Monaco 2024

[Willy]

Huge congratulations to Leclerc for finally getting the top step.
The 1st local boy to win in 93 years.
Ferrari strategy did not pooch his race as has been the case in the past.

I am a tad confused by why Sainz was allowed to retake 3rd on the restart when he went off on the 1st lap before the red flag. The off happened during a race lap not a safety car so he should have been back in 16th or thereabouts.

Monaco has always been a rather boring procession but it has such history that it is still a must watch race.

The 1st lap red flag allowed everyone to do a tire change so the entire race was a no stop event after that.  So the pit stop strategy was not a factor in this race.

I have not heard at this point, but imagine Magnusson will be getting a race ban now after causing the red flag event.

[Jericoke]

This race is proof that Ferrari is headed in the right direction.  Driver, team, engineering, strategy are all rowing together, and they're getting results.  Good for them.  (Even though Ferrari will always be my 'hated' team).  The highlight of the race was Charles talking about how it was getting hard for him to see as emotions were welling up.  Also enjoyed seeing the Prince being emotional for Charles' success.

As much as I think that K-Mag's time in F1 is over, I don't think he should be blamed for that crash.  Perez went left, opened a hole, then went right.  Everyone talks about how hard passing is at Monte Carlo, why would K-Mag not take what might be his only chance all day?  Not to suggest I'm blaming Perez.  It's a racing incident.

I was a little curious about Zhou tiptoeing past the medical car.  I'm sure there are directions on what to do in the situation, but if people had to get in and out of that car in a hurry, having Zhou stay back for a few moments until given the all clear to continue would have made more sense to me.

I understand how the lack of 'required' pitstops gave the race a processional feel, but I feel that as a long time F1 watcher, along with the radio traffic, you could feel the strategists and drivers sweating the details.  I think there might have been a pit strategy that could have won the race for McLaren, and for Ferrari to ensure McLaren would second guess themselves is a valid strategy.  Maybe not very exciting in terms of racing, but I enjoyed the risk taking involved in not stopping.

As for Carlos getting a bonus life, I started watching F1 in the 90s: a red flag on the first lap meant a reset. I know that's not 100% in the current rules, but it's simple and easy for everyone to understand.  I didn't have a problem with him restarting in third, even if it's not what should have happened.  First lap of F1 is very much a lottery, and any decision is going to help/hurt someone unfairly.

[Dare]

What happened when a driver could start at the back
at Monaco and get a podium finish.

[Alianora La Canta]

Huge congratulations to Leclerc for finally getting the top step.
The 1st local boy to win in 93 years.

I have just about landed back on Earth after that one. Admittedly, even Charles' biggest fans aren't going to call the race a classic, but it didn't feel like that was the point of the weekend. It felt like everything coalesced on whether this particular driver was going to get his coronation or, if more cynical, wonder how it was going to fail this time. Without investment into that storyline, the racing was decided by a combination of locked mainline strategy and teams mostly not considering alternatives even when there was little to lose from them.

I am a tad confused by why Sainz was allowed to retake 3rd on the restart when he went off on the 1st lap before the red flag. The off happened during a race lap not a safety car so he should have been back in 16th or thereabouts.

You can thank a quirk in the regulations where the grid is taken from the last full sector everyone crossed (mini-sectors aren't used because they're too small to accurately reflect order). Sector 1 was the place from which most of us were expecting the order to be taken. Had that been done, Carlos would have been 16th because that was the position in which he crossed Sector 1, and he did it before the red flag. However, there were 17 runners at that point. Zhou Guanyu had been behind the Haas/Perez collision. He'd carefully stopped his car just before the outer edge of the debris, then tiptoed his way through. He too so long that he didn't cross the line ending Sector 1 until after the red flag was flown. As a result, Zhou was classified as the 17th runner and his last complete sector… was the start line. So everyone started from grid order.

Monaco has always been a rather boring procession but it has such history that it is still a must watch race.

Of course, it doesn't help when the driver who did the most overtakes in 2 of the last 4 events in Monaco led every metre of the race and thus could not add to the tally.

I have not heard at this point, but imagine Magnusson will be getting a race ban now after causing the red flag event.

You won't hear, because the stewards didn't even note the event. They thought it was that obvious that Perez was also a significant contributor to the crash. (I don't agree, but the stewards have held their line on worse, and they were probably more concerned about the injured photographer than the drivers who penalised themselves).

[lkjohnson1950]

Alia always has the goods. Thanks.

[John S]

I have not heard at this point, but imagine Magnusson will be getting a race ban now after causing the red flag event.

You won't hear, because the stewards didn't even note the event. They thought it was that obvious that Perez was also a significant contributor to the crash. (I don't agree, but the stewards have held their line on worse, and they were probably more concerned about the injured photographer than the drivers who penalised themselves).

IMHO Stewards almost always seem to have first lap blindness, unless there's such an egregious breach of standards they feel they have to act.

Seems standing start first laps are regarded a bit like the filmic version of the wild west, mostly anything goes.