Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Monaco

Image source, Getty Images

Fernando Alonso says he is "very relaxed, optimistic" that Aston Martin have managed to find a solution to the seat discomfort he was suffering that led to his retirement at the Canadian Grand Prix. "We went back nearly to the 2025 seat position," said Alonso, who worked with engineers and mechanics at the track on Tuesday on the issue. "So basically, we are in a known baseline now. It's not an experiment."

Monaco is a race where Honda’s power deficit - said by sources in the team to be as much as 50kW (67bhp) - will not be exposed as badly as anywhere else, and that has led to suggestions Alonso might be able to have his best result of the year so far here, on a track where his genius has always shone. But he is more concerned about another aspect of the car. "We struggle with the gearbox since Miami," he said, "and Monaco is not the place to have a random downshift, that you have a rear locking or pushing or something like that because then you will crash into the wall and the driver will look stupid.

"We are a passenger sometimes when you put one gear down and you have push on the engine like going on full throttle. So that's the thing that we need to make sure that we make a step in the right direction in Canada, and Monaco will tell the truth. if you have the downshift problem like we had in Miami, probably we cannot even race because we will crash in one of the breaking points because you will have a very different downshift type."

Luke Browning
Williams reserve driver Luke Browning on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

It's a real extremity that hairpin in Monaco, isn't it? It's super, super tight.

Lewis Hamilton is a three-time winner around the streets of Monte Carlo, and Ferrari have pinned as the favourites for this year's race, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri saying the Scuderia have been quick in all the corners this season, so they are definitely one of the teams to watch out for.

Hamilton goes purple in all sectors and he goes to the top of the timesheets with a 1:15.617 on the hard compound.

Image source, Getty Images

It's business as usual for Pirelli in Monaco, with the softest tyres in the range selected for the 78-lap grand prix. Teams can choose from the C3 hard, C4 medium and C5 soft compound. The green intermediates and blue full wets are also on standby, should they be required.

In its preview, Pirelli says the road has been resurfaced "between Turns 19 and 1, between Turn 7 and the entrance to the tunnel, as well as on the entry to and exit from the pit lane."

Something we won't see this weekend is the mandatory two-stop rule that was featured last year. The FIA has scrapped it for this season's event and has returned to the normal one-stop rule of drivers using two compounds of slick tyres during the race.

Racing Bulls receive a call from Liam Lawson and it turns out the New Zealander is having the exact same problem as his team-mate Arvid Lindblad. "I cannot turn at the hairpin," Lawson tells his race engineer.

"I don't think I have enough steering for the hairpin," says the only rookie on the grid this season, Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad.

The field have headed out on the hard tyre, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen banking the quickest time of 1:18.119.

Charles Leclerc has come to a stop already. The Monegasque driver has locked up at Mirabeau early doors and needs to back up to get himself out of the way of Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who is just behind.

Glitz and glamour of Monaco.

First practice is green.

Image source, Getty Images

After two race weekends with the threat of rain, although neither were affected in the end, Monaco is set to be dry and sunny for all three days of track action.

BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

Hello to Rosanna Tennant, Harry Benjamin and F1 journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm for Friday's running in Monaco. Williams reserve driver Luke Browning might also pop up during first practice, too.

To tune in to the first hour, click the 'listen live' at the top of this page, if you're on the go, head over to BBC Sounds and search for Sports Extra 3 or you can ask your smart speaker to "play Sports Extra 3".

Image source, Getty Images

Quotes travel fast in the paddock, so when Kimi Antonelli was told Mercedes team-mate George Russell had said the title was already his to lose, he had this to say in response.

"I don't really give weight to that line," he said, "because it's still so early in the season. I continue trying to excel, trying to maximise the car and see where we end up at the end of the season.

"It's difficult to think you can lose something when you don't have the championship. How can I lose it when I didn't win it yet?"

