FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES GRAN PREMIO DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA 2026
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Monaco delivered a quintessential "Monaco" experience. Everything but the mistakes was decided on Saturday, and Saturday managed to be exciting and compelling. It's a real shame that the cars are too big for the circuit. But that's a subject you can find thousands of hours of coverage for. In the end, the Order at the end of qualy was pretty much the order they finished in, barring mistakes on track.
The biggest disappointment for me was Max's startline failure. I had been really hoping that he and Antonelli would take each other out in the first corner. The FIA has also robbed us of some great turn one drama by mandating a longer spool-up time before the lights come on.
Gasly's heartbreak was difficult to watch. Not sure why his team didn't inform him of the penalty during the race, but to finish on the podium and then be told after you get out of the car that you're seventh because we didn't want to upset you during the race has to be a real gut-shot.
Notable highs-
-What can you say about Kimi? He's got a great natural talent, and he's in tune with that Mercedes.
-Hamilton is smiling and relaxed. There's an excellent chance for him to win a race this year.
-Alonso lucked into a point. I feel bad for Perez and the Cadillac team, but I'm really glad to see Freddy come home with this one.
Notable lows-
-Pitlane speed monitoring.
-Mercedes pit stop screw-up. They didn't serve Russel's penalty and ended up shuffling him out of a solid points finish into 13th. (Handing a point to Alonso, so... karma? #neverlettingitgo)*
-At least qualifying was good.
This week, the show heads down the Mediterranean coast to Barcelona. We head down the street to Doherty's Irish Pub in Apex. (check your maps! There are several Doherty's Irish pubs, we'll be in Apex.)
*I'm pretty sure the F1 gods are punishing Russell for his transgressions against Alonso. And, I'm enjoying it.