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The first day of running in the 2023 F1 Monaco GP ends with the familiar site of Max Verstappen at the top of the standings. The Red Bull driver was able to find the right setup and did not showcase any kind of struggle akin to the ones he suffered in FP1.
Behind was the home favorite Charles Leclerc followed by Carlos Sainz in a session that showed far more promise of a competitive weekend than any other race this season.
Behind the Ferrari duo, we had Fernando Alonso once again extracting the most from the car and placing it right in contention. In a session that saw the two Mercedes drivers a bit out of touch with the top 3 teams (Lewis Hamilton in P6 and George Russell in P12), what were the key takeaways? Let's take a look.
2023 F1 Monaco GP FP2: Key takeaways
#1 It's going to be an exciting battle for pole position
In all likelihood, Ferrari and Red Bull appear to be neck and neck with Fernando Alonso being truly sensational in the Aston Martin. If we look at the timesheets, the top 4 are separated by a couple of tenths and that kind of margin tends to come down to that final lap.
For Red Bull, Max Verstappen finally seems to have zeroed in on a setup that works for him while for Ferrari it does appear that Carlos Sainz is more comfortable with the car (who knows how the crash impacts his confidence). All in all, the battle for pole could come down to these four drivers unless Mercedes have been sandbagging.
#2 Lando Norris is once again making his teammate look average in Monaco
Lando Norris dominated and even lapped Daniel Ricciardo at the 2021 and 2022 F1 Monaco GP. This season, the McLaren driver has rookie sensation Oscar Piastri as his teammate and Norris almost 8 tenths of a second quicker than his teammate on the fastest lap.
In the last couple of seasons, Norris has shown a level of maturity and brilliance that is almost akin to a driver primed and ready to fight for a world title. Limited by the machinery, Norris is using the 2023 F1 Monaco GP as a reminder to anyone who forgot about his talent.
#3 George Russell's Mercedes seems to be struggling
Unlike Max Verstappen whose struggles in FP1 were all but gone by the time FP2 rolled on, the same thing did not happen with George Russell. The Mercedes driver has looked far from home in the upgraded Mercedes and has found it hard to even keep up with teammate Lewis Hamilton.
On a track where Russell reminder validated his selection at Mercedes last season by completely outshining his teammate, he risks being on the receiving end of that treatment in the 2023 F1 Monaco GP. The driver does not look comfortable at all and it could pose a serious threat to how his weekend pans out.
#4 Driver skill could propel a driver or two in qualifying
The 2023 F1 Monaco GP features an exciting prospect where a driver could make or break his weekend by being flawless in qualifying. With the teams being so close to each other in terms of performance, it is going to come down to the operational execution of the teams and the driver's ability to nail that perfect lap when push comes to shove.
We could see drivers of the same teams either getting their 2023 F1 Monaco GP weekend ripped to shreds because of traffic playing a role or we could see some drivers becoming heroes for their ability to pull off that perfect lap. The 2023 F1 Monaco GP qualifying is going to be very interesting, don't miss it!
#5 Alpine drivers have an opportunity to make Laurent Rossi very happy
Laurent Rossi lashing out at the team was arguably because of the team's inability to be competitive against the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes, and Aston Martin. Looking at the timesheets and how the cars behaved on the track, there is a possibility that the two Alpine drivers in Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon have an opportunity of outqualifying the like of Lance Stroll and the Mercedes duo.
If the drivers are able to scalp a couple of them, we could be looking at a race where Alpine beats an Aston Martin and Mercedes on performance. If that happens, Laurent Rossi would definitely be happier.
