Monaco – Syndication Server

Prince Albert II of Monaco drives Extreme H car

Extreme H’s Pioneer 25 was sampled by a rather unexpected driver on Monday when H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco got behind the wheel of the hydrogen-powered race car. The Sovereign Prince sampled the car on the streets of Monaco, driving from the …

Extreme H’s Pioneer 25 was sampled by a rather unexpected driver on Monday when H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco got behind the wheel of the hydrogen-powered race car.

The Sovereign Prince sampled the car on the streets of Monaco, driving from the Prince’s Palace to Hotel Hermitage. The purpose of the demonstration was the showcase the car – which will run in the world’s first hydrogen powered race competition next year – ahead of the annual Monaco Hydrogen Alliance Forum, which took place at the Prince’s destination, and was opened by him afterwards.

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“Hydrogen represents an important pathway to a sustainable future, offering solutions to reduce emissions across multiple sectors,” Prince Albert II said. “It was my pleasure to be one of the first to try out this remarkable race car, here in Monaco, a country which is proud to host the most iconic racing across Formula 1 and Formula E.

“As Extreme H showcases, innovation in motorsport can be a driving force for global progress, inspiring action far beyond the racetrack.”

A famed motorsport fan, Prince Albert II is also an advocate for clean energy and sustainability, making Monday’s run through the streets of Monaco with the Pioneer 25 rather fitting.

“Prince Albert II’s leadership in environmental causes inspires us all,” said Extreme H founder Alejandro Agag. “His support for Extreme H reinforces the message that hydrogen innovation can unlock solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

“Today’s symbolic drive through Monaco is a testament to hydrogen’s transformative potential.”

A link between royalty and Extreme H (and its predecessor Extreme E) is nothing new. In 2021, William, Prince of Wales, tested the Extreme E Odyssen 21 at Knockhill Circuit in Scotland. Like Prince Albert this time around, Prince William was briefed and coached by Extreme E race-winner Catie Munnings ahead of getting in the car. Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia has also been a frequent visitor to the Extreme E races hosted in the Kingdom.

Verstappen calls for Monaco circuit changes

Max Verstappen believes Formula 1 should investigate changes to the circuit layout at the Monaco Grand Prix to make racing better on a Sunday, rather than exploring a different format. Many races see little overtaking in Monaco due to the size of …

Max Verstappen believes Formula 1 should investigate changes to the circuit layout at the Monaco Grand Prix to make racing better on a Sunday, rather than exploring a different format.

Many races see little overtaking in Monaco due to the size of the cars and narrow circuit, but there was even less action this year due to the red flag on the opening lap that allowed all teams a free tire change and removed the need for pit stops. Without that strategic variable and tension around the pit stop phase, Charles Leclerc could back the field up to make sure there wasn’t a pit stop window for anyone close behind him, leading to a slow pace and no overtaking.

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Verstappen says it’s only the race that needs addressing and slightly increased overtaking opportunities would have a big impact on the excitement levels.

“First I would like to try to, if there are possibilities, change a few things, because it’ll make the excitement even better,” he said. “Overall the weekend is really cool, just the Sunday is a little bit boring unfortunately, but the scenery is still great. If we can find a way to race a bit better, why not? That would be my preferred solution.

“Yes [a layout change is needed], because you cannot pass at the moment. If they ask for my opinion I will try to see what is possible but it also depends what roads you are going to take.”

The championship leader himself had a dull run to sixth place behind George Russell despite being able to make a pit stop for fresh tires — after Lewis Hamilton did the same behind him — and he says the bigger issue for Red Bull leaving Monaco is the car’s performance rather than the lack of overtaking.

“After the red flag our strategy was ruined as we had to put the medium on to the end, as everyone had a free stop and that meant that we had to save a lot,” Verstappen said. “I just tried to follow George and we were so off the pace trying to manage the tires.

