A good first free practice session on the Monaco track gave away the first adrenaline-pumping emotions of the weekend and the first technical sensations, even clearer than expected, at least as a first approach, with the obvious and obvious premise that everything can still change, even quickly.
Ferrari and Aston start off on the right foot
The best session time was found by Carlos Sainz with an excellent lap, in a Ferrari that has appeared solid in performance for now. The SF-23 performed well in every run with both drivers, leading practically the whole session and showing an excellent level of mechanical grip. The front end appeared solid, which in Monaco allows you to have more confidence with the car and, above all, to arrive first in line out of corners, being able to get back on the gas early. The defect of the red, which appeared quite clearly, is the evident return of the car jumping. It shouldn’t come as a surprise though, the car has this congenital problem and by adopting the ideal set-up for the Principality, with the necessarily softer suspension package, the hopping can only emerge again. However, apart from the annoyance, it didn’t seem to affect the feeling of the riders or the performance in the slightest, at least for now.
Leclerc wanted the best time
It is also interesting to observe the last attempt by Charles Leclerc, with the driver of the red number 16 who was pushing much more than the previous lap. The impression is that he wanted the best session time in front of his teammate, without however succeeding in the small business. Leclerc first had to overtake Ocon at the exit of the tunnel, and already braking under braking, giving the idea of how in Monaco it is enough to divert attention for a fraction of a second to lose the precision of the references. Arriving at the first esse of the pools, the home rider tried to face it in full force, for the first time over the weekend. Successful pass, but the speed taken to the second esse of the piscine at that point was so high compared to the still low grip of the track that the rear broke down and Leclerc was forced to cut the chicane and abort the lap.
Aston Martin well with Alonso
To contend for the best lap to the excellent Sainz, a Fernando Alonso on the ball and combative. The AMR23 took to the track with a good set-up base, mechanically agile in the slower and more tortuous corners (the car seems to be able to rotate very well in the straits), also quick in traction, thanks to a very effective rear end. In the somewhat “medium” speed corners (average only for Monaco), however, the Ferrari appeared slightly superior, perhaps because it was a little more aggressive in terms of aerodynamics. Alonso immediately looked like a potential contender for the front row, but Stroll’s difficulties signal how much the Asturian will need to “put some of him into it”.
Not so surprising difficulties at Red Bull
The most interesting news of all from the first free practice session was probably the difficulty of Red Bull, especially with Verstappen. However, the behavior of the RB19 on the narrow streets of the Principality shouldn’t surprise too much. Newey’s car has a very wide operating window on its side, guaranteed by mechanics that manage to make the aerodynamics work at their best in all situations. The specificity of Monaco, however, is such that it does not require any type of optimal compromise, but the car must work well in a single, very narrow range of conditions. This cancels a large part of the advantage of the World Champion team.
Aerodynamics have a much lower specific weight on performance at these low speeds, and the best mechanical compromise for this track, between suspension stiffness and ground clearance, may not marry well with the RB19 concept. The result was that of a Red Bull that was difficult to drive, especially on bumpy roads, and complicated to enter into corners due to an often very light rear. It is easy to see how, when the curves begin all in sequence a little faster than the third sector, the difficulty in each entry translates into an increasingly marked delay in exit up to the clear skid of the Rascasse. Nothing is compromised, of course: the Milton Keynes technicians together with Verstappen and Perez will work hard to put a much easier car to manage on the track as early as the second session, but the initial difficulty appeared clear and it will be interesting to see if Verstappen and Perez arrive to compete for pole and victory easily, or if they confirm an atypical difficulty on the most atypical track on the calendar.
In Monaco, however, everything changes quickly and, to give you an idea, no one has yet lapped on the soft tire and they should lower the lap time by around 3 seconds per lap, so all that remains is to enjoy the next free practice sessions (if there is a track where it is wonderful to watch free practice (it’s just that) to see in which technical direction the teams will go and how the scale of values will be defined on the track.
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