Monaco Grand Prix: Stage Preview

      The Monaco Grand Prix opens the European part of the season. In the next eight weeks, we will see six Grands Prix – three series of two races in a row. Monaco - Barcelona, Austria - Great Britain, Belgium - Hungary. Of these, only the British Grand Prix will take place in a format with a Saturday sprint.

      For the first European stage, teams always prepare large-scale updates, but Monaco is such a specific track that it will be difficult to fully assess their potential, even in a format with three practice sessions. The main innovations from the teams will be showcased next week in Barcelona, where the conditions are much better suited for testing, while in Monaco, they will only trial some solutions.

      Before the start of the season, bookmakers were confident in George Russell's championship title. The combination of speed, experience, and the strongest car, along with the belief that the Mercedes would be the strongest with the regulation change, should have brought the Brit his long-awaited title, which he came to Mercedes for.

      Who could have imagined that in the previously dominating team, George would win only five Grands Prix from 2022 to 2025? Mercedes miscalculated with the previous regulations, but when Russell won the race in Australia after the rule change in 2026, followed by the Saturday sprint in China, everyone was sure this was the start of a winning streak. But something went wrong.

      Confidence in Russell's title in the spring was also linked to the fact that last year he completely outplayed his young teammate Kimi Antonelli, who made many mistakes, often crashed, and did not particularly impress in his debut season. But this year, the acquired experience, self-improvement, and help from Mercedes allowed Kimi to realize his undeniable natural speed. Following his first career victory in China, he did what no one had done before – he won the next three races.

      Yes, besides Kimi's talent, the excellent Mercedes car helps a lot. Yes, Russell was unlucky in Canada – he won the sprint, started from pole, and was leading the race when his car broke down. Let's not use the phrase about "luck favoring the strong" – we will know the result of their battle at the end of the season, but there is no doubt that the competition will be interesting and will lead to many bright situations on the track. And that’s all we need.

      The fact remains that defying all predictions, Antonelli arrived in Monaco as the leader of the World Championship with a 43-point advantage after four consecutive victories. However, last year after a good start, Kimi had a frankly unsuccessful European part of the season. But now the situation is completely different, and he is much more confident in himself.

      If for most teams the "home" race takes place in Silverstone, for most drivers, the race in Monaco can be considered "home." For Charles Leclerc, it is home without quotation marks, and for many others – by place of residence. The quiet and cozy tax haven of the Grimaldi family on the Côte d'Azur attracts tourists but does not like outsiders. Therefore, it is comfortable for the stars of world sports, and not just sports, there.

      For others, there are certainly challenges – there are almost no hotels in Monaco, no airport, and team staff arrive every morning by train – on the narrow winding roads, there are terrible traffic jams – from neighboring Nice and other nearby towns and villages where one can stay. The morning queues at the train stations of staff and fans are impressive – you won’t see anything like it anywhere else.

      Before the start of the sessions, the city is closed off. Locals sometimes cannot reach the nearest bakery, but in the evening, the restrictions are lifted, and where the drivers just battled, traffic resumes, DJs play, and fans socialize and dance while enjoying fizzy drinks. There are not toilets everywhere, so by morning, the track is not in the best condition. But this is part of the attractive uniqueness of the stage in Monaco.

      The narrow city track is completely unsuitable for modern wide and heavy cars. Overtaking is impossible there, but how interesting the qualifying is when you need to attack at the limit, as the starting position here decides everything!