“That is quite boring out there, driving literally half throttle on the straights in some places, a gear higher than you would normally do and four seconds off the pace so that is not really racing.

“We all know that at Monaco it is like this. I have to say over the last few years, compared to the years before, it is even more difficult, because of the weight of the cars. But it is nothing new, we all know this happens in Monaco.

“Overall it has been a really bad weekend for us. I guess the only positive out of it is we really know what our weakness is and if we can improve that by only a little bit we will gain a lot of lap time. There is a lot of room for improvement and if we can sort that out then our car really comes alive again.”

McLaren reveals Senna tribute livery for Monaco

McLaren will run a full Ayrton Senna livery at the Monaco Grand Prix in tribute to its most successful driver at the iconic race. Senna won in Monaco on a record six occasions, with five of those for McLaren and coming in consecutive years from …

McLaren will run a full Ayrton Senna livery at the Monaco Grand Prix in tribute to its most successful driver at the iconic race.

Senna won in Monaco on a record six occasions, with five of those for McLaren and coming in consecutive years from 1989-1993. The Brazilian is also the team’s most successful driver with 35 victories, and 30 years on from his death McLaren has opted to introduce a complete yellow, green and blue livery – echoing Senna’s helmet design in the colors of the Brazilian national flag – for this weekend’s race in Monte Carlo.

The project has been carried out in collaboration with Senna Global and McLaren’s sponsor OKX, and also includes a one-off edition of the McLaren Senna road car that has been hand painted. The entire team will also wear special Senna clothing throughout the race weekend, with only the pit crew remaining unchanged to ensure continuity for the drivers.

“The team is proud to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary life and racing legacy of Ayrton Senna through this McLaren livery,” McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said. “Senna remains revered and respected as Formula 1’s greatest icon, and McLaren’s most decorated driver.

“His impact on McLaren is enormous, not only through his racing record but also presence within the team, and now his legacy, so it’s an honor to race for him at his most successful circuit in his green, yellow and blue colors.”

Bianca Senna, Ayrton’s niece and the head of Senna Global, was present throughout the Imola weekend and says the Monaco livery is a celebration of one of the most successful phases of his life.

“It’s an honor to recognize Ayrton through these liveries in collaboration with both McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive,” Senna said. “It’s a fantastic way to celebrate his life and legacy through his iconic colors on both cars. McLaren meant a lot to him, and together they achieved a lot of success, much of which he is still remembered for today by so many. It will be special to see it race the streets of Monaco, a circuit which gave him so much joy and many triumphs.”

McLaren’s chief marketing officer Louise McEwen says the livery has been a long time in the planning and felt right to only run at Monaco rather than Imola too, despite the logistical challenge of changing the car’s color scheme on the road in a small gap between races.

“The livery has been in the making for well over a year now,” McEwen said. “Hopefully you can see the design inspiration behind the car and those beautiful, bright, vibrant colors. That inspiration really comes from celebrating McLaren’s most successful grand prix driver ever in Senna, winning 35 of his 41 grand prix wins with us, which is an incredible legacy.

“It’s an absolutely full swap out. We’ll be swapping both chassis out in the field – the cars don’t come back to the MTC – with a team of six that come out from the MTC to deliver that. It has to be delivered with absolutely integrity around performance, so we’re definitely not compromising that.

“We always focused on Monaco because this is a celebration of his life. We feel that going into Imola we knew that the whole Formula 1 community would be paying their respects to Ayrton … It’s that reflection and remembrance and an opportunity to bring those memories to life of the driver and who he was.

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“It would have been much easier to run the livery across both races but we fundamentally didn’t feel that was right to do. As a team we’re always pushing the boundaries, so we wouldn’t have done it if we couldn’t achieve it, but everyone was happy to do that swap in the field.

