Race Report: Monaco Grand Prix 2023

Monaco, the most prestigious and historic race on the Formula One calendar, is back for another year. Red Bull driver and two-time World Champion; Max Verstappen, is the pole sitter, which surprisingly is his first in the principality. His teammate, Sergio Perez, suffered a big hit during the first qualifying session meaning it's a 20th place start for the Mexican. Not ideal when you're fighting for the championship.

With all the drivers ready and lined up on the grid, the lights go out and it's Verstappen who leads them into the first corner. Further along the lap, at Mirabeau, the Haas and Williams of Nico Hulkenberg and Logan Sargeant, make contact, resulting in a penalty for the former. Both drivers, however, continue on.

Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin reports damage over his team radio and pits for what he thinks is a puncture. Hulkenberg, Perez and Zhou Guanyu also follow him into the pits. This looks like a strategy call for the Red Bull of Perez. He switches to hards which indicates he is going to the end.

Up front Verstappen is still leading ahead of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, who had his best Monaco qualifying to date. Mercedes driver, George Russell, finds himself under investigation due to an "incorrect starting location." This is quickly dismissed when the stewards decide there is no need for further investigation.

Lap 11 and Carlos Sainz damages his Ferrari while hunting down Ocon. He's advised by the team to pit but carries on his way. A yellow flag is brought out in sector three which presumably is for the debris that has fallen off the Spaniard's car. Fellow countryman, Alonso, quickly comes onto the radio, worrying that he has caused himself a puncture while running over the debris. The Aston Martin team check the data and everything seems ok. Sainz gets shown the black and white flag for his tussle with Ocon.

At the back of the field, a train is starting to form with Sargeant at the forefront. Kevin Magnussen pulls off an overtake on the American driver into Mirabeau. Stroll and Perez follow him through.

Ferrari are still trying to get Sainz to box with no luck. Williams pit both of their drivers with tyre deg worse than predicted. Russell, who is yet to pit, has a struggle with his breaks with warnings appearing on his dash. He carries on. Further back, Perez's comeback is stalled while he's stuck behind Stroll and Magnussen.

Lap 26 and Sargeant is pitting for Williams, again. He has a left-rear puncture. Talk of rain starts to circulate over team radio with it being predicted to arrive by lap 35. In reality, no one seems to know.

Verstappen, who is still leading, is complaining of graining on his tyres. He is also catching the back markers. Ironically, this includes his teammate, Perez, who is still stuck behind the Aston Martin of Stroll. Verstappen is nearly 10 seconds ahead of 2nd place man, Alonso. However, the Spaniard, who is on the hard tyre compared to Verstappen's medium, is starting to come back at the reigning World Champion.

Lap 32 and many drivers are still yet to pit as they're waiting for either a safety car or the incoming rain. Lewis Hamilton's tyres seem to have had enough, so Mercedes call him in. Third place man, Ocon, also dives into the pit lane. It's a slow stop for the Alpine.

Timing screens show that Perez has finally passed Stroll. Replays differ, instead showing Verstappen lapping Stroll and Perez attempting to follow his teammate through, cutting the chicane in the process. He tells his team that Stroll pushed him off the track. He doesn't give the place back and finds himself noted by the stewards.

Ferrari finally get their way on lap 34 when Sainz pits. He comes out behind Ocon but ahead of Hamilton. However, the Ferrari driver seems furious with the team's strategy calls. Towards the back of the field, things go from bad to worse for Perez when he runs into the back of Kevin Magnussen's Haas, accusing the Dane of break testing him. However, this incident gives Stroll the opportunity to take his position back from Perez. Due to this, the stewards do not feel any need to investigate the earlier incident between the two. A few laps later and this time it's Stroll and Magnussen that come together. Magnussen cuts Stroll off, damaging the Aston Martin's front wing in the process.

Verstappen is still out there on the tyres he started the race on. He says over team radio that he's not sure how much longer he can stay on them. However, rain seems to be on horizon, so pitting him now would be pointless. But still, teams are unsure as to what will happen. Ferrari decide to bring in Leclerc and Alpine; Gasly, for their mandatory stops.

It's lap 50 and drivers are starting to see rain drops - specifically in turn 3. Despite this, McLaren pit Lando Norris for a set of hards. Russell tells his team that the rain is starting to come down harder. It quickly becomes visible on camera. Things are about to get spicy.

