Race Review: Monaco Grand Prix 2024

Oh, Monaco. Should it stay, or should it go? Despite being full of glitz, glam and motorsport heritage, last Sunday’s F1 race did nothing to convince fans that the race around the streets of Monte Carlo is the spectacular that it once was. However, with Charles Leclerc FINALLY breaking his infamous “Monaco Curse” by winning his home race, it did turn out to be a stark reminder as to why we, as fans, love motorsport so much.

On social media, fans weren’t afraid to brand this particular race as a bore. Heck, even Max Verstappen, who was having a mediocre weekend running the race in 6th, moaned about his lack of stimulation several times over team radio. It doesn’t help that in this day and age Monaco is not suited to this era of Formula One car. Overtaking is almost non-existent, and instead we find ourselves watching a procession of cars filing through the narrow streets one after another rather than an exciting, nail gripping motor race. This year’s proceedings was particularly labelled a “snooze fest.” Bar lap one, of course, that was chaos and the ultimate factor that played a part in Monaco’s 2024 downfall.

There was action at the front going into turn one on the opening lap between the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, making contact as they both got their elbows out for position. The former would come off worse with a puncture that led to him pulling out of the race up by the Casino section of the circuit. Piastri would continue, albeit with plenty of floor damage. Further back, it was carnage. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who had had yet another shocker of a Monaco race weekend thus far for the second consecutive year, found himself being tagged and spun by Kevin Magnussen in the Haas. Perez would hit the barrier at speed before taking out the second Haas of Nico Hulkenberg eventually coming to a halt, bringing out the red flag in the process. A sigh of relief for both Sainz and Piastri, who could fix their damage in the pits. For the other three, it was game over. It was also game over for Esteban Ocon in the Alpine who collided with his teammate, Pierre Gasly, at Portier. With race ending damage to his car and an enraged Alpine team boss, Ocon must have left the circuit that evening with his tail between his legs. Not a good look when 2025 driver contracts are on the line.

Of course, with a Red Flag comes tyre talk. With drivers able to change their tyres during the halted session, they’ve effectively been given a free stop, voiding the need for any more mandatory pit stops during the race once it restarts. This is where it all went wrong for Formula One. Should drivers and teams be allowed to change the car, including tyres, under a Red Flag? The rules say yes, but the debate rages on.

Come the restart and it was much cleaner than the first, with everyone getting through the first few corners unscathed. For drivers, teams, fans, pundits etc, it quickly became apparent that this race was going to be long. George Russell, in his Mercedes, was one of many drivers that took the “slower wins the race” approach, by driving... slowly, making the tyres last to the very end. Read the room, Formula One without pit stops simply isn’t fun. So, of course, when Sauber brought in one of their cars for a change of tyre, the F1 world suddenly awoke from it’s deep Sunday afternoon slumber.

And, Sauber weren’t the only ones to make a change. Come the latter stages, the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen had built up big enough gaps that a pitstop wouldn’t harm their already lowly positions in anyway, if anything, giving them a slight advantage of a fresher tyre towards the end. But everyone’s eyes were firmly fixated on the front quartet of Leclerc, Piastri, Sainz and Lando Norris, as they attempted to build a pitstop or more gap to fifth place man Russell. Of course, this being Formula One, neither Ferrari or McLaren felt it necessary, or wise for that matter, to make a final stop in the end, leaving Leclerc to drive away into the sunset as Sainz and Norris hunted down a struggling Piastri, who’s tyres had had enough.

I suppose, despite it being a strategic-type race, Monaco wasn’t totally doom and gloom. In fact, there were battles and there were overtakes. Unfortunately overshadowed by the negatives of the race, but they were there. You can imagine the glee on everyone’s faces when Lance Stroll managed to push his way by not once, but twice. An overtake! It was like we’d never seen one before!

During the final stages of the race, others were also catching and battling for position. Verstappen, who had pitted, managed to hunt down Russell, who had not. As mentioned before, Piastri, who’s tyres had given up, was defending his second position for all his worth from Sainz and Norris. Alas, despite some light at the end of the tunnel, this was Monaco and nobody made any late race dives for position. Leaving Russell ahead of Verstappen and Piastri ahead of Sainz and Norris.

Regardless, many will moan about this race for some time to come. With some demanding F1 do something to make it more interesting for 2025. But, if anything, with two Ferraris and two McLarens finishing in the top four, it’s visual proof that Red Bull are vulnerable in 2024 and that the Championship battle may not be over thus yet! As for the Monaco race itself, it was boring. I don’t want to admit it, but it was. Hey, we can't have it our way all the time, no?

