F1 OTD: Michael Schumacher's last career pole position at the 2012 Monaco GP

It is bizarre to think that it has been more than 10 years since Michael Schumacher's last pole position in the Monaco GP. Almost every legendary F1 driver that has come and gone has won multiple races in Monaco. Since the track is arguably the most difficult one to drive on, only the top drivers are able to win in the Principality.

Since Michael Schuamcher's return to F1 with Mercedes was quite lackluster, his qualifying lap in the 2012 F1 Monaco GP hyped up the F1 universe as the seven-time world champion showcased why he is considered one of the best in the world. In the Q3 session, he was able to clock in at 1:14.301 and beat Mark Webber by eight-hundredths of a second.

Schumacher's lap was as clean as any driver can get in Monaco. He was on the limit most of the time and was fairly smooth with his steering, avoiding any oversteer or understeer situations. Though there was a slight oversteer and slide at the last corner of the track, he managed to counter-steer it and finish his lap, clinching his last pole position of the season.

However, Michael Schumacher was unable to start from the front of the grid in the main race. This was because he was handed a five-place grid penalty since he caused a collision with Bruno Senna in the 2012 Spanish GP. Hence, he served his penalty after the qualifying session in Monaco and dropped down to sixth position, behind Fernando Alonso.

Though Schumacher was somehow keeping the seventh position in the race, he had to retire the car from the Monaco GP due to fuel pump issues in the Mercedes W03.

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George Russell downplays Mercedes sidepod upgrades in Monaco GP

Mercedes surprised everyone in the Monaco GP paddock with their new sidepods as part of their upgrade package. However, George Russell downplayed the effectiveness of the new part and did not have his hopes too high. He told Sky Sports F1 on Thursday:

"I hope I’m proved wrong, but the sidepods are not the magic [solution]. They tick a box to say there’s no more question marks over the sidepods [but] the magic happens elsewhere."

Furthermore, Russell explained how the Monaco GP has always been slightly difficult for Mercedes, even when they were dominant in F1. He stated that the team is not expecting them to perform brilliantly on the track and that they are waiting for Barcelona to kick things up a notch.

"Mercedes generally struggle a little bit more in Monaco. Even during the glory years, Monaco was a bit of a difficult circuit for us as a team - as is Singapore, those types of tracks. We’re not expecting wonders this weekend. We’ll focus on this weekend before going to Barcelona with a new baseline."

Mercedes have taken a bit of a gamble to bring a brand new upgrade package to a race like Monaco, simply because of how different and difficult it is compared to other races on the calendar.