F1: Odell Beckham Jr. and Conor McGregor attend Monaco Grand Prix

The growing appeal of Formula 1 apparently has Baltimore Ravens star Odell Beckham Jr. and UFC legend Conor McGregor, both of whom were seen qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday.

Beckham, a 30-year-old NFL sensation who recently signed with Baltimore after missing the 2022 season with a knee injury, was spotted wearing a lilac short-sleeve shirt and matching shorts. This is not the former LSU star’s first appearance at the race, having attended in 2019 and cheered his friend Lewis Hamilton to victory.

“To see Lewis do it under pressure in the championship – I told a brother of mine that this really motivated me, the whole experience,” Beckham Jr told Sky Sports at the time. ‘Also the race, it was really special.’

McGregor, who also attended the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, was seen drinking on a yacht near the Monte Carlo circuit. The former UFC champ wore an unbuttoned silk shirt and matching shorts as he held up bottles of his personal whiskey brand Proper Twelve, which was described as “obnoxious” in a video. Liquor.com review.

Other celebrities in attendance included actor Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, as well as fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger.

McGregor is seen plugging in his whiskey, described in a Liquor.com review as ‘obnoxious’

Other celebrities in attendance included Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones

Celebrities attending Saturday’s qualifying saw defending F1 champion Max Verstappen take pole position and beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

Verstappen called his maiden pole in Monaco ‘very nice’ but there was nothing to cheer for his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez as the winner of last year’s race crashed out early in qualifying.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon surprisingly led towards the end of the session before the 41-year-old Alonso returned to the top as he chased a first pole since the 2012 German GP when he was with Ferrari.

But Verstappen had other ideas as he raced over the walls of the sinewy street circuit to beat Alonso’s time by just 0.084 seconds to clinch his fourth pole of the season and 23rd of his career.

“I knew this weekend it was going to be tight,” said 25-year-old Verstappen. “I must have pushed a little harder.”

Alonso walked up to Verstappen and shook his hand after a fierce battle between the two-time F1 champions.

“Feels great, I’ve always been confident in what I could do,” said Alonso. “We start on the front row in Monaco, so the job is done.”

Both Odell Beckham Jr. (left) and Conor McGregor (right) have attended previous Monaco GPs

Alonso has four third-place finishes in five races, so Verstappen joked he would try to help him finally win again.

‘I will think about it. I would like to see Fernando win, but I would like to win myself,” said Verstappen. “I like to watch his style.”

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc chased a third consecutive pole at his home track, but qualified third, 0.106 behind Verstappen.

But Leclerc was subsequently given a three-place grid penalty by race stewards for impeding McLaren’s Lando Norris. Stewards judged Norris to be on a fast lap and overtook Leclerc in the middle of the tunnel, where he was clearly hampered.

Stewards checked the team radio and found that Ferrari had not given Leclerc any warning of Norris’s approach until the other driver was already directly behind him.

Tommy Hilfiger attends qualifying for the Monaco F1 Grand Prix in Monte Carlo on Saturday

Last year Ferrari made a series of blunders with strategic decisions and team orders – including at the Monaco GP, where Leclerc missed out on a potential victory when he was called into the pits at the wrong time and eventually finished fourth.

Saturday’s grid penalty lifted Ocon from fourth to third, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. improved to fourth, ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in fifth.

Pierre Gasly (Alpine), George Russell (Mercedes), Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) and Norris rounded out the top 10.

Perez starts from the back.

Regarded as one of F1’s best drivers on street circuits, the Mexican driver lost control of the rear as he speeded into Sainte-Devote, crashing into the barriers and breaking his left tire to trigger a red flag.

“He’ll kick himself for that,” said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, adding that Verstappen’s lap was “one of the best laps he’s ever done in qualifying.”

Hamilton, who had crashed towards the end of third practice, left it too late to make it to Q2 on a fresh set of soft tires and then squeezed into Q3 on his final lap as well.

‘It was so heavy. This car is a son of a gun. I pushed so hard,” said the seven-time F1 champion Hamilton. “If you’re speeding, it’s the worst place to be because the car won’t do what you want it to.”

Max Verstappen acknowledges the crowd after his first qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix

Alonso started Q3 with the fastest time and set the tone for a thrilling finish.

“I’m pushing like a beast,” Alonso said on team radio.

He came close, but the Spanish veteran is well placed on Sunday to take his first win since 2013.

Monaco is arguably the most difficult circuit to overtake, but its claustrophobic nature leads to tension and crashes.

“If there is an opportunity, we will seize it,” Alonso said. “We cannot assume that all three cars will finish.”

Verstappen has won three races this season and leads the championship by 16 points over Perez – a lead that could widen significantly.

All of Verstappen’s 38 career wins have been with Red Bull and he needs one more to beat Sebastian Vettel as he won his four F1 titles with the team from 2010-13.

Earlier on Saturday, Verstappen led an eventful final practice session for Perez and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.

A red flag ended the session with a few minutes remaining after Hamilton made an uncharacteristic error by oversteering and slamming his front left tire against the barrier.

Verstappen’s left-back nearly hit the barrier coming out of Sainte-Devote, a near miss not uncommon in Monaco given the nature of the sinewy street circuit.

Lewis Hamilton is pictured walking along the pit lane during Saturday qualifying in Monte Carlo

Leclerc complained that he struggled to enter the ‘S’ section next to the pool, where Sainz crashed late in Friday’s second practice session.

American actor Michael Douglas had an excellent view of everything as he watched from a balcony overlooking the circuit.

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen’s car stopped on track at the end of P3, triggering a virtual safety car. Moments later, with tire cooler, Hamilton shut down as he snaked past the Fairmont Hotel and wedged into the barriers at Mirabeau.

Hamilton got out and slid under a barrier before walking back pensively with his hands behind his back as the car was lifted high into the blue sky by a crane.