Ferrari naive and Mercedes' diva - what we learned from Monaco GP

Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari — Photo: © LAT Images

Monaco Grand Prix

Ferrari naive and Mercedes' diva - what we learned from Monaco GP

A lack of attention to detail potentially cost Leclerc a chance of a home victory

Ewan Gale

Monday 24 May 2021 14:35

What the Monaco Grand Prix lacked in on-track action, it made up for in overall drama as the elation, dejection and pure cruelty of F1 showed itself in all its glory.

Max Verstappen took the first championship lead of his career and Red Bull its first since 2013 as Mercedes faltered from the start at the Principality, leaving Lewis Hamilton dumbstruck by his swift turn of fortunes.

Charles Leclerc's home race heartbreak reared its ugly head again but with differing levels of happiness through the field, let's dive straight into the five things we learned at Monaco.

Ferrari miss vital damage

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Before this sounds like a blame game against Ferrari, it was driver error during qualifying that ultimately ruled Leclerc out of his home grand prix.

The heavy damage sustained in the crash at La Piscine on Saturday caused concern for the fate of the Monégasque's gearbox, fears that subsided after a lengthy investigation in the 20 hours or so ahead of the race.

On Leclerc's out-lap to the grid, however, he reported issues that ultimately turned out to be a race-ending driveshaft failure, taking away his chance to start from pole.

Team principal Mattia Binotto revealed the team had not checked the left-hand side of the rear-end as there was no damage.

This was a surprise as it does not need a rocket scientist to suggest such vigorous horizontal load through the rear axle could cause damage throughout the area and not just the parts that had been physically and visually damaged on the right rear.

Whilst the weekend was salvaged by Carlos Sainz's second-place, a lack of attention to detail cost Leclerc and Ferrari a potential victory, with the home favourite still yet to finish any race in Monaco in three attempts.

Mercedes back to old 'diva' ways

Watching the race weekend unfold, flashbacks emerged given the Mercedes struggles of old in Singapore where, even in its most dominant period, Ferrari and Red Bull seemed to find extra performance around the twisting street circuit.

It looked to be much of the same at Monaco as Mercedes simply struggled for pace all weekend. Valtteri Bottas managed to find performance just in time for qualifying to start third on the grid.

Following Leclerc's retirement, he looked on course for second place, only for that to be taken away from him by a cross-threaded wheel nut during his pit stop.

On the other side of the garage, a distinct lack of pace for Hamilton coupled with what now appears to be a strategic error, left the seven-time champion reeling.

The W12 did not appear as compliant with the kerbing and various bumps around the circuit, while tyre warm-up was just not as strong as with Ferrari or Red Bull.

The Silver Arrows must regroup quickly ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Norris emerging as the next big thing

Arguably the driver of the season so far, Lando Norris added a second podium of the campaign for himself and a McLaren team eager to impress with its one-off Gulf livery in Monaco.

Despite not possessing the outright pace of midfield rivals Ferrari, Norris hustled around the Monte Carlo streets to finish third and leapfrog Bottas in the drivers' standings.

The British driver has only finished lower than fifth once in a race this season and continued to assert his intra-team dominance over Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo is clearly struggling to get a handle on the MCL35M but with the margin to Norris, who lapped the Australian on Sunday, so vast, the question begs to be asked: Is Norris outperforming the car?

Perez makes it click for Red Bull

Whilst Verstappen dominated out in front, putting on a masterclass in how to win at Monaco, team-mate Sergio Perez quietly went about his business to ensure the team took charge of the constructors' championship.

Starting an effective eighth after Leclerc's issue, Perez spent the whole of his first stint bottled up behind Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin before the German pitted.

Perez then overcut both Hamilton, Pierre Gasly and Vettel, such was his pace on worn soft tyres. After his stop, he stretched his gap to those behind, eventually finishing 32 seconds ahead of Vettel.

In fact, he drew within striking distance to Norris in third and on any other track would have almost certainly clinched his maiden Red Bull podium. Promising signs from the Mexican despite the deficit that still remains to Verstappen.

Monaco demonstrates skill level of F1

If there were any doubts about the skill level of any of the 20 drivers in the field, Sunday's race was a clear indication of just how good each and everyone is.

Hardly any of the 19 drivers that started made a single error across the 78-lap race in what is as close to an endurance test as you will find in F1 with such mental concentration needed.

As close as anyone got to throwing away their race was Lance Stroll missing the apex of the second part of La Piscine by about a metre and forcing him to hop the kerbs in his Aston Martin.

Even during the two overtaking moves in the race, there was no contact as first Mick Schumacher made his way down the inside of Nikita Mazepin at the hairpin on lap one and Vettel and Gasly went side-by-side up Beau Rivage for fifth.

The action may not have been what it has been in the first four rounds of the championship but make no mistake about it, this was motor racing of the highest quality.