F1 | Monaco GP: analysis of qualifying

The track changes, the type of track changes, but Saturday remains hunting ground for Charles Leclerc. In front of his home crowd, the Monegasque did not disappoint expectations by taking pole position in the most difficult and exciting qualifying of the season. An adrenaline rush, a scream of joy like that of the radio team, because the Ferrarista knows he has placed the first piece at the end of a dream performance.

His teammate, Carlos Sainz, will start alongside him, capable of conquering the front row at the end of the first run, the one that proved decisive in establishing the starting grid. Right at the end, in fact, the Spaniard was the victim of a contact with Sergio Perez, despite him having done everything to avoid it. In an attempt to recover when lost in the first part of the lap, the Mexican attempted a more aggressive approach into turn eight, ending up spinning into the barriers. Excluding the final accident, the Red Bull driver was able to bring home a valuable third position, just ahead of his teammate. A weekend that for now is not progressing as the Dutchman expected, struggling with a feeling with the car that is far from ideal, although he may complain about not having had the opportunity to complete that last lap which could have brought him to the top. first row.

Excellent fifth place for Lando Norris, good at putting his McLaren ahead of the Mercedes with one of the fastest second sectors ever, second only to that of the Ferraris. The final sixth and eighth place achieved by the two drivers of the Brackley team represents the image of a weekend in which set-up difficulties did not allow them to express themselves at their best. The characteristics of the Monaco track exposed the weak points of the W13, not only in terms of speed in slow corners, forced into a particularly rigid set-up which generated further compromises. The two Alpines of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon also entered the top ten, as did Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin, capable of bringing the renewed AMR22 to Q3, showing off all its talent on the streets of the Principality.

Front row all red

After finishing Friday in the lead, all eyes were on Ferrari, awaiting the most difficult test. Despite the pressure from those who start with the role of favorite and have no margin for error, the Maranello team made no mistakes, laying the foundations for a Sunday in which they want to confirm themselves as the absolute protagonists. The Red team starts from solid bases, with both cars on the front row and a pole position achieved in great style, almost without rivals, because the superiority shown by Charles Leclerc on the flying lap is one of those without appeal. Although the Monaco Grand Prix is ​​full of pitfalls and unpredictable situations, on a track where the main rule is to be up front, the first step was to materialize the result in qualifying.

For the fifth time during this championship, Leclerc was able to place his F1-75 on the most coveted slot, hitting the decisive time of 1:11.376 in the opening run of Q3. The only regret, if you can call it that, is not having had the chance to finish the second attempt, which was abruptly cut short by the display of the red flag for Perez's accident. A lap that has the flavor of an unfinished masterpiece, because the Ferrari driver had managed to improve his split times in both the first and second sectors "The first attempt was good, even if I think the second would have been one of the best laps of the my career. I had a lot of fun and I was pushing to the limit, I had a lot of oversteer and therefore I felt the rear moving a lot, nevertheless everything was working out exactly as I wanted. Before the red flag I was four tenths faster, it was special. It was a shame not to be able to complete it but that's how it is in Monaco,” the number 16 later explained during interviews.

Precisely that section where last season the Monegasque had struggled throughout the weekend, i.e. the first sector, this year proved to be a strong point, building the foundations of a pole position that he will remember for a long time. An undisputed dominance, especially in the interpretation of the Massenet-Casinò sequence, where the Ferrari standard-bearer was able to make the difference not only in terms of entry speed, but also in the stability and speed of the change of direction. Observing the data and the onboard, in fact, it emerges that there were multiple interpretations of that area of ​​the route, depending on which phase was to be favoured. Sainz managed to keep pace at the entrance, Perez in the chicane, but no one managed to combine these two aspects like Leclerc. An advantage that Charles then maintained at the exit, extending the gap up to the braking point at turn five which led to the detection of the first photocell.

