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Month: June 2026

Antonelli wins chaotic Monaco Grand Prix as Leclerc crashes out on home streets

by: Cassandra Tanti
07/06/2026

Kimi Antonelli claimed his fifth victory from six races to extend his championship lead, while a brake failure robbed Charles Leclerc of a podium finish at his home Grand Prix in one of the most turbulent afternoons Monte Carlo has seen in years.

The Mercedes driver dominated a fractured, chaotic afternoon in Monte Carlo, matching Lewis Hamilton’s run of five straight wins with the Brackley-based squad. Hamilton finished second, with Isack Hadjar completing the podium after post-race penalties were applied.

A race of two crashes

The race was red-flagged on lap 68 of 78 after the track surface appeared to break up at the final corner, the incident triggered by Lance Stroll’s retirement followed by Leclerc crashing at the same spot on the subsequent safety car restart.

Television cameras cut quickly to Ferrari’s car number 16 in the exact same spot where Stroll had gone in. Leclerc, visibly anguished, hit his steering wheel in frustration.

Leclerc blamed brake problems he described as undrivable, stating: “It’s just undrivable.”

His fury was barely contained over the team radio, where he made clear where he placed responsibility. “Honestly, I’m not even going to take the fucking blame,” he said. “These fucking brakes!”

Charles Leclerc at the Monaco Grand Prix 2026. Photo source: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre

A weekend-long struggle

The crash did not come out of nowhere. Leclerc had spoken openly throughout the weekend about “struggling massively” with the Ferrari’s “extremely inconsistent” braking, an issue tied to tyre temperature and what he described as “another issue”. “At the moment it’s a bit of a discovery whenever I get on the brakes,” he said on Saturday.

The same problem had occurred in Canada the previous weekend, turning his last two races into a mechanical ordeal. His teammate Lewis Hamilton had reportedly adopted a different car configuration for the previous three or four grands prix. “Lewis went in that direction three or four races ago,” Leclerc acknowledged after the race. “I think it made a difference on other circuits, but today it was just undrivable for me.”

Looking to Barcelona

Speaking in the TV media pen after his retirement, Leclerc described himself as “extremely disappointed, sad, angry, mixed of negative emotions.”

He told Canal+ that he did not want to speak at length for fear of being too harsh in his words, adding: “That’s unacceptable. The brake problems I’ve had the last two weekends… It’s just undrivable.” Despite the bitterness, he looked ahead: “Things will be different for Barcelona; I hope to rediscover my feeling with the car.”

For Antonelli, the result leaves him still two races adrift of Nico Rosberg’s record of consecutive wins with Mercedes, but firmly in command of the championship heading to Spain. For Leclerc, a second successive mechanical retirement on home soil leaves unresolved questions about Ferrari’s ability to solve a brake inconsistency that has now cost him dearly in back-to-back weekends.

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Main photo credit: Michaël Alesi / Frédéric Nebinger / Palais princier 

Hamilton and Leclerc lock out second row as Antonelli takes Monaco pole

by: Cassandra Tanti
07/06/2026

Kimi Antonelli claimed pole position for the Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix de Monaco 2026 on Saturday, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc starting from the second row after a qualifying session that delivered tension until the very last moment.

The 19-year-old Mercedes driver, who leads the Drivers’ Championship, set a time of 1’12″051 to beat Max Verstappen’s Red Bull by just 0.043 seconds — the front row decided by the narrowest of margins. Hamilton qualified third for Ferrari, 0.228 seconds off pole, with Leclerc fourth after clipping the barriers at Tabac corner on his final flying lap, ending his bid for what would have been a fairytale pole position on home soil.

The full top ten: Antonelli, Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), George Russell (Mercedes), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Lando Norris (McLaren), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls).

