Monaco – Jewel in F1 Crown
Posted on May 22, 2024 Tags: Monaco
Is McLaren the Real Deal?
My Thanks to Pirelli.com
MONACO IS, QUITE SIMPLY, the highlight of the F1 calendar – year in, year out. And has been since the event’s inception in 1929 when racing engines first reverberated around the tight streets of the Principality.
The magic all began when cigarette manufacturer Antony Noghes decided to organise a race with his mates from the Automobile Club de Monaco.
This weekend marks that impressive milestone – it’s the 70th edition of the race to count towards the Drivers’ World Championship.
There were in fact eleven earlier races, ten before the World Championship for the blue riband racing category was established and one in 1952 when the Grand Prix was contested by closed-wheel Sports cars.
Can McLaren do it Again?
Ayrton Senna still holds the Monaco record for the most wins (6), pole positions (5) and podium finishes (8)!
Red Bull arrives to Monaco still dominating the F1 season but, due to McLaren’s emergence, well aware they’re facing a huge threat that’s been a long time coming.
It’s worth remembering McLaren – with 17 wins here – is the most successful team, while Ferrari has started from pole the most times (12) and has set the most (17) fastest race laps.
Image right is of McLaren’s tribute livery for Monaco 2024.
As tributes continue worldwide for the legendary Brazilian, we remember he was first past the chequered flag on every occasion from 1987 to 1993, with the sole exception of 1988 when he retired on lap 66 while leading.
Last weekend’s thrilling finish to the Imola Grand Prix, suggests It’s all down to whether Lando Norris can continue his new battle with Max Verstappen, with Monaco local Charles Leclerc busting to put his Ferrari on pole.
Fine weather predicted for 70th
At just 200 hectares, Monaco is considered the world’s second-smallest country – only the Vatican is smaller. The Grimaldi/Rainier dynasties have held the reins of the tiny country for a cool 725 years!
Monaco has the lowest average lap speed of the whole championship, at around 150kph.
The total length of this historic track – which has hosted 68 races – is just 3.337 kilometres, and the most successful driver in terms of wins is Ayrton Senna.
Scuttlebutt!
As the F1 paddock edges ever closer to its mid-season break, while Perth’s six-month ‘summer’ draws to a close, the shenanigans and rumours abound:
According to Fox Sports Mexico, Sergio Perez has replied to Red Bull’s one-year offer for the 2025 season with a two-year counter. Which the Bulls have knocked back!
With Williams team principal James Vowles admitting American Logan Sargeant is “at risk” of losing his drive, Carlos Sainz and the Alpine pair of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon, are all out of contract.
As is the likeable Valtteri Bottas (left), who was tight-lipped about his visit to the Williams motorhome for a 15-minute meeting with James Vowles last Saturday in the Imola paddock.
Meanwhile the brilliant British rookie Oliver Bearman is looking increasingly likely to earn a full-time seat with Haas, potentially leaving Kevin Magnussen without a drive.
As for Daniel Ricciardo (pictured above with Valtteri), he has no doubt what is required of him here in Monaco – which he won in 2018, albeit in a Red Bull.
And the importance of the upcoming Canada, Spain, Austria, Britain, Hungary and Belgium in the lead up to the northern hemisphere summer break!
F1’s Most unpredictable race
There is no other circuit like Monaco, where the difficulty of overtaking sometimes detracts from the spectacle in Sunday’s race, it only makes Saturday’s qualifying all the more exciting.
Pole here is paramount.
No other track can allow a driver to compensate for any technical shortcomings of their car in the same way, and just one incident can shake things up entirely.
Monaco is a track where the margin for error is pretty much non-existent.
Daily use for road cars
No surprise that Pirelli’s choice of slick tyre compounds for Monaco falls to the three softest available this year, which means the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft.
As is generally the case on street circuits, the track has a particularly smooth surface given it is in daily use for road cars and so the tyres must provide as much grip as possible.
In Monaco, the tyres are subjected to some of the lowest forces of the whole F1 season. The average speed over the 3.337 km track is very slow with some corners taken at less than 50 km/h, while the cars are at full throttle for 30% of the lap.
According to the gurus at Pirelli, with 78 laps to cover on Sunday, “every phenomenon that can characterise tyre behaviour occurs far more frequently than average, especially when it comes to the level of energy developed when traction is required”.
Another factor to consider regarding the tyres is graining which, especially on the first couple of days, could turn out to be an unwelcome guest.
Regardless of how well drivers know the track, as they tackle its 19 corners – and all the other hazards – they work towards finding the best lines, getting ever closer to the barriers, often brushing them with the shoulder of the tyres.
The skill is in doing this without breaking anything on the car and it is the key to securing a good grid position, essential in a race where overtaking is wellnigh impossible, even when there is a performance gap between cars that can run into seconds.
Qualifying will be even more critical.
MONACO the Magnificent
On a track like this, an appearance from the Safety Car is almost inevitable, with past experience rating it at 77% probable, on average almost twice per race.
Curiously, last year’s race ran smoothly with no neutralisation periods. Remarkably, this year we’ve seen the order in which the cars line up behind the starting lights decided by just thousandths of a second!
But there really is only one strategic option for Monaco.
That is a one-stop, trying to pit as late as possible precisely to benefit from any eventual Safety Car, minimising the time lost in the pit lane.
The action begins with on-track action Thursday for F2 and F3 Practice, and the battle continues throughout the weekend with the popular Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup series.
MONACO F1 GRAND PRIX
NB: WST (PERTH) TIME
Circuit de Monaco | May 24 – 26
P1 – Friday, May 24 – 19:30
P2 – Friday – 23:00
P3 – Saturday, May 25 – 18:30
Qualifying – Saturday – 22:00
RACE – SUNDAY MAY 26 – 21:00
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