Another key element in the comparison with his teammate was the confidence shown in the two chicanes 13-14 and 15-16. In the first, the Monegasque never raised his foot, unlike Sainz, who managed to score up to 70%. Even more important, however, is the difference highlighted in the Piscine complex, where once again what is interesting to focus on is the speed of entry and change of direction. Two profoundly different approaches, with the home idol softer as an entry trajectory and then closing at the last, while the Spaniard maintained a constant line, especially in terms of flying angle. The decisive aspect in this case lies in the Monegasque's total confidence in quickly returning to the gas, pushing on the accelerator a few meters ahead of his teammate.

The summary of the two men in Red lies in the different interpretations they showed during the tour. Sainz proved to be competitive in all those sections of acceleration from low speeds, demonstrating how in those corners where the rear was more predictable, the Spaniard had the opportunity to have his say. On the contrary, in those faster corners where confidence in the front matters and the rotation phase can be helped by managing the rear axle in a different way, as in changes of direction, Leclerc confirmed himself as uncatchable, gaining those tenths which earned him the pole.

Like Charles, Carlos didn't have the opportunity to improve in the second run either, thanks to the accident he was the victim of in the final minutes of Q3. Despite the desperate attempt to avoid Perez who was standing in full trajectory, a delayed display of the yellow flag and the impossibility of seeing the Mexican made it impossible to avoid the impact, albeit without major consequences. The front row is however a positive result for the driver from Madrid, who tomorrow will have the opportunity to defend second position from the attacks of the two Red Bulls, also counting on a feeling rediscovered along the streets of the Principality: "It's true that this end week I felt more comfortable with the car. Maybe it's a characteristic of the fact that I've always felt good in Monaco and I've always been fast here. So that's definitely a factor. Furthermore, the car set-up is always very different in Monaco compared to the rest of the season. So, it could be a track-specific factor, or not. What is true is that this weekend I felt better and more comfortable,” explained Sainz.

A Red that also proved to be very effective in crossing curbs, as had already been appreciated both in Australia and in Imola, an element that will undoubtedly be relevant again in other races of the season. Having conquered the front row, now comes the difficult task for the two riders of the Red team: confirming themselves in the race. A race often full of unforeseen events and unexpected situations, so it will be essential to maintain high coordination and avoid any type of error, especially if the rain arrives. The hope is to break that "curse" that has always prevented Leclerc from seeing the checkered flag, confirming the good things he showed on Saturday.

Red Bull: some regrets

Although Ferrari showed up on the eve of qualifying as the underdog, it is no mystery that perhaps something more was expected in Red Bull, not so much from the point of view of performance, but of result. If pole position seemed unattainable, thanks to a Leclerc in a state of grace, the front row was almost within reach, both for Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen.

A few cents which, in reality, told a profoundly different story for the two standard bearers of the Milton Keynes team. The disappointment is palpable, especially for the Dutchman, who in the last attempt seemed to really have what it takes to snatch second place from Sainz's hands. If throughout the weekend the Hasselt driver had struggled in turn one, showing some difficulty in finding the grip necessary to attack the entry and the running phase, in that last run something had changed. Max had improved in every micro-sector, arriving at the first photocell with an advantage of over a tenth over his best time. A rather important treasure, especially bearing in mind that in the other two half-times he had still proved to be quite competitive, enough to actually challenge for the front row.

However, the display of the red flag ruined his plans, forcing him to a regrettable fourth position, especially because neither his teammate nor the Ferrari driver had been able to improve in the opening sector of the lap. Frustration that adds to that of a weekend in which the world champion never felt totally at ease with the single-seater, denoting some difficulties with the front, which on paper should be one of the strong points of the RB18 compared to the past. Max didn't find the confidence to push on the front end, making it difficult to attack the entry and speed up the rotation phase as is his style. To try to overcome this problem, Max had also tried a different approach, with a double attempt that should have helped him reach the correct operating window of the covers right at the end.