Valtteri Bottas and Stroll are the first drivers to gamble with the intermediate tyres. Zhou and Albon are quick to follow. Aston Martin bring Alonso in for his stop. Surprisingly, he switches to the mediums with hope that the extra grip on his new tyres will do the trick on the slippery track. Verstappen, who still is yet to come in, clips the barrier at Portier and tells the team he is ready for inters. Red Bull finally bring him in and get him back out without loosing the lead. Sainz, on slicks, goes off and finds himself slipping down the order. Ferrari pit him, alongside his teammate; Leclerc, for inters. Alonso is also back in for an appropriate change of tyre. However, it's bad news for his teammate. Stroll goes off at Portier and brings out the yellow flag. Unfortunately, he's unable to get going again and becomes the first retirement of the race.

With the rain still falling, Magnussen, on his way to the pits, hits the barrier at Rascasse. He get's going again and boxes for the full wet tyre. The first driver to do so. Lap 60 and it looks as if Perez's race is becoming more of a test session in order to aid his teammate who is leading the race. Red Bull fit the Mexican with full wets. However, these wets are a new tyre configuration and don't come out of tyre blankets.

Russell goes off at Sainte Devote and rejoins in an unsafe manner, getting tagged by Perez in the process. He is handed a 5-second penalty. Luckily for him, he is currently over 5 seconds ahead of the next driver; Charles Leclerc. Talking of penalties, Hulkenberg pits but doesn't complete his 5-second penalty that he was handed earlier on in the race. The stewards look into this and slap him with a further 10-second penalty.

By lap 65, the rain has eased and the track is bone dry in places. Alpha Tauri give their driver Yuki Tsunoda the hurry up and get a very vocal reply with the Japanese driver declaring "these brakes sucks!" Further forward and Ocon is still holding onto the final podium place. Verstappen's lead to Alonso has grown, with the Dutchman creating a gap that would give him a free pitstop. Pierre Gasly has a trip over the chicane and receives a black and white flag. As for tyre situations, some drivers are still sporting wets but the track seems more suited to inters right now.

Tsunoda's breaks are starting to get worse. He his passed by both McLaren drivers before going straight on at Mirabeau. He falls out of the points to 13th. Verstappen, with his monstrous lead, is pushing. He doesn't need to but he is. He clips the barrier but continues on. He soon laps Perez for a second time. The closest gap on track is between Gasly and Sainz in their fight for 7th. Just a few laps from the end now and Magnussen is back in the pits. He becomes the second driver to retire after Stroll.

The last lap and Verstappen is still in a league of his own. He crosses the finish line to win what his is only second ever win in Monaco. Alonso holds onto 2nd, his best finish this season. Ocon claims the final podium position despite Hamilton hunting him down in the latter stages. Russell, Leclerc, Gasly, Sainz, Norris and Oscar Piastri are the final point scorers.

It's true what they say, "anything can happen in Monaco." And, with only one week until the next race, we don't have to wait too long to watch more nail-biting racing! See you next week for the Spanish Grand Prix!

Honda: A History In Formula One

Since Honda, as an engine supplier, withdrew from Formula One at the end of 2021; questions were asked as to whether we would see the Japanese firm in F1 again. With new engine regulations from 2026 onwards, their return was to be expected and Honda, themselves, made it no secret that they were more than interested in making a comeback as a power unit supplier. In the run up to this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, their 2026 return was confirmed, where they’ll be joining forces with Aston Martin as a works team. However, although we act like Honda made their departure in 2021, it should be noted that they have since played a pivotal role in supplying power trains for the Red Bull backed teams of Red Bull Racing and Alpha Tauri, which in turn has rewarded Red Bull Racing with two driver championships and a constructors title. Regardless, Honda is a big name in Formula One and in this post we’re going to be looking back at the history of Honda and their time in the sport.

Over the years, like Ferrari and Ford, for example; Honda has become one of those car manufacturers that you naturally associate with motorsport; with their first appearance on the Formula One grid coming all the way back in 1964, just a handful years after they produced their first road car. And, that wasn’t all. The team, based in Japan, had spent time and money building their own engine and chassis, something that was a rarity in the early F1 days. The team’s first win came in 1965 when their then driver, Richie Ginther, won the Mexican Grand Prix. This was the first time a “non-European” team had won an official F1 race.

