Lewis Hamilton proved to be the quickest driver during the final free practice session on Friday at the Monte Carlo street circuit. The seven-time world champion set a lap time more than a tenth of a second quicker than his team-mate Charles Leclerc. Behind the Ferrari pair, Max Verstappen recorded the third-fastest time. All three drivers set their best lap on the C5 compound tyre.
Hamilton stopped the clocks at 1.13.026, Leclerc at 1.13.137 and Verstappen at 1.13.194. As is tradition on Friday’s at the Monte Carlo street circuit, the drivers completed a large number of laps to build confidence with the track. Hamilton and Leclerc both covered 34 laps, while Verstappen completed 33 laps in the second session.
In FP2, all drivers, with the exception of Lando Norris and the two Aston Martin cars, ran both the C4 and C5 compounds. Norris was forced to stop his car after just seven laps on the Medium compound, while the Aston Martin drivers completed the entire session using only the Softs. While the Ferrari drivers completed the majority of their running on the C4, Verstappen worked mainly with the C5. The three fastest drivers also reflected the general trend across the rest of the field, which showed a fairly balanced usage between the two compounds.
The Hard C3 was instead used during the early phases of the first session, after which almost everyone switched to the Medium. Only the Cadillac drivers used the Soft tyres in FP1. At the end of the first hour, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were the fastest, followed by Max Verstappen in third place.
Simone Berra, Pirelli Chief Engineer, noted that most teams started the Monaco weekend using the Hard compound, with the aim of assessing track conditions and allowing the drivers to build confidence with the circuit. The C3 will in all likelihood be the least-used option in the race, in a scenario that should point towards a one-stop strategy, barring any neutralisations.
Over the course of the day, the other two compounds proved to be consistent. The long runs completed by some drivers did not show any particular degradation, while graining, although it appeared on some front axles, did not impact performance. Today’s fastest lap times are just three tenths of a second away from the quickest lap indicated by the teams’ simulations. It is therefore plausible that, already in qualifying, also thanks to the further evolution of the track, which is traditionally very pronounced in the Principality, lap times quicker than the forecasts could be recorded.
To achieve a strong qualifying performance, it will be crucial to bring the Soft compound into the correct operating window. Teams may adopt different approaches to achieve this, taking into account the unique characteristics of the circuit. In strategic evaluations, managing traffic will also be critical, particularly in light of the presence of two additional cars on track this year.
In Formula 2, despite an impact with the barriers at the start of the session and the resulting forced stop in the pit lane for several minutes, Rafael Camara still managed to secure pole position. A pole of great importance on the streets of Monaco, where overtaking is notoriously very difficult. In Formula 2, qualifying is split into two groups, and it was Nikola Tsolov, running in Group B, who claimed second position. The Bulgarian was just over a tenth of a second slower than Camara and will therefore start from the second grid slot in Sunday’s race.
Although Alex Dunne was faster than Tsolov in qualifying, the Irishman still has a grid penalty to serve and will therefore not start from second place on Sunday. Third place on the grid will be occupied by Dino Beganovic. The compounds selected for the Monaco round are the two softest in the range: Soft and Supersoft. Most drivers will start the main race on the Softs, waiting for a neutralisation or a red flag to make the switch and finish on the Supersofts.
In Formula 3, the second race weekend of the season saw Théophile Nael start from pole position in Sunday’s race. The Campos driver was the fastest in Friday’s qualifying session. Brando Badoer set the second-fastest time and will therefore line up P2 on Sunday, while Freddie Slater qualified in third position. The compound chosen for the Monaco event is the Soft. The characteristics of the street circuit and its low speeds mean that degradation does not have a significant impact, allowing drivers to push for the entire duration of the race and defend their position if necessary.
Founded in 1872, Pirelli is a company with deep Italian roots now recognised all over the world for its cutting-edge technology, capacity for innovation, and the quality of its products. Motorsport has always played an important part in Pirelli’s strategy, following the race to road philosophy. The company has been engaged in motorsport for 119 years and today supplies tyres to more than 350 championships on both two and four wheels. Pirelli pays constant attention to the most efficient use of natural resources and energy, and will reach carbon neutrality by 2030.