“In general my pace this weekend was a bit difficult, I never found the perfect balance. In Q3 we had a good final lap, I was pushing hard on the last lap until I got to the corner where I found a small traffic jam! It was a very unfortunate occasion, because I think we could have done better than fourth place, not pole position, because I think Charles was too far ahead, but I think we could have achieved at least second place. But that's how Monaco is, it's completely unpredictable and there's always the risk of a red flag when everyone tries to push to the limit. I think I have to do a little rain dance tonight, in order to shake things up a bit in view of tomorrow's race, because you can't pass in the dry here,” Verstappen explained during interviews.

The second row will therefore be made up entirely of the two Red Bulls, with Sergio Perez starting from the third spot on the starting grid. The fight for the top positions proved to be very intense, with the Mexican only a few hundredths away from that position which would have allowed him to put one of the two Ferraris behind him. The driver of the Anglo-Austrian team proved to be fast and quick in the first sector, where he managed to limit the understeer and front grip problems highlighted by Red Bull over the weekend, also thanks to a more conservative approach in the first part of Massenet, and then redeemed itself in the change of direction. A different interpretation from that of Sainz, in which he focused on a quicker entry and then paid the price in terms of reactivity. The RB18 was able to do very little against the slow speed qualities of the F1-75, especially in the acceleration phase, where the traction qualities made the difference.

What definitively crushed the hopes of the driver from Guadalajara was the accident at the end of Q3, with a spin in the curve preceding the tunnel resulting from the desire to redeem a first sector that was anything but exciting. The single preparation lap had not worked as expected, causing Perez to arrive at turn one on cold tyres: “I knew that the timed lap in Q3 was very important, but the outlap was even more important, with the people it didn't respect the delta and so I found myself in the last sector with the tires too cold and I risked losing the car at the first corner. I thought the tires would find grip and heat up, but that wasn't the case and it's a real shame what happened. In turn eight I tried to get ahead, but it didn't work and, although it's frustrating to end the day like this, we still qualified in the top three in Monaco,” said Sergio.

Norris takes McLaren into the top-five

After a week dealing with a bad tonsillitis that weakened him physically, the fifth place achieved in the most difficult qualifying of the season represents the best possible reward for Lando Norris. If already in Australia and Imola the English team's single-seater had demonstrated that it could perform well on the most tortuous circuits, but with good smoothness, probably few would have expected such a competitive McLaren in Monaco.

They are four and a half tenths from the top, but the gap could have been even smaller, if it hadn't been for some mistakes during the lap. An attack on the curb of Turn 1 that was perhaps too aggressive and a penultimate corner with a slight understeer, similar to that experienced by Magnussen, are the only regrets of a lap where the Briton gave everything. This was seen well not only in Massenet, where Lando was able to bring a good speed at the entrance without significantly sacrificing the subsequent change of direction, but also in the second sector, in which Norris confirmed himself among the most absolutely fast. Exploiting the track at the right time, before the interruption for the red flag, as well as putting together all the various small aspects was fundamental and the McLaren driver did not disappoint: “I'm satisfied with today. I think that was the best we could get. The car has been good all weekend and I think today we showed that we got a lot out of the car and put in some good laps. It wasn't enough to stay ahead of the top two teams, but enough to stay ahead of everyone else, which is always the next step. So I'm happy, but there's still work to do tomorrow. The goal is to try to move forward if possible, but it's difficult, so we will try to stay where we are at the very least and get some good points,” said Norris.

Mercedes struggling with a track that is not very suitable for the W13

Since the first free practice session, both Mercedes drivers agreed that one of the W13's biggest problems on the streets of the Principality was bottoming. An unknown other than porpoising, mainly due to the roughness of the Monegasque track and the set-up chosen to face the seventh round of the world championship: “We didn't have porpoising problems, only bottoming. We touch the asphalt differently, the car is too stiff and low. The car probably could have earned a fifth and sixth place, but Norris beat us, but we still didn't expect miracles, particularly here in Monaco,” explained Toto Wolff at the end of qualifying.

A problem that we necessarily had to live with, because the alternative was to intervene on the suspensions or raise the car, losing aerodynamic load. Something that Mercedes could not afford, because as verified in other events, the Anglo-German single-seater has often demonstrated that it does not make slow corners and the first phase of the acceleration its strong point. The changes to the set-up during the night between Friday and Saturday helped to improve the situation, but not enough to allow the riders to find the confidence to push as and how hard they would have liked.

