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F1 LIVE | Qualifying for the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix
- GPblog.com
There is no Grand Prix on the calendar where pole position is as important as in Monaco. Overtaking is incredibly difficult on the narrow street circuit and so qualifying often determines Sunday's race At 15:00 [UK time], Ferrari and Red Bull Racing will go head to head.
Live F1 | Qualifying Monaco GP 2022
Sergio Perez proved the fastest in the concluding third free practice session. He was just faster than the Ferrari's of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Max Verstappen still needs to find some speed, because he had to settle for fourth place. Perez was thus in all practice sessions in Monaco faster this weekend.
At Mercedes, disappointing results are not yet over. Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris are examples of drivers who were faster in FP3. In qualifying, however, it is all about peaking at the right time. In any case, it promises to be a very exciting qualifying session.
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Overtaking around Monaco
Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix is notoriously known as the most important Saturday session of the entire year. Though that point isn't exactly true when looking at the data. It wasn't the case last time out in Spain but pole position in Barcelona as won an incredible 72% of races. Monaco is still high for Formula 1, but way down in comparison at 45%. Since 2015, pole position has won twice at Monaco. Prior to that, there was a six-race run of the pole-sitter also taking the victory on Sunday.
However, in the last four Monaco Grands Prix, there have been less than 10 on track overtakes combined. So what happened to the pole-sitter? In 2021, Leclerc secured pole position but crashed on the way back to the garage. Ferrari thought they had solved the problem, but on the way to the grid Leclerc broke down. There was no Grand Prix in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2017, 2016 and 2015 the race-winning move occurred in the pitlane.
The pressure on the pit crew in Monaco is immense. The undercut is extremely powerful, and any mistake in the pitlane is, therefore, more costly. Mercedes estimate the drive-through time at 19.4 seconds. Against fresh tyres, that's difficult to combat. With the safety car probability at 60%, teams also have to be quick on the button to react and bring their driver in for an advantageous pitstop.
Our indications suggest that Ferrari will be on top, with Mercedes and Red Bull battling for the second row. Perhaps Valtteri Bottas can spring a surprise. Though we know, one small mistake in Monaco creates huge changes.