Monaco Grand Prix: Mclaren preview

Still very much in the shadows.

After an improved yet satisfactory performance in Spain, Mclaren head into the Riviera with a little more confidence.

The Circuit de Monaco is known to have unpredictable weather conditions and with the introduction of the newer Pirelli tyres, the teams will have to gamble on all sorts of strategies till they tick all the right boxes. Luckily though, Mclaren have Jenson Button amongst their ranks.

The Brit is known to be absolutely incredible when it comes to planning tyre strategies and he’ll be hoping his vast knowledge comes to good use at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez, on the other hand, hasn’t had the smoothest of settle-ins at Mclaren. The Mexican moved to the British team after incredible performances in an under-par Sauber but so far has failed to reproduce the form that caught Mclaren’s eyes.

At Monaco, the qualifying driver has an advantage. Just ‘an’ and not ‘the’ due to unpredictability during the race. Mclaren need to put in a good performance in qualifying to get their chances in the race to be on the higher side.

The team brought in upgrades in Spain and saw an improved performance but considering their performance last year and their run-in, many expected them to continue it this year. Sadly, that hasn’t happened but Team Principal, Martin Whitmarsh, has stressed that the team will focus on this year’s car rather than move on to next year’s just yet.

The Monaco Grand Prix demands two things in every driver, balance and superior amounts of downforce. With the twist and turns of the circuit, the drivers have to turn slowly yet instantly meaning a perfect balance is more than just a pre-requisite. They also need a lot of downforce in the car considering the rises and dips around the circuit .

Neither of the aforementioned qualities can be associated with the Mclaren cars but they did sport some new upgrades in Spain and their times in FP1 and FP2 were a vast improvement. I’m still leaving the uncertainty door wide open.

Heading into the race, Mercedes are the clear favourites, they’ve grabbed the last three poles and Michael grabbed provisional-pole last year in Monaco beating off the Red Bulls. The Silver Arrows do look strong but the Ferraris and the Lotuses have caught up with them.

Red Bull need to work on their car, they haven’t had the best first half of a season so far and any attempt to show intent at the Monaco Grand Prix can be scuppered by the cars in front of them and the barriers to their sides.

Mclaren are nowhere near the leaders but if they can pull off something special, it just might put Button and Perez in the mood they need to be to challenge for podium.