“The driving of the car was our biggest limitation throughout the weekend and, even if sixth position is not a result to celebrate, I believe that with the package we have available we achieved the maximum. The team worked very hard to give us the most compliant set-up possible, but in Barcelona we saw that our strengths were speed on the straights and high-speed corners, whereas in Monaco there is none of that." , explained Russell, confirming how the W13 manages to express itself at its best especially in medium and high speed corners, as had already been seen starting from Bahrain. It is no coincidence that between Friday and Saturday, the engineers also opted for a change of front wing, returning to using the specification already used in the Spanish Grand Prix, in the hope of rebalancing the car.

Hamilton had already shown himself to be lucid in his analyzes on Friday, underlining not only a lack of load at the rear, but also a front which, although well loaded, continued to fly towards the sky due to the set-up choices. This had an important influence, especially when passing over curbs, limiting grip and the possibility of attacking at the entrance. It is no coincidence that in the first sector the W13 was able to contain the gap to its rivals, with a good handling of turn one and an interpretation of the Massenet-Casino sequence not so distant from Ferrari and Red Bull. In fact, in those areas where there were fewer depressions and the front could act freely, the Mercedes proved to be competitive overall. A totally different story, however, for the second and third split times, where both drivers showed some more difficulty not only in the slow sections, but also in the swimming pools, where it was necessary to sacrifice the entrance to prepare and compensate for the passage on the exit curb.

The eighth place on the grid does not represent the best starting point for the seven-time world championship, who paid for some uncertainty in the final run of Q3. According to the analyzes of the Stella engineers, the ideal moment in which to try to set the time would have been the first flying lap, because in the subsequent phases the tires would have been too hot, thanks to the slipping of the rear axle. A chance to be exploited just as Russell had done, capable of moving up to sixth position, which Hamilton instead missed. In fact, at the beginning of the lap, the Briton had entered an incorrect engine map, reaching the finish line with a tangible speed gap compared to the previous lap. A negative delta that had pushed him to abort the lap at the end of the first sector, however compromising the management of the coverage. In the hope of being able to complete at least one more attempt, Lewis set out on the next lap, but what completely dashed his hopes was the display of the red flag due to Perez's accident.

However, the split times recorded on the last lap would not have been enough to move the standings: “The red flags cost me the last lap, but I don't think the result would have been much different. In hindsight, I should have done the first lap on the tires and didn't, after starting the lap with the wrong engine mode. But Monaco is like that, and it was an unlucky session. I felt the car was quite bad and we have to take big risks to get close to the times of the cars in front of us. We improved the car compared to yesterday and we got a little closer, but even with a perfect lap I think we would still be six tenths away,” said the Brackley team driver.

Alpine and Vettel conquer the top ten

It was an overall positive weekend also for Alpine, capable of conquering the fourth and fifth row with Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon. A result that allows the French team to end the Monegasque Saturday with a smile on its face, especially due to the improvements made to the car in terms of set-up over the weekend. Perhaps there would have been room for something more, especially bearing in mind that Esteban Ocon had completed his first attempt on used tyre, keeping the new set that final assault blocked by the display of the red flag.

There were also some regrets for the Spaniard, who after the first run found himself in fifth position, with the hope of being able to confirm himself also in the last attempt, when the evolution of the track should have guaranteed something more. An aspect that Russell and Norris, who entered the track a few minutes early, had exploited to their advantage, sending Alonso back out of the top-five. The mistake at the end at Mirabeau, where he had blocked the front in an attempt to force entry following a more aggressive approach, proved irrelevant for the result, even if Fernando wanted to apologize to the team: "Also if we made a big improvement with the car for today and, position-wise, it's a good qualifying, we could have done even better. On the first attempt in Q3, I was fifth and with the evolution of the track I think we could have maintained this position for tomorrow. Unfortunately I ended up locking up while braking at Mirabeau. In Monaco when you lose concentration, even just for a second, it can have a big impact, so I apologize to the team,” explained the Alpine standard-bearer.