A session that went to the wire

Ferrari had set the pace throughout Friday’s free practice sessions, with Leclerc and Hamilton trading fastest times across FP1 and FP2, raising expectations for the Scuderia heading into qualifying. The picture shifted on Saturday morning when Antonelli topped the final practice hour, signalling that Mercedes had found something overnight.

In Q1 and Q2, both SF-26s progressed comfortably. The decisive moment came in Q3. On his first run, Leclerc made a small mistake. Hamilton went quicker on his opening attempt, posting a 1’12″553. Leclerc then returned to set a 1’12″351, briefly moving to the top of the timesheets — only for Hamilton to improve to 1’12″279, and then for both Antonelli and Verstappen to move ahead of the Ferrari pair.

Leclerc set off on a final flying lap that, by Ferrari’s own account, was very much in contention for pole position — until he touched the wall at Tabac, ending his run and leaving him fourth on the grid.

The drivers react

Hamilton, who came closest among the Ferrari pair to challenging for pole, was measured in his assessment. “Monaco always delivers one of the standout qualifying sessions of the season, with an incredible crowd and atmosphere and a level of intensity I always enjoy,” he said. “At the start of the session, I didn’t quite have the same confidence in the car that I felt in free practice, so we will need to look closely at what changed. I could feel some differences in balance, but the margins were incredibly tight throughout between Kimi, Max, Charles and myself.”

For Leclerc, it was a difficult end to a difficult weekend so far. “It’s been a tough weekend for me, right from the first session. I’ve been struggling to get the right feeling in the car and have been facing some issues, which I am sure we will find solutions for soon,” he said. “On a track like this, if you go into qualifying without full confidence, you can pay the price. Today, it was a combination of different factors, and unfortunately I didn’t finish my last flying lap in Q3. Nevertheless, I will give it my all.”

What Sunday holds

Monaco’s street circuit is notoriously difficult for overtaking, but the new generation of Formula 1 cars — shorter, narrower and more agile — has raised hopes of a more fluid race than the circuit has sometimes produced. Ferrari will be looking to convert second-row grid positions into points, with strategy likely to play a central role.

The Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix de Monaco 2026 starts at 15:00 CEST and runs over 78 laps — 260.286 kilometres through the streets of Monte Carlo.

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Photo source: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre

 

Interview: “The car is silent, but you still feel the speed” — Antoine Dufilho on his Monaco masterpiece

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/06/2026

French sculptor Antoine Dufilho has unveiled Formula One, a life-size kinetic sculpture installed on the bow of the superyacht Stella Maris in the port of Monaco for the duration of the Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Grand Prix de Monaco 2026.

The work — red, built entirely from aluminium, and the full dimensions of a Formula 1 monopost — deconstructs the car into successive layers of metal, alternating solid and void so that, though completely still, it reads as movement. The effect changes depending on where the viewer is standing.

Dufilho, who has been developing this approach with automotive subjects since turning to sculpture full-time in 2012, describes the tension between stillness and speed as central to what the work is doing. “The sculpture does not move, but the rhythm of the metal, the voids, the lines and the reflections suggest speed and motion,” he told Monaco Life’s Cassandra Tanti. “A Formula 1 car is normally associated with noise, power and acceleration. Here, it is silent and still, but the viewer can still feel the energy. That contrast is exactly what makes the image so strong.”

From a crane in Italy to the harbour in Monaco

Getting the sculpture onto the Stella Maris was not a straightforward process. It was lifted by crane onto the yacht in Italy before the vessel made the journey to Monaco by sea — an arrival conceived, in Dufilho’s words, as the cinematic opening of the event.

Watching the work go up was, by his account, something close to nerve-wracking. “When a full-scale sculpture leaves the ground, suspended above a yacht, you suddenly become very aware of its weight, its fragility, and all the work behind it,” he said. “Seeing it finally installed on the Stella Maris, floating towards Monaco, was almost unreal. It was the moment where the sculpture entered a completely different dimension.”