1966 was a quiet year for Honda. Their next win didn’t come until 1967, when the legendary John Surtees was at the wheel, their only driver for that season. Despite this, the team would go on to finish 4th in that year’s Constructors Championship. For Honda, however, their time in this era of F1 was coming to a close. After several reliability problems the following year, a crash, which resulted in the death of Jo Schlesser, confirmed Honda’s future, for the time being. They left the sport at the end of 1968.

Over a decade later, in 1983, Honda made their return to the sport as an engine supplier with Spirit as their first customer. Within the next 11 years, they would also supply engines to Williams, Lotus, McLaren and Tyrrell. Like in the present day, Honda would supply several teams at a time. Interestingly however, not every team would have the same specification, giving one team more of an advantage than another. But, it soon became apparent in 1985, that the Honda engine was the one to beat.

In this era of F1, many big names raced with a Honda engine. From Keke Rosberg to Nelson Piquet to Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, just to name a few. And, it’s no surprise that this is the engine drivers wanted. By the early 1990’s, Honda had accumulated over 70 wins, six consecutive constructor titles and five driver championships including those won by Piquet, Prost and Senna. The most successful seasons came for Honda during their collaboration with McLaren with 44 wins out of 80 starts. At the end of 1992, Honda pulled out, yet again.

In 2000, Honda returned for a third stint within the sport, providing free engines to BAR as well as Jordan Grand Prix the following year. In 2003, Honda dropped the latter to focus purely on BAR, despite Jordan Grand Prix’s better results. Eventually, Honda purchased a stake in the BAR team and finished the 2004 season as runner up, behind the ever so dominate Ferrari. The next season, Honda would purchase the remainder of BAR and rename the team for the 2006 season to Honda Racing F1 Team. This would be the first time, since the 1960’s, that Honda would enter its own team into Formula One.

The 2006 season started quite well for Honda with podiums and pole positions. Reliability, however, soon became a problem and results were inconsistent. Fortunes changed at that year’s Hungarian Grand Prix when the team scored its first win in this era of Formula One. Jenson Button took the top step, despite starting 14th on the grid.

Unfortunately for Honda, in 2007 they lost one of their big sponsors - British American Tobacco. This was down to the new ban on tobacco sponsorships within motorsport. And, things didn’t get any better, with aerodynamic issues being the sole cause of a tough year. Eventually, the team’s best result that season, was 5th at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Former Ferrari technical director; Ross Brawn, joined the team as team principle for 2008, but this had no effect on improving the team’s performance from the previous year. By mid-season, all focus had been switched to the 2009 car. At the end of 2008, Honda quit for a third time, with team principle, Ross Brawn, eventually buying Honda out and renaming the team to Brawn GP. Honda continued to give Brawn GP vital financial support during its first and only season in Formula One, in which they won both the Constructors and Drivers Championships. At the end of 2009, Mercedes, Brawn GP’s engine supplier, had purchased the majority of the team and renamed it to Mercedes GP for the following year. Honda was out.

It wasn’t long before they were back again, but this time as an engine supplier. In 2015, Honda joined forces with McLaren, a collaboration that previously worked wonders. However, this time, was not meant to be. Over the course of the 2015 season the power train was underpowered and extremely unreliable. Many reasons were thrown around as to why this was, including lack of knowledge with the new regulations, McLaren’s “size zero” car concept and Honda returning earlier than planned. Things improved for 2016 but after another disastrous 2017, the Honda/McLaren relationship had broken down and the two parted ways.

With McLaren switching to Renault power for 2018, Honda forged a partnership with Toro Rosso. The power unit that Honda supplied the younger of the Red Bull teams in 2018 turned out to be much more reliable than the previous season and by the Canadian Grand Prix it was announced, that from 2019, Honda would be powering the main Red Bull team; Red Bull Racing, as well as Toro Rosso. 2019 was classed a “building year” for both Red Bull and Honda, in order to prepare for a World Championship contention in the near future.

And, a successful start it was. Red Bull ended the 2019 season with a third in the Constructors Championship, Toro Rosso was sixth. And, not only that, Honda was the engine supplier with the fewest on track failures which in turn caused zero engine related retirements for either team.

