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The Monaco GP is the crown jewel of F1. The race has been on the calendar longer than many of the teams have been on the grid. This is an event where every team wants to win and place the trophy on their mantle for the challenge but the prestige associated with it.
As the F1 circus touches down in Monaco this season, many teams have not had things go their way in the last few races. If you are looking to bounce back in an F1 championship and in the eyes of fans as well, there's no place better than Monaco to do so. In this piece, we take a look at the teams that will be desperate for a strong Monaco GP.
Top 3 teams looking for a strong Monaco GP
#1 Ferrari
FERRARI REALLY NEEDS THIS ONE! Yes, you read that one right. Ferrari was in the ascendence after the Australian GP with a comfortable lead in the constructors' standings. Charles Leclerc was at the top of his standings and had a sizeable margin over the chasing pack.
The last 3 races have not been kind to the Italian squad. It has lost all 3 of them, along with their championship leads to Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Even Mercedes is now starting to surge and chop down the gap it has to the frontrunners. In the past, this was exactly when Ferrari would capitulate and start losing the plot.
This time, however, the new Ferrari has a different approach. The team should have a good car at the Monaco GP, with the aim now being to use this car to stop Red Bull's momentum dead in its tracks.
#2 McLaren
McLaren has had a disappointing 2022 F1 season. The team had the fourth fastest car last season but was still within striking distance of the frontrunners. It had a win, a pole position, and multiple podiums to show how much progress it had made.
McLaren is miles off the front this season. The car worked well in Imola and the brilliance of Lando Norris gave the team a podium but that's it. Other than that, in the last few races, Alfa Romeo, and to an extent even Alpine, has exposed the deficiencies of the car from Woking.
The Monaco GP was the race last season where Norris stood on the podium with authority and on merit. Maybe that kind of result is off the table this time around but what isn't is a return to the front of the midfield and that should be the team's target for now.
#3 Aston Martin
Aston Martin took a lot of heat in Barcelona for its upgrade package. The car was and still does look like a replica of the Red Bull. What good is having a car that looks like the one on top of the standings but is not as fast. The team had both its drivers eliminated in Q1 and it took the heroic efforts of Sebastian Vettel to drag the car to 11th in the race.
That's not what the team would be expecting from a car that looks like Red Bull now, right? The expectations would have been much higher!
With a full race distance under its belt from both the drivers, Aston Martin will be looking to bounce back at the Monaco GP and start climbing the midfield pecking order.
