FIA F1, race #5 2021 - Iconic MONACO GP - 21.-23.5.2021 - NAANII GLOBAL Luxury/Quality Family Lifestyle MAGAZINE 'en Vogue' - NAANII GLOBAL Quality & Luxury Family Lifestyle - MAGAZINE 'en Vogue'-

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The Monaco Grand Prix is Formula One’s blue-riband event.

It’s the most famous race in the world – and one of the toughest; winning here is invariably the domain of the sport’s greats.
Drivers put it all on the line around the tough streets of Monte-Carlo – finding the limit between brushing the wall and colliding with it is one of motorsport’s greatest spectacles. From Saint Devote through Rascasse and beyond, few tracks test a driver’s abilities like Monaco.

There have been Monaco Grands Prix without a single overtake in the past – which makes strategy all the more important, as races can be won or lost on the pitwall.
Track position is crucial in Monaco because it’s the toughest place on the calendar for overtaking – and by a significant margin. Qualifying is the key to a strong weekend, and the pitwall is kept busy by the possibility of making up places in the pitlane through strategy, so expect plenty of variance and undercuts as engineers look for tiny, marginal gains.
Despite the lack of overtaking, the race can be turned on its head in an instant. It’s the shortest race distance of the year – at 260km, compared to 305km for all other Grands Prix – but has the highest chance of a Safety Car (80%) or VSCs (25% of all races, since it was introduced), which means it regularly runs close to the two-hour maximum time-limit.



RedBull Racing - Monaco GP - Preview

WHAT  the TECH
- CHALLENGES with a UNIQUE circuit like MONACO -  !

What are the engineering challenges with a unique circuit like Monaco?
Which plethora of restaurants to go to of course! Joking aside, it’s the slowest speed track that we go to. There are no high speed corners and the apex speeds are the lowest we encounter on the calendar. There’s an emphasis therefore on putting downforce onto the car, usually by using large rear wings. We also have to consider the impact on brake temperatures due to the low speeds and the warm air. In addition, as we depend more on low revs and gears, we must consider the engine’s ability to deliver the power smoothly and predictability… it’s crucial for the driver around this track.


As Monaco is a street circuit, can you talk us through the track surface and how that impacts the car’s performance?
The circuit is bumpier than most of the tracks that we go to so you need a set-up that supports the aerodynamic platform that deals with the low speed ride issues, also to encourage the tyres to stick to the ground when travelling over the bumps.

The margin for error is minimal in Monaco, how important is qualifying?
There is a great dependency on qualifying in Monaco as the circuit is twisty and narrow, the ability to overtake is very limited. If you make a mistake and use the kerbs a bit too much you do not have space to recover.