Street battles ahead as F1 descends on Monaco
As the Formula One circus descends upon Monte Carlo for its annual bling-fest, it’s worth taking a pause, for with a quarter of the season gone we find ourselves reflecting on tales of dashed hopes for some, unexpected success for others. The Australian Grand Prix may only have been 10 weeks ago, but a lot has happened since.
Let’s start with the reigning World Champion, for who would have put any money on Lewis Hamilton failing to win any of the first five races in his Mercedes Benz, a car which is the class of the field? It has been a tough time for Hamilton and his legions of fans; something has gotten in the way each time we expected to see the triple title holder produce one of his devastating performances.
Errors here, mechanical failures there and, last week, a team mate in Spain who shut the door with the subtlety of sledgehammer. His critics, and he has a few, intimate that the British ace has perhaps lost a degree or two of focus; too many distractions beyond the paddock. Schadenfreude is in evidence, and it is a shame, because Lewis Hamilton is a fantastic driver amassing career statistics which rank among the very best.
The good grace with which Hamilton accepted the disappointments of the opening races gave way to annoyance in Russia, barely concealed anger in Spain. He will leave his home in Monte Carlo each day this week determined to reverse the trend, and that is reason enough to look forward to this weekend’s spectacle.
For team mate Nico Rosberg, championship leader and winner of 7 of the 8 races since since Hamilton tied up the 2015 title in Austin last October, the streets of the principality hold much promise. More than any of other driver Rosberg can claim this to be his home race, for he grew up here rather than simply stopping by for tax reasons. He has also won this event for the last three years, Hamilton having only a single victory to his credit back in 2008, and it would seem foolish to bet against the German making it his own once again. A lot will depend on his mood and focus after the disaster in Barcelona, but he seems unfazed.
Rosberg is a driver re-energised and on the bounce after being trounced by Hamilton for the last two seasons. Whether this is down to him digging a little deeper, Hamilton having a ragged run, or a bit of both, it has turned the tables pretty dramatically. Rosberg has the demeanour of a man who feels this may finally be his time, and his move in Spain suggests that he has decided to play a little rougher. The tactic of ‘stay behind or we crash’ has worked for others in the past.
Ferrari was supposed to be the challenger in 2016 but, aside from a potentially winning performance in Melbourne ruined by wrong tyre choice, the Scuderia has underwhelmed. Reliability issues have halted their ambitions, both in terms of specific failures and limiting overall power unit performance while fixes were put in place. We still haven’t seen Vettel given a car worthy of his capabilities.
Frankly the pace just hasn’t been there, and when the Mercedes pair tripped over each other in Spain it ought to have been Ferrari’s day. It was excruciating to watch Raikkonen have to settle for second. That it was Red Bull Racing which took the win casts another doubt on the ability of Formula One’s most famous team to mount the challenge its fans and leadership had hoped for in 2016. On reliability, performance and race strategy there is work to be done at Ferrari, and you don’t get a more critical list than that.
Red Bull Racing comes to Monaco as Formula One’s team of the moment, Max Verstappen’s debut victory in Spain underlining not only the inherent capabilities of the RB12, but the 18 year old Dutchman’s extraordinary combination of talent, maturity and intelligence when at the wheel of a Grand Prix car. His win cast a shadow across the smiling face of team mate Daniel Ricciardo, team leader since 2014 when he out-performed an off-colour Sebastian Vettel in the 4-time World Champion’s final season with the team.
The team’s decision to keep Verstappen on a two-stop strategy in Spain, while asking Ricciardo to make a three-stopper, raised eyebrows. To some it looked like the team elected to help Verstappen on his way to a famous win, and in so doing relegated Ricciardo to a supporting role, something which his fellow Australian Mark Webber was all too familiar with during his time with the Austrian team. In reality the team split its strategy in order to pitch Ricciardo against the threat of Vettel, putting Verstappen up against Raikkonen, but undoubtedly a lot of eyes will be on the intra-team dynamic now that Ricciardo has golden boy Verstappen in the same garage.
Beyond these three teams, everyone else has issues of one kind or another, although the mid-field battle is a close one. Toro Rosso has shown very well on occasion, and with Daniil Kyat effectively demoted from Red Bull Racing, it seems likely that Carlos Sainz will thrive in his new-found position as favoured team leader. Force India continues to punch above its weight, with the capable Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg often able to embarrass those from teams with bigger budgets and better facilities, while newcomers Haas F1 did a simply brilliant job at the start of the season thanks to a car which owes much its Ferrari influence combined with a well put together team. Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez have it within them to spring more surprises.
After a period of resurgence Williams struggles for outright pace, much to the frustration of its leadership, while McLaren continues a painfully slow upwards trajectory with its improved Honda-powered package. Today marks exactly three and a half years since McLaren’s last victory in Formula One, way back in Brazil in 2012. The team failed to a win a Grand Prix in 2013 or ’14, when they had the benefit of Mercedes power, so the poor run of results – by their standards – is not entirely down to Honda. The reported statement by Ron Dennis this week that McLaren will be the first team to topple Mercedes are brave words, and a gross under-estimation of the opposition.
McLaren’s best race result since 2012 was scored by Kevin Magnussen, who took 2nd in the 2014 Australian Grand Prix after Ricciardo was disqualified, and the Danish driver has made the most of life since being unceremoniously dropped by the team last year and then picked up by Renault. His new French team is a mid-fielder this year, hampered by the very late switch from Mercedes to Renault power following its acquisition of Lotus F1, but expect a big step in 2017.
Manor Racing and Sauber bring up the rear, the former doing an admirable job thanks to some carefully chosen technical appointments, the latter a shadow of their former selves and living in straightened times. After 23 years in the sport it is hard to understand how Sauber has suffered such a dip in fortunes, but they are among a number of teams who have failed to adequately respond to an era when sponsorship and prize money are not enough; you need to have a diversified business model, preferably combined with shareholders who have the ability to shore up the team’s funding. It is to be hoped they survive the season, and find a new path to a brighter future.
Monaco will be fascinating this weekend; we will see the new ultra-soft Pirelli tyres in action, a six-way battle for supremacy between Messrs Rosberg, Hamilton, Vettel, Raikkonen, Verstappen and Ricciardo, and plenty of tensions between the key players. With some rain forecast as well, fingers crossed for a classic Monte Carlo street race.