A parade, boring, the winner already known? No way! The glass is also half full in Monaco, and history even shows that the polesitter often doesn’t win. Chances for Max Verstappen then? Absolutely. This and more in the preview of the Monaco GP; these are the things you should pay attention to.
Read more Starting grid GP Monaco: Pole for Antonelli, but Verstappen and Hamilton are breathing down his neck
1 Statistics in Verstappen’s favor
It doesn’t say everything, but still: the statistics in Monaco prove that the battle for victory is not *only* decided in qualifying. Of the 70 races in Monaco, the polesitter won 32 times. In other words: 38 times it was someone other than the man on pole. And then you get to number 2, in this case Max Verstappen. Good chance? Yes: 70 percent chance of winning if you start from the front row. That offers hope.
The form is also there. Verstappen’s RB22 did not seem like a good candidate for fighting for the top spots on the bumps and kerbstones of the principality. But Verstappen wouldn’t be Verstappen if he wasn’t there at the moment of truth. With P2 in qualifying, he limited the damage as much as possible.
2 And yet, that overtaking…
Difficult, overtaking will be difficult no matter what. Monaco is narrow, even with these new cars, it is still difficult for drivers to outsmart each other. Especially at the front, where the differences are small. Verstappen himself said it: defending is much easier in the principality than attacking.
3 The start then?
Verstappen knows better than anyone that the run to Sainte Devote is short, but that Antonelli will undoubtedly feel the pressure of a chasing three-time world champion in his mirrors. When the lights go out, Verstappen will not hesitate for a moment to kick the door wide open. Overtaking at the start, that is possible. Especially since Antonelli is certainly not among the best starting drivers this season. Neither is Verstappen always, but still: there is a possibility.
Read more Laurens van Hoepen fights his way to P12 in Monaco, victory for Nikola Tsolov
Watch out for the Ferraris, by the way; they often shoot off like a rocket and might therefore be the danger from behind.
4 The overcut, is that possible?
In F1, we often talk about the ‘undercut’, pitting earlier than the other. But in Monaco, according to experts in the paddock, the ‘overcut’ might actually work. It is then, also according to Verstappen, the question of how quickly the tires get up to temperature. If that takes longer in the first laps after a pit stop, then driving a little longer than your competitor might result in an overtaking maneuver via strategy.
And furthermore…
… it will be warm and sunny during the race
… 72 laps are on the program
… a lap is 3337 meters long
… the chance of a safety car, based on the last seven editions in Monaco, is strangely enough only 29 percent
… a pit stop, including entering and exiting the pit lane, takes an average of 19.9 seconds
Read more Pleasantly surprised Verstappen sees progress: ‘But let’s not cheer too soon’
Read everything about the Monaco GP here
