of the world championship on Sunday, will be an opportunity for McLaren to confirm that they are becoming Red Bull’s number 1 rivals.
The start of the season could not have been more in line with expectations in Formula 1. After seven Grands Prix, Max Verstappen, five-time winner, sits at the top of the world championship and barring any cataclysm will win a fourth consecutive world title in a few months. His team, Red Bull, remains dominant even if Sergio Perez still suffers from competition with his Dutch teammate. Behind the Austrian firm, the Ferraris, boosted by the success of Carlos Sainz in Melbourne, are those who have collected the most points (212) and they can boast of a certain regularity. However, it is another team that has stood out in recent races to the point of challenging the supremacy of the Red Bulls on the track.
It is obviously not the Mercedes, clearly behind, but another British team: McLaren. The orange single-seaters, after a little timid first races, made it to the second from China. Second in Shanghai, Lando Norris took his first Grand Prix victory in Miami before confirming last Sunday by once again taking second place behind Verstappen on the Imola circuit. The young British driver even came close to an improbable double after a crazy comeback at the end of the race which ultimately saw him fall into the mirrors (7 tenths of a second!) of the triple world champion.
Less successful until then, Oscar Piastri, who occupies the second seat of the Woking team, for his part equaled in Emilia-Romagna his best result of the year – a fourth place – also obtained in Saudi Arabia and in Australia. Fast and well-balanced, can the two MCL38s become Red Bull’s main threat? Third in the constructors’ championship, 58 points behind Ferrari, McLaren is gaining momentum and raising hopes of rekindling some of the suspense that Formula 1 has sorely lacked for two years.
The sequence with the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend will be an opportunity to confirm this new dynamic even if, as we know, the urban circuit traced in the Principality is not always the most revealing given the adventures of the races can be numerous. But McLaren has no shortage of assets to attempt a resounding coup in the streets of Monaco.
The times for the Monaco Grand Prix will be the same as for that of Imola which was, last week, the first of the season contested on the European continent. The eighth round of the world championship will therefore begin on Friday early in the afternoon with the first of three free practice sessions, with qualifying and the Grand Prix scheduled for the middle of the afternoon. respectively at 4 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Monaco Grand Prix will be broadcast exclusively on the channels of the Canal group, holder of the rights to the Formula 1 world championship. The three free practice sessions, Friday and Saturday, will be broadcast on Canal Sport while qualifying and the Grand Prices will move to the Premium channel.
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 161 points2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 113 points3. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 107 points4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 101 points5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 93 points6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 53 points7. George Russell (Mercedes) 44 points8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 35 points9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 33 points10. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) 15 points11. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 11 points12. Oliver Bearman (Ferrari) 6 points12. Niko Hülkenberg (Haas) 6 points14. Daniel Ricciardo (Racing Bulls) 5 points15. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 1 point15. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)1 point
The 2024 Formula 1 season will feature 24 Grands Prix. It began at the end of February in Bahrain and will end at the beginning of December in Abu Dhabi. Here is the complete F1 2024 calendar with times given in French time:
1. Bahrain GP (Sakhir): Saturday March 2 (Winner: Verstappen)2. Saudi Arabian GP (Jeddah): Saturday March 9 (Winner: Verstappen)3. Australian GP (Melbourne): Sunday March 24 (Winner: Sainz)4. Japanese GP (Suzuka): Sunday April 7 (Winner: Verstappen)5. Chinese GP (Shanghai): Sunday April 21 (Winner: Verstappen)6. Miami GP (Miami): Sunday May 5 (Winner: Norris)7. Emilia-Romagna GP (Imola): Sunday May 19 (Winner: Verstappen)8. Monaco GP: Sunday May 26 at 3:9 p.m. Canadian GP (Montreal): Sunday June 9 at 8:10 p.m. Spanish GP (Barcelona): Sunday June 23 at 3:11 p.m. Austrian GP (Spielberg): Sunday June 30 at 3:12 p.m. British GP (Silverstone): Sunday July 7 at 4:13 p.m. Hungarian GP (Budapest): Sunday July 21 at 3:14 p.m. Belgian GP (Spa-Francorchamps): Sunday July 28 at 3:15 p.m. Dutch GP (Zandvoort): Sunday August 25 at 3:16 p.m. Italian GP (Monza): Sunday September 1 at 3:17 p.m. Azerbaijan GP (Baku): Sunday September 15 at 1:18 p.m. Singapore GP (Marina Bay): Sunday September 22 at 2:19 p.m. United States GP (Austin): Sunday October 20 at 9:20 p.m. Mexican GP (Mexico): Sunday October 27 at 8:21 p.m. Brazilian GP (Interlagos): Sunday November 3 at 7:22 p.m. Las Vegas GP (Las Vegas): Sunday, November 24 at 6:23 a.m. Qatar GP (Losail): Sunday October 1 at 3:24 p.m. Abu Dhabi GP (Yas Marina): Sunday December 8 at 2 p.m.