What Went Wrong for Drivers in Monaco?
The Monaco Grand Prix at the Circuit de Monaco is one of the most famous and demanding tracks in the Formula 1 world. It goes without saying how much the narrow streets of this road give and take from our beloved drivers, and this past Sunday, it sure did take. To start strong, Charles Leclerc, the Prince of Monaco, finished in second place during the Grand Prix on Sunday, but before this, his car was hit by Lance Stroll in his Aston Martin during the practice run. Stroll was then given an additional grid penalty for the Grand Prix after he was found guilty of impeding Pierre Gasly during the qualifying session. This is just the base of the cake, as Stroll commented that he was unaware of Pierre's presence.
In the last few minutes of final practice for the race, Lewis Hamilton’s car found the wall, giving the team a penalty ahead of Qualifying. Hamilton eventually began to improve his sector times but had to back out of the laps due to traffic. Additionally, the Haas rookie Ollie Bearman was hit with a 10-place grid penalty after the stewards found him guilty of a red flag breach during practice. The replays showed the rookie attempting an overtake of Carlos Sainz under the red flag. The colored flag was due to Oscar Piastri finding the barrier during the practice.
George Russell commented that Mercedes endured their slowest Friday of the season, as he finished sixth and then in 12th after the sessions. Russell went into the race having finished outside of the top five places for the first time this season during the Grand Prix at Imola. Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli also left Monaco in hopes of bouncing back after a frustrating race weekend. The Italian driver hit the wall while trying to shave time off his lap, meaning he was unable to continue, so he settled for 15th on the grid. While all of these incidents happened during the race weekend in Monaco, each driver mentioned did their best and pulled out everything they could. Also, a huge congratulations to Lando Norris for finishing first for the very first time in Monaco. The next race is in Spain on June 1st.
