May 27, 2022
Welcome back! I am posting for the second day in a row because we have the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend! Monaco has always been one of my favorite races of the season because of its exciting, twisty and tight track. This year, the championship battle between Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Max Verstappen of Red Bull has been close. With Verstappen just taking the lead in the championship last weekend in Spain, the Monaco Grand Prix should give us an interesting battle. Here is everything you should be on the lookout for throughout this weekend:
We are following a typical three-day schedule for this race weekend. FP1 and FP2 on Friday, FP3 and Qualifying on Saturday, and the Race on Sunday.
Weekend Schedule (in EST):
Practice 1: Friday, 5/27, 8:00-9:00 AM
Practice 2: Friday 5/27, 11:00-12:00 AM-PM
Practice 3: Saturday 5/28, 7:00-8:00 AM
Qualifying: Saturday 5/28, 10:00-11:00 AM
Race: Sunday 5/29, 9:00 AM
The track is called the Circuit de Monaco and it runs through the streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine. With a relatively low-speed track, one speed trap in Sector 2, and only one DRS zone in Sector 3, the narrow track gives us one of the toughest circuits of the season. Since the track is all low-speed, teams and drivers have to adapt their cars to go quickest at this street circuit. The new 2022 F1 cars are designed for closer racing, more overtaking, and the downforce distribution is primarily made for high-speed tracks. Monaco’s track will mean that setups have to change to maximize the amount of downforce and pace the cars can produce at lower speeds. The new cars also have wheel covers that make it hard to see the front tires of the car. This obscures the driver’s vision and it makes the Monaco Grand Prix especially difficult. When drivers are making it through the tight corners and turns of the track, they can see the apex of a turn because of a barrier that is lining the track. With the new wheel covers, drivers can’t see the apex anymore. Drivers and teams all have their work cut out for them during Practice sessions: teams have to find the perfect setup and drivers need to make sure they really know the track.
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The Circuit de Monaco |
The narrow width of the track and its winding, twists and turns make it hard for drivers to overtake each other during the race. With barriers lining both sides of the rack, one mistake by a driver can crash the car and end their driving session. Having a good qualifying in Monaco is imperative to have a good race result because drivers will most likely end up maintaining that position during the race. This provides us with one of the best qualifying sessions of the season! Drivers have to have extreme confidence at the track to drive like maniacs and put down some of the fastest lap times of the season! They have to know the track and be able to drive it in their sleep to be able to drive at such fast speeds through the narrow streets of Monaco! It’s really impressive!
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This is what the track looks like from onboard the cars. Look at how narrow the track is! |
This weekend, there are rain predictions in the weather forecast for Monaco. Specifically, rain showers on Sunday. This can make the race even more difficult and completely change the results. The track is already hard to drive as it is; add water to it and it will be a slip and slide! However, the forecast has been quickly changing so maybe there won’t even be rain on Sunday! Either way, we are in for an interesting race weekend.
Ferrari is my top pick for success this weekend. Their car favors low-speed tracks like this one, and they have the pace to do well. Then comes Red Bull. They have confidence from Barcelona after getting their second 1-2 of the season and Red Bull is good at adapting their car to different tracks. While Ferrari and Red Bull are still my top two picks, I still think Mercedes has a chance. After Barcelona, we know that Mercedes has become significantly more competitive. They got back their speed and pace, solved some of their porpoising issues, and had an incredible performance at the Spanish Grand Prix. George Russell even said that the car should be even better in Monaco, so while their car may not be the best at low-speed corners, the Mercedes could beat the top teams with a great Qualifying result. All three teams will be fighting for pole position since difficulty overtaking makes pole the way to win the Monaco Grand Prix. It looks like this weekend is going to be Mercedes vs. Red Bull vs. Ferrari!
I still wouldn’t count out teams like Alfa Romeo though. Last year’s Monaco Grand Prix gave us some unexpected winners. Even though their car wasn’t very good at the beginning of the season, Ferrari got pole position in Quali and Carlos Sainz finished the race in second place. A similar thing happened with McLaren and they qualified fifth and finished third. Anything is possible in Monaco, so a potential Valtteri Bottas podium might not be a crazy thing to wish for!
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The 2021 Monaco Grand Prix podium (we need to get this trio back on the podium together!) |
It’s “Home Race Part 2” for Ferrari! Carlos Sainz had the attention of Spain last weekend during his home Grand Prix, and now Charles Leclerc has the weight of Monaco on his shoulders. The Monegasque has the chance to grab a win at home this year because of how competitive his car has been, but he has a little bit of a curse when it comes to his home race. Ever since his F2 days, Leclerc has had horrible luck in Monaco and is yet to finish a Monaco Grand Prix. When he was in F2, Leclerc gained pole position but was forced to retire his car because of a technical issue. Then, in his first ever home race as an F1 driver, Leclerc had to retire his car on Lap 70 of 78 because of a brake failure. In 2019, his chances seemed to be better because he was driving for Ferrari now. But nope! The team’s strategy failed and he was out of qualifying in Q1. 2020’s Monaco Grand Prix was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally in 2021, Leclerc got pole position in qualifying! That’s amazing, right? Nope! Leclerc crashed on his final run of Q3, so even though he had pole position, his car sustained damage. During the formation lap before the Grand Prix on Sunday, lasting damage that the car had was found and Leclerc could not even start the race! This year, during the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, Leclerc drove the 1974 Ferrari that was once driven by Niki Lauda. This grand prix does not count for anything, it is more like a demonstration. Nonetheless, Leclerc’s curse caught him again and he lost control of the rear of the car, spun, and crashed into the barriers. It was later found that the crash was the result of an issue with the car’s brakes, not a mistake on Leclerc’s part. Hopefully this was the use of the curse for this year and we can have a smooth Monaco Grand Prix with Leclerc winning his home race for the first time! The poor guy doesn’t need any more DNFs at home!
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Charles Leclerc crashed Niki Lauda's iconic Ferrari |
That’s all for now! This race seems like it’s going to be good! There is possibility for a Mercedes-Red Bull-Ferrari rivalry, a potential rain race, and hopefully Leclerc will finally get a win at his home race. I am just asking for him to finish the race. A win can be the icing on the cake! I think we might have to pray to the F1 gods to at least let Leclerc finish the race, give McLaren a good finish, and get Mick Schumacher those points!
I will be back after the race and we will see if my predictions were right!
Happy Race Weekend!
~ Divya
Where I got these
from:
Pictures:
https://d3cm515ijfiu6w.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/13165756/Cars-take-the-hairpin-in-the-Monaco-Grand-Prix-planetF1.jpg
https://cdn.motorsportmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/23175142/2021-Mionaco-podium.jpg
https://www.topgear.com/sites/default/files/2022/05/leclerclauda.jpg?w=976&h=549