F1 2019: 5 Early Predictions for the Monaco Grand Prix

After five rounds of the 2019 Formula One World Championship, Mercedes have almost incredulously racked up five consecutive 1-2 finishes, giving themselves the best start to any World Championship in history. Mercedes are making a case for this to be the most dominant season for a team in Formula One ever, they certainly have gotten off to the right start in order to do so.

It has become abundantly clear after just racing in Barcelona, site of Winter testing, that Ferrari just don't have the package right now to beat Mercedes on pace. And as we head to Monaco, a track where Mercedes in the hybrid era have had mixed success, it is increasingly looking like Ferrari will need a miracle in order to match up to Mercedes. It is more likely that at Monaco if anyone poses a threat to the Silver Arrows, it will be either Max Verstappen or Pierre Gasly in their Red Bulls that have always been strong on the streets of Monte Carlo.

As Mercedes look like gleaming giants on top of both Championship standings, we sure hope that somebody, anybody can at least pose a challenge and keep it interesting. Whether it will happen or not, or whether anything will happen or not, is another question entirely. Regardless, that won't stop us from guessing, so read on to see our 5 early predictions for the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix!

#5 Pierre steals pole from Max

The story of qualifying last year was that Max Verstappen was looking the fastest up until Saturday when he rammed his Red Bull car into the wall, denying himself his first pole position. This allowed his then partner Daniel Ricciardo to steal pole position and drive a brilliant race with engine issues the next day to a redemption victory in Monaco.

While this story might seem like it was setting up for a redemption pole for Max in Monaco, we see the Dutchman falling short on Saturday yet again, with his now partner Pierre Gasly being the one to swoop in and grab P1 to start the race. Gasly did not have the optimal start to the season, having to adapt to a car that would have primarily been designed around Verstappen and Ricciardo, as well as having some misfortune due to penalties and unreliability.

However, we believe that the Frenchman is due for a breakout performance, showing that he can take it to Verstappen, and even if it doesn't come in the race, we see him bringing it to the entire grid on Saturday. There is precedent for the Red Bulls beating out their competitors at Monaco, with the street circuit being suited to their car more than others and minimal emphasis on power. While we could definitely see Mercedes get it all together in Monaco, we at least hope that on this one circuit the Red Bulls can shine and pull one out, and we believe it will be Gasly to do it.

#4 Charles Leclerc drives a stormer

Last time round in Monaco, Charles Leclerc had one of his worst races when his Sauber had a brake failure and he went careening into a wall. The hometown curse that seemed to plague all F1 drivers doesn't look to be completely back this season however as Carlos Sainz actually managed P8 in Barcelona despite an extremely tough race filled with issues. We see the young Monegasque having a similar race in his hometown, filled with problems but ultimately resulting in a good haul.

We don't think Leclerc will have a bad qualifying day, but rather that he will face some sort of technical issue or mistimed safety car that puts him low down the order and forces him to put on a show. The narrow streets of Monaco aren't the best for overtaking, but it can be done, especially with the power advantage that Leclerc will have over most of the cars on the grid.

If there's anyone out there who can pull off a great comeback drive after maybe lurking in the bottom positions at one point, it's Charles Leclerc. From his F2 masterclasses in Bahrain and Baku respectively to multiple drives in Formula One, Leclerc has shown his potential and we think he'll need to fight to show it again and drive from last to first in Monaco.

#3 More trouble for McLaren

F1 SpanishGrand Prix - Qualifying — F1 Spanish Grand Prix - Qualifying

The big story of this past week in the world of Motorsports has been McLaren's 2019 Indy 500 campaign coming to a shocking end as Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for the big race. McLaren has come out of this year's campaign with a rather unfortunate look and will be trying to do anything to get the heat off their American woes this Sunday. However, as McLaren's bad luck usually goes, we see it just piling up on them this weekend.

In Barcelona, while Carlos Sainz managed some good points, Lando Norris brought out a safety car after an ill-timed move on Lance Stroll. In Monaco we predict that we will see another safety car courtesy of a McLaren... or maybe even two.

The worst thing that could happen to McLaren this weekend would be a coming together of their drivers. And much like Murphy's Law, the British outfit seems to have it's own 'McLaren's Law' following them around, meaning Norris & Sainz will inevitably come together. Sainz joked after the race in Spain that he owes Lando a safety car, how unfortunate would it be if he gives him one in direct fashion, further ruining McLaren's week.

#2 Someone new in the top five

While I would love to predict a non Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull podium for this weekend, it just seems so unlikely. With Mercedes in the form that they are in and the likes of Verstappen and Vettel at least managing to hang on to those top five spots, at this point it would be a brilliant feat for someone other than Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Vettel & Leclerc to even end up in the top five.

Every race this year has seen some combination of those drivers in the top five positions, at all times with the two Silver Arrows leading the way. It is so hard for anyone without the best cars to get ahead in Monaco that I almost don't even feel confident predicting this, but as a racing fan I have to hope. The narrow streets may not make for the most opportune overtaking opportunities, but I see someone outside of that regular bunch getting there.

Whether it's someone like Ricciardo or Raikkonen who have won Monaco before, or Magnussen or Perez who have been P6 before would be fine by me. At this point, it is looking like it just might be Pierre Gasly in the other Red Bull who has only finished as high as P6 this season so far. Even if he could stay in the top five after our prediction of pole for him, that would be enough to bring even a little change to the running order this season.

#1 Another Mercedes 1-2

I honestly might as well just predict this every weekend until it stops happening just so I could get something right. I won't do that, however for this week it just seems like everything is going the way of Mercedes and that they can do no wrong. Even if someone else does get pole, Mercedes in the form they are in just look like they can hunt everyone down, or take advantage of some chaos to steal the race back.

Valtteri Bottas has found some consistent form, and Lewis Hamilton with his lead in the Driver's Championship will be doing everything in his power to try and keep that lead. Ferrari have looked like absolute bottlers for a long while now and it is up to them to change that image, until then it just makes most sense to predict continued Mercedes dominance.

While Red Bull may have the package to take pole, I just think that no one on the grid at this point is ready enough to pull a whole weekend together and outdo Mercedes at the end of the day. For the sake of racing fans I hope that Monaco is somewhat interesting, but the way this season has gone, no matter what happens I can only see F1's most iconic race ending with the image of this season, which has been Hamilton and Bottas at the top.