#F1 Louis Vuitton #MonacoGP 2026 Preview. #Formula1 #MonacoGrandPrix

2026 Monaco GP Preview – After Andrea Kimi Antonelli extended his lead in the World Driver’s Championship to score his fourth consecutive victory of the season at the Canadian Grand Prix after a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle with Mercedes team-mate George Russell, which saw the latter retire from the race with a power-unit failure, round six of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship returns this weekend to the most famous and historic street circuit of them all the Circuit de Monaco for the Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix De Monaco 2026. This will be the 83^rd time that the Monaco Grand Prix has been held and the 72^nd time since it has been held as part of the FIA Formula One World Championship. The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious motor sporting events in the world alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Heures Du Mans which forms the Triple Crown of Motorsport. This will be a double header with the Catalan GP (Barcelona). This is the first time that the Monaco Grand Prix will be held in June and out of it’s traditional May slot to improve the sport’s geographical flow of the F1 calendar.

 

 

2026 Monaco GP Preview – A Look at the Circuit De Monaco

 

 

The Circuit De Monaco is a street circuit laid out on the streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour of the principality of Monaco.

 

The idea for a Grand Prix around the streets of Monaco came from Antony Noghes, the president of the Monegasque car club and close friend of the ruling Grimaldi family. The inaugural race was held in 1929 and was won by Williams Grover-Williams in a Bugatti and the first Monaco Grand Prix as part of the FIA World Championship was held in 1950 won by Juan Manuel Fangio in the Alfa Romeo.

 

The circuit has many elevation shifts, tight corners, a tunnel and is very narrow. These features make it the most demanding track in Grand Prix racing. The circuit has relatively low average speeds.

 

Although the circuit has changed many times during its history, it is still considered the ultimate test of driving skills in Formula 1.

 

Due to the tight, twisty nature of the circuit it favours the skill of the drivers over power of the cars. However, there is very little overtaking as the track is so narrow and dangerous. It is the only Grand Prix on the F1 calendar that does not adhere to the FIA’s mandated 305km (190 mi) minimum race distance.

 

The circuit runs in a clockwise direction and is 3.337km (2.074 mi) in length with 19 corners.

 

Race distance is 260.286km (161.734 mi) with 78 laps.

 

Lewis Hamilton holds the fastest lap record from the 2021 event with a 1:12.909 set in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team F1 W12 E Performance racer.

 

The late great three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna holds the record for most victories at Monaco with six.

 

McLaren are the most successful constructor at the Circuit de Monaco winning the Monaco Grand Prix 16 times.

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2026 Monaco GP Preview – Onboard Lap of the Circuit De Monaco

 

 

Here is the onboard pole position lap of the Circuit de Monaco from last year’s event, set by reigning world champion Lando Norris in his McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes MCL39 racer. The Briton posted a blistering 1:09.954. You can watch the footage right here at the link: MONACO LAP RECORD! Lando Norris’ Pole Lap | 2025 Monaco Grand Prix | Pirelli

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2026 Monaco GP Preview – The Last Five Winners

 

 

2025: Lando Norris, McLaren Mercedes. 2024: Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari. 2023: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2022: Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing. 2021: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2020: Not held.

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2026 Monaco GP Preview – Tyres

 

 

Sole tyre-supplier Pirelli will be bringing with them to Monaco, the C4 white-marked Hards, the C5 yellow-branded Medium tyres and the C6 red-walled Soft rubber along with the green-marked Intermediate and blue-branded Full Wet tyres in case of rain.

 

All drivers will have eight sets of the softs, three sets of the mediums and two sets of the hards.

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2026 Monaco GP Preview – Straight Mode Zone

 

The FIA has introduced one of the most unusual technical measures of the 2026 Formula 1 season ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, confirming there will be no “Straight Mode” activation zones anywhere around the Circuit de Monaco.

