2024 Formula 1 Preview & Review.

[Fortitude]

Horner's 'heart in mouth' after Perez's Monaco smash.
"It was a horrible-looking accident, and of course, your heart is in your mouth, and at that point, the immediate focus is on the safety of the driver," Horner told media including RacingNews365.
27 May 2024, 6:30AM
Jake Nichol & Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has described how his "heart was in your mouth" after Sergio Perez's huge Monaco Grand Prix crash. On Lap 1, Perez was collected by Kevin Magnussen on the climb up Beau Rivage, being spat into the armco barrier, destroying the car.

Horner has now offered his thoughts on the incident, and praised the safety of the car in protecting Perez. "It was a horrible-looking accident, and of course, your heart is in your mouth, and at that point, the immediate focus is on the safety of the driver," Horner told media including RacingNews365.

"Thankfully, cars can be fixed and the structure of the halo and everything did its job. The most important thing was that Checo was able to walk away from a very nasty accident unscathed."

‘Horner's 'heart in mouth'’;

https://racingnews365.com/horners-he...s-monaco-smash


Sergio Perez can't believe what happened after scary Monaco GP crash
Sergio Perez crashed out on lap one of the Monaco Grand Prix after contact from Kevin Magnussen in an incident which also forced the other Haas of Kevin Magnussen to retire
19:18 Sun, 26 May 2024.
By Daniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer
The Mirror

Sergio Perez said he was "shaken" after his hefty Monaco Grand Prix crash and expressed his surprise that the stewards chose not to investigate the incident. Race control noted the incident but it wasn't long before confirmation came that there would be no further investigation into the cause of the pile-up. And, speaking after the race, Perez could not quite believe that it had not at least been looked into.

He said: "It was a little bit shaky from me. It was quite a heavy impact. If you see my onboard at no point, you see Kevin's car not even close to me, alongside me, and you could see that the wall is just getting closer and closer and to keep it flat out. There was only one way out of it.”

"It was either contact with my car, with the barrier, there were just simply no room for both cars. And at some point he had to realise that, you know, I've been in that location and many times when you are the car behind, you just have to realise that it's time to back off, before things get closer to you.

"It was a little bit shaky from me……”;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formu...nberg-32897614


Sergio Perez wrecked in massive Monaco GP crash
Red Bull's Sergio Perez crashed heavily on lap one of the Monaco Grand Prix after making contact with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.
May 27, 2024 — 6.48am
The Sydney Morning Herald

‘Crashed heavily on lap one’;

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/motorsp...27-p5jgte.html


Red Bull F1 Car Obliterated During Crash at Monaco GP, Perez Walks Away
The other RB driver, Sergio Perez, survives horrific crash while local boy Charles Leclerc tops podium.
PUBLISHED May 26, 2024 8:40 PM EDT
Beverly Braga
The Drive

Unlucky for Red Bull's Sergio Perez, his Sunday drive was over before reaching turn two. But lucky again, because he survived a crash that absolutely obliterated his car.

Race starts are exciting because anything can happen, and usually does. At Monaco, Perez and Haas driver Kevin Magnussen were battling for position upon exiting turn one. But given the already cramped quarters of the course, this is a race of millimeters for today's broad-shouldered F1 car. Something had to give.

Except neither Perez nor Magnussen laid off the throttle, so pop went the weasel. Hulkenberg tagged Perez's right rear, sending the two cars into the barriers at a reported speed of 160 mph. Behind them was Magnussen's teammate Nico Hulkenberg. With nowhere to go, Hulkenberg unwillingly joined the party.

‘Red Bull F1 Car Obliterated’;

https://www.thedrive.com/news/red-bu...rez-walks-away


Christian Horner after Monaco GP: 'We faced many challenges'
26 May 2024
Niels Hendrix
Verstappen.nl

Christian Horner, team principal and CEO of Oracle Red Bull Racing, said after the Monaco Grand Prix: “I would say it was a difficult weekend and Monaco is always dictated by qualifying performance, so we faced many challenges going into today.”

