© Getty ImagesHow Max’s Magical Monaco Played OutMonaco may be magical but below the surface glamour, there’s a lot of hard graft across the weekend. In the end Max made it look easy – but that’s not the full story.
We went to Monaco with reasonable expectations of a good result. The RB16B has been competitive all season and Monaco has traditionally been a circuit where we’ve performed well. The tight, twisting nature of the slippery street track in the Mediterranean principality has always favoured teams that can bring a lot of downforce to the party without compromising their vehicle dynamics, and we’ve always been strong in that discipline – though this weekend wasn’t at all the Monaco Grand Prix we were expecting.
Max Gets A Celebration Shower© Vladimir Rys
While fans will focus on a particular head-to-head battle, as a race team, a healthy dose of competitive paranoia means we’re usually watching everyone – not just our neighbours in silver one garage along. While it’s tempting, a team tries to never go into a race weekend with the mindset of us-versus-them.
Even so, Ferrari’s pace through practice came as something of a surprise. While Charles Leclerc didn’t get much running in FP1, Carlos Sainz took second in FP1, splitting Checo and Max. Checo was fastest of anyone – albeit on the Soft tyre. Sainz, on the Medium was only a tenth behind, and half-a-tenth quicker than Max, who was also on the Medium.
FP1 times in Monaco, however, aren’t that reliable. FP2 on Thursday afternoon, gives a better picture anyway: it’s held at a race-equivalent time of day and everyone will be doing a qualifying sim on the soft tyre – and at a track with a gargantuan qualifying bias, the quali sim time is the best indicator of competitiveness – race pace isn’t much use if you don’t have clean air in which to exploit it.
Taking The Bull Through The Tunnel© Vladimir Rys
The times in FP2 saw Max in fourth, seven-thousandths of a second behind Lewis Hamilton but three or four tenths off the Ferraris. Checo struggled a little more with traffic and was down in eighth. He felt that the direction the set-up had moved in probably didn’t help.
Max was honest in his assessment of the session: “I would have hoped that we could have been faster,” he said. “We were too slow in FP2 and we really need to find some pace because everyone has traffic: you have to look to optimum lap times and optimum sectors and we were quite [a way] off. I usually feel quite comfortable in the car but that has not come yet this weekend. Luckily, we have a free day tomorrow to look at a few things to improve, to make sure qualifying goes well on Saturday."
Saturday's FP3 saw Max come out with all guns blazing, setting the fastest time of the session, half a tenth ahead of Sainz and two-tenths clear of Leclerc. Checo improved too, splitting the Mercedes and ahead of the McLarens. Things were looking good for qualifying.
Driving Round The Monaco Streets© Vladimir Rys
Qualifying in Monaco is… atypical. The usual rhythms don’t apply, with each front-running team figuring out the best use of five sets of soft tyres and potentially a medium tyre run in Q2. Monaco is all softs, all the time – but maybe not in the normal stanzas. With so many slow corners, getting the tyres up to temperature is difficult but degradation is correspondingly very low. It’s one of those circuits that requires a build-lap after the out-lap, and quite possibly more than that, with the time coming on the second – or even the third – push lap.
Max did a single run early in Q1 with the unusual cadence of out>build>push>cool>push>cool>push>in. He was able to watch the rest of the session from the garage and went through in third, two-tenths off first. Checo did a longer run and went through in eighth.
With five cars fewer on track and less chance of traffic, both drivers opted for two runs in Q2. While Checo did his fastest lap on the second attempt of his second run, going through in fifth, Max did his fastest lap on the second lap of his first run. He was able to abort his second run without improvement, being safely through in second – tantalisingly just half-a-tenth down on Leclerc. It was brilliantly set up for a finale.
Bulls Look Good On The Streets© Getty Images
In Monaco, there’s always a bit more to give, a little harder to push – but with that comes more risk. There’s an old saying, steeped in macho bravado, that the only way to be quick in Monaco is to rub the labels off the tyres. It really is the finest of fine margins: too little isn’t enough; too much and you’re facing the wrong way with a damaged car.
Coming down to the wire, everyone took fuel out of the cars, leaving just enough for a build lap and a single push on the first run in Q3. Checo didn’t enjoy the change of approach and after that first run was down in ninth. Max’s first run was seven-hundredths of a second quicker than his previous effort, but Leclerc found two-tenths and had the whip-hand going into the second run, with the clock ticking down to the end of the session, him in first, Max in second.
It’s just unfortunate. Of course, I’m disappointed to not have a shot at pole but that’s life.
