Verstappen needs to put the squeeze on Hamilton
THE Monaco GP is on the bucket list of world sporting events for many, and who can deny its glitz, glamour and the courage, skill and talent it takes to squeeze an F1 car through its insanely tight circuit?
After being cancelled last year due to Covid-19, the Crown Jewel of F1 is back, and here we look at three factors, and one concern, that could define the GP tomorrow.
The last time Ferrari won a race was at Monza in 2019 when Charles Leclerc powered his way to victory at Monza. Legal issues followed for the Scuderia thereafter, which pinched the output of their power unit, and led to some shadowy deals being struck behind the scenes and then the disastrous 2020 season followed.
On Thursday at Monaco, however, Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz topped the second free-practice timesheets, taking everyone by surprise. The pace of the Scuderia seems genuine – in the first practice session they put in some good lap times on the white-band hard compound tyre – and according to F1.com, the Ferraris is just 0.09 seconds off the pace of the Red Bull, and 0.03 behind Mercedes.
The Tifosi have also been waiting since 2017 to see the Prancing Horse win at F1’s most illustrious race. That year Sebastian Vettel claimed victory, and a celebratory dip in the pool afterwards.
If Ferrari emulate their pace in qualifying, then there is every chance that they can claim that victory.
Track position is everything at Monaco, where the corners are hard and slow, the straight short, and the overtaking bloody difficult. If it does happen, then expect it to happen at Turn 1 Sainte Devote, Turn 5 Mirabeau Haute, Turn 8 Portier, the Nouvelle Chicane and Turn 17 La Rascasse. That might seem like a long list of opportunities, but each corner requires nerves of steel and millimetre precision to miss the Armco barriers and effect an overtake.
The slower teams also have an opportunity to maximise their track position, if they have a good qualifying and opening lap of the race, as it is not unusual for faster drivers to get stuck and frustrated behind loitering cars. On average, there are 12 overtakes at Monaco – by far the least on the calendar – so every one of them counts.
Red Bull had a slightly underwhelming Thursday, but are still expected to be the fastest car in the paddock today. Monaco is considered one of their tracks – it is a high downforce circuit, which is Red Bull’s bread and butter.
All the other teams will be running a similar setup, including Mercedes, which is hard on the tyres, so management and tactics will play a significant role in the running of the race, especially if a 1-pitstop strategy is involved. Hamilton’s and Verstappen’s teammates – Valterri Bottas and Sergio Perez – will be of equal importance, and both must be in contention to ensure that no pitwall shenanigans undercut their respective teams.
In 2019 Hamilton put in a brilliant performance on ageing medium-compound tyres that had lost most of their mechanical grip to keep Verstappen at bay, the Dutchman making a slight error in lap 76 as he tried to force an overtake.
Verstappen can ill-afford such a mistake tomorrow, so he needs every aspect of his team and car to work together if he – or Perez – are to claim what will be a very important victory, and keep the rivalry alive between the two teams.
Clearly, what we don’t want to see is either Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen or Perez smashing their cars into the barriers tomorrow. Verstappen, especially, needs to keep his cool, and remain calm as he completes his rotation around the Circuit de Monaco.
The 23-year-old is 14 points behind Hamilton in the world championship standings, and crashing out of the race – if Hamilton is in the lead – could be a major setback for Red Bull. The first corner of the race, Sainte Devote, could be the turning point that defines the race, especially if the two rivals are at the front of the grid. Any wheel-to-wheel action is a danger around the track, especially at Mirabeau Haute, the Grand Hotel hairpin, Mirabeau Bas, the chicane after the tunnel and Portier.
Drivers who push too hard, could also end their day easily at Tabac and Piscine, so accuracy and concentration will be the watchwords tomorrow.