The Pre-Race Thoughts Series: Monaco Grand Prix

Welcome back to the ‘Pre-Race Thoughts Series’! Today’s focus is on the infamous Monaco Grand Prix held at the Circuit de Monaco. This historically rich track is a fan favourite and personally my all-time favourite track. The scenery is fantastic, the atmosphere is full of buzz and excitement, there's high profile VIP guests and a tight track leaving a small margin for driver error…the stakes are so high. What more could you want.

This all being said, the whispers of the paddock state that Formula One are struggling to renew a contract for the Monaco Grand Prix. The current contract ends this year…could this potentially be the end for F1 and Monaco? I hope not.

The tight and twisty 3.337km circuit sees high elevation changes ranging from 47m to 89.5m, late braking throughout each sector, and results in 78 laps. The first sequence of corners possess different qualities, leading to a potentially interesting start. Turn 1 sees the drivers enthuse very light braking and should aim to place their car nearest to the curb as possible. Exiting turn 1 needs confidence, traction and rapid acceleration for the elevation change through turns 2,3&4. Smooth rotation is crucial for a clean exit out of turn 4, downhill into the twisty and tricky hairpin. It’s the famous tunnel for turn 9, seeing drivers go flat out on the throttle. The drivers need to keep momentum yet use their driver craft to brake as late as possible for the chicane ahead of turns 10 & 11. The final sector is all about finishing the lap with no mistakes. Turns 12-14 are very fast and demanding corners leaving a very slim margin for driver error. Then it’s on the throttle for turn 17, drivers need to brake in a straight line for La Rascasse then straight out again, off the traction and into the DRS zone to conclude the lap.

My Thoughts...

The weather could make for an interesting race as track temperatures ranged from 48 Degrees Celsius but varied all throughout the qualifying session seeing it drop to 40 Degrees. High track temp means the drivers would have to nurse their tyres throughout. To add, there are talks of potential rain for race day…this could be extremely exciting yet challenging for the drivers. On second thought, the Monegasque, Leclerc, does not need any more bad luck looking at his track record at his home race. Let’s lay off the rain dances this weekend. Qualifying is crucial for the Monaco Grand Prix as overtaking is difficult due to the tight nature of a street circuit. Driver technique is really a make or break at this track, if you make an error then you’ll most likely have to retire from the race.

Q1

What an interesting qualifying session that was. The session began with most drivers being eager to get out on the track, seeing the likes of Norris, Magnussen, and Leclerc being the first few out as the session commenced. Perez outshined his teammate, putting in stunning laps with constant improvement on each flying lap resulting in a promising 1.13.292. I believed the second Red Bull had this in the bag until the prancing Ferrari of Leclerc grabbed P1 with an astonishing time of 1.12.939 and thus improved lap after lap.

The session saw a red flag with only 2 minutes to go as the Alpha Tauri of Tsunoda clipped the barrier, resulting in a front left tyre puncture. Slight confusion sparked debate between the commentators as there was only a small amount of debris on track meaning a yellow flag would have sufficed.

The session resumed at 16:20pm local time and with only 2 minutes to go, it was unlucky for a few drivers that were unable to get a full lap in.

The drivers out at the end of Q1 are as follows: ALBON, GASLY, STROLL, LATIFI AND ZHOU.

Q2

This session saw the two prancing Ferrari’s separate the Red Bull's. Leclerc giving his all and making constant improvement on each of his flying laps, resulting in the swift time of 1.11.864 – the fastest lap of the session so far. BUT it was a series of unfortunate events for the two Mercedes and Ricciardo in the McLaren. Hamilton was driving to his absolute limit but pushed a little too hard resulting in the abandonment of his lap. His second flying lap only put him at a disappointing P8. The two constructors were strong contenders in the previous season, it is a great shame to see them struggling this year.

The drivers out at the end of Q2 are as follows: TSUNODA, BOTTAS, MAGNUSSEN, RICCIARDO AND MSCUMACHER.

Q3

Charles Leclerc once again looking like the man to watch this weekend, setting a fantastic lap that was half a second quicker than his best result in Q2.

Although making it to the top 10, it was apparent that the Mercedes were still struggling as they were taking more warm up laps than usual. Their strategy seemed to be out lap then push to the maximum to cool down then push once again.

It was an unexpected ending to the session as Perez locked up, sliding in to the barriers with Sainz mirroring this, crashing in to the Red Bull – resulting in the session ending. Overall it ended in the fantastic result of the Monegasque on provisional pole keeping Ferrari’s title of most pole positions attainted by any constructor at this grand prix. If there's no rain, then I think he's in for the win BUT needs to be wary of his teammate and the ferocious Red Bull of Perez!