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This will be the 60th edition of a Formula One race being held on the streets of the Principality. Undoubtedly, it is the most famous race on the calendar and one major reason for that is the narrow track which punishes drivers for the slightest lack in concentration. Most of the corners here have names assigned to them because of it being one of the oldest and most venerable venues. So, let’s take a quick look at the track itself:-
Turn 1 (Saint Devote)
First of all, we come to the shortest – a mere 400 meters from pole position. So, cars arrive at Saint Devote in a pack , and with even three cars side by side, there is always some incident on the first lap. Down the years, the speed of the corner has been reduced and that has increased – however small- the opportunity of pulling aside the car(s) in front and accelerating better at the exit, thus gaining a position or two.
Beau Rivage (Run down to Turn 2)
This section of the track provides an overtaking opportunity if the car behind can outbrake the car in front after having got close in the DRS zone on the pit straight. Although the track here is just enough for two cars to go side by side, the bumpy nature approaching Turn 2 makes drivers wary of trying to be too aggressive.
Turns 4 and 5 (Run down to Mirabeau)
After exiting Turn 4, drivers face a huge bump on the left side of the track, and hence, choose a different line to prevent any effect to the car’s balance. Here, there is negligible chance of overtaking due to Turn 5 being a very tight right hander with a narrow exit.
Turn 6 (Loews hairpin)
This is the slowest corner on the track and, in fact, on the whole calendar with cars taking it at a mere 40 km/h. Accidents have happened here in the past when drivers have tried to dive down the inside but then have been left with nowhere to go. Mostly, a procession is expected to follow through this corner.
The Tunnel
This is the only tunnel that race drivers face on their flying laps during the whole year – the only other being the pit lane tunnel in Abu Dhabi. Every lap the drivers face the transition from daylight to darkness to daylight again but they get adjusted to that very quickly early in the weekend and it doesn’t pose a problem during the race. What is more important is sometimes the drivers get caught out by the grip levels just outside the tunnel and that leads to either them losing control and hitting the barriers or locking their tyres into the chicane next up- some major incidents being Sergio Perez’s accident in 2011 and Kimi Raikkonen running into the back of Adrian Sutil in 2008. There were talks of using the DRS inside the tunnel but the FIA didn’t approve it due to safety concerns. Another thing that drivers have to take care of during wet races is that the track inside the tunnel is dry while immediately outside it is wet.
Nouvelle, Tabac, Piscine (Turns 10-16)
This section is pretty straightforward with a single line and overtaking virtually impossible – as Jenson Button experienced last year against Heikki Kovalainen. On the contrary, it does provide an opportunity for the driver behind to close the gap to the front running car and line him up for a pass in the DRS zone.
La Rascasse hairpin (Turn 18)
This is one of the most famous corners on the whole calendar. Like Saint Devote, this part of the track has been modified to reduce the speed – in the initial years it was just a simple right-hand corner, but in the early 70s, it was turned into a hairpin. Many incidents have taken place at this corner, one of the most famous being Michael Schumacher controversially parking his Ferrari during qualifying in 2006.
Anthony Noghès (Turn 19) and the pit straight
The pit straight provides the most chances for overtaking, primarily because it is a DRS zone. Even then it doesn’t guarantee an overtake at the end of the straight mainly due to the width of the track. But spectacular overtaking moves have been completed in the past without the help of DRS – one of them obviously being Ayrton Senna on the outside of Niki Lauda in 1984 in the torrential downpour.
The Monaco Grand Prix is one-off in the sense that it doesn’t provide a reliable form guide for the rest of the season. For this year, it is widely expected that one of the Mercedes drivers will get pole and hold on to the win with the track not being too abrasive, thus not exposing the W04′s prime weakness, with overtaking being very difficult. Also, we can expect McLaren to struggle a bit due to the bumpy nature of the track as the MP4-28 is one of the worst in riding bumps. Finally, strategy will play a key role in deciding the podium and it will be interesting to see if Lotus can pull off one pitstop less than the others given that Pirelli are expecting two stops on average.
