MONACO is magic. It is the slowest circuit on the calendar but the jewel in the crown. Everything happens at Monaco and publicity is at an all-time high with the most important people in the Formula One world present.
The buzz at Monaco at the moment is about three stories issued by Renault, Honda and Ferrari respectively.
The Renault story came from none other than multiple world champion Alain Prost.
He is probably the top ambassador for Renault and said the following: “Don’t expect Renault to shine much before 2016!”
Prost said this with good reason, as the engine manufacturer is currently experiencing reliability issues.
He said that Renault would have to solve these first before they try to squeeze more power out of their engine.
Christian Horner, CEO of Red Bull, wants them to concentrate on improved power at the same time but Renault will probably play the conservative role, hence Prost’s outlook.
On the Honda front, motorsport boss Yasuhisa Ariu said that their engine has a lot of mods coming to improve combustion and that the turbo charger and camshafts would get major attention.
The drivers, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, have complained about power coming in too viciously so it will be important to develop the engine for smooth power delivery making it more user-friendly.
At Ferrari, technical director Maurizo Arrivabene is also focusing on traction problems as analysis shows that this is the area where they are losing most time to Mercedes.
At Monaco, this will be overcome by adjusting the wings and turning on downforce at the expense of drag.
In Canada, which follows Monte Carlo, a more sophisticated solution will have to be found.
They are determined to hang on to Mercedes and believe that this is a major issue in their quest for supremacy.
Monaco, due to the nature of the circuit, is somewhat of a power equaliser so I expect that the exuberance of the youth brigade will come to the fore.
The only under 20s in the F1, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jnr, in their Toro Rosso Renaults, should be up there fighting with the best.
Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr in their Saubers will also probably shine.
It goes without saying that Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will still be the men to beat in their Mercedes machinery followed by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
Qualifying will be on Saturday at 2pm and the race is on Sunday, May 24 at 2pm.
Let’s see if anybody can break Michael Schumacher’s 11-year-old lap record of one minute 14.4 seconds around this track.
Defending champion is Nico Rosberg.
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