“A big congratulations to Charles on his home win, but for us our car never performed at its best here and we need to understand the issues we had on the bumps and kerbs. We have a lot of data to analyse from this weekend and we’ll be looking at everything hard over the next couple of weeks before Canada.”

'We faced many challenges';

https://news.verstappen.com/en/article/5480/


Red Bull reveals enormous cost of Perez's Monaco accident
Helmut Marko has revealed the multi-million dollar cost of Sergio Perez's Monaco Grand Prix crash.
26 May 9:30PM
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

A lengthy red flag followed for barrier repairs, with Perez tearing into Magnussen's approach as the stewards declined to investigate the issue further, as Marko claimed a multi-million price-tag was awaiting Red Bull.

"This is costing us about two to three million and with the budget cap that is of course a big handicap,” he told Sky Germany.

"It was another crash that Magnussen was involved in. Thank God it ended well, but it was a critical situation. I was surprised, though, how quickly the stewards dealt with the matter. These are decisions you can hardly influence, but it was just dangerous."

‘Multi-million dollar cost’;

https://racingnews365.com/red-bull-r...onaco-accident


‘That was a pretty sketchy moment’ – Zhou had front row seat for Lap 1 crash
18:04 Sun, 26 May 2024.
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Zhou Guanyu was relieved to discover Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg were uninjured after their first lap crash – which the Sauber driver saw unfold in front of him. Zhou finished the race in P16.

‘Front row seat for Lap 1 crash’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/th...31069588960951


‘Not worth the risk’: Martin Brundle shares who he thinks was at fault for Sergio Perez crash at Monaco Grand Prix
Sun 26 May 2024 14:45
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

The Monaco Grand Prix had an eventful start when Red Bull driver Sergio Perez had a huge crash and Martin Brundle has shared his thoughts on the incident. Sergio Perez had a torrid qualifying session at the Monaco Grand Prix having failed to get out of Q1, but it wasn’t as bad as the end result for Haas.

Commenting on the massive accident after the first corner, Martin Brundle shared on Sky Sports F1 his thoughts on who was at fault. Reflecting on the incident, Brundle said: “[Sergio] Perez was almost stationary on the outside, he comes to the middle of the track.”

“It was front wheel against front axle aligned with the rear axle, whoever’s fault it was, single seaters only have one person in them by definition. I believe Kevin [Magnussen] should have got out of that and given that one up. It was just not worth the risk up there, you’re fighting over pretty much last place against a Red Bull with 78 laps to go, it’s just not worth the risk up there when you’re not anyway near alongside.”

‘Martin Brundle: “I believe Kevin [Magnussen] should have got out of that and given that one up”’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/mar...co-grand-prix/

[Fortitude]

Piastri: It needed 'something pretty special' to beat Leclerc.
"To be honest, Charles has been mega all weekend and they've been quick from the very first lap, and I think it would have taken something pretty special in quali to out do him.” Oscar Piastri.
18:41 Sun, 26 May 2024.
Andrew Lewin
F1i.com

Leclerc got a strong launch leaving Piastri fighting off a challenge from Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari. Contact between them left Sainz with a puncture and Piastri with light floor damage to the MCL38.

The race was red flagged after a major accident toward the back, giving Piastri a second shot at challenging Leclerc into turn 1, but once again the Ferrari was too strong and Piastri has to accept second place.

"The pace at the beginning was incredibly slow and I had one little half look before the tunnel, but I didn't have a small enough car to fit into a gap," Piastri said in parc ferme.

‘Piastri has to accept second place’;

https://f1i.com/news/509275-piastri-...t-leclerc.html


Piastri ‘tried my best to try and sneak past’ Leclerc in battle for Monaco win
19:05 Sun, 26 May 2024.
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Oscar Piastri scored his best result of the season with second place in Monaco, and admitted he didn’t quite have enough to pass eventual winner Charles Leclerc – especially after his McLaren picked up damage in a Lap 1 tangle with Carlos Sainz.