“The front wheel covers have very purposely remained papaya. When we do a livery swap of this extent – a full wrap of the car – obviously we can’t compromise performance in any way. And we’ve worked over the last year with the whole of racing, particularly the aero team and then trackside operations, to make sure that we don’t compromise performance. So those elements haven’t changed, they’re important cues for our drivers.”

Wayne Taylor gets chance to live out lifelong F1 dream at Monaco

Wayne Taylor has achieved many of his dreams as a championship-winning sports car driver and team owner. This week, however, the owner of the namesake IMSA team will realize an ambition he’s held as a teenager: driving a true Formula 1 car on a …

Taylor is entered in the Monaco Historic Grand Prix on the famous street course in Monte Carlo where F1 will race in two weeks. And the 67-year-old won’t be cruising around in any old F1 car. He’s piloting the same 1978 Wolf-Cosworth WR4 that his childhood hero and fellow native South African Jody Scheckter once drove.

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“I’m very excited,” Taylor admitted before leaving for Europe this week. “It’s been a lifelong dream but the dream started out of being an F1 in the ’70s and it just didn’t happen. I couldn’t get it to happen and so I chose sports car racing.

“I was an avid fan of these (F1) cars and I was a big fan of Jody Scheckter because he was from East London (South Africa, where Taylor grew up). I followed him when I was at school and stuff. Over the last 10 years or so, I started thinking one day when I retire from this, I’d like to buy a Formula 1 car of that era but I never thought of going to Monte Carlo or anything like that, I really didn’t.

“My whole life, 55 years, and now to go to Monte Carlo … pretty cool.”

It took Taylor three years to locate the Wolf WR4 that Scheckter drove in a few races; the same car later driven by Keke Rosberg and then by Desire Wilson when she became the only woman to win an F1 race, at Brands Hatch in the 1980 British Aurora F1 Championship. Once purchased, Taylor sent the car to Hudson Historics for a complete restoration under the guidance of company owner Gordon Eggleston.

“He took the car, completely restored it,” Taylor said, “and I can tell you there’s not one nut and bolt on the car that’s not new, there’s not one piece of wire that’s not new.”

From that came the decision last fall to apply for entry into the Monaco Historic. While awaiting word of his acceptance, Taylor took the car for a shakedown test at Putnam Park near Indianapolis and followed that with a full-on test in February on the Daytona International Speedway road course. His initial thoughts weren’t, um, positive.

“My first lap out, in truth, I was figuring out how I was going to tell everybody I’m not going,” he admitted, “until the car started handling properly because the tires were cold.”

Taylor received word in March that his entry was accepted, but he also learned that instead of the four practices he thought he’d have to become accustomed to the car and track, he’ll have just a single 30-minute session before qualifying and the race — which will also mark the first standing start of his illustrious career.

“So, I’ve really got 30 minutes to learn the track, find where the limit is, don’t hit anything, don’t make an idiot of yourself and get to the race,” said Taylor, who last drove a car in anger 10 years ago when he teamed with sons Ricky and Jordan and Max Angelelli to finish second in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. “Really, am I racing? No. I’m really going to be part of something very special and I’m going to drive to the speed that I feel comfortable with. I’m not going to take stupid risks at this point in my career, it would be stupid.”

His sons, though, aren’t so sure.

“Our first words to him were, just like our mom taught us, ‘Just be careful, don’t go too fast, don’t take chances,’” Ricky said. “He says he’s just going to go for the fun and the experience, and we know him well enough to say that the first time somebody passes him or he sees somebody pulling away, that moderation is going to go out the window and he’s going to get competitive. He’s super excited, it’s a dream come true for him and we’re all excited for him. But yeah, we’re stressed a little bit.”

Jordan said he and Ricky were too young to remember when Wayne was in his prime as one of the best sports car racers in the world. Jordan looked on when his father put the F1 car through its paces at Daytona and was admittedly impressed.