Race Review: Shanghai E-Prix Race One and Race Two 2024

Race One

Although the Shanghai International Circuit is a new addition to the Formula E race calendar for Season 10, many motorsport fans (and racing drivers) will be quite familiar with the twists and turns of the 3 kilometer circuit, despite the altered layout to the well known Grand Prix configuration. So, all in all, can we really be surprised that the first pole sitter for this debut race weekend was an ex-Formula One driver with plenty of Shanghai International Circuit experience under his belt?

DS Penke's Jean-Eric Vergne took pole at this event, marking only his second of the season. Drivers such as Vergne, as well as Stoffel Vandoorne, Pascal Wehrlein, Sebastien Buemi and Lucas di Grassi, had a slight advantage over the rest of the field, having raced at the circuit during their Formula One careers. But, come the end of the day, did the advantage mean anything? In short, no. It was Mitch Evans who took the win of the inaugural race, after a tough battle with Wehrlein that left many fans glued to their TV screens.

Despite another "pelaton" style race, Evans and Wehrlein quickly became the sole contenders to take victory, with Evans' teammate; Nick Cassidy, knocking on the door in the latter stages. But before that, it was all the about the tense battle between the Jaguar and the Porsche. The Porsche team of Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa both got blistering starts, threatening Vergne for the lead off the line. But, after settling for second, Wehrlein got his chance and took the lead. However, once again, it was all about conserving energy; even Mahindra told Nyck de Vries to give up his "surprise" lead half way through proceedings. Later on, after a few bumps and nudges later, Evans and Wehrlein came through to battle for the lead, with a notable off-track overtake from Wehrlein as Evans squeezed him, ever so slightly. Neither driver wanted to give up the win, with Cassidy soon joining the fray after another impressive performance where he used his energy consumption to his advantage. Evans would take the lead on the final lap, leaving Wehrlein behind in Cassidy's grasp, giving us fans the ultimate dramatic ending to an ePrix. Evans would be the driver to cross the line in first, with Wehrlein holding on for second and Cassidy in third, ensuring fans that Jaguar's early-season troubles were far, far behind.

But what about everyone else? After all, it is Formula E. Drama is it's middle name.

After missing the Berlin race weekend, Robin Frijns, among others, made his return to the FE cockpit and began the race in style, taking four positions in only two corners, firmly planting himself in the lead and hoping to be apart of "that" lead battle. Alas, for the Dutch driver, it was not to be, getting spun around in the latter stages of the race, dropping him to a miserable 14th. And, then there was Edoardo Mortara. After an impressive pole position in Berlin, Mortara's luck firmly ran out in Shanghai, finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time as he was hit from drivers around him, ending his race prematurely, littering the track in debris in the process.

Regardless, despite zero Safety Cars, there was plenty of on-track action and it's a lovely change and sight to see Formula E race on purpose built race tracks, rather than their usual narrow street circuits.

Race Two

As we’ve seen, as recently as Race One in Shanghai, the current pelaton style of racing has been, somewhat, of a more controversial form of racing in this generation of Formula E. But, hold your horses; Race Two in Shanghai slightly veered away from this aspect, with drivers choosing to hold the lead rather than simply, give it away.

After a miserable Race One, DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne found himself on the front row for Race Two, missing out on pole by a mear +0.001. A decent start saw the Season Eight Champion lead into turn one, where he stayed for the opening laps, until taking his first attack mode. Other drivers, such as Norman Nato and eventual race winner - Antonio Felix da Costa, also used this method to ensure decent results come the chequered flag.

For Vandoorne, the negative consequences of holding the lead soon caught up with him, with his available energy dwindling in the latter stages. For DS Penske, energy conservation seems to be one thing the team is currently lacking, with both Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne finishing the race with very minimal. Is this something the team needs to focus more on to ensure decent results? They have the speed, with both Vergne and Vandoorne starting on the front row in Race One and Two respectively, before going away with a double points finish.

Race Two, in general, was faster paced when compared to Race One. Lap times were faster and the race was shorter, regardless, we weren’t left short when it came to action. Front wing damage and punctures were on the cards for several drivers over the course of the 28 lap race, including championship contender Wehrlein, who’s pit stop, after a rear left puncture, could prove to be a pivotal moment in the championship fight between himself and Nick Cassidy. As for Cassidy, he wasn’t immune from damage either. With, what seemed to be a disagreement over strategy with his team in the early stages of the race, front wing damage was waiting for the Kiwi driver later on in the race, which could have potentially cost him that podium finish.

