Having played witness to an exceptional qualifying session on Saturday, what surprises do the streets of Monte Carlo hold in store for race fans come Sunday? Mercedes locked out the front row, with Red Bull dominating row two, but any of the top six are in with a chance of standing atop Monaco's prestigious podium.
It was all about the Mercedes pair, despite the rain, as Hamilton and Rosberg jostled for supremacy in Monte Carlo. Vettel tried to stay with them but had to settle for third best. Alonso starts from the third row, with teammate Massa at the back after his car wasn't ready for qualifying and he couldn't take part. Bianchi also didn't technically qualify after his Marussia gave up before he set a time.
With a couple of top drivers dropping out early, an early gamble from the Caterham team, and more yellow flags than you can shake a stick at, this Monaco qualifying session was one to watch. If you want a reminder of what happened, or to catch up with anything you missed, the handy Factbyte Factbox replay provides minute by minute updates.
It was an eventful morning in Monaco as several of the drivers found their way into the barriers. Felipe Massa suffered a high-speed crash in an unusual place, whereas Adrian Sutil went for a more traditional bump at Massenet. Romain Grosjean also made a show of himself, and gave his mechanics a lot of work to do ahead of qualifying, after bashing his car to pieces against the Armco.
Grosjean wasn't quite as lucky as Sutil in the second session, as he crashed his Lotus into the barriers at Sainte Devote, causing a red flag. The stewards took the opportunity to patch up a kerb at the same time. Alonso narrowly missed hitting the barriers after avoiding a Sauber at the pit entry, but the Spaniard still found himself third fastest.
The first Free Practice session often gets off to a slow start, and Monaco was no different, despite the need to clean up the track. Esteban Gutiérrez headed out first, and gradually others joined him to help the rubbering in effort.
Love or hate the Monte Carlo race, it certainly is one of the main events on the F1 calendar. As soon as the photos start pouring in of the sunny skies and blue seas surrounding the harbour, we know we're in for a special weekend. The track holds its own unique challenges, but the drivers are more than up for the fight - all wanting to take the honour of winning the Monaco Grand Prix.
This week, drivers are biding their time before they make their way to Monaco. There are usually a few fun events to keep an eye on in the principality, but until then, it's all about training, artwork, and watching the Eurovision Song Contest. This week we also have points for some teammate competition, a little bit too much time in the pool, and, yes, that dog again.
Feet Up Friday is back for a roundup of all the recent F1 news, with a few opinions thrown in for good measure. This week's discussion of course mention tyres, but also feature returning manufacturers, the action from Barcelona, and the best Formula One anecdote ever.
Once again, Kart-a-Palooza at Nola Motorsports Park! It had been a while since I was on-track: about 4 months since a true race so I was a little bit nervous when I arrived. The crowd was significantly smaller than last time but I definitely recognized some faces. They’ve changed up the format since the last time I posted – this time two races on each track with a random grid order and inverse grid, and no practice.
Organisers behind the FIA Formula E Championship announced two major partnerships today along with revealing 3D concept images of their proposed 2014 challenger. The news sees two more well known motor sport brands sign up to the series, with TAG Heuer and Renault both being named as founding partners.
The German Touring Car Masters (DTM) series heads to the Brands Hatch circuit this weekend where teams and drivers will compete the second round of this year's championship. Notably the driver lineup features a number of names familiar to F1 fans, including Toyota and Marussia legend Timo Glock, plus perennial McLaren test driver Gary Paffett.
The Formula One paddock was swirling with discussions about the shape the Spanish Grand Prix took, with its average of four pit stops per driver, tyre de-laminations aplenty, and the occasional focus on conservation. The ongoing debate over F1 2013-style could drag on for weeks or months, but here and now, we know that all the teams had the same fair playing field, and some of them did better than others.
It's all about job swaps this week as drivers turn interviewers, and one particular German tries his hand at race engineering. We also see Nico Rosberg scream Monaco at the top of his lungs as he (or someone a bit like him) heads down the Monaco hills in a trolley. There's not much else to be said! Two weeks until the race in the principality, keep your eyes peeled for drivers getting up to mischief as they mix with the rich and famous of Monte Carlo!
A dry race in Barcelona doesn't usually promise much, but we were given a reasonable day of racing action from the Circuit de Catalunya. Now is your chance to have your say about the events unfolding in Spain - from Rosberg's pole position to Alonso's home victory.
Red Bull may be slightly disappointed with missing out on the podium but their double points finish keeps them in the lead of the standings. Ferrari have moved ahead of Lotus but it's a close battle between the two, just six points in it. The gap behind them is significant, whilst there are still three teams with zero points.
Fernando Alonso's victory in Spain allowed him to move ahead of Lewis Hamilton and take third in the championship. Felipe Massa also managed to jump Mark Webber, whilst further back Esteban Gutiérrez moved up two places despite not scoring any points as yet.
The Mercedes drivers dropped backwards almost as soon as the race began, and the battle soon fell to home favourite Fernando Alonso against focused Lotus racer Kimi Räikkönen. Gradually, the Ferrari team pulled ahead, and they managed to get two drivers on the podium. At the back, Vergne retired after damage due to a collision when Hülkenberg was released into his path in the pit lane.
The build-up to this race made a lot of the statistic that the front-row drivers were most likely to end up winning. 2013 was ready to provide something a bit different, and as the number of pit stops and tyre changes grew, so the lead kept on changing hands. Three retirements, a couple of drive through style penalties, and some errant wheels on track saw a really exciting race culminate in a successful weekend for Ferrari.
Both Felipe Massa and Esteban Gutiérrez have been given three place grid drops after the stewards deemed them guilty of impeding other drivers during qualifying. There did seem to be a significant traffic problem around the Circuit de Catalunya, but just two of the field have been penalised.
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | 89 | |
| 2 | Kimi Räikkönen | 85 | |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso | 72 | |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | 50 | |
| 5 | Felipe Massa | 45 |
| 1 | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 131 | |
| 2 | Scuderia Ferrari | 117 | |
| 3 | Lotus F1 Team | 111 | |
| 4 | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 72 | |
| 5 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 32 |
| Australian Grand Prix | 17 Mar |
| Malaysian Grand Prix | 24 Mar |
| Chinese Grand Prix | 14 Apr |
| Bahrain Grand Prix | 21 Apr |
| Spanish Grand Prix | 12 May |
