The Monegask authoritatively dominates the first day of work for his fans and makes it clear who the favorite is
After losing the Spanish GP, the arrival at his home track for Charles Leclerc is not only an extra motivation, but also a necessity for reconfirmation. The curse that haunts him begins to pass the joke into an obligation. It’s not that he hasn’t won a single race since being in front of his crowd in Formula 1, it’s that he hasn’t even completed them. Having had problems, he has even had them at exhibitions, such as when he crashed a mythical Ferrari 312T like the one used by Niki Lauda in one of his titles with the Scuderia. Ironically, the streets of the Principality are off limits to a young man who grew up there.
That is why it was so important for Leclerc to dominate the first day at home with authority. With a huge banner in one of the dots playing with his last name and the word L’eclair (“The lightning”) to encourage him, the one who led the World Cup until last Sunday won the first and second free practice sessions with relative ease. Very relative, because between him and his direct pursuer, Carlos Sainz, there was barely half a tenth. The extreme equality between the Ferraris is currently in his favour, but he is aware that he has a lot of pressure not to fail. Neither should nor can.
And is that if Ferrari started one (or two) steps ahead of Red Bull in free practice, you can’t forget what happened in Montmeló. Both he and Sainz promised them very happily, but on such a complicated and old-fashioned track, the hands and concentration make all the difference. Tell Daniel Ricciardo, protagonist of the first (and only on Friday) accident in this edition of the most mythical Grand Prix of the single-passenger car competition par excellence. The Australian hit the walls with his McLaren, creating a red flag that could be repeated in the standings this Saturday if the runners are not 100% focused.
With his future more doubtful than ever, ironically after a momentous comeback, Fernando Alonso has a weekend ahead of him that could be extreme: either very good or very bad. He was already in the photo from the first incident of the session, when he got stuck between the wall and Mick Schumacher’s Haas at the entrance to the pitlane, when the German’s Haas was blocked by a mistake in the MGU -K. The Asturian was a perk on the spot, but it can serve as a warning of what lies ahead for the rest of the weekend.
After a very hesitant first free practice, Alonso finished eighth in the seconds. Very good news for him, who was able to test the performance of both the medium and soft tires on the very hot streets of Monaco (even stormy, there is a certain chance of rain on Sunday) where he wants to shine. What better setting to allay Alpine’s doubts than in Monaco, where legends were forged, and show them that there is no young talent to replace their hands?
If Alonso is able to dodge his own mistakes and those of others, next to the walls, he can ring the bell. And it is that the middle zone that seemed to have distanced itself in Spain has moved much more in the streets of the Principality. The Grimaldi will host a different race than previous years as many see it as impossible to drive without crashing these huge cars. Lewis Hamilton, for example, left an uneasy impression on his fans: he hit the steering wheel and tilted his head because he couldn’t control the rebound of his W13. Something similar also happened to George Russell, one of the big surprises of this championship start, who has not dropped out of the ‘top 5’ in any of the contested races.
This Saturday’s standings are central. On a track where overtaking is a utopia, neither with DRS nor without DRS, Q3 is a must for anyone striving to score at least points. Fernando Alonso among them, but not exclusively. It is also a golden opportunity for Carlos Sainz, where he already took a brilliant second place here a year ago.
Source: La Verdad
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