2023 - Race 7 Monaco

[Zico]

Was rooting for Alonso to take pole.. but it wasn't to be. :/ Congrats to Max.

[F1nKS]

It was a pretty exciting qualifying. I was hoping for Alonso to take pole. So close.

[airshifter]

One of the best Monaco qualifications we have seen in many years. The track evolution was crazy. We had more usually mid pack drivers at the top of the charts than has happened in quite a while. Timing was everything here, and any team not getting their cars out on track in the right place paid a price. Both Alpines as well as Yuki and Lando making it into the top 10, good stuff!

There was just nothing between Fernando and Max, and just when Fred put in a lap that seemed like it would be tough to match, Max snatches it away through turn 13. But if there is a man that can apply pressure, it's Alonso. Given any chance he will do his best to hound Max into a mistake. And at Monaco it doesn't take much of a mistake. In race pace I think Max and RB have the upper hand, but it seems the AMR can fire the tires up quickly, so I expect Fernando to be on the hunt early. But then again, if Ocon can defend well from 3rd there is a chance that Max and Fernando can buy some space at the front, then the wiley old fox has a chance to try the overcut and jump Max in the pits.

No shock at all about the grid penalty for Leclerc. There are already calls to chop heads at Ferrari, and in this case that was just stupid, though I do have to say that his position was poor for not being on a hot lap regardless.



And having now seen the floors of both the Merc and RB, it's a wonder Merc can even make the pace they do. The RB floor looks like a sculpted masterpiece of work in comparison. And I have to wonder if the crane operators were hoping to cash in on some of the money the photographers could make off the floor pics, as they seemed to hoist those cars well above any needed height to remove them.

[Tazio]

Ocon getting dumped

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[airshifter]

Wow.... had AMR put the right tires on Alonso's car he probably would have been on the top step. He ran a great race, as did Max, but Max has only AMR strategy to thank for this one most likely. Even though Max was fast in the wet, we know how well Fernando can defend and especially at Monaco. And Lance being Lance... one of only two drivers with a DNF. Considering the conditions, surprising for Monaco. But at some point rich daddy might need to decide if he wants his son racing or a more competitive team.

Ferrari showing once again how they can absolutely blow it when it matters. Sainz didn't seem to suffer much from the wing damage but a stupid move still. Until they unscrew things and start working together as a team, they are going nowhere fast. If the Merc upgrades help at future tracks, they could be in for a real struggle to have any chance to get back to 3rd in the WCC. Frustrated drivers and a car that seems lacking in race pace are going to kill them long term if they don't sort it out soon.

As for RB and Merc, they made the best they could out of the weekend. Granted Perez was screwed after his incident in qually, but they still had the presence of mind to both try wets, and roll another stop that seemed to be hoping to get Checo out in front of Alonso, my assumption being in case of heavier rain and the need to switch to wets. George got his penalty but had the pace to make sure it didn't hurt him really. If the upgrades help the car both drivers and the team will be motivated by the fact that they are now right there with AMR, only one point between them.


Great points for Alpine as well as McLaren, and well done all around by their drivers. Ocon stayed cool under the pressure, and really nobody ever had any decent shot at him.


Overall a decent race for Monaco. It's usually a complete bore fest, and as much as it has history I'd prefer it be gone and replaced with a better track somewhere else.

[F1nKS]

Enjoyable, nail biting race at Monaco. It amazing there were no safety cars.

Mercedes has quietly climbed to 1 point of 2nd place.

[The Black Knight]

Yes, Mercedes only one point behind AMR. AMR have the car to finish 2nd in the constructors but will likely lose out to Mercedes because they have one useless driver. I'd actually contest that F1 should introduce a rule thay should a driver finish a year with less than 30% of their teammates points they should lose their super license. There are great drivers in the world and only 20 seats. It's a not good enougg that one is being wasted on someone like Stroll because his Daddy can't see that he simply isn't good enough.

His bouncing against the barriers like a Playstation game at the hairping was just embarrassing.

[airshifter]

Hadn't seen the onboards of the pole lap. Max didn't leave anything on the table through sector 3. This is how hard it is to beat Alonso in Q3 when he has a car under him.

Jolyon Palmer analysis of the sector 3 improvements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kx8XcfS0W0