“I watched him on track and it was so funny thinking that that was him in the car,” Jordan recalled. “Like, it’s hard to picture that he was a driver, and he was a very good driver. Now he’s out in this insane Formula 1 car going around Daytona. I watched him on track and it was like watching any other race car driver. You never would have known it was almost a 70-year-old guy racing around Daytona in a Formula 1 car.”

Wayne’s wife Shelley and a few friends are making the trip to Monte Carlo to share in the experience. It means they’ll have to miss Ricky and Jordan competing for the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti team in Sunday’s Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

“Unfortunately,” Wayne said, “I’m gonna have to miss Laguna, but I can’t give this one up.”

No, he can’t. It’s time for Wayne Taylor to live out another dream.

Team tactics satisfy both Jaguar teammates in Monaco

Mitch Evans praised “team player” Nick Cassidy as the pair secured a one-two finish for Jaguar TCS Racing at the Monaco E-Prix. Evans won by 0.946s over Cassidy, who himself had a 2.889s advantage over DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne at the end of the …

Mitch Evans praised “team player” Nick Cassidy as the pair secured a one-two finish for Jaguar TCS Racing at the Monaco E-Prix.

Evans won by 0.946s over Cassidy, who himself had a 2.889s advantage over DS Penske’s Stoffel Vandoorne at the end of the race, but it was Cassidy’s control over those behind him that allowed Evans to maintain the lead after taking both of his Attack Modes.

“We knew it was going to be a tough race, we knew it was going to be all about the strategy around the attacks — obviously Nick and I started side-by-side so that kind of helped things as the race evolved,” said Evans. “We had a rough game plan before going to the race but I really owe this win to Nick — he really helped me when it mattered, I helped him when it mattered. I really appreciate the team player he was today.”

Expanding on the strategy discussions, Evans acknowledged that while races can often turn out differently to how they’re predicted, Monaco matched the Jaguar team’s expectations.

“Obviously we discuss all potential scenarios but the majority of the time when you get on track the race happens completely differently,” he said. “But the way it turned out, I think it was as expected and we knew we were going to be racing with each other on track instead of tripping over ourselves — we may as well help each other (and) it’s quite a bit Attack loss here.

“I think the DS guys were trying to do the same thing as well but we executed that perfectly. Obviously we discuss this pre-race but also other scenarios that could potentially happen, but it played out exactly as we wanted it.”

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While the result was a landmark one for Jaguar, it was also a big moment for Evans who was a six-time podium finisher across GP2 and Formula E prior to his win on Sunday.

“It’s just an amazing achievement for the team, and for me to finally get my first win here after trying — even before Formula E I was trying, in GP2 and everything — so to finally get on the top step here means the world,” he said.

Evans’ first Monaco win was also his first of the season, a season which has so far been disappointing for the New Zealander, who started the year as one of the championship favorites.

“I haven’t started the way I would’ve liked,” he admitted. “I came off the back of a really strong end of last season with many wins and podiums so I was expecting the same to start, or at least early on in the season.

“Obviously I had Brazil which was a second place, almost a win, but it’s not really gone the way I would’ve liked so far. So while this win’s come at a really good time, a really critical stage of the championship, to get my first win finally is nice — to get that first win of the season always feels like a monkey off your back and then you can try and carry that momentum through the rest of the championship.”

Cassidy, who won last year’s Monaco E-Prix for Envision Racing prior to switching to the factory Jaguar team this year, paid tribute to Evans, noting that he’d been the team’s leader in practice and qualifying at Monaco,

“Today’s about Mitch — he won the Monaco E-Prix, he’s a very deserving winner,” Cassidy said. “(He’s had) many, many podiums here (and been) very close. I was lucky enough to be in a position with him, the other way round, last year and got the win here. It’s very very special.

“We had the performance today — I think not quite as much as Mitch in practice and qualifying, we struggled a little bit, but we were there when it counted and it’s a great team result.”

