The European leg of the 2026 Method 1 season begins with spherical six on the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend.
Teenager Kimi Antonelli holds a 43-point benefit over Mercedes team-mate George Russell on the high of the drivers’ championship following his fourth consecutive win of the marketing campaign in Canada two weeks in the past.
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Earlier than the race in Monte Carlo, BBC Sport F1 correspondent Andrew Benson solutions your newest questions.
Why is the Monaco Grand Prix anticipated to swimsuit Ferrari greater than McLaren, Mercedes or Purple Bull? – Andrew
Mercedes have dominated the 2026 season to date, profitable all of the grands prix from pole place. The one time they’ve crushed to both the entrance of the grid or a victory was within the dash in Miami, when Lando Norris took pole and the win for McLaren.
The rationale Monaco has been recognized as a spot the place that run could finish, notably in favour of Ferrari, is to do with automobile, engine and driver traits.
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Monaco is the least power-sensitive observe on the calendar. In different phrases, it’s the observe the place cornering efficiency – notably at low and medium-speed – is most vital, and engine energy least.
The Ferrari automobile this 12 months has proved to be fast within the corners, arguably the quickest. That is good for Monaco.
In the meantime, its engine has each strengths and weaknesses. It has good low-speed pick-up, therefore their good begins, however lacks top-end energy. Once more, good for Monaco, the place a responsive engine is a profit, and top-end energy is comparatively much less vital.
As for the drivers, Charles Leclerc is an ace round Monaco. Prior to now six years, he has certified on pole 3 times, been second on the grid twice and third as soon as.
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Lewis Hamilton has additionally historically excelled at Monaco, and is in significantly better type this 12 months after his struggles in 2024 and 2025.
He and Leclerc are tied 4-4 of their qualifying face to face this season, and Leclerc has a median benefit of solely 0.037 seconds.
Add all that collectively, and it is easy to see why Ferrari are fancied for a possible win this 12 months.
Having stated that, efficiency is efficiency. Ferrari’s common deficit to Mercedes in qualifying this 12 months is 0.447 seconds, and that is an enormous margin to make up simply on a swing of traits.
And it will be unwise to rule out McLaren and Purple Bull. The McLaren was fast in Miami, and has proved notably good in low-speed corners this 12 months. And Lando Norris gained in Monaco from pole final 12 months. Whereas Max Verstappen is excellent all the time.
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It could possibly be the closest weekend of the 12 months to date.
Is Kimi Antonelli being overhyped attributable to outcomes that largely he is been a tad lucky with? Apart from China, in Miami he benefited from a greater technique name by Mercedes to beat Lando Norris, Suzuka was the security automobile and Canada noticed McLaren’s mistake and George Russell retire. – Gavin
Kimi Antonelli has positively had luck on his aspect this 12 months, and there’s no query that the scale of his lead over Mercedes team-mate George Russell – 43 factors after 5 races – is largely a consequence of that.
Russell’s retirement from the lead with an was notably damaging for the Briton.
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It is also true that the timing of the security automobile in Japan handed Antonelli the lead on a plate, that Russell’s technical issues in China qualifying – first with a gearbox glitch after which a front-wing challenge – prevented him from combating for pole there, and that McLaren dropped the ball on technique in Miami, permitting Antonelli to undercut Norris for the lead.
On the similar time, there isn’t a query that Antonelli has raised his degree considerably this 12 months, resides as much as the potential Mercedes have lengthy seen in him, and is a respectable championship chief.
In China, his entrance wing truly had the identical drawback on his remaining lap in qualifying as Russell’s did. And in Japan, Mercedes felt he was on observe to take the lead whatever the security automobile, such was his tempo on medium tyres as soon as in clear air.
And you’ll hardly maintain in opposition to him McLaren’s fallibility in Miami, or the problem with Russell’s engine in Montreal.
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Whereas Russell was main in Canada when he retired, it was very removed from a snug lead. Antonelli was throughout him, and appeared sooner. The future of the victory was extensive open.
And whereas they’re tied within the head-to-head qualifying battle 4-4, Antonelli is barely faster on common to date this season, by 0.074secs.
So, sure, the scale of Antonelli’s lead is partly attributable to circumstances, however it’s equally true that he has had an excellent season to date in opposition to a driver who’s himself excellent.
