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F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Why is practice no longer on a Thursday?
Formula 1 heads to Monaco next after the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola
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Your support makes all the difference.Formula 1 returns to one of its most famous races next - the Monaco Grand Prix - after the unfortunate cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
F1 was forced to cancel the Imola race weekend due to adverse weather and flooding in the region, with the event at this stage unlikely to be rescheduled amid the congested 2023 calendar.
Yet teams and drivers will now turn their attention to the tight twists and turns of the world-renowned Circuit de Monaco for the next round of the season.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez won last year’s race in wet conditions, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in second and Max Verstappen third. Hometown favourite Charles Leclerc has never been on the podium at his home race, while Mercedes will be eyeing improvements as they introduce upgrades to Lewis Hamilton’s and George Russell’s cars.
Here is everything you need to know.
When is the Monaco Grand Prix?
The sixth race weekend of the 2023 season, the Monaco Grand Prix, takes place from Friday 26 May - Sunday 28 May.
The schedule is as follows: first practice takes place at 12:30pm (BST) with FP2 at 4pm.
On Saturday, third practice takes place at 11:30am before qualifying at 3pm (BST).
The race on Sunday has a start time of 2pm (BST).
Why is practice at Monaco no longer on a Thursday?
Before 2022, practice at the Monaco Grand Prix took place on a Thursday - with Friday as a day of non-running on track.
The tradition dated back to the early editions of the event, when it coincided with the Ascension Day holiday, which fell on the Friday of the race weekend.
This meant the race weekend was paused to allow traffic to move through the streets of the principality. The day is still a public holiday in Monaco but has become less celebrated by locals over time.
As such, there was not much opposition when F1 and Monaco opted to revert practice back to the usual Friday last year, to bring it in line with other race weekends and aid logistics.
How can I watch it online and on TV?
The Monaco Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States.
Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action at Monaco on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.
Driver Standings
1) Max Verstappen - 119 points
2) Sergio Perez - 105 points
3) Fernando Alonso - 75 points
4) Lewis Hamilton - 56 points
5) Carlos Sainz - 44 points
6) George Russell - 40 points
7) Charles Leclerc - 34 points
8) Lance Stroll - 27 points
9) Lando Norris - 10 points
10) Pierre Gasly - 8 points
11) Nico Hulkenberg - 6 points
12) Esteban Ocon - 6 points
13) Valtteri Bottas - 4 points
14) Oscar Piastri - 4 points
15) Zhou Guanyu - 2 points
16) Yuki Tsunoda - 2 points
17) Kevin Magnussen - 2 points
18) Alex Albon - 1 point
19) Logan Sargeant - 0 points
20) Nyck de Vries - 0 points
Constructors’ Championship
1) Red Bull - 224 points
2) Aston Martin - 102 points
3) Mercedes - 96 points
4) Ferrari - 78 points
5) McLaren - 14 points
6) Alpine - 14 points
7) Haas - 8 points
8) Alfa Romeo - 6 points
9) AlphaTauri - 2 points
10) Williams - 1 point
What are the driver line-ups for 2023?
RED BULL
Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez
FERRARI
Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz
MERCEDES
Lewis Hamilton
George Russell
ALPINE
Esteban Ocon
Pierre Gasly
McLAREN
Lando Norris
Oscar Piastri
ALFA ROMEO
Valtteri Bottas
Zhou Guanyu
ASTON MARTIN
Fernando Alonso
Lance Stroll
HAAS
Kevin Magnussen
Nico Hulkenberg
ALPHATAURI
Yuki Tsunoda
Nyck de Vries
WILLIAMS
Alex Albon
Logan Sargeant
*italics represents new addition to the grid/change of team
What is the 2023 F1 calendar?
ROUND 7 - MONACO
Circuit de Monaco - 26-28 May
ROUND 8 - SPAIN
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - 2-4 June
ROUND 9 - CANADA
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal - 16-18 June
ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA (sprint weekend)
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 30 June-2 July
ROUND 11 - GREAT BRITAIN
Silverstone Circuit - 7-9 July
ROUND 12 - HUNGARY
Hungaroring, Budapest - 21-23 July
ROUND 13 - BELGIUM (sprint weekend)
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 28-30 July
ROUND 14 - NETHERLANDS
Circuit Zandvoort - 25-27 August
ROUND 15 - ITALY
Monza Circuit - 1-3 September
ROUND 16 - SINGAPORE
Marina Bay Street Circuit - 15-17 September
ROUND 17 - JAPAN
Suzuka International Racing Course - 22-24 September
ROUND 18 - QATAR (sprint weekend)
Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 6-8 October
ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend)
Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 20-22 October
ROUND 20 - MEXICO
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 27-29 October
ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend)
Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 3-5 November
ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Street Circuit - 16-18 November
ROUND 23 - ABU DHABI
Yas Marina Circuit - 24-26 November
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