Monaco Grand Prix thrown into chaos after track damage forces stoppage

Antonelli's W17 on track at Monaco GP — Photo: © IMAGO

Monaco Grand Prix

Monaco Grand Prix thrown into chaos after track damage forces stoppage

Chaos in Monte Carlo

By Dan Ripley.

Monday 8 June 2026 23:00

The Monaco Grand Prix was plunged into confusion on Sunday when sections of the circuit surface began to deteriorate, contributing to incidents that caught out multiple drivers.

The iconic Monte Carlo race has been a fixture on the motorsport calendar for decades, but concerns over the condition of the track led officials to halt proceedings after debris became a growing safety concern.

The drama began when Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll crashed at the Anthony Noghes corner on lap 60. Initially, it appeared the Canadian had simply made a mistake exiting Rascasse, but attention soon turned to the condition of the track as further incidents unfolded.

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However, after the safety car was called in six laps later, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc crashed at the same corner on the restart on the outside.

The Ferrari driver was furious over the radio, saying: “Honestly I’m not even going to take the f***ing blame. These f***ing brakes!”

Monaco Grand Prix stopped with red flag

The track, on what looked to be a recently resurfaced tarmac, showed significant break up over a thin stretch on the racing line on the the left side of the track heading into the final right turn.

Race officials swept up the debris and many stood over the surface in question examining if the race could continue during the red flag.

No work was done to fix the broken track, but it was deemed safe enough to restart the race 35 minutes after the race was stopped.

It was the first time officials took action on an F1 track surface relating to the tarmac since the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, where cement was placed overnight, with minimal results. However that race was also allowed to continue from start to finish.

Stroll and Leclerc refuse to blame track

Despite running over the marbles from the broken up track, Stroll instead blamed issues with his Aston Martin car.

He said: “For me, I don’t think it was the damage (to the track).

“We had engine braking issues all race, all weekend, all year – some corners it’s pushing me forward with the engine, some corners it’s pulling.

“So, it’s doing different behaviour in different areas, and on this lap it just pushed me into the wall.

“I think it’s a coincidence (that Leclerc crashed too at the same place). Maybe it (the track) was breaking a bit, but my issue was the engine pushing me into the wall.”

Leclerc also claimed the track was not to blame, telling Sky Sports: “Brakes. It doesn’t help to have asphalt that is coming off but data speaks for itself.

“I don’t know how much I can go into the detail. It’s extremely frustrating. I’ve always been very honest, and no matter how many mistakes I do, I would hate to look at myself in the mirror and see myself finding excuses when I do a mistake.

“That’s why I’m always bluntly honest whenever I’m in front of cameras, but I’m not going to take any of it (responsibility for the crash) today.

“It’s not even braking. I touch the brakes and there’s just something with those brakes that… on the front brakes, it just broke a lot more than what I thought, and in the rear brakes, it had no deceleration at all. It was like I had no rear brakes at all.

Once the race was resumed Antonelli held off a charge from Hamilton on the standing start, eventually sealing a comfortable victory - his fifth consecutive victory to open up a 66-point in the championship.

F1 Charles Leclerc Monaco Grand Prix Lance Stroll