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Formula 1 Monaco GP

F1 Monaco GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race day

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12

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The Pirelli pitstop graphic suggested we're edging towards the pit window for those starting on softs, but the laptimes are still getting quicker.
Norris has also got the black-and-white flag treatment, so he's going to have to be on his best behaviour.
"For these tyres, I'm happy," Verstappen says. The softs are holding up.

Stroll gives his hard tyres a clattering over the sausage kerb at the Swimming Pool section. There is a sharp intake of breath inside the Aston Martin garage watching that, but he continues all OK.

Bottas had a pretty grim lap that time around, going 0.4s slower than Verstappen on lap 21 and conceding 0.4s alike to Sainz. Norris, at the moment, is the quickest man on track.
Verstappen is now coming up to traffic: Mazepin's been shown the blue flags.
Bottas is stuck in the 1m16.6 range - losing a further 0.4s to Verstappen. Sainz is slowly closing in on the Mercedes.
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"It's all going to start happening pretty soon, gaps are starting to form," Hamilton is told. Bottas meanwhile reports that he feels like he's on wet tyres.
 

Perez remains the fastest driver on the track currently but is staying just off of Vettel's rear wing ahead of him in the fight for P7. All waiting for that pitstop shuffle time.

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"You know that there's not that much left in the tyre," says Bottas. He wants to pit.

You won't be surprised to hear but there is no change in the lower order since the opening-lap fights. Raikkonen, in P12, is still ahead of Ricciardo, Alonso, Russell, Latifi, Tsunoda, Schumacher and Mazepin.

Pit stop
Hamilton comes in to kick the pit phase into play, who will drop nicely out into the gap between Perez and Giovinazzi. He takes the hard tyre.
Traffic permitting, that gives Hamilton clear air - and now the cards begin to fall as Bottas, Norris and Gasly both pit in response.
They can't get the right front off Bottas' car! It's properly stuck!
The wheel gun is wailing but Bottas is still stationary!
Vettel is the latest to pit having been running in P7 - the longer stint works to perfection as the German driver jumps ahead of Gasly and Hamilton!
Disaster for Mercedes. Hamilton returns behind Gasly - and he's ab...so...lutely FURIOUS! "How am I still behind him? Come on, man..."
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"What has just happened, guys? I've lost two places..." says Hamilton, as he watches Vettel trickle into fifth.

The TV director didn't fancy showing that Vettel vs Gasly battle, but we did see Stroll bounce across the kerbs once again at the Swimming Pool. That'll do no good.

Pit stop
Sainz does his stop, and comes out on the hard tyre.
Verstappen now pits from the lead, which will bring him out behind the decidedly rapid Perez. Hard tyres for Verstappen.

Ocon, on the softs and still yet to stop, has cycled up eighth place ahead of Stroll on the hards. The rest are largely as you were.

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"Lewis, we're at risk of losing another position to Perez," Bono tells Hamilton. That didn't go down well.
Pit stop
Perez now pits, and rejoins fourth - just ahead of Vettel.
The overcut is very powerful today - a good strategy can make your race here.
Pit stop

Ricciardo the latest to pit, looking to undercut those around him who started on the medium or hard tyres. He is going to need a mega second half of the race to barge into the points.

Sainz is now chipping away at Verstappen's lead - he took over a second out on the previous lap (lap 38) and another 1.5s on lap 39.
Pit stop

Ocon is the next to pit, and comes back out in P10, behind Stroll and Raikkonen who are yet to stop.

Verstappen's now picked up the pace a bit and re-opens the gap to Sainz to 3.6s. Sainz is getting a little bit caught out by cars not being shown the blue flag panels.
Sainz now puts a lap on Latifi, which has released him a bit to start hacking away at Verstappen's gap again.

Schumacher joins the black and white flag club, so he needs to be careful with the track limits at the Nouvelle chicane. He had just had a long pitstop and dropped behind Haas team-mate Mazepin as a result.

Pit stop

Raikkonen pits from ninth place, taking on the hard tyres, and comes back out in 12th place but, vitally, still ahead of Ricciardo.

The gap between the front pair remains at about 3.5s - Verstappen largely matching Sainz blow-for-blow. The gaps behind them between Norris and Perez also seem to be pretty static.
Breaking news

"It's a difficult one to take."


Here's the latest reaction from Leclerc on his DNS at the Monaco GP: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/leclerc-failing-to-start-in-monaco-difficult-to-take/6514224/

Lots of lap time deletions for many drivers at the Nouvelle chicane but, so far, nobody else has been shown the black and white flag.

Hamilton, having struggled for pace, has finally started to reel in Gasly. The TV graphic has awarded Gasly 1st place in the drivers' championship, which is good going for the AlphaTauri driver...

Stroll in P8 and Tsunoda in P14 are the only drivers yet to pit today but that is no surprise as they both started the race on the hards. Are they now praying for that safety car stroke of luck?

Sainz got within 3s of Verstappen, but the Red Bull driver dialled in a quicker time to keep the buffer. But Sainz does look like he's slowly reeling him in...
Norris laps Ricciardo in the other McLaren - it's been a bruising day for the Aussie driver.

By: Jake Boxall-Legge, Haydn Cobb, Stephen Lickorish

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