These five hybrids are a better bet than Oscar this weekend
Australians are avoiding full EVs like a bogan avoids beige interiors. It’s not just that The Mad Musk’s selling 59.6 per cent fewer Teslas, or the fact that very fast charging of EVs will limit battery life.
No it’s the early adopters (teals and basket weavers) who went and bought their pretend cars years ago, while proper Australians are waiting for proper infrastructure before they go all EV.
In the meantime, if you want less smoke and more money in the very stretched pocket (not a sizeist comment) plus a real engine, here are this sunburnt country’s most miserly metal. Note: these are full hybrids.
Do not be conned into buying a mild hybrid thinking you are doing something for what’s left of the planet or saving maximum money.
1. Toyota Yaris Hybrid
The Max Verstappen of hybrids. Australia’s reigning fuel-efficiency champ, the Yaris Hybrid ($38,000 on the real road), is nimble, reliable and sips just 3.3l per 100km – perfect for the 260kmh stretch down Avenue Beaux Arts before you slip into the Mirabeau corner.
2. Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid
The eco SUV for Double Bay cowboys and cowgirls, the Yaris Cross Hybrid delivers 3.8l/100km. $41k.
3. Lexus LBX Hybrid
Don’t like being seen in a South Yarra tractor? The Lexus LBX has most of the luxury of a $260,000 Range Rover (12.8l/100km) with 3.8l/100km for $52k. If in doubt always buy a Lexus.
A Hyundai i30 Hybrid.
A Hyundai i30 Hybrid.
4. Hyundai i30 Sedan Hybrid
Not completely safe and noisy under stress (up hills) but the i30 Sedan Hybrid at 3.9l/100km is stylish and an easy drive. $38k.
5. Toyota Corolla Hybrid (Sedan)
The Fred Alonso of hybrids. The Corolla Hybrid has Toyota reliability, a super boot and guarantees a smooth ride from Antony Noghès to Sainte-Dévote, all with 3.9L/100km. $36k.
Your off-track agenda this weekend: Monte Carlo’s unmissables
Look if we don’t catch up aboard the 40m AVA ($140,000 for this weekend), moored in its prime berth (an extra $70k) at the entrance of the Piscine section (where F1 drivers go swimming with their cars) let me give you some inside tips.
Head straight to Prince Bert’s palace. While most of us call him Bert, you may know him as Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi, 67, whose house is on a rock overlooking the racecourse.
Ignore the state rooms and vaulted ceiling painted with frescoes and head straight to Bert’s car collection. Lots of F1s, euro masterpieces and hypercars with the usual assortment of royal weirdo stuff like a 1955 Citroen DS and Peugeot 504. If you’re into fish the Oceanographic Museum is worth two hours – or 20 minutes if you have kiddies under seven.
What happened at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari last weekend?
Hamo gave Ferrari fans something cui esultare about at Imola, fighting his way from twelfth to fourth. It was the kind of drive we used to see weekly from him in a Mercedes, only this time it came dressed in red and surrounded by the fans.
Hamo finally looked like he was driving with the car rather than against it. And he even waved to the crowd
Red Bull Racing’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen. Picture: AFP
Did the FIA pull out a real safety car because Mad Max was too far ahead? When Esteban Ocon stopped in, officials made it a virtual safety car incident. When Kimi Antonelli stopped in basically the same spot it was a real safety car. FIA briefed some journalists that the difference was a “recovery vehicle was needed to move Antonelli’s Mercedes, given it was uphill and a further distance to the next available post than where Ocon’s car had been pushed to”.
Mad Max won the race, by the way. Again. More on that below.
Verstappen does Verstappen things
Oscar Piastri had the McLaren on pole and Lando Norris was in the mix, but Verstappen outfoxed them both with a stunning lap-one move that left jaws on the floor. Straight up the inside at Tamburello. Game over.
McLaren had led every practice session. They had the pace. They had the momentum. But pitting our Oscar too early opened the door for Max, who made his stop under a virtual safety car and never looked back.
Franco Colapinto’s return to the grid (replacing Jack Doohan) was … messy. He binned it in Quali and limped home near last. Flavio Briatore says Franco’s got five races to prove himself. That clock is ticking.
Antonelli’s homecoming headache
Mercedes junior Kimi Antonelli didn’t get the fairytale finish the home crowd hoped for. A technical failure on lap 44 ended his run, and the 18 year old admitted the pressure got to him. To be fair, if your entire high school class was watching from the paddock, you might have nerves too.
Tomorrow’s best bet
There’s been changes: Monaco’s getting two forced intermissions this year. In a bid to spice up a snoozefest up, the FIA has told drivers they must pit at least twice during Sunday’s race.
So now, with two mandatory stops, we might actually get some mid-race theatre – if not from overtaking, then at least from watching pit crews scramble like it’s a tyre-changing grand final.
In an exclusive interview, William Hill tells us: “Oscar, Leaping Lando and Mad Max have combined to win all seven races this year. Russell and Leclerc are the only other drivers to finish on the podium in a full-length race”. So, it’s: Oscar – 15/8; LL – 9/4 and Mad Max – 3/1.
And don’t believe “the driver on pole always wins” fake news. The driver starting from pole position has won the Monaco Grand Prix 32 times out of 70 Formula 1 races held at the circuit (ie just under 50 per cent). In recent years, the trend has been slightly more favourable for pole-sitters, with four wins from the last nine Monaco races, including victories by the pole-sitter in both 2023 and 2024.
The most recent pole-to-win conversions were by Max Verstappen in 2023 and Charles Leclerc in 2024.
Wienermobiles take Indy
Yes, this is real. Oscar Mayer entered all six of its sausagemobiles into a race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — the “Wiener 500” yesterday. Sausage-themed cars, regional condiment tributes, and a spray of mustard for the winner. Results next week. America, never change.
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