F1 2017 MONACO LIVE DRIVERS

I’m not sure if it’s due to watching a horrific Youtube compilation of crashes at the venue or if it’s just the prestige that goes along with what has been described as the ‘Jewel in F1’s Crown’? Regardless of whichever factor it is, I’m likely to suffer the same chills when the drivers line up for their 2017 assault on the 78 lap circuit. I always get a shiver down my spine when I see the field line up on the Monaco start line. Sandwiched between these two groups were the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg (6th) and the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz (7th). The men who benefited the most, however, were Force India drivers Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, who claimed fourth and fifth respectively.

The aforementioned retirements opened the door for some of the stragglers to claim points finishes with Romain Grosjean (10th), Danil Kyvat (9th) and Pascal Wehrlein (8th) all finishing a lot higher than they would have expected to. While Ricciardo will be ‘Pretty bloody stoked with the third place, mate!’, he did have an extremely easy time claiming it with both Max Verstappen (crash), Valterri Bottas (Engine Failure) and Kimi Raikkonen (Crash) all retiring. While Hamilton and Vettel claimed the two loftier perches on the podium, Daniel Ricciardo also managed to join in on the champagne shower with the Aussie claiming his fist podium finish of the year. And while Silver Arrows main man, Lewis Hamilton managed to claim race honours, it was far from the procession that F1 fans have associated with the Circuit de Catalunya with the Brit and arch rival Sebastian Vettel duking it out in a mesmerising duel that saw the duo go wheel-to-wheel for large segments of the race. To say this season has been interesting is probably the largest understatement to have been uttered as we got to witness yet another action-packed race at a track that has been dominated by Mercedes for nearly half a decade. While there will be plenty of glitz and glamour floating around the French principality, the main focus will be on Sunday’s race across the streets of Monte Carlo. The F1 field heads to one of its most treasured playgrounds this week for what could be a season-defining race weekend.

Our resident petrol head previews the 2017 Monaco race weekend which gets underway with the first practice sessions on Friday the 26th of May.

F1 2017 monaco live