F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Why is practice no longer on a Thursday?

Formula 1 heads to Monaco next after the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola

Formula 1 returns to one of its most famous races next - the Monaco Grand Prix - after the unfortunate cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

F1 was forced to cancel the Imola race weekend due to adverse weather and flooding in the region, with the event at this stage unlikely to be rescheduled amid the congested 2023 calendar.

• COMMENT: Why Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are the biggest losers from Imola cancellation

Yet teams and drivers will now turn their attention to the tight twists and turns of the world-renowned Circuit de Monaco for the next round of the season.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez won last year’s race in wet conditions, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in second and Max Verstappen third. Hometown favourite Charles Leclerc has never been on the podium at his home race, while Mercedes will be eyeing improvements as they introduce upgrades to Lewis Hamilton’s and George Russell’s cars.

Here is everything you need to know.

When is the Monaco Grand Prix?

The sixth race weekend of the 2023 season, the Monaco Grand Prix, takes place from Friday 26 May - Sunday 28 May.

The schedule is as follows: first practice takes place at 12:30pm (BST) with FP2 at 4pm.

On Saturday, third practice takes place at 11:30am before qualifying at 3pm (BST).

The race on Sunday has a start time of 2pm (BST).

Why is practice at Monaco no longer on a Thursday?

Before 2022, practice at the Monaco Grand Prix took place on a Thursday - with Friday as a day of non-running on track.

The tradition dated back to the early editions of the event, when it coincided with the Ascension Day holiday, which fell on the Friday of the race weekend.

This meant the race weekend was paused to allow traffic to move through the streets of the principality. The day is still a public holiday in Monaco but has become less celebrated by locals over time.

As such, there was not much opposition when F1 and Monaco opted to revert practice back to the usual Friday last year, to bring it in line with other race weekends and aid logistics.

Monaco used to host practice on a Thursday prior to 2022 (Getty Images)

How can I watch it online and on TV?

The Monaco Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States.

Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action at Monaco on the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.

Driver Standings

1) Max Verstappen - 119 points

2) Sergio Perez - 105 points

3) Fernando Alonso - 75 points

4) Lewis Hamilton - 56 points

5) Carlos Sainz - 44 points

6) George Russell - 40 points

7) Charles Leclerc - 34 points

8) Lance Stroll - 27 points

9) Lando Norris - 10 points

10) Pierre Gasly - 8 points

11) Nico Hulkenberg - 6 points

12) Esteban Ocon - 6 points

13) Valtteri Bottas - 4 points

14) Oscar Piastri - 4 points

15) Zhou Guanyu - 2 points

16) Yuki Tsunoda - 2 points

17) Kevin Magnussen - 2 points

18) Alex Albon - 1 point

19) Logan Sargeant - 0 points

20) Nyck de Vries - 0 points

Constructors’ Championship

1) Red Bull - 224 points

2) Aston Martin - 102 points

3) Mercedes - 96 points

4) Ferrari - 78 points

5) McLaren - 14 points

6) Alpine - 14 points

7) Haas - 8 points

8) Alfa Romeo - 6 points

9) AlphaTauri - 2 points

10) Williams - 1 point

What are the driver line-ups for 2023?

RED BULL

Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez

FERRARI

Charles Leclerc

Carlos Sainz

MERCEDES

Lewis Hamilton

George Russell

ALPINE

Esteban Ocon

Pierre Gasly

McLAREN

Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri

ALFA ROMEO

Valtteri Bottas

Zhou Guanyu

ASTON MARTIN

Fernando Alonso

Lance Stroll

HAAS

Kevin Magnussen

Nico Hulkenberg

ALPHATAURI

Yuki Tsunoda

Nyck de Vries

WILLIAMS

Alex Albon

Logan Sargeant

*italics represents new addition to the grid/change of team

What is the 2023 F1 calendar?

ROUND 7 - MONACO

Circuit de Monaco - 26-28 May

ROUND 8 - SPAIN

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - 2-4 June

ROUND 9 - CANADA

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal - 16-18 June

ROUND 10 - AUSTRIA (sprint weekend)

Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - 30 June-2 July

ROUND 11 - GREAT BRITAIN

Silverstone Circuit - 7-9 July

ROUND 12 - HUNGARY

Hungaroring, Budapest - 21-23 July

ROUND 13 - BELGIUM (sprint weekend)

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 28-30 July

ROUND 14 - NETHERLANDS

Circuit Zandvoort - 25-27 August

ROUND 15 - ITALY

Monza Circuit - 1-3 September

ROUND 16 - SINGAPORE

Marina Bay Street Circuit - 15-17 September

ROUND 17 - JAPAN

Suzuka International Racing Course - 22-24 September

ROUND 18 - QATAR (sprint weekend)

Lusail International Circuit, Lusail - 6-8 October

ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend)

Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 20-22 October

ROUND 20 - MEXICO

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 27-29 October

ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend)

Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 3-5 November

ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas Street Circuit - 16-18 November

ROUND 23 - ABU DHABI

Yas Marina Circuit - 24-26 November