Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Reuters
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Reuters
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Reuters
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Reuters

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc desperate to right past wrongs at Monaco Grand Prix


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After an unexpected sojourn created by flooding in Imola, the Formula One world championship moves to the famous streets of Monte Carlo on Sunday and the contradiction that is the best event and, usually, one of the worst races of the year.

With overtaking next to impossible, especially with this year’s bloated car designs, the greatest grand prix on the calendar, the jewel in the sport’s crown, is all about Saturday’s qualifying.

Thread the needle through the narrow streets, put the car on pole and victory is almost certain. That’s the way the story goes. Or is supposed to. But tell that to Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari’s main man is achingly desperate to win his home race on the streets outside the front door he has used since he began walking to school as a child.

More so because he has set pole for the past two years and failed to win a practically unloseable Grand Prix.

It is 50 years since anyone has managed that in successive years, going back to Jackie Stewart in 1969 and '70. But then, those were the days when F1 cars broke down. In the modern era of rock-solid reliability, Leclerc’s "achievement" stands alone.

And Stewart had already won the race once by then and went on to win it twice more from pole.

In 2021, Leclerc was a victim of his own making, crashing after setting pole and ruling himself out of Sunday’s start. Last year was down to an epic strategy bungle by his own team. But he is proof at least that, at Monaco anyway, talent can mean more than machinery.

Top dogs, as they undoubtedly are after winning the first five rounds, Red Bull are certainly not guaranteed pole on Saturday.

Max Verstappen will have to stretch nerve and sinew to beat his teammate Sergio Perez, let alone Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton or George Russell.

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez won the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix. Getty
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez won the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix. Getty

After all, the Mexican won last year’s race and his fans say he is now the king of the street tracks. But there is an extra nuance to their rivalry. The double champion is reportedly still steaming that his teammate’s crash last year denied him pole just as he was set to nick top spot.

So furious, in fact, he publicly refused to help Perez to finish second in the driver’s championship when they got to Brazil five months later.

Fernando Alonso arrives as Red Bull’s primary challenger knowing that if he has a chance of outdoing them anywhere, it is here.

It would be the perfect way to crown Aston Martin’s new partnership with Honda that was announced on Wednesday. In 2026, they take over the power unit used by the current champions Red Bull, who are switching to Ford.

Honda were set to leave F1 but clearly see the chance to unite with the colours favoured by James Bond as just too good a chance to miss.

Sunday’s race sees revisions to both Mercedes and Ferrari cars as they bid to get their title challenges back on course.

Both have had disastrous starts to the season with just a single podium apiece and no wins. The changes, which were supposed to be debuted at Imola, are unlikely to be of real use on a street track. But mileage is mileage. The true benefit will only be known in Barcelona a week later.

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari’s No 2, arrives in Monaco with a leg injury thanks to a mistimed tackle in a charity football match earlier this week.

Much speculation surrounds his F1 future with Lewis Hamilton seen in talks with new Maranello boss Fred Vasseur. But it is interesting how often the seven-time champion is seen at Ferrari when his Mercedes contract talks hit their peak.

Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin will aim to challenge the Red Bulls at the Monaco Grand Prix. AFP
Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin will aim to challenge the Red Bulls at the Monaco Grand Prix. AFP

Would Maranello’s mandarins really upset the relationship with their golden boy Leclerc for a Mercedes champion in the autumn of his career?

Monaco is the perfect place for such machinations. Writer Somerset Maugham famously called the riviera “a sunny place for shady people”. After all, it was here in secret meetings at the Loews Hotel (now the Fairmont) that Ferrari stole Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn from Benetton and won five successive world titles.

It is one of those places where belief has to be suspended; the giant superyachts, improbably expensive cars, sunshine, beauty, and the impossibility of it all just has to be enjoyed.

But for those who cannot afford to make the pilgrimage, there is good news. The stand-off over a new Monaco contract last year was partially connected with its erratic television coverage and F1 itself has taken back control so the quality is likely to rise considerably.

23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees

Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
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Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

NEW ARRIVALS

Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m 

'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

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Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
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  • Price: Not announced yet
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go

Flying

Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.

 

Touring

Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com 

WHAT ARE NFTs?

     

 

    

 

   

 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.

 

An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

 

This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.

 
Updated: May 25, 2023, 7:34 AM`