Red Bull can celebrate 250th Formula One race with Monaco win
MONACO: Former champions Red Bull can scoop the jackpot in Monaco this weekend as they celebrate the team’s 250th Formula One race start.
The most glamorous grand prix on the calendar, with its historic track winding past the 19th century casino and along the harbourside, could favour Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
“We don’t head into the weekend as favourites – they are Red Bull and Ferrari,” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff warned ahead of the sport’s showcase event.
“Red Bull are strong in the slowspeed corners and where straight line speed is less important, while Ferrari dominated last year.”
Mercedes are leading both world championships, with Lewis Hamilton 17 points clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel after five races.
But the Briton’s hopes of three wins in a row, after Azerbaijan and Spain, could be dented by rivals who – on past form and circuit characteristics – can be expected to come back strong.
Ferrari swept the front row last year and finished one-two, with Vettel leading polesitter Kimi Raikkonen, while Hamilton could manage only seventh. His Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas was fourth.
Vettel could do with a boost after winning the first two races and then failing to make it onto the podium in the last three.
“Going to Monaco I’m fairly optimistic, I don’t see why we shouldn’t be in a good shape,” the German told reporters after Barcelona.
“But then you need to see when you get there. The tyres are different, also significantly softer and the track is unique. So we’ll see. Hopefully it’s a nice surprise,” added the four times world champion.
Australian Ricciardo, who finished third in the Mediterranean principality last year and was on pole position in 2016, has every reason to feel as bullish as the branding on his overalls.
“To win in Monaco would be huge, for the 250th, for the team,” said Ricciardo, the winner in Baku in April. — Reuters