By Ben Langley
There is nothing quite like Monaco. As the F1 season heads to the crown of the calendar, it brings with it the anticipation and excitement of the most exciting session of the entire season, qualifying in the principality. Whilst the race rarely delivers, the qualifying always brings the most thrilling spectacle and there are many reasons for that.
The design of the Monaco track has remained largely unchanged since its inception onto the F1 calendar back in 1950. As the cars navigate the tight 19 turns, they are always mere inches from finding the barrier. This risk vs reward approach to deliver a qualifying lap makes the spectacle so unique and thrilling for all to see. There aren’t many circuits on the calendar that punish a driver’s smallest mistakes. If you get pole position at Monaco, it is one of the standout achievements across the entire season.
Monaco’s different layout to the traditional F1 circuits means that it can normally throw up surprises for who is the quickest around the streets. This season has saw Mercedes win every Grand Prix, with their engine advantage a key factor in their dominance. However, Monaco’s track layout sees downforce as the key factor to a car’s performance with little straights to utilise engine power. This may see a different team become the one to beat, with many tipping Ferrari to be the benchmark due to their strong aerodynamic package and their engine deficit expected to cause less harm to their performance. It will make this weekend the more exciting if a different team is on top.
The short and tight nature of Monaco’s streets makes finding space for a quick lap a difficult task. With this year’s grid expanding to 22 due to Cadillac’s debut, it will be more difficult than ever for the drivers and teams to navigate traffic which will make qualifying more exciting. The difficulty to avoid impeding is another factor to follow with the risk of penalties higher than ever on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Finally, the anticipation of qualifying is because of the sheer difficulty of overtaking in the race. Last season’s race saw just one overtake in the entire Grand Prix. This brings great emphasis on drivers to deliver in qualifying as that session will likely shape their fortunes of the entire weekend. Mercedes were a victim of this last year as their qualifying struggles saw them well down the order for the race start. Both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were stuck in the midfield and couldn’t make any progress in the race. This led to both drivers being lapped and a race with no points at all for the Silver Arrows. This shows how qualifying can shape an entire weekend in Monaco and that one small mistake can put an end to any hopes of a successful weekend.
Qualifying will no doubt be another thriller and it will be exciting to see who can hold their nerve and be on top this weekend as the teams will look to topple Mercedes for the first time this season.
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