F1 2021 - Race 5
Finally, Monaco was back hosting a race weekend! After missing out in 2020 due to the pandemic, it was great to see cars race around the streets of the principality once more.
Mercedes looked like they were on the back foot during the Practice sessions, with Ferrari and Red Bull topping the timing charts over the course of Thursday to Saturday. Charles Leclerc, a Monegasque native, has never managed to see the chequered flag at his home race in any series he has raced in. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda has never raced in Monaco in any series, and admitted that his only experience of the track was on the Playstation..
Heading into Saturday then, it looked like the usual Mercedes near the front of the grid was not going to happen and, sure enough, we were right. Qualifying was not without it’s drama though. Charles Leclerc put in a great lap and, with only minutes to go, Max Verstappen and Valterri Bottas also looked to be on fliers. Leclerc was on provisional pole but looked certain to be pipped to the post at the last minute.. until, red flag. Leclerc had put his car into the wall close to the final sector of the track and everyone on a flying lap had to bin it. Due to there only being seconds left in the session, it was not restarted, and Leclerc got his pole position. He also got a heap of backlash on social media, with people suggesting that he put his car into the wall on purpose to secure the top spot. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone has purposefully red flagged quali in Monaco, but there are definitely better places to do it than he did, with far less damage for the mechanics to worry about! Verstappen was extremely angry on his team radio when he had to abandon his lap, but Christian Horner, his team principal, said it might be a chassis change for Leclerc, meaning a 5 place grid penalty and Verstappen gaining the top spot..
Coming into Sunday, the Ferrari mechanics were quick to confirm that they had analysed Leclerc’s car and it did not need a new chassis or gearbox, and the pole position was his. It felt really promising that, in his home race, this might finally be his chance to not only finish the race, but win it. That hope was dashed when, on the reconnaissance lap, Leclerc slowed up and all we heard over his team radio was “no, no, no”. The left side of the drive shaft had not been checked, as the impact had been on the right side of the car and checking the left side was not routine after an impact such as the one sustained on Saturday. Leclerc drove his car straight back to the pits, and soon afterwards it was announced that he would not start the race at all. A huge blow for Ferrari and Leclerc’s home fans. Once more, he was not to finish his home race.
Great news for Red Bull however, with Verstappen promoted to the top spot after Leclerc’s retirement. He got off to a great start and, for the first 29 laps the race was pretty uneventful. Bottas pitted from second place and there was an issue with a wheel nut and the wheel could not be removed from his Mercedes, forcing the team to retire the car. The race went from bad to worse for Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton lost three places in his pit stop, with Sergio Perez being the main gainer of positions, promoting himself to fourth place. There wasn’t a single yellow flag in the race, the commentators suggesting this may have been the first Monaco race in history to not have had one. Of course, with the tight and twisty streets, we are more used to seeing full safety car periods never mind yellow flags. The end result was a win for Verstappen, giving him the lead of the driver’s championship for the first time in his career. My personal favourite part of the weekend was the second and third spots going to Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, former teammates last season at McLaren and two of my favourite drivers. It was great seeing a Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren up on the podium, and giving the fans a bit of variety in the race results!
