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You can tell the Monaco Grand Prix is essentially a work from home situation for the drivers, the vast majority of whom live in the Mediterranean tax haven. Just look at the car park.
Whereas normally F1 stars commute in whatever company cars their teams dictate, here those who haven’t walked from their nearby apartments, or cycled, have arrived in their latest and proudest boys toys.
Take Carlos Sainz Jr, who has used the occasion to show off his most valuable automotive asset, a customised limited-edition Ferrari Daytona SP3 in satin grey that’s worth in the region of £2million. He may drive for Williams these days (and keep an eye on them this weekend, as they could spring a surprise), but he is clearly not about to ditch the prancing horse key fob.
Or Lando Norris, who has eschewed his equally fast McLaren road car for the latest Porsche 911 GT3 RS, with a Weissach performance package and bespoke dark green hue. Perhaps he couldn’t quite stretch to, or blag, the £3m McLaren Solus GT car of which just 25 have been built, one of which painted in red-and-white Marlboro colours is sitting pride of place on the deck of a superyacht in Monaco’s harbour this weekend.
That’s the trouble with the principality; there’s always someone with a more eye-catching accessory. And with that, George Russell can probably boast the most desirable car in the drivers’ car park – his 219mph 1,049bhp Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar is currently valued at over £4.3m.
To win in Monaco is extra special, not least because it’s the oldest grand prix on the calendar and irrefutably the most glamorous. It is the ultimate test of driver precision, a place where the tiniest mistake is punished with a carbon-shattering DNF.
To win here, you don’t just need a clean Sunday, you need an incident-free run up in order to perfect your set-up, find where the limit is, and put yourself in the best possible position on the starting grid.
As everyone knows, Monaco is usually an overtaking-free zone. Drivers who have excelled here before from the current crop include three-time winner Lewis Hamilton, two-time winner Max Verstappen, and last year’s winner, home favourite Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc broke his curse finally, and will be hoping for luck again. He could use it, having only a single podium to show for the year so far. Sixth place in Imola was a struggle. Hamilton fared better with P4 but Ferrari are still some way off the pace of the McLaren, the Mercedes and, in Verstappen’s hands, the Red Bull. ‘Here, it’s all about low speed,’ said Leclerc, indicating the usual suspects mightn’t have the same advantage at this event.
‘I hope we’ll discover something new about our car that we haven’t seen yet.’
Yuki Tsunoda is under pressure to avoid mistakes this weekend, having utterly destroyed his RB21 in qualifying last Saturday. Five grands prix and a sprint into his Red Bull Racing career, having taken over from Liam Lawson at Suzuka onwards, the Japanese driver has only seven points to show for it. Max, who currently sits third in the championship behind Oscar Piastri and Norris, has scored 88 points in that time, along with three poles.Tsunoda’s best starting position so far was his P8 in Saudi. He needs to step up.
‘The constructors’ is very much a long shot at the moment,’ said team principal Christian Horner of the world championship. ‘So all our focus is on the drivers.’
Max decides to steer clear as drivers lap up a Pitt stop
The drivers have taken a couple of hours out of their hectic schedules to relax in front of the big screen. They were treated to a private screening of the Brad Pitt-led F1: The Movie ahead of its global cinema release on June 25 and, when they emerged, they gushed about the realism of the racing scenes.
‘The footage is insane. That is, for me, the best part of all of it,’ judged Carlos Sainz.
The film was made on location over two seasons with Pitt and co-star Damson Idris behind the wheel themselves for some shots.
Ollie Bearman described Pitt’s driving as ‘impressive’.
‘He was pushing the car, that’s for sure. He did his homework, so it’s cool. It’s going to be a huge hit, and it’s going to make people want to watch F1.’
Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll were the only invitees to decline a ticket. ‘I just wanted to spend more time at home,’ said the notoriously showbiz-averse four-time world champion. ‘It wasn’t a mandatory event, and it was my private time.’
Extra change could shake things up
Monaco is subject to a rule change this year: All drivers must pit twice. The aim is to boost the chances of changes to the order as a result of tyre switches and differing strategies.
A minimum of three sets of Pirellis will be used on each car. ‘It will definitely help, especially with strategy,’ said Charles Leclerc, whose Ferrari team has come a cropper on strategy here before.
‘With no clear pit-stop windows, it could present opportunities for drivers starting from further back to move up the order by making the most of running in clean air,’ Pirelli stated.
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