‘Best result of the season’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/pi...33931865905979


Piastri: ‘I didn’t have an answer’ as early damage costs him late on in the Monaco GP
Piastri admitted that the slow pace at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix helped him nurse the damage to his McLaren
May 27, 2024
Oliver Brindle
FormulaNerds

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri was “very happy with the podium” at the Monaco Grand Prix but suggested that early damage in the race cost him a chance at a first win in F1. Piastri got off the line well, but a brave Carlos Sainz appeared down the inside of the Australian. Both cars went into Turn 1 wheel to wheel, and contact was made, leaving the Ferrari driver with a puncture and the McLaren with a damaged floor.

However, there was a sense of relief for both drivers as a bigger crash behind between the two Haas’ and the Red Bull of Sergio Perez saw a red flag brought out. Piastri held on to second on the restart and maintained his runner-up spot to the finish due to the difficulties of overtaking around the principality.

Speaking to F1, Piastri said: “I mean, obviously very happy with the podium; it’s been a great weekend from start to finish, I feel like. It’s Nice to finally get a result on the board. I feel like the last few weeks we’ve been very, very strong, with no results to show. And today, to finish second is a great result for everybody involved, so very happy with that, I tried my best to try to sneak past – but just too difficult.”

‘I didn’t have an answer’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/pi...the-monaco-gp/


Damage from “very small” Sainz contact initially cost up to 0.5s per lap – McLaren
27th May 2024, 13:26
Written by Keith Collantine
RaceFans

McLaren said the contact between Carlos Sainz Jnr and Oscar Piastri at the start of the race did enough damage to cost their driver half a second per lap. “The team told me how much downforce I was losing before we tried to fix it and it was a pretty big number,” he said. “I don’t know what we managed to get it down to but obviously the length of the red flag helped us out quite a lot there.”

Despite his team’s repair job, Piastri wasn’t able to maintain the pace of his closest rivals at the end of the race. “Being in Monaco, it’s probably the one track where having damage doesn’t hurt you as much,” he said. “It was a very, very small touch. But with these cars, especially with the floor being so sensitive to the downforce it generates, it can ruin your race very easily. So I was very happy we could try and fix it.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team’s repair work halved the initial performance loss Piastri suffered from the original contact. “As soon as the collision happened we observed the 20 points [of downforce] down, which here in Monaco is about half a second. But then, thanks to the red flag, we were in condition to make some repairs to the floor. The side wing of the floor was broken so we repaired it, we didn’t fix it entirely and we changed the sidepod that was broken as well. So overall the deficit was about 10 points for the entire race, which is a couple of tenths, maybe two-tenths and a half.”

‘Team’s repair work halved the initial performance loss’;

https://www.racefans.net/2024/05/27/...r-lap-mclaren/


Piastri relief after damage to 'sensitive part' in Monaco
Oscar Piastri has underlined multiple factors that minimised the effect of his floor damage at Monaco.
27 May 2024, 12:20PM
Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

Oscar Piastri has highlighted the minimising factors that allowed him to take second-place at the Monaco Grand Prix, despite damage to a "sensitive" part. The 23-year-old took damage to his floor at the start of the race before the red flag intervention for the incident between Sergio Perez and the two Haas'. This allowed McLaren to fix his floor as best it could during the 45 minute delay to proceedings in Monte Carlo.

With tyre management a concern, the leading quartet kept the slower-than-usual pace - something that prevented Piastri from accurately accessing the damage to his car. "It was okay," he replied when asked how the performance of his McLaren was after the incident with Sainz. "I think for the first half of the race, it was impossible to tell what the penalty of that was.”

"I think towards the end, probably a combination of trying to keep the pace of the race reasonably quick, plus the floor, [I] just struggled a little bit towards the end, but overall pretty happy with it. And yeah, the last 10 laps or so, I was pretty happy we were in Monaco."

‘Piastri relief’;

https://racingnews365.com/piastri-re...part-in-monaco


‘Oscar, we do see the impact of the damage’: Why Piastri’s third F1 podium is his most telling yet
May 27, 2024 — 1.22am
By Russell Bennett and Jon Pierik
WA Today

It was Piastri’s nerves of steel in his McLaren that emerged as one of the biggest talking points of the race. The notoriously unforgiving street circuit claimed its first victims after just the first corner on the first lap, and Piastri could so easily have joined Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen on the sidelines.

