It was a tense finish in Monaco. At least it was for a brief moment. While the news surrounding the 2026 edition of the Formula 1 race in Monaco is one of tense excitement, it was really a runaway for 68 of the 78 laps. The youngster, Kimi Antonelli, left everyone in the dust immediately. […]
Mark D. McKee / The Manual
It was a tense finish in Monaco. At least it was for a brief moment. While the news surrounding the 2026 edition of the Formula 1 race in Monaco is one of tense excitement, it was really a runaway for 68 of the 78 laps. The youngster, Kimi Antonelli, left everyone in the dust immediately. While the rest of the field stayed with him for about three laps, he began to pull away early and seemed never to need to look back. That was until near the end, around lap 60, when the chaos began to take hold.
The troubles began when Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll hit the wall at turn 19 and triggered a safety flag. No sooner than the flag was lifted and the engines revved did Charles Leclerc find his way into the same wall due to a braking issue. After the race, Leclerc commented on the brake problem. “Out of the four brakes, I had three brakes not working. So, in a Formula 1 car, it’s never a good thing.” The two crashes then caused a third flag to go up; the red flag flew so crews could clean and inspect the track.
The restart gave fans a bit of a thrill as the chaos allowed other drivers to catch up to Antonelli, who had spent 3/4 of the race so far out front he could have stopped for a Coke and still came away with the win. While there was a tense couple of laps, the teenager pulled away again and it wasn’t long before it was clear he was just the better man on Sunday.
Mark D. McKee / The Manual
The hot topic of the day was the penalties. Five drivers, Russell, Gasley, Hamilton, and Colapinto, all got hit with five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane. Poor Gasley was hit with the same penalty twice. The issue was that it was less about the speed at which the drivers hit going into the lane and more about the angle they took. Hamilton explained after the fact.
“I think it’s just the line that you take, which is the same line we’ve all taken for years, where you come in, you kind of cut part of the white line, head down, went out. And I was shocked to hear that I was speeding because I wasn’t actually above the speed.”
With Antonelli running away with the season already (up on Hamilton by 66 points), it will be interesting to see if anyone can catch up to him and stall his hot streak in Barcelona next week.
Mark cut his teeth in the men’s style world when he sold suits first at box stores such as Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank… Read Full Bio
For the Purists: Porsche’s Manual 911 Carrera S Returns to America
You start the flat-six, and it roars to life. You grab the shift lever and engage first gear, feeling the mechanical action of cables and clutch plates. Feather the gas and ease out the clutch, let the revs climb until the signature Le Mans howl sings from the rear-mounted engine: Ahh, the joys of a manual transmission Porsche 911.
But lately, the opportunities for that feeling have disappeared, as Porsche increasingly uses its PDK automated dual-clutch transmission. While capable of banging off F1-style shifts, the setup left some traditionalists wanting. But there’s good news: due to customer demand, the Porsche 2027 911 Carrera S MT package returns a six-speed manual to North American drivers.
Like supercars? Gordon Murray is teasing a new one on the way for Monterey Car Week
Monterey Car Week got underway this weekend, and there is a bevy of incredible events happening to make any car enthusiast salivate for ten days straight. Starting last Friday, visitors spent the weekend exploring the history of races, checking out a slew of historic race cars, and yesterday was the historic hillclimb many come to see pre-reunion. Today, racers get a chance to collect Poker cards and eat great meals on the route during the Poker Rally and also check out the British side of Monterey Car Week. However, we are looking forward today after Gordon Murray dropped a teaser of what we will get to see at The Quail later this week.
It is always a pleasure to return to California, and I am looking forward to sharing our latest Special Vehicles creation with everyone attending The Quail and enthusiasts around the world. We have been working on something very special – I can’t wait for the covers to come off. – Professor Gordon Murray CBE, Group Executive Chairman
Porsche just proved the Cayenne Electric is the most impressive performance vehicle you can drive
I have seen the movies. I know there is no way that a car can survive in the jet blast of a plane. I remember the scene from Casino Royale. And for me, that is science. But the engineers at Porsche and Stratolaunch aren’t so sure. They operate in the real world of science, and they came together to see if the Porsche Cayenne Electric could withstand the take-off power of one of the largest and most powerful aircraft in the world. Why? Because they can and because curiosity oftentimes leads to something awesome. Spoiler alert…the car holds up. But don’t take my word for it.
The car is its own beast. It’s got the ability to keep up and play in this space. – Orlando Bloom, Porsche ambassador