Voids as material

The layering technique Dufilho uses on Formula One is the same he has applied to Bugatti, Ferrari and Porsche bodies in earlier works — but at full scale, the effect is more confrontational. Asked what he is trying to reveal that a conventional representation of a car could not, he says: “I’m trying to show something normally invisible: the rhythm of the form, the flow of air over the body shape, the tension of the lines. The voids are just as important as the metal. They allow the viewer to mentally reconstruct the car, but also to feel its speed and presence in a different way.”

The parallel with the circuit itself is one Dufilho draws readily. Monaco, where barriers are centimetres from the cars and the margin for error is almost non-existent, is a context he understands. “My work requires a high level of precision. Each element has to be positioned carefully, because the rhythm only works if the lines are right. A few centimetres can change the balance of the whole sculpture. There is a real parallel with motorsport: precision, tension, control and risk.”

Art in a non-art context

‘Formula One’ is not in a gallery. It is on the water, in the middle of one of the most concentrated social events on the sporting calendar, visible to racing fans, yacht guests and tourists who may never set foot in a contemporary art space. Dufilho sees that as an opportunity rather than a complication.

“In Monaco, during the Grand Prix, many people will first approach it through emotion, curiosity or passion for racing,” he says. “The work has to speak immediately, even before any explanation. It has to create a reaction from people who may not be collectors, but who understand beauty, speed, engineering and emotion. For me, that connection with a wider public is very important.”

He came to sculpture through a family connection to the art world — his great-uncle, the actor and collector Jacques Dufilho, introduced him to the visual arts — and studied architecture and landscape at the École de Lille before committing to sculpture full-time. In July 2022, he exhibited a monumental work at the French Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Circuit Paul Ricard.

Throughout the Grand Prix weekend, a selection of smaller works is on display aboard the Stella Maris and in the VIP suites. A private Art Night is being held on board on Friday 5th June.

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Photos courtesy of Antoine Dufilho

Monaco celebrates Corpus Christi with the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

by: Virginia D’Umas
05/06/2026

The streets of the Principality were filled with a spirit of devotion and purpose on Wednesday 3rd June as the faithful gathered to celebrate Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. Though traditionally held on a Thursday, the celebration was rescheduled to accommodate the constraints of the Grand Prix, bringing together a diverse community to honour the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

The celebration served as a ‘Feast of the Diocese’, inviting the faithful to gather for a time of sharing, praise, and enrichment. The programme began in front of the Oceanographic Museum, where attendees enjoyed a welcome featuring testimonies from the sisters of the Sacred Heart parish, the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, and members from the diocesan service for Christian initiation of adults (SICA). The event was further enlivened by the presence of the Monaco Municipal Orchestra.

“This feast honours the belief of the faithful in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist,” explained Karine, a representative from the Diocese of Monaco, to Monaco Life. The event featured a Pontifical Mass at the Cathedral, followed by a solemn Eucharistic procession through the streets of ‘The Rock,’ complete with moments of adoration and blessings for the residents and businesses of the area.

For Karine, the procession serves as a profound act of evangelisation. “We carry the people around us in our prayer, to transmit to them the peace and the blessing of God, so that many leave this evening from Monaco a little happier, by having had the testimony of our joy.” She reminded Monaco Life of the words of Pope Leo XIV during his visit to the Principality: “The Church in Monaco is called to bear witness, by living in the peace and the blessing of God”.

Photo credit: Virginia D’Umas, Monaco Life

A historic procession on ‘The Rock’

During the procession, the priest carried the Eucharist in a monstrance beneath a canopy, a tradition reflecting the history of the feast when streets were once elaborately decorated with drapes and garlands. In Monaco, the procession holds special significance, moving from the Cathedral toward a repository at the Place du Palais—where Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene were waiting at a window to greet the procession—before continuing to a second repository at the Place de la Mairie. The Archconfraternity of the Penitents of Mercy actively accompanied the procession, with music sustained by the Monaco Municipal Orchestra.

