formula 1
The Monaco Crux: Lap Adrenaline vs. Racing Problem
Fernando Alonso during qualifying in Monaco. photo
© Christian Bruna/Pool EPA/AP/dpa
There was hardly any more tension. A round is spectacle in Monaco. Qualifying turned into an adrenaline rush once again. But what happens in the 78-lap race?
After the adrenaline rush, the PS protagonists agreed. Monaco always belongs on the racing calendar, said Fernando Alonso. “Exactly,” agreed Charles Leclerc. “The feeling after a lap in qualifying is so good, you won’t find that anywhere else on the racing calendar.”
Leclerc should know, in 2021 and 2022 the only native of Monegasque took pole for the Formula 1 classic. This time he finished third in the knockout elimination behind Max Verstappen and Alonso – but was penalized for obstructing a rival by three positions .
And with that, he, too, is particularly suffering from the problem that the narrow street circuit, which is only 3.337 kilometers long, brings with it. “These are not the most exciting race days when it comes to overtaking,” Leclerc emphasized before the Monaco Grand Prix.
“Overtaking is practically impossible under normal circumstances”
Instead of one lap, there are 78 laps on the course, on which what primarily provides excitement, entertainment and variety is hardly possible: passing the opponent. “The cars are now so big that under normal circumstances the prospect of overtaking is practically impossible,” said Verstappen’s Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
But that would also mean that Verstappen’s chances of his second Monaco victory after 2021 are very high. In any case, the 25-year-old two-time world champion from the Netherlands will start from pole for the first time in his adopted country. He secured his 23rd career pole with a great lap at the last minute – 84 thousandths of a second ahead of Alonso.
“There’s a lot of adrenaline,” said Verstappen. “You feel that your heartbeat is always a little bit faster on the qualifying lap than on any other track.” Verstappen emphasized that Monaco is the toughest course for chasing the best time on a lap. “It’s a unique place,” added Alonso. In the race, the 41-year-old Spaniard, who won Monaco in 2006 and 2007 but has been waiting for his 33rd Grand Prix victory in ten years, will do everything in his power to get past Verstappen. Sunday’s race on the Côte d’Azur will show just how exciting that will be.