The diamond of the Formula 1 calendar returns this weekend, as the drivers head to the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen will be looking to extend his lead at the top of the World Drivers’ Championship, but with competition from Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc in particular, it will be undoubtedly be a tough battle for the top spot on the podium.
The race weekend comes at arguably the most important time of the season, Verstappen and Oracle Red Bull Racing have been pushed to the limit over the past two race weekends, and if we are to see a battle for either championship, it has to continue around Monaco. If the last two races are used as evidence, the gap between Red Bull and both McLaren F1 Team and Scuderia Ferrari has drastically closed but on a different type of circuit, we’ll see if this trend continues.
Monaco can deliver some freak results. Think back to the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix, which saw Fernando Alonso almost take pole position and the win while Esteban Ocon and BWT Alpine F1 Team claimed a podium and this weekend the battle should be really interesting with at least five different drivers battling it out at the front.
Home hero Leclerc will be looking to end his bad run of the results at Circuit de Monaco – his main aim will be winning around his birthplace and trying to build some momentum for a potential championship challenge.
Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jr. can’t be ignored either, the pair are on good form themselves, especially Piastri. The Australian has been very unlucky in recent races – a penalty was handed to him at the most recent race in Imola after securing a front row start. Piastri is yet to get on the podium this season, but you can’t help but feel it’s not too far away.
Sergio Pérez will be relishing the chance of racing at a street circuit. The Mexican is known for his strong performances around these type of circuits and as a former winner, he’ll be hoping to join the battle at the front which he wasn’t part of at Imola because of a poor qualifying.
Pérez will certainly be hoping that his performance in qualifying is better than the one we saw in Imola, as will all the drivers. Qualifying is key as overtakes are extremely hard to come by, so there’s not much room for error.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team will be hoping for more pace – both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have only managed one top five finish this season. Aston Martin Armaco F1 Team are another team hoping for more performance. The upgrades they introduced in Imola failed to improve their performance and saw them drop behind Visa Cash App RB F1 Team in terms of performance. Yuki Tsunoda will be hoping to continue his strong run of form, as will Daniel Ricciardo, who has been on the up since a chassis change at the Japanese Grand Prix despite not scoring points in a main Grand Prix yet this season.
McLaren F1 Team will be racing in a special livery this weekend to honour their most successful driver, Ayrton Senna, who achieved three World Championships and numerous race wins with the team during his time there.