For those unfamiliar with the significance of the day, a dedicated team was available throughout the procession to offer explanations, ensuring the event remained an open and welcoming tradition for all to discover.

A vital link to the holy land

The celebration highlighted the essential work of the Lieutenancy of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in Monaco. The Order, which traces its roots back to the First Crusade and the protection of the Holy Sepulchre, remains deeply committed to supporting the Christian communities in the Holy Land—Israel, the Palestinian territories, Cyprus, and Jordan.

With approximately 60 members, the Monaco Lieutenancy is small but highly active. Led by Lieutenant Hubert Perrin, the Order’s mission rests on three pillars: vivifying the Catholic faith in the Holy Land, supporting Church institutions such as schools and hospitals, and deepening the spiritual life of its own members through charity.

“Concretely, the Order is the main financial support of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem,” a representative noted. “We finance schools, parishes, hospitals, and charitable works for the benefit of the Christian communities in the region.” In recognition of this dedication, Prince Albert II was invested as a Knight of the Collar in 2021.

Photo credit: Virginia D’Umas, Monaco Life

Personal journeys of faith

The event provided a platform for members to share their deeply personal paths to the Order.

For one member, a Knight of the Order, the ceremonial habit is not merely clothing, but a silent testament to his faith. “Wearing this habit in the street is saying without a word: ‘I believe.’ It is a testimony even before opening one’s mouth,” he shared. He emphasised that the Order acts as a “living chain” that has endured for centuries, ensuring that the memory of Christ in Jerusalem is never extinguished.

Another member, Sister Yves Charbel Octave Bamba from the Institute of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Incarnation, shared her transformative journey from a modest Muslim family in Ivory Coast to her religious life in Monaco. Her path was defined by a profound “inner conviction” and the support of spiritual guides, eventually leading her to serve the youth and the Church.

Similarly, Simon, a member of the service for Christian initiation for adults, spoke of his own discovery of faith at the age of 40. “I encounter the Lord, I discover faith,” he said, reflecting on his work assisting adults seeking baptism or confirmation. He noted that the service welcomes anyone with curiosity, regardless of their background, aiming to foster free individuals who “live with love”.

Main photo credit: Michael Alessi, Prince’s Palace

A global solidarity

As the procession concluded, the message remained one of unity. Whether serving through the catechumenate or providing aid to the Holy Land, the members of the Monaco community underscored that faith is not a private matter, but a shared journey.

“We are a solidarity that crosses borders, centuries, and cultures,” the Knight reflected during the procession. Through their prayers, pilgrimages, and concrete support, the faithful of Monaco continue to offer a lifeline of hope to those facing immense hardship in the Middle East, reminding them, in the words of the faithful: “You are not alone”.

The evening concluded at the FANB school with a diocesan aperitif, where young people preparing for the upcoming World Youth Day served the community, marking a final moment of conviviality and prayer to close the feast.

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Main photo credit: Michael Alessi, Prince’s Palace

 

Sun, silence and sustainable seafood: Elsa Marcel Ravin returns for 2026

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/06/2026

Elsa Marcel Ravin has returned for the 2026 season at the Monte-Carlo Beach in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin — Michelin-starred, committed to the sea in ways that go well beyond the view, and this year presenting a new menu built around the Jardin Marin concept. Quieter than Monaco proper, set above the coastline in a protected nature corridor where birdsong competes with the sound of the waves, it is – overwhelmingly – the oasis in Monaco’s bustling dining scene.

The restaurant reopened on 14th April under its new official name, Elsa Marcel Ravin — a rebranding that formalises the fact that two-starred Chef Marcel Ravin has well and truly taken over the kitchen. It is clear that this is his restaurant now, shaped by his vision, his roots in Martinique, and his deep, almost philosophical relationship with the sea.

