The Money Shot in Monaco
While it’s no surprise that Verstappen won the race, the pace of the Aston Martin in Fernando Alonso’s capable hands was remarkable. He pushed Verstappen harder than he’s been able to so far this year. Perhaps, if not for his dismal qualifying performance, Sergio Perez might have been there to hold Alonso off. As it stands, however, Alonso took 2nd place at the checkered flag while Perez was lapped two times and finished 16th. His Q1 crash was exacerbated by poor luck on Sunday, resulting in zero points. It’s not what the Mexican needed at all if he wants to keep his title hopes alive. He’s now 39 points adrift of his team mate, Verstappen. Meanwhile, Alonso’s points haul this weekend has put him only 12 points behind Perez and positioned him to challenge for 2nd in the Championship, if Perez can’t find a way to change his luck.
Driver of the day easily went to Esteban Ocon who had a phenomenal qualifying session, placing his mid-pack car in 4th position, only to be promoted to 3rd after Charles Leclerc was hit with a 3-spot grid penalty for impeding Lando Norris in Q3. During the race, Ocon had to fight off the likes of Hamilton and Sainz to keep his position and finish in 3rd, claiming his 3rd career podium. He did so with poise and maturity in a wild and wet race-ending that sent several drivers careening offline and into or nearly into the barriers.
While the on track action was a thrill to watch, what happened off the track might have been more interesting, at least to aerodynamicists and Formula One engineers. No, there was no ‘Drive to Survive’ style drama or tabloid fodder, except maybe for Sainz’s outburst of frustration on Ferrari’s team radio. Nothing like that. It started with Perez’s Q1 crash into the barrier. Once the initial shock of the crash and it’s ramifications for race day were over, it was evident that the cranes responsible for lifting the Red Bull off the track had raised the car so high that it could be viewed from underneath. One of the major factors, if not the major factor, in Red Bull’s dominance this year (and in years past) has been their mastery of aerodynamics, and while it is easy to see the wings and winglets from above, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to see what’s happening underneath the car. In this new era of F1 ground effects, what’s happening underneath the car is more important than ever. And now, every team on the grid has seen the magic behind the Red Bull’s blistering pace.
It won’t change things overnight, but you better believe that everyone is studying the photos and trying to understand how to make a Red Bull style floor design work for them. It’s a moving target of course. What the world saw over the weekend was a floor specific to the track in Monaco, and Red Bull will no doubt be tweaking it for next week’s race in Barcelona, but it does give any team that is behind the curve a starting point. And, since a Red Bull has won every race so far this year with very little contention, the teams that are behind the curve are all of them. It will be interesting to see how things play out going forward. Until next time, stay fast and may your DRS be open.