via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Monaco Grand Prix – Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco – Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in action during the race REUTERS/Eric Gaillard REFILE – CORRECTING ID
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Monaco Grand Prix – Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco – Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in action during the race REUTERS/Eric Gaillard REFILE – CORRECTING ID
The Monaco Grand Prix weekend is arguably the most important of any F1 race calendar. It is the Crown Jewel in Formula One history and probably attracts the most amount of interest out of any race.
But this season might be tough for the drivers to race in Monaco because of multiple reasons. Despite the new generation of cars being better to overtake and follow closer, this might not work in Monaco where it is almost impossible to overtake. But this is not the primary concern ahead for the drivers with the new 2022 cars.
🚨| There are concerns ahead of the Monaco GP, regarding the new spec F1 cars.
Drivers are worried mostly about the visibility, which has been reduced in 2022 due to the 18-inch wheels…
and also the rigidity of the new ground-effect cars, which will make handling kerbs hard.
— Ferrari News (@FanaticsFerrari) May 25, 2022
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Since this generation of cars generates downforce by ground effect and is lower to the ground, it could be a problem on the bumpy track and kerbs in Monaco. Also, the visibility from inside the cockpit might be an issue because of the wider sides of the cars and 18-inch wheels. So it would be fascinating to see how teams and drivers combat these issues with walls so close by.
READ MORE: Where Do the F1 Drivers Stay in Abu Dhabi?
One team that everyone will pay close attention to is Mercedes. The German team is looking like they have bounced back from their early-season troubles after an impressive showing at Barcelona. But Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is concerned for them in Monaco.
Mercedes F1 team boss predicts a difficult Monaco GP weekend for the team
Wolff stated the team was not particularly fast in the tight and twisty sector 3 of the Catalunya circuit. But he also mentioned that it could be because of the higher track temperatures on the circuit.
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“We have been particularly off-pace this weekend in the slow corners in the last sector. That might be different in Monaco,” said Toto.
via Reuters
Formula One F1 – Pre-Season Testing – Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain – March 10, 2022, Mercedes’ Team Principal Toto Wolff during testing REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
“But I’ll be curious to see where we are this weekend. We still struggled with the warm-up a little bit. So my expectations for Monaco are lower than on any other circuit. I’m not sure I can explain scientifically why that is, but it’s going to be another learning point, at least, to bring us back into the game,” said the Mercedes team boss.
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It would be interesting to see how the W13 performs in the high downforce track in Monaco this week. They could spring a surprise by outperforming both Red Bull and Ferrari and taking home the first win of the season. But Wolff’s comments don’t provide much confidence to the team’s fans.