What the sea dictates

The Jardin Marin menu, developed by Marcel Ravin and Chef Domenico D’Antonio, is built around a principle that sounds simple but is anything but in practice: cook what is caught. The menu changes according to what the local fishermen bring in that day, which means the seafood on your plate is not only fresh but often unfamiliar — species that rarely appear in restaurants precisely because they are not always available, not always in demand, and not always caught in sufficient numbers to be commercially attractive.

Two Michelin starred Chef Marcel Ravin and Chef Domenico D’Antonio. Photo source: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer

And that is the point. Ravin and D’Antonio are making a pointed argument about how we eat from the sea — that the lesser-known, less-fished species are often the most interesting, and that chefs have a responsibility to show diners what they are missing and why it matters. It is a more sustainable relationship with seafood, and one the restaurant has been advocating for years, certified by the Mr. Goodfish label of the World Ocean Network.

The result on the plate is daring in the best sense. Tuna Rossini, iodised celery with plankton, sauces built from marine flora, steaming with seawater — these are not gimmicks but genuine expressions of  culinary intelligence. Ravin and D’Antonio describe their menus as designed “to resonate with the ecosystem like the mermaids’ bewitching siren song, mysterious and captivating”. The poetry is not misplaced.

Vegetables come from the Domaine d’Agerbol on the heights of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, the produce arriving at the kitchen with a lineage as considered as the fish.

The setting does a lot of work

The dining room, designed by India Mahdavi and inspired by the 1930s aesthetic of the Monte-Carlo Beach hotel, is inviting in its azure tones and soft light — but it is the sun-drenched terrace, elegant in its white simplicity, that draws you back, with nothing between you and the Mediterranean.

It is, in the best possible way, a complete escape from the Principality’s usual pace — and a reminder that Marcel Ravin, one of SBM’s most celebrated chef, continues to earn every accolade that comes his way. Few chefs working in Monaco today match his commitment to sustainable produce and fresh, ethically sourced seafood, and fewer still combine that conviction with an imagination that shows no sign of running dry.

Elsa Marcel Ravin is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 12.15pm to 1.30pm and from 7.15pm to 9.30pm.

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Photo source: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer

Marlow named among the world’s most beautiful restaurants at Prix Versailles 2026

by: Cassandra Tanti
05/06/2026

Marlow, the British-inspired restaurant at the heart of Monaco’s new Mareterra district, has been named on the Prix Versailles 2026 list of the world’s most beautiful restaurants — just over a year after opening its doors.

Marlow joins a list that spans Hong Kong to Los Angeles, Helsinki to Cape Town — sixteen restaurants selected by the Prix Versailles jury for the harmony between their design, their setting, and what they put on the plate. As secretary general Jérôme Gouadain put it, these are places where “the art of hospitality meets the art of creating the unforgettable.”

A fictional character and a cabinet of curiosities

Opened in January 2025 as part of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer portfolio, Marlow was designed by artist and interior architect Hugo Toro, whose concept draws on a fictional British character — a nod to the long history of English visitors on the Riviera from the mid-18th century onwards.

The Prix Versailles jury described the result as “warm and sophisticated, almost eccentric,” noting that the spaces arranged around a sculptural central bar function as so many cabinets of curiosities. Custom furniture brings different eras into dialogue, while the menu reinterprets British classics within that same sensibility. “The restaurant Marlow seems to have always been there,” the jury wrote, “like an anchor, a meeting point for residents and visitors.”

Photo source: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer

UNESCO-backed recognition

Supported by UNESCO, the Prix Versailles recognises contemporary achievements in architecture and design across the restaurant, retail and campus sectors, assessing projects on the quality of their design, creativity, relationship to their environment, and the coherence between space and menu.

Marlow’s inclusion on the 2026 list makes it eligible for one of three global titles to be awarded later this year: the Prix Versailles, the Interior Mention, or the Exterior Mention.

To see all the remarkable restaurants who made this year’s list, click here.

See also: 

Why Marlow is Monaco’s new must-try dining destination

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Photo source: Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer