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Max Verstappen and Red Bull claimed the Championship lead after a dominant display around the streets of Monaco. Although it was an afternoon for the pit-wall as strategic choices proved to be pivotal up and down the field.
Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton fail to respond
Everything that could have gone wrong for Mercedes in Monaco, did go wrong as the team endured a horror weekend in the principality. A poor qualifying session left Hamilton on the back foot as he started from seventh.
He gave himself a mountain to climb ahead of the race as Mercedes decided to pit the seven-time world champion early on in the race. Their decision soon backfired leaving Hamilton frustrated as he lost positions to both Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez.
The Brit finished seventh, while Mercedes’ weekend was made worse when teammate Valtteri Bottas was forced to retire during his pit stop.
It was a weekend that Mercedes failed to respond after a poor Thursday, especially Hamilton. The car was tricky to handle, while tyre warm-up was a major issue. The reigning champion failed to recover lost time, unlike Bottas, but ultimately Hamilton has lost his Championship lead by four points to rival Max Verstappen.
Ferrari strive at high downforce circuits
While many predicted Ferrari to have a positive weekend at Monaco, it was soon surprising to see the Italian outfit not only battling for pole but the win.
Despite Charles Leclerc not starting the Grand Prix, it was evident that the car had pace to keep up with both Mercedes and Red Bull once the race had started.
When Carlos Sainz looked to hunt down Verstappen, he was haunted by some left front graining on his tyre. Going into the weekend, anyone at Ferrari would have taken second place but given the circumstances, it seemed a tough pill to swallow.
It bodes well for 2022 as the team look to return to the top after a tricky 2020 season. Morale is high and the team have emerged to be the third quickest constructor with some challenge from McLaren behind.
Nevertheless, Formula 1’s most decorative team seem to be getting back on track when visiting high downforce circuits such as Monaco with their superb low-speed rotation and traction. It will be no surprise to see the team thrive in Singapore later in the year.
Aston Martin on the up
It has been a difficult start to life for not only Aston Martin but Sebastian Vettel as things seem to be on the up. The four-time world champion got off the mark for the season in fine style securing fifth place in Monaco.
Vettel converted eighth into fifth but it wasn’t all his own doing. It’s safe to stay brilliant strategy calls from Aston Martin enabled the team to secure their first double points finish of the season.
Vettel successfully produced an undercut on both Hamilton and Pierre Gasly as the German lept into the top five. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll rounded off an impressive day as he went long, over-cutting a host of drivers as he finished in eighth.
It was the Silverstone-based team’s best day of the season as both cars scored points, lifting the team to fifth in the Constructors’ standings. It will be key that the team push on after this result and become more consistent points finishers.
The question that is Daniel Ricciardo
The Aussie had a torrid weekend as he failed to impress during qualifying and the race for his new team McLaren while his teammate Lando Norris finished on the podium, over a lap ahead of him.
Ricciardo was eliminated out of qualifying during Q2 while his teammate Norris went on to take fifth on the grid.
Everyone entered Sunday with optimism surrounding Ricciardo as he has scored the most amount of points around the street circuit compared to any other track while being tagged a ‘Monaco specialist’.
It was another day where people were left questioning where the Ricciardo of old had gone. He finished the race in 12th having been stuck behind the Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen all race.
Salt was added to the wounds when the 31-year-old was shown blue flags for his teammate Norris who was a lap ahead. He seems to be struggling to adjust to McLaren’s characteristics, but for someone held in as high regards as Ricciardo, it should surely be a matter of time till he returns to the sharp end of the grid.
Are we seeing a similar situation to the Red Bull second seat? It’s safe to say the Aussie has to show improvements sooner rather than later.
The Impressive Italian
Antonio Giovinazzi had a stellar weekend for Alfa Romeo, who seemed to benefit – as well as Ferrari – from the nature of the Monaco circuit. The car looked stable and planted throughout the weekend, and Giovinazzi was able to convert this into a singular point during the race.
The Italian has been scrutinised in the past for not extracting his full potential as people began to question if he was worthy of being on the Formula 1 grid, but lately, he has been scintillating, leading the team forward and constantly beating teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
Giovinazzi qualified within the top 10 as he made Q3 for the first time this year, and then converted his qualifying into a singular point for the team, as he was stuck behind a slow Esteban Ocon in the dying embers of the race.
Alfa Romeo have taken a step forward this year and it seems this could be the start of something for the team as they have previously been lingering just outside the points. It is crucial they secured a point as they will be hoping to beat the likes of Haas and Williams by the end of the year.
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