July 2023 - Page 22 of 29

Motorsport: Disappointing weekend at Silverstone for Leclerc brothers

10/07/2023

Despite a promising grid position going into Sunday’s race at Silverstone, Monaco’s Charles Leclerc couldn’t convert it into a podium place and slid down the rankings to P9. Younger brother Arthur took a matching position in F2.

“We lacked pace today and it was a tough race,” said 25-year-old Charles Leclerc after falling from P4 to P9 during the course of the 52-lap race at Silverstone. “We stopped early and lost some positions as I struggled to get a good rhythm on the Hards. Then we stopped again, for a new set of Mediums, and I made up a couple of positions at the restart, but then got stuck in a DRS train behind Alex [Albon]. We have some things to review, but our main focus will be to work on our race trim.”

*Leclerc now finds himself seventh in the Driver Standings after placing P9 on the iconic British track over the weekend. Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre*

“So tight between P2 and P10 that the smallest mishap makes a big difference”

Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur echoed Leclerc’s frustrations, saying, “Our plan was to do a one-stop race, running Medium then Hard. We pitted both drivers before the Safety Car, which definitely put us in a bad situation. However, we cannot just blame this episode to explain our finishing positions… We could have done a much better job here in Silverstone with the package that we have now. Next race will be Hungary, on a very different kind of track with hotter temperatures and being able to adapt the car package to the various tracks coming up will be a crucial element. We are continuing to develop the car and will have new parts soon, but it’s so tight between P2 and P10 that the smallest mishap makes a big difference.”

Leclerc’s team mate, Carlos Sainz, had a similar experience, and was didn’t come close to replicate his stunning 2022 win on the British circuit. Despite starting in P5, he too tumbled down five places to P10. Sainz is now fifth in the Driver Standings, while Leclerc is in seventh.

Ultimately, it was be the unassailable Max Verstappen who would take first place, but not without challenge from the young Lando Norris, who screeched past the Dutch driver at the very beginning of the race. The roles quickly reversed again, though, with Verstappen solidifying an unbelievable running streak.

The same story in F2 for Arthur Leclerc

Meanwhile, in the F2 race, the younger Leclerc brother, Arthur, saw his Silverstone experience end in a disappointing P9. The 22-year-old who have been hoping for better after recording one of the fastest lap times of the day.

He now finds himself in 14th in the Driver Standings, after barely picking up a point since Melbourne in early April. There are five more races on the F2 calendar this year.

The next chance for Monaco’s two aspiring drivers will be in Budapest, Hungary, from 21st to 23rd July.

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Featured photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre

Rugby on the water for Monaco Water Games

by: Luke Entwistle

10/07/2023

As part of the new ‘Monaco Water Games’, AS Monaco Rugby is offering the unique chance to play rugby on a pontoon in the middle of Port Hercule.

For three days, between 12th and 14th July, lovers of Rugby will get the chance to experience the sport like never before. A 32m by 36m pontoon will float off the shore of the Monaco Yacht Club and the extremities won’t be marked by white lines, but by water.

Spectators will be able to watch the matches free of charge from the edge of the port, but there is also the chance to get involved in the action itself. The first day will be dedicated to the rugby schools, but on the second day, 13th of July, amateurs will get their chance to compete.

France’s rugby team in the Principality ahead of World Cup

The five-a-side tournament will take place from 10am until 8pm, and teams can quite literally dive head-first into the experience for €400 per team. There can be a maximum of eight players per team. On the final day of competition, a business tournament will take place with 10 teams present, each composed of between seven to 10 players at the cost of €2,500 per team. Each team will be accompanied by either a current or former international rugby player.

The final day of competition will also bring together former internationals for a Legends Match. The identities of these “legends” are yet to be announced. However, there will be stars off the pontoon too.

The French squad will be in the Principality of Monaco between 2nd and 16th of July, and will sign shirts on the evening of the final day of the competition.

Ahead of the Rugby World Cup, which starts with France facing New Zealand in Paris, this unique experience of the game will create excitement ahead of the competition, with many matches taking place just down the road at the Allianz Riviera in Nice.

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Photo source: Unsplash; This article was originally published on 14th June 2023.

Boris Herrmann’s message to young people on climate change: “Be curious and drive innovation”

by: Cassandra Tanti

09/07/2023

“My message to young people is this: I invite you to be very curious, to question the status quo and also the social norms. The way we’re doing things today is not right regarding climate change.” This was German skipper Boris Herrmann’s message to the youth gathered at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge.

After just completing the Ocean Race, during which Boris Herrmann and his crew won the final stage, Herrmann was at the Yacht Club de Monaco, ‘home’ of his Malizia team – designed and founded together with Pierre Casiraghi – for the 10th edition of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge.

“We need to make a breakthrough and we will see the greatest changes in the history of our civilization in the next century,” said Herrmann to the young students participating in the competition. “This will be a very challenging time for engineers and technicians to work on solutions to drive change, so be ambitious and don’t stop at no.”

The event, dedicated to alternative propulsion, gathered together 31 universities and around 50 teams for a total of 500 international students, who competed in various competitions at sea with their boats powered by alternative propulsion.