 

For the first time since Formula 1 introduced its new active aerodynamics regulations, drivers will be unable to deploy the low-drag wing configuration that normally boosts top speed on straights. FIA officials determined Monaco’s narrow streets, bumps and close barriers presented too great a safety risk under the new regulations.

 

According to FIA guidance, activation zones should only be used in areas where cars are not operating at the limit of tyre grip. With Monaco’s pit straight lasting barely five seconds and cars arriving at Sainte Dévote at extreme speed, officials concluded the risk outweighed the performance benefit.

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2026 Monaco GP Preview – Pitlane Speed Limits

 

Pitlane speeds will be 60km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.

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ICYMI: Antonelli survives Russell early thrilling battle to clinch Canadian GP victory

 

 

Andrea Kimi Antonelli survived an intense early thrilling battle with Mercedes team-mate George Russell (who went out in the cruellest of ways on lap 30 with an engine failure) to score his fourth-consecutive victory at the Canadian GP as Sir Lewis Hamilton came home second for Ferrari and keeping his 2021 title-rival Max Verstappen at bay.

 

Antonelli now extends his lead in the World Driver’s Championship to 43 points over team-mate Russell (131-88) as the sport heads to the famous Grand Prix De Monaco in a fortnight.

 

The drivers were given two extra formation laps after RB’s Arvid Lindblad was stalled on the grid with the Briton waving his hands after the halt and the lights had a long delay to start.

 

McLaren’s Piastri was saying they chose the wrong tyre (inters).

 

When the 68-lap Canadian GP began, pole-sitter Russell got an equal start alongside Antonelli as Norris charged past the two Mercedes into turn one to take the lead.

 

Piastri dropped down to fifth place at the start as pole-sitter Russell fell behind his championship leading team-mate.

 

Verstappen had a look on Piastri down the back-straight, but the Australian dived into the pits to for a set of the C4 medium compounds.

 

The order at the beginning of the second tour was Norris leading by 0.9 seconds over Antonelli with Russell third, Hamilton fourth, Verstappen fifth, Leclerc sixth, Hadjar seventh, Colapinto eighth, Lawson ninth as Bearman rounded out the top ten.

 

Antonelli ran wheel-to-wheel with Norris and then grabbed the lead as the latter jumped into the pits along with Sainz, Bortoleto and Perez to get off the intermediate rubber.

 

Antonelli and Russell ran alongside each other on the rundown to turn one, but the former covered the latter to hold onto the lead and avoiding a repeat of yesterday.

 

Reigning world champion Norris was down in 14^th following his pit-stop with team-mate Piastri behind him in 15^th with the former told he could “go very long here.”

 

The fifth lap saw Antonelli’s lead at 0.7 seconds over team-mate Russell with Hamilton a further 1.6 seconds behind in third, Verstappen with the fastest lap in fourth, Leclerc fifth, Hadjar sixth, Colapinto seventh, Lawson eighth, Bearman ninth as Alonso completed the top ten.

 

The sixth tour – Russell had taken three tenths out of his team-mate and was just 0.4 seconds back. But could he make a move? It would not be easy, as we saw that yesterday – and Antonelli would know exactly where to shut the door on the Briton.

 

Antonelli locked up and ran wide. The Italian ran off onto the marbles, nearly went into the wall and flat spotted his tyres. Russell reclaimed the lead.

 

Replays showed Russell made a clean move before the final chicane, and Antonelli locked up in defence and nearly hit the back of Russell as he ran off.

 

Russell was back in control in Montreal.

 

The eighth tour – Russell, made that pass completely clean. And he was now 1.1 seconds ahead of his team-mate, so the defending Canadian GP winner had broken the Overtake Mode window. Antonelli now had some fairly horrible tyres to contend with, as Hamilton tried to close back up to the top two.

 

Lap nine – Verstappen overtook Hamilton for third – that was another clean move into the first corner.

 

“I’ve got no power man, come on guys,” Hamilton cried on the radio.