Monaco podium return bittersweet for Vandoorne

Stoffel Vandoorne hasn’t been on a Formula E podium since winning the 2021-22 championship, but he finally snapped the unfortunate streak by finishing third in the Monaco E-Prix. But despite returning to the rostrum, the DS Penske driver conceded that he was disappointed after failing to mount a sustained challenge for the win on the streets of Monte Carlo.

“It feels good although I’m almost a little disappointed because I think we had a strong car today,” he said. “We qualified very well, we managed the first part of the race very good.

“Where I feel like we lost the race is when I took the second (Attack Mode). We nearly pulled it off, to slot in between both Jaguars. I think if we would have managed that it would have been a different race and we might have had a real chance at winning it.”

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Jaguar TCS Racing’s mastery of Attack Mode strategy allowed Mitch Evans to effectively take two free passes, holding onto the lead as Nick Cassidy held up the field behind him.

“Having both of them in front of us, that’s where all the games started to play out and where the gaps got created and where they could just take their Attack Modes for free, basically,” Vandoorne said.

Nevertheless, Vandoorne says the podium is a confidence booster for him, and his team with the Stellantis package used by DS Penske improving in relation to the pace-setting Jaguar and Porsche powertrains in race trim.

“It obviously helps. It’s always good to pull off a good result and I think our races have been the difficult point — I think we’ve always been able to qualify well but we’ve never really been able to capitalize on that and really play the race well,” he admitted. “I think now we’ve got a better understanding of that, we’re improving our car race-by-race as well and that’s starting to pay off, so I think we’re on the rise.”

Jaguar dominates Monaco E-Prix as Evans leads Cassidy home

Mitch Evans won the ABB Formula E championship’s Monaco E-Prix, leading home Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy, after a chaotic race on the streets of Monte Carlo. Both Jaguars started on the second row of the grid and wasted no time moving …

Mitch Evans won the ABB Formula E championship’s Monaco E-Prix, leading home Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy, after a chaotic race on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Both Jaguars started on the second row of the grid and wasted no time moving forward, pressuring second-placed starter Stoffel Vandoorne into Sainte Devote on the first lap. The DS Penske man held firm, though, and the Jaguars had to wait to move into second and third.

Polesitter and race leader Pascal Wehrlein of TAG Heuer Porsche went for the Attack Mode power boost on lap three, opening the door for Evans to take the lead — a position he would not relinquish for the rest of the race. Cassidy followed him through, but was facing pressure from a charging Jean-Eric Vergne.

A lap later, the race got its first safety car, after Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara slammed into the wall in the Swimming Pool section after an apparent brake failure. On the same lap, ERT driver Sergio Sette Camara forced Envision’s Sebastien Buemi up onto two wheels and then into the barrier at the Grand Hotel hairpin. Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa was also collected in the scuffle, while Sette Camara was slapped with a five-second penalty as a result.

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The race resumed on lap 9, with Evans taking his Attack Modes on laps 11 and 13. Such was Jaguar’s control at the front of the field, with Cassidy serving as a rear gunner to Evans, Evans was able to maintain the lead despite both times he took the slower, longer line.

Cassidy served his final Attack Mode pass-through on lap 17, and five laps later had it confirmed over the radio that the team was looking to maintain position — thus it was formation flying for the tow Jaguars out in front for the remainder of the race.

A brief second safety car didn’t deter them, either. The caution period came about after NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes forced ABT Cupra driver Nico Mueller into the wall at Rascasse on lap 25 of what was initially a 29-lap race, but extended to 31 as a result of the two safety car periods.

It was a first Monaco victory for Evans — who topped both practice sessions at the start of the day — and the factory Jaguar team, but second consecutive win in the Principality for it as a powertrain supplier following Cassidy’s win for former team Envision last season.

Stoffel Vandoorne took his first podium finish since his championship-winning season in 2021-22. He ended the race third, almost four seconds adrift of Evans, while Vergne maintained the two-by-two formation at the head of the field by finishing behind his teammate in fourth, the first safety car period destroying his challenge on Cassidy.

