– New for this year is that two pit stops will be mandatory for all the drivers, in an attempt to maybe insert some excitement into this otherwise predictable race.
🏁 Track info– Pirelli has selected the three softest compounds for the tyres this year (C6, C5, C4)- The circuit is very narrow, tight, and twisty. Drivers’ biggest challenge is not hitting any walls – Has one (very short and practically useless) DRS zone- 85% of winners on this track have started in one of the first three grid places- 3/5 of the winners in the past five years started on pole – Last year there were 17 overtakes in total (that many??), and all of the top 10 finished in the order they qualified. Fun! – The Hairpin turn is officially the slowest corner on the calendar, bringing the cars down to speeds around 50 km/h (31 mph)
🏁 What happened in qualifying?Q1:– Lance Stroll has the sun in his eyes and ends up confusing Charles Leclerc and Pierre Gasly’s cars, leading to him massively impeding Gasly, who is out on a push lap. (We get you, Lance, teams need to go back to having more distinct colours on their cars)- Oscar Piastri grazes the wall, but no damage to the car- Leclerc tops the session- On his final push lap, Kimi Antonelli grazes the wall and crashes his car, causing yellow flags and then ultimately red flagging the session – OUT: Colapinto, Stroll, Gasly, Bearman, Bortoleto
Q2:– It’s officially a terrible day for Mercedes, as George Russell loses power and is stranded inside of the tunnel, red flagging the session – Once the session returns, Lando Norris sets the fastest time – Piastri lives dangerously and once again grazes the wall, but the car is once again OK- Lewis Hamilton’s engineer misinforms him about Max Verstappen’s speed, who is on a push lap, and Hamilton ends up impeding Verstappen as a result – Yuki Tsunoda fails to get into Q1, while both Racing Bulls are through – OUT: Antonelli, Russell, Hulkenberg, Tsunoda, Sainz
Q3:– Norris tops most the session – Piastri sets a great time and grabs temporary pole, but Norris is even faster and takes the position back immediately – Hamilton, Verstappen, and Leclerc all go on their final push laps and for a minute there things are actually quite exciting – Leclerc wins out and sets temporary pole – But here come the McLarens again – Piastri is unable to beat Leclerc, but Norris manages to squeeze past with 0.109 seconds to take final pole – Norris on pole, Leclerc in P2, Piastri in P3, Hamilton in P4, and Verstappen in P5
🏁 Penalties– Ollie Bearman has a 10-place grid penalty from Friday’s practice, after a red flag infraction. He qualified P17, but will start in P20 – Stroll has a 1-place grid penalty for impeding Leclerc in practice. He qualified P19, and will start in P19, as Bearman has more grid-loss penalties than him- Ok but wait, Stroll gets another 3-place grid penalty for impeding Gasly in qualifying. Does it matter? No. Yet again he goes from P19 to P19, since Bearman still has more grid-losses to serve- Hamilton gets a 3-place grid penalty after impeding Verstappen in qualifying, meaning he goes from P4 to P7
🏁 Here’s the grid for today:UPDATE: Lewis Hamilton has been given a 3-place grid penalty which means he starts in P7
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKCrKkiM9JX/
🏁 F1 bits and bobs:The drivers, sans Verstappen and Stroll, went on a school trip to watch the F1 movie, which Kimi Antonelli would later describe as “cool”, “long”, and “well-made”.
sources: monaco, george, grid, f1movie1 f1movie2