 

The tenth lap – The one was starting to settle down; the racing line was dry and reportedly there was no more rain.

 

Russell was starting to stretch his legs, Antonelli was trying to keep him honest and the pairing were gone – Verstappen was in third place and 3.5 seconds back, having not finished on the podium yet this campaign.

 

The 11^th tour – With both McLarens down the order, there were points on offer for the midfield here.

 

Colapinto was seventh, Lawson eighth, Bearman ninth and Gasly tenth. Game on amongst the battle lot for midfield supremacy.

 

Norris had recovered to 11^th, and Piastri moved up to 13th.

 

The 12^th lap – Hamilton was complaining of no power, but he had closed back up behind Verstappen and had Overtake Mode.

 

Further back, Norris picked off Gasly as Bearman locked-up and lost two positions.

 

Lap 13 – Antonelli got Russell, and then Russell picked the Italian back off. All changes here between the two Silver Arrows, as Russell paid the price for going too deep into the chicane. Antonelli cut back across behind and missed his team-mate’s rear tyres by a fraction.

 

And the yellows were out after Piastri locked-up and went right into the side of Williams’ Alexander Albon at the hairpin and causing a collision.

 

The 14^th tour – Albon had stopped. And Piastri pitted for a new front wing.

 

Up-front, Russell remained in-front of Antonelli, with Piastri coming out just ahead of those two.

 

Lap 16 – Reigning world champion Norris was told to box as they reported an issue with his MCL40 racer as the incident involving Piastri and Albon was under investigation by the stewards.

 

Russell led by 0.5 seconds and he had kept his head despite all sorts of chaos. Those two were four seconds in-front of Verstappen.

 

The 17^th tour – McLaren started on the wrong tyre compound and had to pit both cars, Piastri had hit Albon, needed a new front wing and could well be receiving a penalty.

 

Norris had been wide over the grass and also needed a second stop to clear some grass from his car.

 

The 18^th lap – The battle between the Silver Arrows was intensifying – Antonelli got close as Russell locked-up again, and the Italian got all the way alongside as they came down the main-straight and headed towards the opening corner. And Russell had the inside line and kept his cool, Antonelli forced to brake fractions earlier and ceded.

 

Lap 19 – Russell lead then from his team-mate Antonelli, Verstappen was third in-front of Hamilton and Leclerc.

 

Hadjar was having a quiet race in sixth as Albon became the second retiree of the race following his hit from Piastri.

 

The 21^st lap – Russell’s lead over team-mate Antonelli was at 0.5 seconds with the latter right on his gearbox as Verstappen held third, Hamilton fourth, Leclerc fifth, Hadjar sixth, Colapinto seventh, Lawson eighth, Gasly ninth as Bearman rounded out the top ten runners.

 

Lap 22 – Russell swung wide to cover a move from Antonelli. The Italian youngster tried again into the opening corner, but Russell covered him.

 

Now, these two were not too far away from catching Norris to lap the McLaren driver, who himself was trying to fight back.

 

Antonelli finally made his move into the last corner to re-take the lead.

 

Lap 23 – And down the straight, Antonelli was ahead and Russell did not counter into Turn 1.

 

Antonelli was back in the lead and already trying to check out from his Mercedes team-mate.

 

A ten-second-timed-penalty was given to Piastri for causing the collision with Albon.

 

Lap 24 – Norris was about to be lapped by Antonelli, who therefore got Overtake Mode. Norris moved out of the way.

 

Antonelli got past Norris, he locked-up and ran wide to gift the lead back to Russell.

 

The 25^th tour – Antonelli made a move into the final corner on the last lap, he ran wide and across the track and came back on in the lead – and he was told to do so.

 

“Why mate, he pushed me off and I was already ahead?” Antonelli fumed, but he did indeed give the lead back to Russell.

 

And then Antonelli tried again down the back-straight into the final corner, but he was not close enough and Russell remained in-front.

