2016 Monaco Grand Prix

Championship standings

Rosberg leads with 100 points; Räikkönen has moved up to second with 61 points, and Hamilton is third with 57 points — four points behind Räikkönen. Vettel and Ricciardo are level in fourth with 48 points each.

Previous race

At Spain, Hamilton and Rosberg collided on the opening lap and both retired — the first Mercedes double retirement since the 2011 Australian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen, in his debut with Red Bull Racing at just 18 years and 228 days old, won the race to become the youngest ever Grand Prix winner and the first Dutch winner in Formula One history.

Milestones

McLaren celebrates fifty years since their first ever Grand Prix start, which was also at Monaco in 1966. Rosberg has won the last three Monaco Grands Prix and is chasing a fourth consecutive victory that would match Ayrton Senna’s record.

Tyres

Monaco is the first race to feature Pirelli’s new ultrasoft compound, provided alongside the super-soft and soft. The ultrasoft was specifically designed for street circuits.

Entrants

From this race weekend onwards, the FIA permits drivers to choose an alternative helmet design for one race weekend per season — a practice previously prohibited to maintain driver recognition. Felipe Massa’s helmet carries extensive artwork by graffiti artists Os Gêmeos; Valtteri Bottas’s design uses casino-inspired imagery; Romain Grosjean wears a tribute helmet to Jules Bianchi.

Practice

Monaco’s opening two sessions are held on Thursday rather than Friday. FP1 (Thursday): Hamilton topped (1:15.537), a tenth ahead of Rosberg, then Vettel and the two Red Bulls. Massa hit the barrier at turn one, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Near the end of the session, a drain cover came loose at the first corner, puncturing Rosberg’s left rear tyre and damaging Jenson Button’s McLaren; the session was red-flagged with three minutes remaining.

FP2 (Thursday): Ricciardo was fastest (1:14.607), more than half a second clear of Hamilton. Vettel spun at Mirabeau, damaging his rear wing, then hit the wall at turn one after rejoining with wheel rim damage. Grosjean crashed at the tunnel exit (VSC); Haryanto touched the barrier at the same spot (VSC); Magnussen crashed at the final corner. The two Williams drivers ended the session 14th and 16th.

FP3 (Saturday): Vettel set the fastest time, a hundredth of a second ahead of Hamilton, with Rosberg and Ricciardo also within two-tenths. Verstappen was fifth despite a minor wall contact approaching Casino Square. Both Renault drivers crashed: Jolyon Palmer’s incident at the swimming pool section brought out yellow flags and disrupted one of Hamilton’s flying laps.

Car upgrades

Renault debuted an updated power unit during the mid-season test at Barcelona after Spain. With only one unit ready in time for Monaco, it was allocated to Magnussen at Renault works and Ricciardo at Red Bull.