The big surprise of qualifying probably lies in the figure of Sebastian Vettel, ninth on the grid after once again demonstrating his talent on the tortuous track of the Principality. A significant top-ten, the second of the season after that of Imola, but the first achieved with the "new" ARM22. Despite the disappointment in Spain, where Aston Martin debuted a single-seater with largely revised aerodynamic concepts, the German proved confident, underlining how there was still a lot of margin to be extracted.

Although Monaco is an atypical track, this ninth position represents an encouraging sign, above all because it highlights the progress made by the Silverstone team. With the "old" car, forced to run high off the ground and with settings at the limit to limit porpoising, the team would probably have encountered the same difficulties experienced by Mercedes. Hopping, lack of load on the rear and a front with clear difficulties in absorbing the roughness of the track, limiting the riders' confidence. The revised version of the AMR22, however, allowed us to count on a wider margin in terms of set-up, especially in terms of ground clearance and suspension adjustment. All that glitters is not gold, because Aston Martin has shown its limits especially in medium and high speed corners, but it is an encouraging first step.

For the four-time world champion, this is the thirteenth consecutive appearance in Q3, a streak that has continued uninterrupted since 2009. A ninth place achieved with a different strategy compared to the others: instead of using the only new set in the last attempt, where the track presumably would have been more rubberized, Vettel had followed the opposite approach, exploiting it in the opening run of Q3. A very specific choice, mainly due to the fear that some red flags in the final minutes could deprive him of the opportunity to complete that one attempt on new tyres. A choice that proved to be a winning one, also thanks to the excellent strategy put in place by the team: last to exit to take up space and an extra lap of preparation to bring the tires into the correct operating window. Perfect timing, especially because on the timed lap the German was able to completely avoid traffic, an element which on a narrow track like that of Monaco always involves a minimum loss of time. The only small recrimination is that mistake in turn one, where he lost the rear during travel, having to correct the trajectory twice: “Finishing Q3 in P9 is a good result. It's always important to qualify well in Monaco, so hopefully we can do well from there and make the most of the opportunities. The weather, however, is the big question mark. If it's wet, it can be a real lottery on this track, but it can also make for a fun race. I would be surprised if the race was completely wet, so we will have to be ready for mixed conditions. Whatever happens, we will aim to score good points tomorrow,” explained Vettel.

Something more was expected from AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo

Opening the proceedings outside the top ten will be Yuki Tsunoda, eleventh on the starting grid. For the young Japanese it was a qualification of ups and downs, but overall it left a bad taste in his mouth. The mistake in Q1, when he came into contact with the barriers right in the braking section of the Nouvelle chicane, had risked ousting him already during the first heat. Fortunately, the display of the red flag had provided enough time for the team to limit the damage, also depriving several rivals of the opportunity to finish the lap and improve. "I am disappointed. In Q1 I hit the barriers, damaging the front left part of the car. The red flag allowed me to return to the pits, but there was some damage to the car which affected my performance. Unfortunately, this episode also compromised Pierre's qualification, who was unable to pass Q1. It's a real shame, because I think we both had the potential to get into Q3 today,” explained Tsunoda.

A partly understandable disappointment, given that the AT03 had performed well throughout the weekend, taking advantage of the good mechanical grip qualities and the work of adapting the set-up to the needs of the Principality's track, which are very different from those of Spain. Bitterness that becomes even more marked when thinking about the surprise elimination of Pierre Gasly during the first heat. After the red flag was displayed, the Faenza team was among the last to send its drivers back onto the track. A risk that he did not pay off, because thanks to the traffic and the high number of cars on the track, the Frenchman was unable to complete the outlap before the checkered flag. A missed opportunity, which had proved the opportunity to improve and avoid exclusion, so I had to plan an uphill race.