 

Lap 26 – Russell led and was told to keep his head down. But he was only three tenths in-front and this one was well not done yet. And those two still need to pit.

 

The 27^th lap – Further back – Hamilton was no longer attacking Verstappen, he ran wide through the final corner a few tours ago and thus was 4.7 seconds behind the Dutchman.

 

The 29^th tour – The situation was Russell lead by under a second from team-mate Antonelli. Verstappen was third in-front of Hamilton, Leclerc and Hadjar. Then there was a huge gap to Colapinto, Lawson, Gasly and Bearman.

 

As for McLaren, Norris was 12th, Piastri 13th.

 

On lap 30 – Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso came into retire as race leader Russell ran across the grass after suffering a loss of power and came to a stop out of the turns eight and nine chicane bringing out the Virtual Safety Car. Russell slammed his fists in fury as he exited his F1 W17.

 

The 31^st tour – Race leader Antonelli took the advantage to take a free pit-stop along with the rest of the field as Leclerc lost a place to Hadjar in the pit-stop phase.

 

Lap 32 – Mercedes confirmed it was a power-unit failure for Russell as the VSC ended.

 

The 33^rd tour – Antonelli lead by five seconds from Verstappen with Hamilton third and Hadjar fourth. Norris was back in the top 10 thanks to the VSC.

 

Lap 34 – As Antonelli set about extending his lead on the medium compounds, Russell was going to be investigated post-race for throwing his head race onto the track.

 

Leclerc was attacking Hadjar for fourth, and the Frenchman slammed the door on the Ferrari driver into the final corner.

 

The 35^th tour – The fight between Hadjar and Leclerc intensified, as the Red Bull driver moved in the braking zone.

 

Leclerc lost the place in the pit-lane during the VSC, as Ferrari effectively had to double stack.

 

“That was nearly a huge one,” said Leclerc.

 

The 37^th lap – Antonelli’s lead over Verstappen was up to 6.5 seconds as the Italian continued to cruise away from the Red Bull.

 

Hadjar was noted by the stewards – for a yellow flag infringement, not for his defence with Leclerc.

 

There had been a few penalties handed out for the lower midfield runners, Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg pinged earlier for speeding in the pit lane.

 

Lap 38 – Up-front, Antonelli should make it to the end on these medium tyres. He was 6.4 seconds in-front of Verstappen.

 

The stewards were investigating Hadjar’s multiple moves.

 

The 39^th tour – A small lock-up for Hadjar and Leclerc closes in. He tries a move, stays alongside, but on the outside he cannot get past.

 

And Hadjar has now been noted for more than one change of direction.

 

News from the pit lane – Colapinto hit the wall whilst exiting the pits under the VSC and did damage his front wing.

 

And Leclerc passed Hadjar down the back-straight for fourth place.

 

Lap 40 – Reigning world champion Norris became the fifth retiree of the Grand Prix after suffering a gearbox issue and pulled off.

 

The 41^st tour – Antonelli lead by nearly seven seconds as he negotiated the traffic and began to lap more cars. Verstappen was 4.3 seconds in-front of Hamilton, who was closing but not fast enough.

 

Leclerc had dropped Hadjar, whilst Colapinto was running a quiet a race of his own in sixth place.

 

The 42^nd lap – Cadillac’s Sergio Perez became the sixth retirement of the race after his front-right suspension broke as he entered the pit-lane entry line.

 

Lap 44 – Hadjar was now under investigation for his defence with Leclerc.

 

Second-placed Verstappen had eaten into Antonelli’s lead – due to the race leader losing time lapping tailenders.

 

Hadjar was hit with a ten-second-timed-penalty for more than one change of direction in his fight with Leclerc for fourth place.

 

Lap 46 – The Virtual Safety Car was deployed due to the debris at the pit-entry from Perez’s MAC01 with the entry closed briefly.

