Motorsport News June 2, 2022

The Monaco Grand Prix was a severe test of the revamped rules concerning how to deal with a stop-start weather-affected race but the new regulations (just about) held water, if you pardon the pun. Certainly, Red Bull and winner Sergio Perez would think so after winning the chaotic race. Monaco has, for a few decades now, been a tough place to drive a grand prix machine and it has never really been about wheel-to-wheel racing. If you want that, then tune in for other races in the schedule. But what Monaco does offer is a totally different challenge in terms of concentration and precision – two aspects which should be admired in any racing driver. Monte Carlo is just a bit different, and it can be entertaining for that reason alone. If…

Tears replaced sweat on the face of Sergio Perez as he stood on the top step of the Monaco podium to record his third grand prix victory in a truncated event on Sunday. Nearly three-and-a-half hours after the race was originally due to start, the Red Bull driver was both emotional and relieved to have held on for the win in a GP that was delayed by torrential rain and a big crash for Mick Schumacher. Before greeting the Grimaldi princes in the royal box, the winning Red Bull driver said the dream for any driver was to win their home race followed next by winning at Monaco. For local lad Charles Leclerc his hopes of triumphing on the streets of the Principality he grew up in need to be put on…

Doubt has been cast over the chances of the Monaco Grand Prix remaining on the Formula 1 schedule as the sport’s boss, Liberty Media, enters into talks over a fresh deal for the historic event. The contract with the Monaco GP runs out this year and there have been concerns expressed about the difficulty of passing at the street track. The race organisers, the Automobile Club of Monaco, appears unwilling to entertain any thoughts about altering the layout of the circuit. It is thought that the grand prix deal will be given a one-year stay of execution while discussions between Liberty and the ACM are ongoing, but there is a real possibility that the race, which featured on the very first World championship schedule in 1950, could be lost to the calendar.…

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner fears several mid-grid Formula 1 teams might have to stop racing before the end of the season to hit the sport’s $140 million budget cap. The limit was introduced this term to keep costs under control, but increased global costs means Horner feels that several squads will not be able to keep their spending within those limits. “I think we need the FIAto address the inflationary issue,” said Horner. “About seven of the teams probably need to miss the last four races to come within the cap this year, from the consensus that there has been up and down the paddock. “It’s not just about the big teams now, it’s teams in the middle of the field that are really struggling with the inflationary rate that we’re…

There is mounting speculation that Daniel Ricciardo’s deal with McLaren could be terminated early following his poor early season form. The Australian has been with the British team for the last two seasons and won at Monza last term, but he has been outraced by his teammate Lando Norris this season. His best result was sixth inAustralia, but he has struggled elsewhere. Before the Monaco GP, team boss Zak Brown said: “Daniel is just not comfortable yet with the car, we’re trying everything we can. Short of [Ricciardo’s win at] Monza and a few races, it’s generally not kind of met his or our expectations, as far as what we were expecting.” The racer says he is confident of seeing out his deal, which runs to the end of 2023. He said: “I…

Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali says that it is one of his priority to make sure that the central plank of the grand prix season remains based in Europe despite an increasingly global calendar. There is growing momentum for a South African Grand Prix in the future with a return to Kyalami, and Formula 1 is scheduled for three races in the United States in the future with an event in Las Vegas joining Miami and the Circuit of the Americas on the schedule. Domenicali said that a return to South African was a priority. “There are areas of the world that wants to have Formula 1, and I think that one area that we want to develop is the African area,” he said. “We are a world championship, and that’s an…