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Formula 1
Monaco GP
F1 Monaco GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.
The 2023 Monaco Grand Prix is the sixth round of the season, though was set to be the seventh had it not been for the Emilia Romagna GP's cancellation due to a weather emergency.
Max Verstappen starts on pole for the 78-lap grand prix around the streets of Monte Carlo, having edged Fernando Alonso in a thrilling Q3.
The sister Red Bull of Sergio Perez will start from the back of the grid after a Q1 crash, while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc goes from sixth after being hit with a grid penalty.
The 2023 Monaco GP begins at 2pm BST.
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There's just 4.8s now between Alonso and Ocon. Could there yet be a scrap for second?
Pit stop
Magnussen has managed to get going again after hitting the wall at the penultimate corner. He's now in the pits. He'll get a new front wing, but his mechanics weren't ready for that.
Crash
Sargeant has hit the wall at the hairpin, but has managed to get going again.
Sainz told the rain will be here for five minutes.
Pit stop
Perez has come in for full wets. He joins Magnussen on the compound. Perez is 17th, Magnussen 19th. Sargeant has been noted for speeding in the pitlane potentially.
Perez is a useful tool for Red Bull right now, as he will be able to inform Verstappen's decision of when to come in for wets.
In all the pitstop bedlam we didn't see how Hamilton got ahead of Russell, who gets a five-second penalty for an unsafe rejoin. Russell is talking to Toto Wolff about the possibility of switching to extreme wets, while ahead Hamilton is right on the back of Ocon.
Crash
Magnussen has gone off at Turn 1 on those full wet tyres.
Stroll found an escape road at some point down at Turn 5.
Well there's the answer. Russell followed Stroll down the Turn 5 escape road and as he rejoined was clouted hard by Perez!
Perez touched the barriers at the Swimming Pool as he slid into it. That was close to a big disaster.
Alonso is gaining on Verstappen, the gap now less than 17s. He'll be kicking himself for taking mediums at his stop rather than inters, as otherwise he would now be leading.
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"It's getting to a point where it's pretty dangerous out here," reports fourth place man Hamilton. He's told rain should reduce soon.
There's a fair bit of debris around the Swimming Pool section from Perez's barrier brush. Wonder if race control will call a safety car to clear that up soon.
Frustrating afternoon for Bottas. He was one of the first onto inters, but it hasn't really paid off. He's 12th, around 10 seconds behind the points.
On lap 61 Verstappen was a full 2s faster than Alonso and gets his gap back out to 18.8s.
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Sainz told "we expect rain to stop in two to three minutes".
Stroll is out of the race. Not sure what's called time on his grand prix yet.
Verstappen's lead is now back to 20s over Alonso, who has in turn pulled away from Ocon to the tune of 13.9s.
Hulkenberg is being investigated for not serving a penalty correctly.
Penalty
Hulkenberg has been served with a 10s penalty.
Stopwatch
"The rain intensity is going to be reducing from here on," Russell is informed. He's closing on Hamilton ahead of him despite that big whack to the left-rear from Perez when he came back on.
Hamilton is now just 1.3s behind Ocon. Behind them and closing, Russell is asking if he can have a go at Ocon and clearly feels confident.
You may remember that Ocon and Hamilton had a brilliant battle at Suzuka last year where the Frenchman came out on top in another wet race. Can Hamilton turn the tables and get onto the podium?
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Tsunoda rages at his brakes and asks his AlphaTauri team "are you trying to crash me or what?", as he is told to make some settings changes. He is running in ninth just now.
Norris is bearing down on Tsuonda.
Currently Leclerc is 9.7s behind Russell, who will stay in fifth once his 5s penalty is applied if things stay as they are.
Out in front, Verstappen has the gap steady at 22.6s and it seems unlikely Alonso will chase him down now. That mammoth stint on the medium tyre has paid dividends.
Sainz complains that Gasly "jumped the chicane" as he tries to take seventh away from the Alpine.
Gasly has been given a black and white flag for exceeding track limits.
Russell is now a lot closer to Hamilton than Hamilton is to Ocon. Will Mercedes switch its drivers to allow the younger Briton a crack at Ocon?
Tsunoda's braking issues have allowed both McLarens to come through, with the AlphaTauri off at Turn 5 now.
Tsunoda comes back onto the track in 13th. If he was angry before, he will apocalyptically raging now!
Given all the drama we've had today, remarkably four of the top six are in the same positions as they started! Verstappen still ahead of Alonso and Ocon with Leclerc in sixth.
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"Brakes are f****ing unreal, man," cried Tsunoda.
Nine laps to go, and Verstappen is 25s ahead of Alonso, on course for what would be a famous win. He tells his team he doesn't see any tyre option other than inters being needed herein.
But Verstappen can't afford to be complacent and tags the wall with his right rear wheel exiting the Swimming Pool. He asks his team to check tyre pressures.
Perez drops two laps behind Verstappen now as Hulkenberg looks every which way to take 16th from the Red Bull.
Pit stop
Perez has been in for inters and comes out in 17th.
That stop for Perez at least means Alonso won't have to awkwardly clear him, but now means a Red Bull will be jinking around in the Aston's mirrors.
By: Autosport Staff
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