Boris Herrmann has long been committed to the environment, including, for example, a laboratory onboard his boat during the last Vendée Globe.

“Here at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, we see students with boats with solar technologies but also with hydrogen fuel cells. They are technologies that are not common. They will drive innovation and some startups will emerge from here. They will certainly learn a lot, and more and more talent will spread among the people who work in the sector.”

The German sportsman now has his eyes set on the Transat Jacques Vabre in October 2023 and the Vendée Globe 2024-2025.

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Photo source: Yacht Club de Monaco

Plum Foundation donates massive $100,000 cheque to Monaco’s “Noah’s Ark” for coral

by: Elsa Carpenter

09/07/2023

The US-based Plum philanthropic foundation, a champion of rewilding and restorative projects around the world, has donated $100,000 to the World Coral Conservatory being spearheaded by Monaco institutions.

The founder of Plum, Sally Dufour Berte, was in Monaco to hand over the generous cheque on 27th June. The funds will go towards financially supporting the World Coral Conservatory, an initiative that is the result of close collaboration between the Centre Scientifique de Monaco (CSM), the Institut Océanographique-Fondation Prince Albert I de Monaco (IO) and the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco (FPA2).

Together, the three establishments are working to preserve living corals through an international network of aquariums and research institutes.

The official website for the Conservatory, known in French as the Conservatoire Mondial du Corail, describes the project as being “a consortium of scientists, aquarium curators and NGOs working on the ground for reef restoration [that] are committing to a proposal to build a ‘Noah’s Ark’ for reef-building corals that will serve as a reservoir for coral reef conservation, research and restoration purposes”.

Also present at the event were: Olivier Wenden, Vice-President and Managing Director of the FPA2; Cyril Gomez, Deputy Director General of the IO; Doctor Denis Allemand of the CSM, and several other members of the scientific centre, which is based on Quai Antoine 1er in the Principality.

Photo credit: CSM

Video: Gallery tour of Monaco Art Week 2023

by: Cassandra Tanti

08/07/2023

Join Monaco Life as we tour the Principality’s biggest galleries and auction houses, who have joined forces to offer the public a unique chance to discover and engage with different periods of art through a dynamic programme.

From Renoir and Picasso to Kusama and Botero, Monaco Art Week is a feast for collectors, professionals and art lovers.

In Part 1, we feature the following:

Sotheby’s – Chagal, Rêves de couleur – Louise Grether

Opera Gallery – Monaco Masters Show – Damien Simonelli

G&M Design – David Bailey – Veronika Desanglois

Ward Moretti at Moretti Fine Art – Impressionism, painting from Nature – Emma Ward

Click on the video below…

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Photo: Cassandra Tanti (right) on the Monaco Art Week tour, credit: Alice Bensi

Photos: 30 successful years of vulture reintroduction in the Mercantour

by: Stephanie Horsman

07/07/2023

Three decades after the creation of a reintroduction programme in the Mercantour for the European bearded vulture, an extremely endangered bird, Prince Albert visited the site to see the success story in action.

The European bearded vulture is one of the most endangered species on the continent and was extinct in the Southern Alps from the start of the 20th century. Only a few breeding pairs were known to be in existence in the Pyrenees and it seemed as if the regal bird was going to go the way of the dinosaur.

That is until ornithologists and concerned citizens stepped in to try and bring back the declining population. Efforts have been successful and the bearded vulture is now protected at a European level.

LOCAL EFFORTS

Locally, a reintroduction scheme was hatched in the Mercantour that saw three of the endangered birds released near Roubion in 1993. Two years later, a fourth bird was added to the group, and releases of new vultures continued in various places around the Alpes-Maritimes in subsequent years.

The result is that a total of 45 young bearded vultures have been released in the Southern Alps. 25 births have been clocked, although there may well have been more. It is now estimated that 40 pairs of the species are thriving in the region, with five of those pairs regularly seen.

The work continues with designated protected breeding sites in place and monitoring systems to track mortality rates, the impact of pollution and genetic information set up. Awareness programmes on the importance and plight of the bearded vulture have also been released.

30th ANNIVERSARY AND ROYAL TREATMENT

The 30th anniversary of concerted efforts are certainly something worth celebrating and Prince Albert II, whose Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has been a part of the programme to preserve the bearded vulture since 2007, met with the president of the Alpes-Maritimes department, Charles Ange Ginésy, in Saint-Dalmas-le-Selvage to commemorate the occasion at the start of July.

*Prince Albert II of Monaco with the president of the Alpes-Maritimes department, Charles Ange Ginésy. Photo credit: Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco*

“I would like to thank His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco for honouring us with his presence,” said Ginésy in his speech. “Everyone is aware of his powerful commitment to protecting our planet. A few months ago, we walked through the Roure Arboretum together, and he provided invaluable support for our efforts to reintroduce the bearded vulture.”

The Prince was able to witness a bearded vulture nest via a telescope, before heading to the Camp des Fourches to tour the murals there, which was followed by a picnic in the countryside.

*A European bearded vulture nest on the cliffs of the Mercantour National Park. Photo credit: Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco*

Click on the images below to see more…

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Photos via the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco