In Monaco, the main and capital thing is classification. The starting grid position is almost all over the weekend because of how difficult it is to catch up on Sunday in the race. The drivers know this, and therefore, they must build the confidence to start approaching and ‘kiss’ the wall without touching it in order to reach the overall classification in search of the fastest lap of the weekend. And that’s what the F1 drivers started doing in the first free practice sessions held on the streets of the Principality.
So far, Mercedes is off to a great start. Lost in the shadow of other routes, knowing that the special characteristics of Monaco can allow it to fight for something important for once at the beginning of the season, the star team started with a big way. Lewis Hamilton led the first session with a 1’12.169 ahead of one of the favorite teams, McLaren, with Piastri in 2nd, only 29 thousandths behind.
Another Mercedes, Russell’s, was third at 0″126, followed by another McLaren, Norris’, at 0″227. Mercedes and McLaren at the front, but they are only Free Practice 1 and that still means nothing. There is a lot of fabric to cut and as the sessions pass, the pilots sharpen the walls more and more, like fighter pilots, looking for the millimeter that allows them to get a thousand keys on it, as if they were surgeons , with a pulse fit for few on the planet.
And we say that the times are not yet representative, especially since the leader of the World Championship Verstappen, and his teammate Pérez, decided not to use the soft tires and keep many tenths in their pocket, without giving hints. And they did the same at Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. In the red team it was surprising that the local driver, who is always very unlucky at home, Charles Leclerc, managed to achieve 5th place at only 0″228 with medium tires. He also did not ride the soft Sainz and is 10th at 0″ 785. The Madrid native will have to build from there in search of a comeback on Saturday that will allow him to get the long-awaited pole, which is here by more than half a win.
Alonso starts in good spirits
“I have a good feeling this weekend. This track is special,” said Fernando Alonso, clarifying that the film seen at the beginning of the year may be different from a track with special characteristics. “We can have a strong weekend,” he said in the preview. And so far, it’s off to a good start. It is true that Pérez (12th to 1″), Verstappen (11th to 0.815) and Sainz (10th to 0.7) are out of position and should be ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. But for now, the Asturian is 6th with soft rubber, fulfilling the first goal of being the leader of the RB, which at Imola was superior to Tsunoda at 0″706, exactly tenth behind Alonso. And Ricciardo was 9th at 0″732.
Aston Martin opted to back out at Monaco with its new front wing and install the old one at Imola to rebalance the car ahead of FP1. So, Fernando ended up in 4th place, 0″8 behind the previous best time, and finished 6th, 0″606. Just behind, Stroll is 7th at 0.620, only 14 thousandths behind the Spaniard There is a lot of room for improvement and from there Fernando will have to continue to scratch the tenth in time , appearance in which they suffered a lot in Imola, to have confidence in the car at the limit, it is important to get as close to the walls as possible without touching them and go for the best lap in qualifying.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
