by Baku and Miami saw Red Bull extend their advantage in the constructors, while Verstappen and Perez swapped 1-2s, maintaining their contest in the Driver’s Championship with interest. Eyes shift towards the star-studded Monaco race, in the absence of the race in Emilia Romagna.
Imola and Anticipated Upgrades
Imola was set to kick off a triple header of races and inject some change into the grid with Mercedes, Ferrari and AlphaTauri spearheading upgrades amongst the field. However, the disastrous weather that struck the region forced the FIA to abandon the race. It presents a conundrum for teams who now face a race in Monaco which is a track that is unique in its layout.
According to Formula 1’s Mike Hughes, Mercedes and Ferrari will implement the upgrades and use Monaco to collect valuable data for the Catalunya Grand Prix which follows the week after. Lewis Hamilton has been vocal about his anticipation of the new upgrades as the team strives to get the car back to the top. Suspension, bodywork, and floor upgrades are all expected to aid the aerodynamics of the car in a bid to improve the rear grip through high-speed corners. Though Monaco may be used for collecting data, the Spanish Grand Prix will be the race that provides a representative picture of just how much the side has managed to cut the gap to Red Bull out front.
Meanwhile, according to Motorsport Ferrari kicked off a series of upgrades in Miami, notably improving the flooring and the diffuser. According to the report, Imola was supposed to see a revised rear suspension being introduced but this upgrade has been pushed back to the Spanish race. Like Mercedes, the Scuderia is targeting improved aerodynamics to balance out the strength in slow corners with a better performance in high-speed ones.
In contrast, Alpha Tauri have been plagued by poor performance in low-speed corners and thus this is where they will focus their improvements. Meanwhile, Williams are likely to focus on improving strategy rather than introducing design changes to their cars.
Racing in Monaco
Though Red Bull have dominated the race wins during the season, Ferrari and Aston Martin have had fantastic pace over one lap. Being a track with very limited opportunities for overtaking makes Monaco a race that the teams will relish when one considers how important pole position can be.
Having had a few difficult races, Monegasque Charles Leclerc will hope to reignite his momentum by finally landing that coveted win in his home race. He has particularly had bad luck, which goes back to his F2 days. However, perhaps the worst was in 2021 which saw him earn pole position after forcing a red flag following hitting the wall, but then retiring during the formation lap of the race because of an emergent driveshaft issue.
The curse returned in 2022, when despite landing pole position, poor strategy decisions saw him miss out of the podium places. In the race, Red Bull outsmarted Ferrari’s strategy allowing Sergio Perez to undercut Charles Leclerc, while a poorly timed double-stack allowed Max Verstappen to come in third behind Carlos Sainz and ahead of Charles Leclerc. It will be one to keep an eye on for the Scuderia as new team boss Frederic Vasseur has vowed to cut out the mistakes that hampered the team last year.
As suggested by the above, under-cutting can be an effective strategy for gaining places during the race, but teams must schedule their pit-stops to near perfection. In contrast, though less favoured, over-cutting has worked in the past most notably for Sebastian Vettel who preferred this sort of strategy. Fernando Alonso has also opted for running longer in the past and would be an interesting one to watch out for.
Meanwhile, Sergio Perez victory last year did not go down too well with the Dutchman Max Verstappen, who fell to third place due to strategic decisions, despite starting ahead of the Mexican on the grid. It will be interesting if this brings extra elbows out between the two, as they continue to go head-to-head in the driver championship.
Notable for its tricky corners and narrow roads, the race is also notorious for safety cars and perhaps even a red flag. There is no doubt that getting the best possible position on the grid is imperative, but at lights out strategy will play a heavy hand on the outcome. A race of high prestige, Monaco promises drama against the backdrop of luxurious yachts and royalty.
Photo: F1
