Formula 1 agrees to engine design change after criticism
By Alex Whitmore
Formula 1 has agreed a two-step plan to change engine design in response to criticism of this year's new rules.
Drivers have complained that the near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power this year and need for energy management has diminished the challenge in qualifying.
Four-time champion Max Verstappen was so upset by the new engines he said he would quit F1 if changes were not made, but all other drivers were in agreement the issue needed to be addressed. The engine suppliers have agreed to change the ratio to 60-40 in favour of the internal combustion engine by 2028 and will do so in two steps.
The compromise agreement comes after a month of talks in which Ferrari and Audi were leading a push to prevent the move to 60-40 being made in one step for 2027.
A statement from governing body the FIA said: "The proposed changes are intended to address issues related to energy management and fuel energy-flow characteristics and make qualifying more flat-out while not impacting the positive and exciting racing generated by the new regulations." The agreed plan will see the split changed to 58-42 in 2027 before moving to 60-40 in 2028.
The changes will be made by increasing the fuel-flow to the internal combustion engine (ICE) by 5% in 2027 and 13% in 2028. This will increase the power from the ICE from about 400kW (536bhp) this year to 420kW (563bhp) in 2027 and 450kW (603bhp) in 2028.
Antonelli wins Monaco from Hamilton after dramatic ending
By Alex Whitmore
Kimi Antonelli took a dominant victory in the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton after a chaotic ending that featured two safety cars and a red flag.
The 19-year-old Italian's fifth win in a row, in combination with a dire race for Mercedes team-mate George Russell, who finished 13th and out of the points, puts him in total control of the championship.
Antonelli leads Hamilton by 66 points, with Russell now down to third, two points further adrift. Russell dropped to the back from third place because of a drive-through penalty that he had to serve when the field was compressed two laps after the restart.
Pierre Gasly finished third for Alpine, but was immediately dropped to seventh with a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. That promoted Red Bull's Isack Hadjar to the final podium position, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri on the occasion of the team's 1,000th grand prix.
Racing Bulls had a good day with Arvid Lindblad taking the best result of his rookie season with sixth place behind team-mate Liam Lawson. Gasly was seventh ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon's Haas.
The new Cadillac team were denied their first point in Formula 1 when Sergio Perez lost 10th place as a result of a 10-second penalty for being out of position at the restart after the red flag. Instead, the final point went to Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso, the first of the season for team and driver.
Antonelli's 'magic lap' pips Verstappen to Monaco pole
By Alex Whitmore
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli pipped Red Bull's Max Verstappen to pole position in a gripping qualifying session at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The top spot changed hands three times in the final seconds of qualifying as Antonelli became last man standing, edging Verstappen by just 0.043 seconds to take his fourth pole of the year.
Lewis Hamilton was third as the fastest Ferrari, a place ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc, who had been briefly top with two minutes to go but crashed on his final lap. And Antonelli's title rival George Russell in the second Mercedes was only sixth, behind Red Bull's Isack Hadjar.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris could manage only seventh and eighth places. Antonelli keeps raising the bar in the second season of his career and this was as impressive as it has got so far.
A Monaco pole is a statement performance for any driver and one of the biggest prizes in Formula 1. To deliver in this fashion, at the age of 19, underlined his potential as the most likely world champion this year at this early stage.
He and Verstappen were separated by just 0.001secs after their first runs in the final session and Antonelli said he had produced a "magic lap" to beat the Dutchman.
Hamilton fastest but Leclerc expects 'tight qualifying'
By Alex Whitmore
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari led the way in Friday practice at the Monaco Grand Prix but his team-mate Charles Leclerc expects "a tight qualifying" between them, Red Bull and Mercedes.
Ferrari achieved a one-two in both sessions, Hamilton leading Leclerc by 0.111 seconds in the second to end the day fastest after the positions were reversed in the first.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third fastest in both, followed by the Mercedes drivers, with George Russell ending the day fourth fastest and 0.124secs quicker than championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Leclerc, the only Ferrari driver to speak to the media in the brief pooled interviews that take place on Friday, said: "Red Bull and Max especially was very close to us in practice two so I expect them to be very strong.
