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As the FP1 of the Monaco GP came to an end, we had the familiar name of Charles Leclerc leading the pack once again in his Ferrari. On a weekend where there was an anticipation of rain disrupting things, it's been a clear day so far, just like the teams like it, as cars hit the track as soon as the lights went green.
Other than Mick Schumacher losing his gearbox and causing a red flag, there weren't too many disruptions as the running went smoothly. So, after FP1, what did we learn? Let's find out!
Monaco GP FP1: What did we learn?
#1 Red Bull might have a slight edge over Ferrari
Ferrari did end the session with Charles Leclerc's fastest lap, but primarily one of the reasons behind that was Max Verstappen flat-spotting his tire early in his run. If you look at the cars and how they behave on the track, it's quite clear that both Red Bull and Ferrari will lead the charge.
There still seems, however, to be a lot of bouncing issues faced by Ferrari as compared to Red Bull, which looks like a much smoother car. Although it is still a relatively green track, Red Bull holds a slight edge over Ferrari for now.
#2 Mercedes needs some fine-tuning
Mercedes welcomed back the porpoising as soon as it hit the track in Monaco. The car evidently had speed, but the porpoising effect was far too much with Lewis Hamilton even complaining that "he was losing his mind" as a result.
This time around though, Mercedes would have come prepared for the Monaco GP. Even though porpoising seems to be an issue, the team has the experience and should be able to tune it out. For now, Mercedes looks like the fourth-fastest car behind McLaren, but it's not the kind of gap that cannot be removed for the Monaco GP.
#3 McLaren looks on form for the Monaco GP
We had earlier picked McLaren as the team that would struggle in the Monaco GP. If the first hour of running is anything to go by, however, it seems we were wrong. McLaren looks like the team that should be spearheading the midfield and might even be ahead of Mercedes (for now).
#4 Aston Martin is in trouble
It would be a shoulder-dropping moment if you invest so much of your budget in your new B-spec car, putting all the eggs in one basket, and then, get nothing out of it. Aston Martin is in for a rough Monaco GP by the looks of it. The car looks decent, but it looks like it belongs to the same place in the pecking order that it always has been, even before the upgrade (outside the top-10).
Probably one of the more demoralizing things has to be the soft tire runs for both the drivers that didn't see them finish near the top half of the standings, especially since they were the only team to do it.
#5 Question marks over Alpine and Haas
Alpine and Haas did not have much of a representation at the top of the timing sheets. For Haas, the Monaco GP weekend started with Mick Schumacher losing his gearbox and with it, some precious track time. Kevin Magnussen completed both his scheduled runs but had nothing representable coming from it.
The same was the case with Alpine as both the drivers kept a low profile. While Fernando Alonso did pull out a decent lap good enough for P13, it did seem that the team did not push for performance runs like others. Where these two teams stand is a question that we should get an answer to in FP2.
