What we learned in Friday F1 practice at the MonacoGP, as Mercedes debuted its new sidepods and three drivers shunted on the Monte Carlo streets 👇
Lining up on pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix can be unscientifically characterised as 95% of the job done in pursuit of victory. Even in the era of smaller, narrower cars, the claustrophobic streets of Monte Carlo are notoriously unconducive to overtaking in Formula 1, but pole will add a separate level of prestige in this year’s event.
This is because the margins are so close between the teams this time around, owing to the characteristics of each car on the grid, and using race pace to predict the race will ultimately yield an unreliable narrative. Negotiating traffic in Q3 will be paramount, and will be one of the key differentiators in deciding the grid for Sunday’s race.
Going by their fastest soft-tyre laps, Red Bull’s advantage over Ferrari has largely manifested itself from corner exits – particularly at Casino Square and Portier. The SF-23 is a match under acceleration and has been able to stabilise any losses in time as the pace picks up, but has not been able to overturn that disadvantage in those particular areas.
Aston Martin, encumbered by the hopes of a surprise Fernando Alonso victory in Monaco, has been weaker than its rival squads at two of the slowest parts of the track – namely, the Loews hairpin and the Nouvelle Chicane. The AMR23 also has strengths under traction, but the drivers seem to lack confidence in the slowest parts of the track. Throttle traces show a small blip at the Nouvelle Chicane as Alonso attempts to coerce the car into behaving.
There have been struggles with understeer in the Mirabeau, Hairpin, and Portier corners, and a lack of confidence in the first corner has contrived to set
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