F1 ANALYST
Ben Edwards on F1’s welcome return to Monaco
MONACO HOSTS HOMECOMING STREET PARADE
Formula 1 is returning to the streets over the next few weeks, something we have missed watching for a while. The Olympic Park circuit at Sochi reminded drivers of concrete walls and tight corners in September last year, but it’s not a true street course and there were no others on the Covid-limited calendar of 2020.
Monaco and Baku are about to remind us how minor mistakes can have big consequences. Margins for error are tiny and track limits that are normally defined by Race Control become less of an issue when they are marked by solid barriers and buildings.
Racing in Monte Carlo also increases the tension through the sheer honour of winning such a prestigious event. Over the years there have been plenty of surprise results – from Daniel Ricciardo’s opportunity lost in 2016 due to confusion over tyres in the pits, to his victory in 2018 despite a massive drop in power.
Olivier Panis and Jean-pierre Beltoise celebrated their only career wins assisted by tricky conditions, which can always arise at the harbourside layout. Yet what is fundamental to success is building a rhythm from the first moment of practice on Thursday and extending it over the full course of the weekend.
This year there will be an hour less track time due to the limitations on free practice, which will be tough on Yuki Tsunoda. He will be learning the layout for the first time, unlike the other two rookies: Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, who both raced Formula 2 in Monaco.
For Schumacher, this will be a big weekend of attention and folklore. His father won this race five times, but also courted controversy when he purposefully crashed out in qualifying in an attempt to prevent Fernando Alonso snatching pole in 2006. Michael went on to top the qualifying times in 2012 – the one and only occasion he did so after his Mercedes comeback, but a five-place grid penalty from the previous race robbed him of the chance to start with an empty road ahead.
That was the last time that a driver over 40 set the outright pace in qualifying in F1. It’s a long shot, but perhaps Alonso can return the compliment as he looks forward to his own 40th birthday. Twice a polesitter and twice a winner in Monaco with Renault and Mclaren, Fernando pipped Lewis Hamilton to pole in 2007 by a tiny margin when they were team-mates and Lewis was enjoying his first F1 weekend skimming past the Swimming Pool.
Alonso is a canny racer and will make the most of any opportunities, but there are others outside the more regular winning circle who could create a surprise at Monaco. The last time F1 visited his home in 2019, Charles Leclerc set the pace in final practice and was set to fight for pole position. Sadly, Ferrari dropped the ball in the first stage of qualifying by estimating his initial lap to be sufficient to progress to Q2, before discovering it wasn’t…
Leclerc’s performance was extremely impressive considering the power advantage of that year’s Ferrari had less of an influence on the short straights. His surge from 15th on the grid was a joy to watch – until he clipped the barrier at La Rascasse and threw it all away.
Like Alonso, Sebastian Vettel has won the race twice with different teams, but his chances of becoming the first competitor to make it three wins with three separate marques seem pretty remote unless his Aston Martin responds well to a high-downforce package.
Mclaren’s Daniel Ricciardo will be another outside bet, having scored a total of four podiums over the years, but ultimately the battle is likely to be between Mercedes and Red Bull; Hamilton vs Verstappen delivering a duel through Casino Square.
Max has not had a good time of things in Monaco, despite showing fantastic pace. Practice session crashes have twice scuppered his qualifying opportunities, and he smacked the barrier at Massenet when climbing the field in 2016. He hounded Hamilton in the final laps two years ago and made a brave attempt to pass at the chicane that didn’t quite work. Despite finishing second on the road, a penalty from an earlier incident pushed Max back to fourth, which means surprisingly he has yet to score a podium finish at this most famous of F1 races.
Strangely enough, Max has also failed to finish inside the top three at Baku. The street circuit with one of the longest flat-out sections of any circuit on the calendar provides a different test. Slow-corner agility is crucial, but loading up downforce costs time in the final sector. Red Bull recorded a valuable victory in 2017 with Daniel Ricciardo, but a clash between the Australian and Max during the following year’s race cost the team a potential double podium.
The opportunity for redemption is there; Sergio Perez has enjoyed two podium finishes in Baku and Max has learnt the hard way that key errors cost points. The next two weekends could be fundamental to Verstappen’s title aspirations. He has always shown great pace on street tracks but has never won a grand prix on everyday roads; he needs to correct that statistic. Max has always struck me as a streetwise character. Let’s see if he can live up to that billing.