Monaco GP 2021: Verstappen leads as Leclerc fails to start F1 race – live!

9.46am EDT 09:46

Lap 33 of 78: Mercedes confirm that a cross-threaded wheel nut damaged the axel and caused Bottas’ retirement. Sometimes it’s the simple things.

9.44am EDT 09:44

Valtteri Bottas retires after pit-lane disaster!

The tyre won’t come off, the wheel nut shredded – and Bottas is out of the race! Dear me. A bad weekend for Mercedes just got a whole lot worse.

9.43am EDT 09:43

Lap 31 of 78: It’s Bottas’s turn now … but his rear left tyre won’t budge! The pit crew try several blasts of the wheel gun, but to no avail. The time keeps ticking, now over a minute …

9.42am EDT 09:42

Lap 30 of 78: Hamilton is the first to pit, aiming to get out ahead of Giovinazzi in ninth. He does so with room to spare, dropping to eighth but likely to recover his sixth place in due course.

9.40am EDT 09:40

It’s certainly not just you – the lack of passing opportunities has been a talking point this week, and the top 10 at the start are in the same order now. No doubt it’s a gold-standard test for the drivers, but it can lack drama.

9.38am EDT 09:38

Lap 26 of 78: Bottas says he’s “not happy” with his front-left tyre, with Hamilton complaining this is like racing “on wet tyres”. Still nobody pitting. Sainz isn’t happy either – he tells the team radio that Bottas’ slow pace is now holding him up, with so little opportunity to overtake.

9.36am EDT 09:36

Lap 23 of 78: Carlos Sainz in third is offering Ferrari some comfort, travelling well and closing on Bottas, still struggling on soft tyres.

Carlos Sainz in action. Photograph: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

Updated at 9.40am EDT

9.33am EDT 09:33

Here’s Charles Leclerc, who says the mechanical issue was not in the gearbox. “Apparently it’s not coming from the gearbox, it’s something else – but I’m pretty sure it’s related to my crash yesterday. It was a problem in the rear left of the car. In the garage, it was very difficult to feel OK. I’m getting used to this feeling here unfortunately, I’ve never finished a race here. I feel for the team, the mechanics did such a hard job yesterday. Everything seemed fine. It’s such a shame for everyone.”

9.30am EDT 09:30

Lap 20 of 78: Lance Stroll, currently 11th, clips a kerb and his tyres leave the track momentarily. The pit lane is open, but Verstappen is happy for the time being. He’s stretched his lead to 2.7s, amid signs that Bottas and Hamilton are struggling for pace in their tyres.

9.28am EDT 09:28

Lap 19 of 78: Lando Norris gets a warning for pushing the track limits, despite sitting (relatively) comfortably in fourth. He has “two strikes” at turn 10, McLaren tell him over the radio. One more and there’ll be a penalty.

Updated at 9.28am EDT

9.26am EDT 09:26

Lap 18 of 78: Verstappen stretches his lead to just over two seconds, enough of an advantage to be able to pit on the lap after Bottas. “Show us the pace you’ve got,” Mercedes tell Bottas over the team radio. Verstappen leads Hamilton by almost 14 seconds; as it stands, he’ll take the overall title lead.

Valtteri Bottas drives through the Monte Carlo streets. Photograph: Valéry Hache/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 9.32am EDT

9.24am EDT 09:24

Lap 15 of 78: The safety car is brought out at Monaco far more often than not, but everyone, bar the unfortunate Leclerc, is still racing in an incident-free start.

9.21am EDT 09:21

Lap 12 of 78: Verstappen cruises past the superyachts along the waterfront, 1.7s clear of Bottas, his tyres expected to last another four laps. His Red Bull colleague, Sergio Pérez, sets the fastest lap as the pace begins to creep up.

9.16am EDT 09:16

Lap 10 of 78: McLaren’s Lando Norris sets a new fastest lap; his pace, and that of Pierre Gasly behind him, is good news for Hamilton, who has opened up a 5.7s lead over Vettel in seventh.

9.14am EDT 09:14

Lap 8 of 78: Bottas set the fastest lap, but Verstappen has taken it back; there’s around 1.4s between the leading pair. Here’s the top 10, all on the softest tyres available and in race-management mode early on.

Max Verstappen leads Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes. Photograph: Lars Baron/Getty Images

Top 10: 1 Verstappen 2 Bottas 3 Sainz 4 Norris 5 Gasly 6 Hamilton 7 Vettel 8 Perez 9 Giovinazzi 10 Ocon

Updated at 9.19am EDT

9.08am EDT 09:08

Lap 5 of 78: Soft tyres are the order of the day here – the ‘hard’ option of the three compounds is the same as the softest available in Spain and Portugal. Hamilton failed to make any ground at the start and is sixth, around 8.8s behind leader Verstappen.

9.06am EDT 09:06

Lap 3 of 78: Not too much movement in the pack through these early laps, although Lance Stroll and Kimi Raikkonen have edged ahead of Danny Ricciardo in midfield.

