The Mercedes clan worried about Monaco: Red Bull as the favorite?

Accustomed to success (69 since the start of the hybrid era in 2014), the Mercedes team breathed a sigh of relief two weeks ago. In Catalonia, Lewis Hamilton led to victory the first one-two of the season ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas. However, the German team is arriving in the Principality cautiously. The reason is the winding profile of the Monaco circuit, the shortest of the season (3.337 kilometers). Asked about his expectations for the upcoming race, Toto Wolff emphasizes Mercedes’ weaknesses at the heart of the legendary urban circuit. This is illustrated by a difficult edition, with a fourth place for Bottas and a seventh for Hamilton at the finish, after a Q2 failure caused by a yellow flag appearing during his flying lap.

“We are not arriving as favorites,” admits the Austrian team principal. “The Red Bulls are fast in low-speed corners. And the Ferraris dominated last year.”

In recent years, certain tracks have not worked out for us. The DNA of our car does not succeed in Monaco, Budapest, or Singapore. And specifically in Monaco, where we underperformed last year, without knowing why!

Therefore, the goal is cautious. In Catalonia, the Mercedes was notably aided by the increase in tire size and a lower-than-expected temperature. In the Principality, the Brackley car will be subjected to heat and low-speed corners—conditions its predecessor, dubbed a diva, detested.

“Our job is to execute a good program during free practice, learning from the last races,” says Toto Wolff. “It will be quite a challenge to master our car, which still performs better than last year’s.”

« If you look at Daniel, he was the fastest in the last sector, which requires the most aerodynamic support. In Monaco, they will be hard to beat. » Lewis Hamilton, a concerned leader.

**Reasons to Believe for Red Bull?**

Buoyed by a victory in China, the Austrian team moves forward with confidence. And despite retaining its status as the third force, the team has brought a slew of innovations to the Montmelo circuit. At the top of the list are revamped bargeboards and a new underfloor. All these new features are set to fully shine in Monaco.

« We have analyzed the situation » specifies Christian Horner, team principal of the team. « Even if we still need to wait two or three races to judge, you can see that we have indeed made a step forward. » Progress is verified by the gaps in qualifying, between the best Red Bull and the car in pole position, with notable improvement, except in Spain.

(Note: the season calendar /f1/actualite/22024-monaco-course-le-tapis-rouge-est-deroule-pour-vettel-.html was as follows: Australia, China, Bahrain, Russia, Spain, Monaco. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix only took place in June, during the eighth event of the season.)

Enough to call into question the innovations that appeared in Barcelona? Not really for Max Verstappen, who stood on his first podium of the season less than two weeks ago. The Dutchman is confident about the surplus of aerodynamic downforce of his machine. « There is more downforce on the car, both front and rear. Overall, the downforce is still good. And in recent seasons, Red Bull has always been strong in Monaco. I’m looking forward to this weekend. »

New lap record in Barcelona! @danielricciardo takes us on the DHL Fastest Lap in the #SpanishGP. #DHLMotorsports #F1

Read all about it: https://t.co/D9AzRlLK2K pic.twitter.com/GBtVXOxodB

— DHL_Motorsports (@DHL_Motorsports) 15 mai /f1/actualite/22686-espagne-course-lewis-hamilton-intouchable-de-bout-en-bout.html

Ceci étant, malgré ses qualités, le talon d’Achille de la Red Bull reste les qualifications. En cinq courses, ni Daniel Ricciardo et Max Verstappen n’ont pu se hisser dans le top 3. Un constat difficilement acceptable, alors qu’aucun pilote n’a remporté le Grand Prix de Monaco au-delà des trois premières positions sur la grille depuis un certain Olivier Panis en 1996. (le pilote Ligier s’était élancé en 14e position).

Christian Horner sets the goal: « We need to be higher on the grid on Saturday. This puts extra pressure on the shoulders of our drivers. By being fifth or sixth, we put ourselves in difficulty.

»

Christian Horner: « we do not have the capacity to install a qualifying-specific engine mode. If we can qualify higher on the grid, then big results will come. »

To achieve this, the Red Bull team will rely on an aggressive tire strategy. Both Ricciardo and Verstappen have opted for the maximum number of hyper-soft tires, which will make their grand debut in Formula 1. In contrast, the Mercedes and Ferrari teams have been more conservative. Being 73 points behind Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, the time has come for Red Bull to make a significant impact. The team has been chasing victory in the Principality since 2012. An eternity in Formula 1 terms.