 

The 47^th lap – The VSC ended as Antonelli lead the race by just under five seconds. Verstappen was second, Hamilton chasing hard in third placed.

 

Hadjar had closed back up behind Leclerc in the battle for fourth.

 

The sole Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas was given a five-second-timed-penalty for speeding in the pit-lane – the Finn was down in 16^th.

 

Russell explained on his retirement and weekend: “Just everything turned off all of a sudden. Engine stopped, no electronics. A bit lost for words. I’m proud of my weekend. Pole in the Sprint, won the Sprint, pole, leading when I stopped. Nothing more I could have done this weekend. I’m pretty damn frustrated with what happened.”

 

“I loved it,” said Russell on his battle with team-mate Antonelli. “That is what racing is about, and I would have liked to have continued it for 30 more laps.” Russell concluded.

 

The 50^th lap – “Let’s stop speaking until the last lap, you tell me the last lap and anything completely critical,” explained Leclerc.

 

He was in fourth, nine seconds behind his team-mate with a little more breathing space from Hadjar.

 

Lap 52 – Hamilton was now just two seconds away from fighting with Verstappen. Hadjar was within a second of Leclerc but had that 10-second penalty to come.

 

Gasly was just over a second behind Lawson in the battle for seventh place.

 

The VSC was deployed again on lap 53 for some debris at turn 12 as Hadjar came in to serve his penalty and put on a fresh set of C5 softer rubber along with Piastri to do the same – both emerged in fifth and 13^th.

 

Lap 54 – Antonelli lead by eight seconds over Verstappen, and Hamilton was just 1.4 seconds behind Verstappen.

 

And replays showed Leclerc sliding out the final corner, getting sideways and just holding it. He lost time and has flat spotted his tyres for good measure.

 

The 55^th lap – Hamilton was now just one second behind Verstappen, who had been complaining that his tyres were done. They were both on 23-lap old medium rubber. This was the fight for second place.

 

Lap 56 – Antonelli out front looked very comfortable.

 

Behind him, second was up for grabs as Hamilton now had Overtake Mode available.

 

The 57^th tour – Hamilton had a little look on the Red Bull, and Verstappen shut the door. Nothing doing into the next sequence of corners through turns 3 and 4. Into the back chicane – could not get through.

 

And they needed to lap Bottas.

 

Lap 58 – Verstappen was on course for his best finish of the year here, and he did not want to give up second. But he was having to work so hard to keep the faster Ferrari at bay.

 

Hamilton’s tyres are starting to overheat being stuck behind the RB22 entry.

 

The 59^th lap – Hamilton was calling for more power as he was trying to get as much as he can to overtake the Dutchman.

 

On the 62^nd tour – Hamilton on the main-straight made a move on the inside of Verstappen into turn one and took second place from the Dutchman.

 

There was a moment behind as Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg had spun into turn one.

 

Lap 63 – Antonelli was heading for the win, as Hamilton tried to drop Verstappen – but he cannot do so, those two were stuck together and this was not at all done.

 

Hadjar was hit with a stop-and-go penalty for the yellow flag infringement.

 

The 64^th lap – Hadjar came in to serve his penalty, and he should hold onto fifth such was his big lead over Colapinto.

 

The Frenchman’s team-mate – Verstappen was doing everything to fight back past Hamilton’s Ferrari. Half-a-second between the duo.

 

The 65^th tour – Hamilton’s tyres were not in great shape, the seven-time world champion slid out of the final corner and that gifted Verstappen a tenth or two. And the Dutchman closed in yet further thanks to Overtake Mode. But he cannot get close enough to make a move on the Ferrari.

 

Lap 66 – Further back – Lawson and Gasly both ran straight on over the apex of the final corner – they were locked in an intense battle for seventh place.

 

The penultimate lap – Gasly and Lawson were swapping places – whilst in the fight for second – Verstappen was doing everything he can to get second back from Hamilton, who in turn was doing just enough at the moment to hold on despite his tyres being in poor shape.