Wehrlein couldn’t recover from slipping down the field during his Attack Modes and wound up fifth, while Oliver Rowland put on another fine display for Nissan, clawing through from 15th on the grid to take sixth.

Da Costa recovered from the incident with Sette Camara and Buemi at the Grand Hotel hairpin to finish sixth, ahead of Nissan’s Sacha Fenestraz, Maserati MSG’s Maximilian Guenther, and Andretti’s Norman Nato who rounded out the top 10.

Taylor Barnard took 14th, behind Lucas di Grassi, Nyck de Vries and Dan Ticktum, on his debut for NEOM McLaren in place of the injured Sam Bird. He initially finished behind teammate Jake Hughes too but Hughes was handed a five-second penalty for his avoidable contact with Mueller. Mueller was subsequently one of two retirements along with Mortara.

Jake Dennis was the final runner to cross the line, in 20th, following a pit stop after sustaining front wing damage after being squeezed by Robin Frijns in the tunnel on lap 10. Frijns sustained front wing damage of his own on lap 17 after contact with da Costa. He finished 17th.

RESULTS

Wehrlein takes Monaco E-Prix pole ahead of Vandoorne

Pascal Wehrlein secured his second consecutive Formula pole, and third of the season, by defeating Stoffel Vandoorne on the streets of Monaco. The TAG Heuer Porsche driver’s best time of 1m29.861s was 0.433s quicker than the DS Penske man, with both …

Pascal Wehrlein secured his second consecutive Formula pole, and third of the season, by defeating Stoffel Vandoorne on the streets of Monaco.

The TAG Heuer Porsche driver’s best time of 1m29.861s was 0.433s quicker than the DS Penske man, with both making it through to the Duels final after defeating both Jaguar TCS Racing drivers in the semifinals.

Wehrlein defeated Mitch Evans, who’d topped both practice sessions earlier in the morning, but an error at the Nouvelle Chicane cost him. Vandoorne recovered from a mistake at the start of his lap to overhaul Nick Cassidy who lost time at the swimming pool section towards the end of the lap.

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Ahead of the Jaguar Duels, Wehrlein beat Maximillian Guenther (Maserati MSG Racing) while Vergne knocked out his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne. Evans and Cassidy defeated Antonio Felix da Costa (Porsche) and Sebastien Buemi (Envision Racing) in their respective opening Duels.

Wehrlein’s route to pole began by finishing second to Evans in the first part of group qualifying, ahead of Guenther and da Costa, with Robin Frijns (Rnvision), Sergio Sette Camara (ERT), Nico Mueller (Abt Cupra), Nyck de Vries (Mahindra), Oliver Rowland (Nissan), Lucas di Grassi (Abt Cupra) and Norman Nato (Andretti) all failing to advance.

Vandoorne, meanwhile, topped his group, ahead of Cassidy, Buemi, and Vergne, with Jehan Daruvala (Maserati), Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra), Sacha Fenestraz (Nissan), and the British quartet of Jake Hughes (NEOM McLaren), Jake Dennis (Andretti), Dan Ticktum (ERT), and Taylor Barnard (McLaren) all failing to advance.

Behind the front row of Wehrlein and Vandoorne, it will be Cassidy in third and Evans fourth on the grid, with champions Vergne, Buemi, and da Costa behind in fifth, sixth, and seventh. Guenther will start eighth, with Frijns and Daruvala completing the top-10 grid positions.

Sette Camara will line up 11th, ahead of Mortara, de Vries, Fenestraz, Rowland, and Hughes, with de Grassi, Dennis, Nato, Ticktum, Mueller, and Barnard completing the grid.

Mueller initially qualified 13th, but was dropped to the penultimate position due to a discrepancy with the torque being applied by his car’s rear wheels.