9.05am EDT 09:05

Lights out!

Here we go, then. Leclerc’s spot at the front of the grid sits empty as the rest start their engines, heading into a quick right-hand turn at Saint Dévote.

Valtteri Bottas makes a quick getaway and Verstappen suffers wheel-spin but holds his line. The Mercedes man locks up into the first turn, and Verstappen hangs onto the lead! Everyone else navigates the start safely.

8.59am EDT 08:59

It’s almost race time after that pit-lane drama. Verstappen will start five places ahead of Hamilton, desperate to punish the world champion for a rare off-weekend. Hamilton currently leads the drivers’ title race with 94 points, with Verstappen on 80. Valtteri Bottas, who starts behind Verstappen, is third with 47 points

8.49am EDT 08:49

More on that breaking news, from PA:

Charles Leclerc will not start the Monaco Grand Prix from pole position following a gearbox failure. Ferrari did not believe Leclerc’s gearbox had been damaged following his crash in qualifying yesterday, and elected not to replace it in order to avoid a grid penalty.

But Leclerc hit trouble on his way to the grid for Sunday’s race, and parked up in his Ferrari garage with his head in his hands. “We have an issue and we will not make it to the grid,” a member of the Ferrari team confirmed to FIA director Michael Masi.

8.44am EDT 08:44

Charles Leclerc is out of the Monaco GP!

It’s heartbreak for Monaco’s Charles Leclerc. Problems with the gearbox and left drive shaft mean that even a pit-lane start is out of the question. He will have dreamed last night of winning his home race, now he won’t even start. Questions will have to be asked of Ferrari’s decision to try and hang on to pole; it has backfired spectacularly.

Updated at 9.02am EDT

8.36am EDT 08:36

The grid at Monaco is staggered so the gaps between each car are equidistant. As a result, there’s no need to move everyone one spot forward. Leclerc’s space stays empty, with Verstappen the pole-sitter in the second slot. Behind him, it’s Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly and Lewis Hamilton in sixth.

8.33am EDT 08:33

Leclerc off the grid, Verstappen on pole

There’s not enough time, and Ferrari confirm their former pole-sitter will not head out to the grid. He may still make a pit-lane start, but that’s not guaranteed yet, either. That means Max Verstappen moves up to pole position!

Max Verstappen starts on pole. Photograph: Andrej Isaković/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 8.46am EDT

8.26am EDT 08:26

Bad news for Ferrari! The drivers are out on the Circuit de Monaco, Leclerc gingerly testing out that gearbox after his 100mph collision today. And it’s not looking good: “no, no, no” is all Leclerc can say over the team radio, before rolling back into the paddock. Ferrari took a risk not replacing it and taking the hit on the grid; now, they’re in a frantic race to get Leclerc’s car up and running, or face a pit-lane start at best.

Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. Photograph: Lars Baron/Getty Images

Updated at 8.41am EDT

8.18am EDT 08:18

Twenty-five years ago saw one of the most dramatic, unpredictable races at Monaco. As the rain fell and favourites were skittled out, only three drivers finished – with Olivier Panis securing his only F1 grand prix win:

8.04am EDT 08:04

The grid

1 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 2 Max Verstappen (Neth) Red Bull3 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes 4 Carlos Sainz (Sp) Ferrari5 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren 6 Pierre Gasly (Fr) AlphaTauri7 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 8 S Vettel (Ger) Aston Martin9 Sergio Pérez (Mex) Red Bull 10 A Giovinazzi (It) Alfa Romeo11 Esteban Ocon (Fr) Alpine 12 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) McLaren13 L Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 14 K Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo15 G Russell (GB) Williams; 16 Y Tsunoda (Jpn) AlphaTauri17 Fernando Alonso (Sp) Alpine 18 Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams19 Nikita Mazepin (Raf) Haas 20 Mick Schumacher (Ger) Haa F1

Updated at 8.05am EDT

7.46am EDT 07:46

Preamble

After a Covid-enforced break in 2020, the Monaco Grand Prix is back. This might be the most famous circuit in motor sport, its relentless twists and turns the litmus test for F1 greatness, but that doesn’t always create the greatest racing spectacle. Nelson Piquet, who never won here, described driving it as “like cycling around your living room”.

A little bit cooler, maybe. But Lewis Hamilton lamented this week that “it is never exciting for fans.” It may be a different story today, with home favourite Charles Leclerc a surprise pole-sitter despite the crash that brought qualifying to a dramatic halt. The Ferrari man is clear to start on pole, his gearbox emerging unscathed from Saturday’s collision.

Leclerc will have title contender Max Verstappen right behind him, with Hamilton trailing behind in seventh, cursing Monte Carlo’s narrow streets and lack of overtaking opportunities. It’s a chance for F1’s flagship event to shake off accusations of style over substance. But if not, so what? Style is substance, and Monaco has plenty. Lights out: 3pm local, 2pm BST.