Monaco GP – Preview

I’ve experienced so many races in Monaco in my whole life, but unfortunately I’ve never experienced Montecarlo’s night life. I spent my days and nights at the box, as we used to have dinner with friends and sponsors in our Motorhome on the harbour.

The F1 GP in Monaco has always been an exciting racing week end both for specialists and for enthusiasts, who have the chance to be so close to cars. The atmosphere you have the chance to experience in Monaco is never experienced anywhere else. Despite the crush barriers that make you feel like being inside a cage, you feel you can touch cars with your own hands. You just tremble with the engines. People have the chance to get so close to teams’ Motorhomes and see their idles. It’s really incredible.

This racing weekend has many unknown matters, which are mostly linked to soft and super soft tyres and to the absence of a leader. Many drivers will make us live an interesting racing weekend. Ferrari showed to keep a faster pace during the race, but the team will have hard times if it doesn’t have a good qualifying race, where it’s so easy to make some mistakes. On the other side we have a Mercedes which is so good in qualifying on soft tyres. If they manage to get the pole, they’ll drive a good race at least until the first pit-stop. I’ve heard they almost solved long run issues. Then we have a very competitive Lotus and a Raikkonen who could be a dangerous threaten for rivals. We don’t have to forget Red Bull even if it complained about Pirelli tyres so much. I don’t agree with Pirelli’s decision to change rubber just in the middle of the racing season. I do agree with Lotus and Ferrari. Common consent would be needed to change technical regulations.

Among outsiders, the most dangerous is Force India. The Indian team could score some important points. McLaren hasn’t displayed its maximum potential, yet. Due to its features, the Montecarlo street circuit requires a high downforce level, while a car’s total weight is less important since the most important thing is to finish the race. Cars will be modified to prevent clashes.

Let’s hope weather won’t affect on track performances. At this point of the season teams are working hard to get ready for the second half. 2-3 pit-stops are expected. It’s a short track and the asphalt is non-abrasive and neat. Pirelli tyres performance has always been so good in these circumstances, even if one of the most important things will be to choose the right moment to pit.