He may be leading the championship now but during his debut season in Formula 1 last year, Antonelli's European swing was a tough experience, with the rookie suffering four DNFs and picking up just three points in total.

Now that he's on top, Antonelli said he doesn't feel that much pressure. "I feel pretty relaxed. I just keep doing what I'm doing, trying to raise the bar," he added.

"George is a super-strong team-mate and he will make my life difficult."

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Monaco

Image source, Reuters

George Russell says this year's world championship is Kimi Antonelli's "to lose" after the Briton's retirement from the last race in Canada.

Russell heads into this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix with a 43-point deficit to his Mercedes team-mate after the Briton's engine failed while leading in Montreal.

"It's his to lose," said Russell.

"My mindset is to enjoy every single race, try and win every single race, the same as I've done this whole season. I'm going to fight the same, I'm not going to change my mentality at all, nor am I going to let this put any more pressure on to me."

Russell has bemoaned a series of events going against him - including technical issues in qualifying in China, a safety-car intervention in Japan that handed the lead to Antonelli and the Canada problems - but says he has no reason to feel he cannot bounce back.

"I don't feel like I need to get every single result possible, because the season's long enough that over the course of the season, it will swing if you're the guy who's on top," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

Charles Leclerc is continuing his journey with Ferrari after putting pen to paper on a fresh multi-year deal with the Italian team before his home race in Monaco.

The 28-year-old said on Thursday he loves the Scuderia and has faith in team boss Fred Vasseur, adding: "We have a very, very good relationship and I strongly believe that he is the person that will be able to bring Ferrari back to the top."

Leclerc has competed in 155 races for Ferrari since joining in 2019, taking 27 pole positions and winning eight times. He said there were options on the table from other teams but he wouldn't spill the beans as to who those teams were. "For me, Ferrari was also the choice," he added.

He did say he'd let those teams who were interested say who they were, so we'll keep our eyes peeled. Send your guesses in using the 'get involved' button on the live page.

Image source, Getty Images

It wasn't double points for Mercedes in Canada but they still managed to pull ahead of second-placed Ferrari by two points at the top of the constructors' standings.

McLaren had a miserable weekend two weeks ago with Lando Norris' retirement and Oscar Piastri finishing outside the points but the defending champions stay third, with Red Bull 49 points behind them in fourth.

Alpine in fifth had both drivers in the top 10 last time out which gives them a 14-point buffer over sixth-placed Racing Bulls heading into the Monaco weekend.

Image source, Getty Images

George Russell said the title is Kimi Antonelli's "to lose" now, given the 43-point advantage the teenager holds over him at the top of the drivers' championship. There's a run of four races in five weeks coming up, though, so there are immediate opportunities for Russell to claw his way back into this fight.

Lewis Hamilton has moved above reigning world champion Lando Norris following his second place in Canada and the McLaren driver's DNF. Both scored points in the sprint race but now seven-time world champion Hamilton is 14 points clear of Norris - and only three behind Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was fourth in Montreal.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly also a gained place after round five and is now eighth in the standings, while team-mate Franco Colapinto is just one point off the top 10 following his career-best finish of sixth last time out.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Hello, folks. Formula 1 has touched down in Europe for the next couple of months and first up is the jewel in the sport's crown: The Monaco Grand Prix.

Monte Carlo is home for many of the drivers on the grid but only one is a true native of the Principality. Charles Leclerc arrives on home soil this weekend with a new long-term contract with Ferrari signed and sealed that will keep him with the Scuderia for the "coming seasons".

Image source, Getty Images

We left off in Canada with Kimi Antonelli once again on the top step of the podium, celebrating with a non-alcoholic beverage after securing his fourth consecutive victory of the season. The Italian teenager was joined by Lewis Hamilton in second and Max Verstappen in third.

On the other side of the Mercedes garage, Montreal polesitter George Russell was left downcast following his retirement midway through the grand prix. The Briton now trails his team-mate by 43 points in the drivers' championship.