But, for da Costa, it was a comfortable ride to the line, despite McLaren’s Hughes closing in over the final laps, setting up a battle for the lead that never had chance to materialise. Norman Nato would finish in 3rd place in his Andretti, seeing off Cassidy for the final step on the podium.

Shanghai and it’s International Circuit has proved to be an interesting addition to the Formula E calendar, especially as the track is purposed built rather temporary, the norm for Formula E. And, next time out, we’ll be on yet another purpose built race circuit at the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon, which also is the penultimate race of the season. It’s going to be a good one.

Race Review: Emilia Romagna GP 2024

30 years have passed since the unfortunate deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna during the San Marino Grand Prix of 1994 at the now infamous Imola Circuit, or Autódromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, as it is officially know. In 2024, Formula One is still racing in Imola as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, on albeit, a slightly different configuration of the circuit. Regardless, this race weekend felt very fitting as the world of Formula One, including multiple World Champion Sebastian Vettel with an emotional on track tribute, came together to remember the lives of Ratzenberger and Senna, in what was probably one of the only few memorable moments of the weekend.

The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was shaping up to be a good one, with Red Bull’s struggles over the course of the three practice sessions capturing the attention of fans old and new. Ferrari had pace, as did McLaren but alas, out of no where Red Bull returned, with Max Verstappen taking pole position and the race win after leading from start to finish.

The opening laps of the race may have felt like a drag to some, with not much happening in regards to on-track battles and yellow flags. But, come mid-race it was ramping up. After clashing in Miami, it was time for Carlos Sainz v Oscar Piastri 2.0. However, with the latter unable to get up close behind the Ferrari, the battle was short lived before Piastri used the undercut to jump Sainz in the pits instead. And, then there was Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg. Both with impressive performances so far over the weekend, they kept it up with some brilliant overtakes, in unexpected places, before finishing 10th and 11th respectively. A shame, as both deserved plenty more dosh for their efforts in cars that aren’t exactly scoring points every race. However, the big, intense, climatic, on edge battle came in the final few laps, as a struggling Lando Norris, running in second at the time, found some extra juice to challenge an also struggling Verstappen for the win. With both drivers running on worn hard tyres, it wasn’t much of surprise to see both of them unable to push them to the maximum in the latter stages. But, with Verstappen’s issue ranging from tyres to how the car handled, Norris quickly regained his lost ground to the reigning World Champion, eventually crossing the finish line less than one second behind the Red Bull. Alas, like every race, we ran out of laps. Oh, what could have been for young Lando, only one race since his first and most recent win in Formula One.

For many, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix turned out to be sixty three laps of pure frustration, with the Williams of Alexander Albon taking the brunt of the pain after a botch first pit stop saw his tyres fitted incorrectly. After trundling around back to the pits, the problem was rectified and he was on his way. Unfortunately, a ten second penalty and damage sustained from the initial pit stop, put an end to his day and his misery in Imola as he failed to finish for the second time this season. As for the others, there was plenty of off-roading, with Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc taking to the gravel traps and run off areas. Verstappen, on the other hand, would receive a black and white flag for track limits, waking viewers up who may have nodded off during the slow opening laps.

One of the more interesting aspects to come out of Imola was the performance of Fernando Alonso when compared to his teammate; Lance Stroll. F1 aficionados will be well aware that, as Alonso’s teammate, Stroll has failed on several occasions to reach the same level as the most experienced driver on the grid in 2024. In Imola, the tables had turned. With crashes, mistakes and mechanical issues - resulting in an eventual race retirement, plaguing Alonso’s weekend, Stroll took advantage to be the better Aston Martin driver. Although, not the most amazing race for Stroll, after making several passes, not too dissimilar to the ones made by Tsunoda and Hulkenberg, Stroll finished in 9th, scoring his first points since Australia.

It's almost painful to describe this year’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as mediocre. An anti climatic affair after some intriguing practice sessions. Regardless, the old-school and nostalgic feel of Imola is something long-time F1 fans yearn for. But, with the slow paced race and not much opportunity for an overtake, you can’t help but think Formula One has outgrown tracks like these. It’s a shame, because it’s F1 history and old-school tracks are far more superior than a flashy, high-end street circuit. Talking of street circuits, next up is Monaco! Another gem full of motorsport history.