There are many twists and turns to come back, and luck often evens itself out over a season – though that was not the case between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes in 2016, it needs to be stated.
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Given the large consideration to element related to F1 engineering, what probably occurred when Fernando Alonso was pressured to retire from Canada with a free seat. Certainly such a elementary merchandise ought to be fitted accurately? – Ian
The query accommodates a misunderstanding of what occurred to trigger Fernando Alonso’s retirement in Canada.
He didn’t have a free seat. He had an issue along with his seating place.
As Alonso stated after the race: “I felt more and more uncomfortable. The place wasn’t proper and, since we have been out of the factors, removed from the factors zone, and with no risk of rain, we determined to place an finish to the ache. We tried to regulate a number of issues final evening, however it did not work.”
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Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer Mike Krack defined that the problem was rooted in a seating place that this 12 months is extra reclined than in earlier seasons, the thought being to decrease the centre of gravity.
Krack stated: “He hasn’t felt utterly snug for some time now – by no means to the purpose of changing into an actual impediment, however it’s like a stress level that will get worse lap after lap, and I believe we have to rethink the seating place a bit.
“With these automobiles, you all the time attempt to sit as little as attainable, and in the event you have a look at how drivers have been sitting in recent times, the place has turn into more and more extra relaxed. Possibly we have gone a step too far, however it’s one thing we have to look into.”
This challenge has nothing in any respect to do with Alonso’s age.
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The staff are going to check out a number of options to the issue in Monaco this weekend, comparable to Alonso maybe sitting a bit of increased, or adjusting the pedals.
Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll are but to attain some extent within the drivers’ championship this 12 months [Getty Images]
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem appears to be gathering collectively all of the strings of energy inside the FIA into his personal fingers. His newest transfer seems to provide himself the presidency for all times. Why aren’t we listening to extra voices condemning this, because it absolutely can’t be factor? – Phil
It is a reference to the story wherein BBC Sport revealed final week that Ben Sulayem is from the FIA statutes.
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That is the newest of a sequence of strikes in latest instances that appear designed to entrench Ben Sulayem’s place and, critics argue, undermine good governance and transparency on the FIA.
These strikes have been extensively reported on by BBC Sport prior to now two years or so, however they embrace within the FIA’s governance construction, repeated and the truth that he ended up dealing with on account of an arcane rule that prevented anybody else from standing.
This rule was in place earlier than Ben Sulayem turned president.
The FIA has all the time supplied a strong response to any such accusations, insisting it’s a democratic organisation upholding good governance requirements.
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It says it has “taken steps since 2021 to strengthen its company governance insurance policies”, which “guarantee its guidelines, practices and processes are strong and clear”.
It additionally factors out that each one adjustments to governance processes have been voted by way of by member golf equipment with heavy majorities.
Ben Sulayem and the FIA election course of are at present being challenged within the French courts by former racing driver Laura Villars.
There was a big degree of disquiet in F1 on the approach Ben Sulayem is conducting himself in workplace since very early in his first time period, and little has modified on that entrance.
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On the similar time, folks in F1 are cautious of talking publicly on the matter, for worry of recriminations.
There’s additionally little or no anybody in F1 can do about it. Neither the groups nor F1 itself have any say within the working of the FIA. In the end, solely the FIA member golf equipment have a say on their president. And the voting numbers are closely in Ben Sulayem’s favour.
Given the elevated efficiency, energy deployment and better grip ranges of the newest F1 automobiles, should not a number of the circuits be improved to replicate this elevated efficiency and to make sure the security of drivers? – John
The 2026 F1 automobiles do have sooner acceleration than their predecessors, owing to the elevated output of {the electrical} elements of the power-units.
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Nonetheless, their whole engine energy is in the identical ballpark as final 12 months’s engines – about 1,000bhp – they usually even have considerably decrease grip ranges than earlier than.
Downforce has been lowered this 12 months by fairly a big quantity, and the automobiles’ efficiency in, notably, high-speed corners is far lowered in contrast with final 12 months.
As for circuit security, the FIA and F1 are always working to enhance and refine this; adjustments are made yearly in a method or one other.
On the similar time, the efficiency of the automobiles can also be stored into account, and when guidelines change, this tends to be reined in a bit of, to make sure speeds don’t get out of steadiness.