Red Bull's Isack Hadjar recovered well from a crash in first practice to set sixth fastest time, ahead of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, whose team appeared to be struggling through the day. Team-mate Lando Norris, who won this race last year on his way to a first world title, stopped on track with a technical problem early in the session and ended up 19th fastest. Audi's Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were best of the rest after the top four teams, with Haas driver Oliver Bearman completing the top 10.
Aston Martin had a difficult time in the second session, Alonso ending up 20th fastest and team-mate Lance Stroll slowest of all, and 0.880secs off the Spanish veteran. Alonso said: "It's a little bit of everything. We are not happy with the front axle, losing a lot of front grip in the middle of the corners and we have this chronic understeer we cannot solve.
Title Antonelli's to lose, says team-mate Russell
By Alex Whitmore
George Russell says this year's world championship is Kimi Antonelli's "to lose" after the Briton's retirement from the last race in Canada.
Russell heads into this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix with a 43-point deficit to his Mercedes team-mate after the Briton's engine failed while leading in Montreal. Italian Antonelli, 19, has won four races in a row, while Russell's only grand prix victory this year was in the season-opening race in Australia.
Monaco is the sixth round of what is now a 22-race season. "If I look at it from my competitor's position, you're kind of in a position now that you've got such a buffer, it feels like you can only keep it or you can only lose it," Russell said.
"It's his to lose. My mindset is to enjoy every single race, try and win every single race, the same as I've done this whole season. I'm going to fight the same, I'm not going to change my mentality at all, nor am I going to let this put any more pressure on to me."
Antonelli rejected Russell's reasoning. "I don't really give weight to that line," he said, "because it's still so early in the season. I continue trying to excel, trying to maximise the car and see where we end up at the end of the season. "It's difficult to think you can lose something when you don't have the championship. How can I lose it when I didn't win it yet?"
Russell said that his retirement in Canada "hurts" but added: "That's just the way racing goes."
Formula 1 to race in Las Vegas until at least 2037
By Alex Whitmore
Formula 1 is to race in Las Vegas until at least 2037 after extending its contract with the city by 10 years.
The first race in Las Vegas in 2023 was the culmination of 40 years of on and off attempts to secure a race there that incorporated the famous Strip into the track layout.
F1 was so determined for the race to become a success that it invested $500m in buying a plot of land in the centre of Las Vegas on which it constructed a new pit building and paddock.
Stefano Domenicali, the F1 president and chief executive officer, said: "We are thrilled that Formula 1 will continue racing in Las Vegas for many years to come.
F1's willingness to invest its own money in Las Vegas was a key factor in convincing the city to back the event, and to allow it to run down the Strip in front of the famous casino hotels. The event has proved a major success for Las Vegas, turning what had been its least profitable weekend of the year, the one before Thanksgiving, into one of its most lucrative.
Steve Hill, the president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said: "Extending our partnership with Formula 1 for the next decade is a major moment for both Las Vegas and the grand prix.
Leclerc agrees new long-term deal with Ferrari
By Alex Whitmore
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has agreed a new long-term contract with the team.
The deal for the 28-year-old comes in the build-up to his home Grand Prix in Monaco this weekend. Leclerc signed his last deal in 2024 and Ferrari say this renewal will keep him with the team for the "coming seasons".
The Monegasque has competed in 155 races for the Italian outfit since joining in 2019, winning eight times, and he is currently third in the drivers' championship.
He has a superb record in Monaco. In the past six years, he has qualified on pole three times, been second on the grid twice and third once. "I couldn't be happier to continue this journey with Sc"Together we've shared incredible moments and some tougher ones, but I believe in this team more than ever, and I'm deeply grateful that we will keep pushing side by side toward our shared goal of bringing the World Championship back to Maranello.uderia Ferrari HP," he said.
"It has always been so much more than just a team to me. It's the team I've loved and dreamt of being part of since I was a child, and after all these years it has become a second family.
"Being a Ferrari driver is a dream, but it's also a responsibility I never take for granted.