Valtteri Bottas didn't go beyond twelfth position, with Alfa Romeo probably representing one of the disappointments of the weekend so far. On the eve of the race, expectations on the Swiss team were high, thanks to the skills shown by the car in slow and sprinting, key elements of the Principality. Positive feelings also shared by the team, who had made no secret of aiming for a good result, given the favorable characteristics of the track. However, both Bottas and Alfa had to deal with a very different and difficult to digest reality. Although the problem that forced him to miss FP1 didn't help, for the Finn it was irrelevant for the result, because he still managed to find a good rhythm in the car. Despite a lap that Valtteri felt couldn't extract more from, Valtteri was unable to find the speed needed to get through the Q2 cutoff, struggling in particular in the second sector. Paradoxically, the C42 did not express itself at its best in its driving section, perhaps due to an overly rigid set-up which continued to push the front axle into the air, limiting directionality and grip: "We didn't expect to miss Q3, but we weren't competitive as we expected. Despite missing a session yesterday, I feel like I managed to find a good rhythm. The car had a good balance, even the last lap in Q2 was really good. I think we probably achieved the most: we lacked a bit of pace, not in one particular corner but overall. It's disappointing, because we thought this was a strong track for us, but we're still not far from the points,” said Bottas.

A serious blow to Alfa Romeo's ambitions, with Guanyu Zhou who will line up on the last spot on the grid. This is an unfortunate period for the Chinese, who after two weekends in which traffic and technical problems limited his possibilities, hoped to finally be able to complete a clean Grand Prix, without any problems. Instead, Zhou also had to encounter some unfavorable episodes in Munich: first the red flag, displayed just as he was about to complete his second attempt, then the traffic in the final run, which did not allow him to make another tour. Even without the interruption, the time achieved by the Shanghai rider would not have been enough to pass the trap, but it would probably have allowed him to avoid the last place.

Thirteenth and fifteenth place for the two Haas from which, like the other team powered by Prancing Horse, perhaps something more was expected. In the other rounds of the championship, the US team's car had shown a good level of competitiveness in slow speed, but on the roads of the Principality, on the contrary, it brought out its best in the medium-speed corners. There probably remains a bit of regret, because in the final attempt Kevin Magnussen had made a mistake in entering the penultimate curve, missing the apex. A mistake that probably cost at least a tenth by breaking the pace, enough to overtake Bottas and compete with Tsunoda on the edge of the top ten.

Mick Schumacher will start from the eighth row, so it certainly didn't help that he missed the first free session due to an MGU-K problem. The German was unable to find that something extra in the second sector, in particular in the entry of the Tabaccaio, only making up for about three tenths of a delay from his teammate in that section. “We were three or four tenths away from Q3, so I think if I had got the second sector right on my part, we definitely would have been closer, but there are those days when it feels like something is missing, but it's a lot of fun. We missed part of FP1, which meant we were always at a disadvantage, for qualifying we didn't make any changes to the set-up and personally it seemed to me that it was the right direction and it paid off in the sense that it will definitely help in race,” explained the German.

Just as in 2021, on a track that had seen him as an absolute protagonist in the past, Monaco brought no luck to Daniel Ricciardo, who was eliminated in Q2. The narrow streets of the Principality highlighted all the Australian's difficulties in adapting to the Woking single-seater, especially in terms of confidence in the front and the difficulties in reaching the limit had an important influence. An aspect that weighed heavily on him especially in the second heat, where he was unable to make that leap forward that would allow him to match the performance of his teammate. Lance Stroll and the two Williams cars were also excluded from the first heat, with the latter struggling with a lack of overall load and some problems in bringing the tires into the correct operating range. It was above all Nicholas Latifi who paid the price, who continued to change set-ups throughout the weekend in the hope of finding the one that would allow him to find the necessary confidence. The one who can complain, however, is the Canadian from Aston Martin, who before making a mistake towards the entrance to the swimming pools following an overly aggressive pass on the internal curb, had been able to obtain sufficient split times to avoid elimination in the first heat, almost in line with those of his teammate. A disappointment that is difficult to swallow, especially on a track like Monaco, where the result in qualifying plays a key role.