Jackie Stewart warns "overdriving" at Monaco comes with a price

Monaco Grand Prix

Stewart warns "overdriving" at Monaco comes with a price

Stewart won the Monaco Grand Prix three times

Sam Hall

Thursday 20 May 2021 13:30

Three-time Monaco Grand Prix winner Sir Jackie Stewart has urged drivers to stop "overdriving" the historic Monte Carlo streets in order to avoid mistakes.

Sergio Perez topped the first of two Thursday practice sessions for Red Bull but when speaking after the chequered flag fell, Stewart expressed his surprise at what he had witnessed on track.

“I was watching practice and the number of guys that were overdriving – it’s so obvious here," said the 81-year-old, speaking to Sky Sports F1.

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"You’ve got to be quiet, you’ve got to be gentle with the car and you’ve got to coax it to do everything.

“If you overdrive it, you make a mistake. You will either scrub off speed or you will give a little kiss to a wall somewhere.”

Asked if he had any advice for the 20 drivers, Stewart explained: “From a driver’s point of view it is all about mind management.

"The one thing you can’t do is overexcite yourself, overdrive yourself. You’ve got to calm yourself down completely down.

“For Monaco, more than any other track in the world, you have to avoid overdriving. You’ve got to calm the car down, caress it and really coax it into everything.

“Once you overdrive it, it bites you.”

As a street course, there is very limited scope to alter the layout with the circuit remaining virtually unchanged since 1973 when the swimming pool complex was added.

Despite the familiarity with the track, Stewart commented the event itself has "changed a lot."

"For example, when you won the race here you used to get on the back of a truck and went right around the whole circuit waving to the folks," reflected Stewart.

"The racetrack hasn’t changed. You’ve still got to drive without mistakes. That is the biggest challenge."