RESULTS

Evans remains on top in Monaco E-Prix FP2

Mitch Evans remained on top in second practice for the Monaco E-Prix as once again Jaguar powertrains took the top two spots. Factory team driver Evans set a best time of 1m29.521s, 0.129s ahead of Envision Racing driver Robin Frijns, while TAG …

Mitch Evans remained on top in second practice for the Monaco E-Prix as once again Jaguar powertrains took the top two spots.

Factory team driver Evans set a best time of 1m29.521s, 0.129s ahead of Envision Racing driver Robin Frijns, while TAG Heuer Porsche improved to muscle into the top five. Pascal Wehrlein was third, 0.151s off the top spot, with Antonio Felix da Costa improving two places from his FP1 performance to finish fourth, albeit 0.308s off his teammate.

Maximilian Guenther was fifth for Maserati MSG Racing, ahead of ERT’s Dan Ticktum and Nissan’s Oliver Rowland, with DS Penske driver Stoffel Vandoorne, Nyck de Vries of Mahindra, and Andretti’s Norman Nato rounding to the top 10.

Nick Cassidy was 11th in the second Jaguar TCS Racing entry, one spot ahead of Edoardo Mortara who spent much of the session in the top-five, until he crashed out of the session in the final five minutes.

In an incident reminiscent of Sam Bird’s in FP1 — which has forced him to sit out the remainder of the day — the Mahindra driver locked up going into Sainte Devote and slid into the wall, the hard contact breaking his car’s steering.

Jehan Daruvala wound up 13th in the second Maserati, ahead of Jake Hughes and Jake Dennis of Andretti and NEOM McLaren respectively, Nico Mueller of Abt Cupra, Sacha Fenestraz of Nissan, and DS Penske driver Jean-Eric Vergne.

Lucas di Grassi was 19th for Abt Cupra, ahead of Envision’s Sebastien Buemi and Sergio Sette Camara who once again faced issues with ERT. Taylor Barnard rounded out the field, the McLaren driver playing catch-up after the late call for him to step in for the injured Bird.

RESULTS

Evans leads opening Monaco E-Prix practice

Mitch Evans set the pace in the opening practice session for the Monaco E-Prix as Jaguar-powered cars swept the top-three positions. His best time of 1m30.414 was 0.299s quicker than Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns, with his Jaguar TCS Racing …

Mitch Evans set the pace in the opening practice session for the Monaco E-Prix as Jaguar-powered cars swept the top-three positions.

His best time of 1m30.414 was 0.299s quicker than Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns, with his Jaguar TCS Racing teammate Nick Cassidy a further 0.393s back in third. NEOM McLaren’s Jake Hughes was fourth, ahead of Andretti driver Jake Dennis, the top-five covered by just over a second.

TAG Heuer Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa was unhappy with the balance of his car in the session and wound up sixth, 0.043s off Dennis. Behind him was the Mahindra pairing of Edoardo Mortara and Nyck de Vries, with Andretti’s Norman Nato and Sebastien Buemi in the second Envision rounding out the top-10.

Maximilian Guenther finished the session in 11th for the Monaco-based Maserati MSG Racing team, ahead of series champions Lucas de Grassi (Abt Cupra) and Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske), with Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) and Dan Ticktum (ERT) 14th and 15th respectively.

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Misano Race 1 winner Oliver Rowland was 16th quickest, despite a spin at the Grand Hotel Hairpin in the final minute of the session. The Nissan driver finished ahead of Nico Mueller in the second Abt Cupra entry, Jean-Eric Vergne int he other DS Penske, teammate Sacha Fenestraz, and Maserati driver Jehan Daruvala.

McLaren’s Sam Bird finished the session 21st after going into the barriers at Sainte Devote in the final 10 minutes following a lockup of his right-front tire. The incident didn’t bring out a red flag, although there was one halfway through the session after an advertising hoarding was pulled onto the track on the run down to Mirabeu.

ERT driver Sergio Sette Camara completed the field, albeit more than 11 seconds off the pace.

RESULTS