F1. Monaco 2024 Review

By Aiden, Gavin and Chelsea

Driver of the day

Aiden – In a race where the first 10 on the starting grid all finished in the same place as they started (for the first time in F1 history), it’s hard to go past the race winner. Imagine the pressure Charles Leclerc must have felt. Before the weekend, he hadn’t won any of his last twelve starts from pole position. It was the third time he’s qualified in pole position in his home Grand Prix, but his best finish before last weekend was P4. So, to drive such a controlled race having done the hard work on Saturday, in the most important qualifying session of the year, he’s definitely the man this time around.

Gavin – Charles Leclerc. The hometown boy finally made the podium in Monaco by winning the race, becoming only the second Monegasque driver to win the Monaco Grand Prix since Louis Chiron in 1931. The Ferrari driver was competitive all weekend long and got the very important pole position by the barest of margins in front of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, allowing him to control the race and ensure victory. In his own words – “finally”.

Chelsea – Charles Leclerc. The past five years for Leclerc at Monaco have been ugly: DNF, DNF, DNS, 4th, 6th. This year he did everything right – slotting in the laps during qualifying, and holding his nerve throughout a drawn-out race. It’s a romantic moment to see a Monégasque take the chequered flag at Monaco, but that shouldn’t take away from Leclerc’s steely performance.

 

Moment of the weekend

Aiden – That early red flag – boy oh boy. With all the drivers having the opportunity to change their tyres before the restart, it took away a lot of the potential strategic moves that could have changed the dynamics of this race. Yes, some drivers pitted and went back onto used tyres to get to the end, but it just wasn’t the same. Monaco is probably more divisive amongst fans than any other race given the lack of opportunities to overtake and that red flag didn’t help one side of that argument.

Gavin – The first lap red flag that allowed Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari back into the race to keep those McLarens honest. Carlos and Oscar came together in the first corner as Carlos tried the overtake, it was not a big coming together but it damaged the McLaren and gave the Ferrari a puncture. And just when it looked like the race was over for the Ferrari driver the Kevin Magnusson inspired red flag allowed Carlos, along with most of the grid, to pit for new tyres, and because the race was stopped before the first timing mark it was back to the grid to start again. This meant that the drivers who had pitted under the red flag didn’t have to pit again. If they could nurse those tyres to the end of the race. For the front runners who changed to the hard compound tyres this would be do-able even if it was not easy. Carlos, now firmly in third place, did his team proud by keeping those McLarens under pressure. If he had not been there then they would have had free reign to put the pressure on the leading Ferrari and break all those Monegasque hearts as the McLaren was looking a better race car – at most other tracks Oscar Piastri would have been able to overtake into the lead and probable victory.

Chelsea – Chaos upon chaos in the first lap. First there was Sainz and Piastri having a wee smooch that gave Sainz an almost-race-ending puncture. Then there was K-Mag doing as K-Mag does, seeking out a gap that wasn’t there and ending the race for himself, his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, and a floundering Sergio Perez. Finally, Esteban Ocon attempted what can only be described as a twat move heading into the tunnel, careering over the nose of his teammate Gasly and earning himself a DNF, time penalty, grid penalty, and a mother of a tongue-lashing from team boss Bruno Famin. Whew.

 

Hot take of the weekend

Aiden – Despite what I’ve already said in this review, I’m firmly in the camp for retaining this race. No overtaking? No problem for me. If it was every race weekend, then that’s a different story, but F1 is all about different challenges and the intensity that just one lap brings in Monaco is an incredible test for these drivers. The importance and pressure of qualifying. Managing 78 laps on a Sunday is phenomenal. It’s a mental and physical battle that shows us just how great these drivers are and if that means a lack of overtaking, so be it. Hey, we didn’t get a Red Bull 1-2 did we, so the weekend must be doing something right? Besides, how could we do without Martin Brundle’s grid walk once a year in the principality? Not even Miami or Vegas can match it yet.

Gavin – Eight races. Four winners. 31 points separating the top two drivers. 24 points separating the top two teams. We have competition again. Whilst Red Bull are not as dominant as in previous seasons, McLaren have made a huge stride forward which gave Lando Norris his first win, while teammate Oscar Piastri is looking set for a victory sooner rather than later now that he has figured out how to get the most out of his tyres. Mercedes seem to be getting things right even if they are not yet winning, and Ferrari under Fred Vasseur is looking like a professional organisation as hard as it is to believe.

Chelsea – “This is really boring, I should have brought my pillow,” moaned Max Verstappen on team radio, without a hint of irony, before finishing in 6th. Bizarrely, he’s never made similar complaints when he’s been leading entire races unchallenged. Can’t think why.

 

Cold take of the weekend

Aiden – The Red Bull has a weakness! Well, the other teams are better placed to expose it anyway. The upward trend for Ferrari and McLaren in particular means that the relative struggles that Red Bull have on slow, bumpy circuits (street circuits in particular) has resulted in other teams starting to take poles,  wins and podiums. Red Bull fans don’t need to panic of course, as plenty of tracks still suit them the most, but it’s making for a more interesting, competitive championship than we could have expected.

Gavin – Has Esteban Ocon crashed his way out of Alpine? The number one rule in F1 is to not crash into your teammate which is exactly what Esteban did. It ended his race but luckily it did not end Pierre Gasly’s race, he even managed a point after all of that. Team boss Bruno Famin did not mince his words to the media saying that Esteban’s place in the team is under serious consideration. Does that mean for the next race, at the end of the season, or something else? Will that trigger more driver moves, or will a rookie like Jack Doohan step in? All I know is that with the Alpine being such a bad car it really won’t make much difference.

Chelsea – Could Esteban Ocon be replaced at Alpine? Famin hinted at ‘drastic action’ following the incident with Gasly, and Mick Doohan was chipper on a grid pre-race, repping his son Jack. Personally I think that would be a bridge too far, and Ocon is an exceptionally talented driver with plenty left to deliver. Still, couples counselling for him and Gasly could be well overdue.

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