What would have happened had Leclerc not crashed at the Swimming Pool exit? We’ll never know. Max’s second run was planned to be longer: he didn’t get the first lap but was flying on the second when the red flags come out. “I was one-and-a-half tenths up before going into the tunnel, and I knew on the previous lap I made a mistake in turns 10-11, where I lost more than a tenth,” he said afterwards. “So, I knew that pole position was on, especially on the second timed lap. I had a lot more grip on the tyres, so even the last sector normally would have been an improvement – but that’s would-have, should-have, could-have. The fact is there was a red flag. It is what it is.”
Max’s description of Charles’ crash was succinct: “He just clipped the wall, initially, and then ended up where I’ve ended up twice! So, it’s just unfortunate. Of course, I’m disappointed to not have a shot at pole but that’s life.”
“We recovered well from Thursday, so not too bad.”
Bulls Chat Post Qualifying© Getty Images
Strategy at Monaco is generally a lock. Drivers can’t overtake unless the other guy makes a big mistake, and drivers don’t race at the front of the grid in Monaco if they’re prone to making those. The best chance of making up ground is a good launch off the grid into Ste. Devote, or nailing an over-or-under on what is likely to be a single pit stop. These things, however, become moot when your rival doesn’t turn up.
After his crash on Saturday, paddock speculation was very interested in whether Leclerc would be able to start the race without replacing his gearbox and thus, taking a grid penalty. The word coming from Ferrari was that the gearbox was good to go, his name was at the top of the starting grid published by Race Control at 1400, and his crew were setting up about grid slot no.1. He duly went out on time for his first recon lap when the pit lane opened at 1420 but came straight back in.
At 1430, when the pit lane closed, Max knew that whatever happened, he’d be starting from first – albeit from the second grid slot and on the wrong side of the track.
An Empty Pole Position© Getty Images
The final grid means precisely that, so Leclerc keeps his pole position, and Max started from the ‘wrong’ side ie the outside. His challenge became different to the one that he had prepared for. Max was now 8m ahead of Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes – but rather than the gearbox of a Ferrari, Bottas was now looking at clear track in front of him. All things being equal, Max’s distance advantage should’ve been enough – but it’s not a given by any stretch.
After the start, Max simply dominated. No lap in Monaco is easy – but Max certainly made it look that way from the outside. He hedged against the potential of a safety car or virtual safety car upset by staying out a little longer than his rivals and, by virtue of pitting after then, was able to lead every lap of the race.
He took the chequered flag a comfortable 9s ahead of Sainz. Checo had by far the more interesting afternoon. Having qualified ninth – net eighth – his famed ability to look after a set of tyres allowed him to run deeper than his rivals, while keeping enough life in his rubber to ensure he had pace after they pitted. Leaving his stop until lap 35, he was able to jump Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Pierre Gasly. With Bottas having retired, that left him fourth and hounding Lando Norris hard for the final podium position. The youngster, however, didn’t buckle and Checo had to settle for an excellent fourth.
Crossing The Line To Claim A Maiden Monaco Win© Vladimir Rys
The team did a fantastic job on strategy, and the communication throughout the race was excellent. “The team did a fantastic job on strategy, and the communication throughout the race was excellent,” he said. “We saved the tyres and used them when we needed to which was key. We did two or three qualifying laps to jump the queue of cars to get fourth. I was closing on Lando but he had good tyres left and I never really had a clear chance at him. I was thinking of the long game and getting the points which is important for the team.”
It was indeed important for the team. After five races we’re now leading the Constructors’ Championship by a single point – the first time we’ve been ahead since 2013. As for Max, his first victory at Monaco (and first podium finish) puts him a slender four points clear at the top of the Drivers’ Championship table – it’s just a shame he didn’t have a swimming pool to jump into.
“It’s been an amazing day of course. I think once we had the lead in turn one, from there onwards we could manage the pace quite well and look after the tyres,” he said afterwards, drained but jubilant. “Of course, it always looks like it’s going quite smoothly but around here, keeping the concentration for so long is not easy! Overall super happy to win.”
A great day for the team and to come out of it leading both championships… it’s still early days but that’s very positive.
“Monaco is the big one on the calendar and that was our fifth victory,” added Christian Horner. “Max’s first podium here, so fantastic for him, fantastic for Red Bull, fantastic for Honda – the first time they’ve won here since 1992. So, a great day for the team and to come out of it leading both championships… it’s still early days but that’s very positive.”
What A Team!© Getty Images
