Analysis of the Monaco Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit
F1 – Few would doubt that the Monaco race weekend is significant for the F1 race calendar. The history and heritage, the glamour, the spectacular marina setting and the challenge of driving at the limit in such an unforgiving environment of the narrow streets of The Principality all offer something different.
It’s why drivers, teams, sponsors and fans love it. There are challenges, however, most notably the difficulty in overtaking, which has become gradually harder over the years, not least because of sheer size of the modern F1 car. With that in mind, the FIA introduced a new rule this year mandating all cars to take two mandatory pit stops, to create additional jeopardy for the race. Combine that with the strong likelihood of red flags and safety cars at any moment in the race, there are numerous strategy permutations and a likelihood of a much more diverse set of plans put into place by each team.
That’s not to say that qualifying still wasn’t critical for the race weekend. Even with the rule change, it’s the pole that every driver wants more than any other on the calendar. That was certainly clear in the eventful nature of Saturday’s session, with Kimi Antonelli learning a hash lesson, crashing in the chicane in the first session. Combined with Russel’s car suffering a mechanical failure, there was a mountain to climb for Mercedes to even get into the points.
Up front, a magical last lap effort from Lando Norris put him on pole, just 0.1 seconds ahead of the hometown hero, Charles Leclerc. It was also the fastest lap ever recorded in Monaco and gave the Brit a huge confidence boost. Piastri could only manage third, whilst Verstappen would start fourth after Lewis Hamilton was demoted to seventh for impeding the Dutchman during qualifying. Hadjar was a very impressive fifth in the Racing Bull whilst Fernando Alonso showed all his experience of driving in Monaco to start sixth.
The weather was bright and sunny on race day, fitting for the glamorous hospitality, boats and full grandstands peppered around the circuit. With a short run into the first corner, a half-decent start will usually get the pole sitter comfortably in the lead and Norris did exactly that despite a lock-up under breaking. From there, the new pit stop regulations did have some success in causing divergent strategies.
A handful of cars took an early opportunity to stop under the only safety car of the race (a virtual one) which included Tsunoda, Bearman and Gasly. By lap 28 the top four had also all stopped, with the McLarens and Leclerc taking new tyres within a lap of each other and Verstappen slightly later on lap 28.
Conversely, Hadjar had done both of his pitstops by lap 20, supported by his teammate Liam Lawson who held up a few cars behind him to create a suitable gap for a pit stop. This became quite a common theme in the race, with teammates working together to create gaps, hold up rivals and generally finding ways to gain advantages when overtaking is such a challenge. In some cases, cars were going as much as six seconds slower per lap. Not something you could get away with at any other venue.
As the race progressed, it became clear that Verstappen’s plan was to hold out as late as possible for his final stop. He led the race coming into the final laps, and bunched up the reminder of the top four, so that Norris was second, with Leclerc right on his gearbox waiting to pounce on any error and Piastri sandwiched in behind.
It was a great display of driving under pressure from Norris – exactly what Monaco is all about. When Verstappen finally stopped on the penultimate lap, it allowed the Englishman to cruise through to a maiden victory in Monaco. Leclerc held out for second, whilst Verstappen emerged from his late stop to finish fourth. Hamilton took a measured fifth place, whilst the Racing Bulls strategy paid dividends, as Hadjar finished sixth with Lawson in eighth and Gasly splitting them in seventh. The two Williams drivers of Albon and Sainz, who also played their fair share of tactics to hold other drivers up to create pit stop gaps, completed the top ten.
The double podium for McLaren continues their strong lead in the constructors’ championship and the victory for Norris narrows the gap in the driver’s standings to three points at the top behind Piastri. It will be a win that will do much for Norris’ confidence and certainly builds excitement for fans keen to see a tight tussle for the drivers’ crown.
There will inevitably be reviews and commentary about the two stop rule in Monaco, not least because the top four classified the same as qualifying, so on paper it made little difference to the result. It did, however, add to the overall excitement and it would only have taken a safety car at any stage of the race to add further spice to the important strategy calls.
Whilst it can be left to others to debate and decide on what happens next, it’s worth remembering that so much of the charm of Monaco is the unique nature of the circuit and all the positives that brings. It’s the original street circuit of F1. It represents an incredible challenge of concentration for drivers for almost two hours, with the smallest error usually punished with a ‘DNF’.
In the same way that Bahrain is a particular challenge for drivers based on the abrasive surface and need for tyre management, the nature of the track in Monaco is what makes the venue stand apart. Add to Monaco the spectacular setting and the buzz and global attention that it brings to the sport, it’s an invaluable and historic asset. Whatever becomes the conclusion on a set of Monaco-specific regulations, it’s these elements which will endure for fans of the sport.
Formula 1 is straight back to action next weekend for the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
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