 

But Verstappen’s were no better – and he ran deep which costed him a few tenths.

 

Antonelli crossed the line to take his fourth victory in a row and extend his lead in the World Drivers’ Championship to 43 points over team-mate Russell.

 

Hamilton just held on to take second place by 0.508 seconds over Verstappen who completed the podium.

 

Leclerc settled in a quiet fourth and ahead of Hadjar who took fifth and Colapinto who finished an impressive sixth place for Alpine.

 

Lawson kept the other Alpine A526 entry of Gasly at bay 0.307 seconds to come home seventh as Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Haas’s Oliver Bearman completed the final points’ places.

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2026 Monaco GP – The Situation

 

 

Formula 1 heads to the famous principality for the legendary Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix De Monaco 2026 as the title race intensifies.

 

Andrea Kimi Antonelli scored his fourth consecutive victory after an action-packed Canadian Grand Prix where his Mercedes team-mate George Russell retired due to a power-train failure, which brought to an end a thrilling early battle.

 

Russell is now 43 points behind Antonelli in the World Driver’s Championship standings, but the Silver Arrows duo are not expected to have it their own way this weekend.

 

The lack of straights and tight-twistiness of the Monte Carlo street circuit will suit the Ferrari, so Charles Leclerc and Sir Lewis Hamilton have a good chance of ending Mercedes’ winning run in the 2026 campaign.

 

Leclerc won his home race in 2024 whereas Hamilton has not been on the top step in Monaco since 2019, so do not rule out one of them taking P1 this year.

 

Defending World Constructor’s Champions McLaren will be aiming to bounce back following a disappointing outing in Montreal where they failed to score any points in the Grand Prix after strategy errors, drivers mistakes and unreliability.

 

Reigning World Driver’s Champion Lando Norris dominated last year’s event and McLaren’s MCL40 should be competitive in Monaco having a shorter wheelbase, whilst Red Bull are unlikely to contend for a podium finish as their RB22’s strengths come from the straights.

 

The sport’s governing body, the FIA has also introduced a special engine map known as “Rev 1” to further reduce top-speed potential.

 

Under normal 2026 regulations, the MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic) electric motor can deploy its maximum 350kW output until approximately 290km/h before gradually tapering off. For Monaco, however, maximum deployment begins reducing from just 200km/h, with electric assistance falling dramatically as speeds increase. By 300km/h, battery deployment drops to zero.

 

The FIA’s objective is to prevent excessive speeds through sections such as the pit straight, the tunnel and the climb towards Massenet while maintaining car stability under braking and corner entry. Engineers estimate the changes will significantly reduce acceleration without materially affecting lap times around the tight street circuit.

 

Several drivers have welcomed the move. Haas driver Ollie Bearman suggested Monaco could feel more natural under the new rules, saying drivers may no longer need aggressive energy-saving techniques and “silly lift-and-coast” tactics. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also believes Monaco could suit the lighter 2026 cars, with energy management expected to play a smaller role than at power-sensitive circuits.

 

After two consecutive Sprint weekends, Monaco sees a return to the traditional format of three practice sessions, before the most important qualifying of the season and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday.

 

Antonelli returns to Monaco sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship standings with 131 points and a 43-point advantage to Mercedes team-mate Russell who is second on 88 points, whilst Leclerc is third and a further 56 points behind the Italian and on 75 points.

 

Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team heads to Monte Carlo, on top of the World Constructors Championship standings with 219 points, with a 72-points lead over nearest rivals Scuderia Ferrari HP who are second on 147 points, whilst McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team are a further 113 points behind the Brackley based-outfit in third place on 106 points.

 

Click here for the full 2026 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructor’s Championship Standings.

 

The Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix De Monaco 2026 weekend begins Friday June 5 with Free Practice 1 and 2. The action continues Saturday June 6 with Free Practice 3 and Qualifying followed by the 78 lap Race on Sunday June 7.