In a COVID-stricken 2020, the Red Bull-Honda package quickly became the second fastest on track with slight set backs with the chassis and power unit leaving them slightly slower than their rivals, Mercedes. But all was not lost as Red Bull finished second in the standings. Down at Toro Rosso, which had since been rebranded as Alpha Tauri, Frenchman Pierre Gasly, scored the team’s first win with a Honda power train. Other than Mercedes, Honda was the only other engine manufacturer to score any wins or pole positions during 2020.

With things looking on the up, in October 2020, Honda announced they were leaving Formula One at the end of 2021. The 2021 power unit was extremely competitive against its Mercedes equivalent and gave Red Bull driver; Max Verstappen, his first World Championship. Because of this, Honda became the first engine manufacturer to beat Mercedes in the most recent turbo-hybrid era.

As mentioned before, Honda are still involved with Red Bull and Alpha Tauri by continuing to supply and service power units under the name “Red Bull Powertrains.” This is until 2025. In 2022, the Red Bull Powertrain went from strength to strength over the course of the season. Max Verstappen clinched a consecutive Drivers Championship and the Red Bull team won their first constructors since the early 2010’s.

In 2026, Honda will be partnering up with Aston Martin and will be supplying them as a works team. Ironically, Aston Martin used to be known as Jordan Grand Prix, back in the day. The team Honda dropped to focus on BAR in the early 2000’s.

So there we have it. The history of Honda in Formula One. Despite the inconsistencies as to whether they want to be in the sport or not, it’s a pretty nice sight to see that they are going to be sticking around a little while longer. They have some of the most interesting stats when it comes to motorsport and I, for one, am looking forward to their new collaboration with Aston. What do you think? Let me know below!

Let’s Discuss: Formula 2 So Far In 2023

Formula 2, like every other motorsport series in 2023, is in full swing and, only eight races in, has been anything but a disappointment. But, that's Formula 2 for you though. With twenty two drivers trying to catch the eye of Formula 1 teams, there's going to be some excellent racing, that's for sure.

Going into the season, French driver; Theo Pourchaire, was the bookies favourite to win the championship. After finishing runner up in 2022, it's hard to bet against him. However, although the current leader of the championship, it's not been plane sailing for the ART driver. After a dominant weekend at the opening round in Bahrain, Pourchaire has somewhat "blended" into the background with numerous DNFs. You have to ask, "how is he still top of the table?" Luckily for him, when he has finished in the points, it's always been higher than 5th. Is he proving to us that consistency is key and you don't need to win everything to win the championship? Maybe. Maybe not. He needs to keep his wits about him though, as there are many races to go and plenty of other drivers waiting in the wings.

One of these drivers goes by the name of Oliver Bearman. And, I've singled him out because he's one of the biggest surprises so far this season. Others may not agree with that and rather have expected him to go well after finishing 3rd in last year's Formula 3 championship behind Victor Martins and Zane Maloney. Currently sitting 4th in the championship standings, what makes Bearman so impressive is his back-to-back wins in Baku that seem to have come from nowhere. Before the Baku weekend, the British driver was only on 3 points, a number way off the lead. And, with a weekend that would have surely increased his confidence as an F2 driver, Bearman has surely entered the chat. Pourchaire needs to keep his eyes peeled because Bearman is one of many drivers coming for the crown.

Two drivers that won't be coming for the crown are Roy Nissany and Amaury Cordeel. Both are seasoned drivers in F2 and both are currently sat on zero points with regular incident packed races. Why are they still racing in this category? Well, we definitely know that answer... They're like the present day version of Johnny Cecotto Jr and Sergio Canamasas. If you know, you know.

Moving on, let's talk racetracks.

So far this season we've really only seen street circuits, with the opening round in Bahrain being the only purpose built racetrack to appear. And, all of them, bar Australia, have appeared on the calendar before. That's right. Formula 2 went to Australia for the first time. And, that's a good thing. With F2 being centralised around Europe and the Middle East, these young drivers aren't getting a taster of tracks further a field. And, not only that, with Formula One being at the height of its popularity, F2 has also stepped into the limelight meaning fans across the world want the opportunity to see these young guns fight for a chance in the pinnacle of motorsport. Formula 2 going to Australia is doing just that. It's a good move for the sport.

Monaco, the final street circuit of the year, is up next and chaos is surely guaranteed. Can Pourchaire extend his championship lead? Can any other driver stop him? What about Bearman and the other rookies? Can any of them pull of a championship winning rookie year? It's possible. Excitement awaits us for the rest of the season. Bring it on.