While Sky Sports F1 analyst and former driver Martin Brundle was at times exasperated by the lack of overtaking in the race – at one stage saying: “The one DRS [overtaking] zone here is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard” – even he was captivated by the “go slow” strategy employed at stages by Ferrari.
It was done not only to preserve Leclerc’s tyres, but also to keep the other leaders of the field, including Piastri, Sainz, and Norris, bunched behind him, so they couldn’t afford the gamble of a secondary pitstop to change on to newer, quicker rubber.

“Oscar, we do see the impact of the damage,” the radio message, broadcast by Sky F1, said. “[But] it looks like the aero balance is sensible at least.” Following the race, a matter-of-fact Piastri was full of praise for Leclerc’s win, but admitted finishing second had left him wondering might have been had he not fallen 0.154 seconds short of Leclerc in qualifying to start in second spot.

‘Piastri’s third F1 podium’;

https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/mot...26-p5jgsn.html

[Fortitude]

Sainz content despite 'impossible' Monaco challenge.
Carlos Sainz took the podium at the Monaco Grand Prix, with his race saved by a red flag moments after he sustained a puncture.
26 May 2024, 6:40PM
Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365

Sainz drove to third place at the chequered flag, putting major pressure on second-placed Oscar Piastri in the closing stages. “It was a tight one, obviously a very bad feeling there in lap one that very quickly turned into a very good feeling after getting reinstated in P3,” Sainz said. “From there on, the race pace was good as we expected.”

“It's just impossible to get past through the streets of Monaco. Once I was sure that Lando [Norris] behind didn’t have a gap to pit and attack me at the end, I focused on doing some fast laps. I went into the 1:14s, which was really quick at the time and I said ‘okay, maybe I have a chance I put in a bit of pressure on Oscar and maybe I can get him to do a mistake’.”

“I knew that passing him was impossible. We put him under pressure, I saw him lose the rear a couple of times but it was not enough to pass.” While Sainz was forced to settle for second place, team-mate Charles Leclerc won the race for the first time.

'Impossible Monaco challenge’;

https://racingnews365.com/sainz-cont...naco-challenge


Red flag ‘saved my day’ says Sainz after Lap 1 puncture
26 May 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz got a puncture on the opening lap after contact with Oscar Piastri, but the red flag for another accident meant he was able to change tyres and restart the race in P3 – which is where he finished.

‘Saved my day’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/re...33740512350056


Sainz tempted a few times by ‘all or nothing’ move on Piastri
27/05/2024 at 15:52
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Carlos Sainz says he was “tempted a few times” to unleash an attack on Oscar Piastri during the Monaco Grand Prix, but ultimately thought the better of risking an “all or nothing” move on the McLaren driver.

"I got tempted a few times, but after lap one and obviously knowing that Monaco is a bit of all-or-nothing, you know that when you go for a move, the most likely outcome is contact between the two cars and a potential DNF for the two cars," Sainz explained.

"And I felt like that was too much to lose for both Oscar and myself, and my team. So unfortunately, Monaco is like that. I did have my opportunities and my temptations, both in the first 15 laps and in the last 10 laps, but never really a clear chance to see how we could get out of the corner untouched. So, yeah, as I knew from Friday, my race pace was going to be good.”

‘All or nothing’;

https://f1i.com/news/509472-sainz-te...n-piastri.html


Sainz forced to resist temptation out of ‘all-or-nothing’ Monaco fear
Carlos Sainz avoided making a lunge on Oscar Piastri during the Monaco Grand Prix.
27 May 2024, 2:45PM
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

Carlos Sainz has conceded that he was tempted to make an "all-or-nothing' lunge on Oscar Piastri during the Monaco Grand Prix but opted against it. Sainz's lap one puncture was caused by a "slight cut" to his front left tyre, which saw him lock-up and come to a stop at Casino just prior to the red flag.

His contact with Piastri was so small it was almost not visible, although to the 29-year-old's relief, the only damage to his SF24 was the puncture. "No, even when you see the tyre, it was such a slight cut that the tyre got from the contact that there was no issues with the car, no damage," Sainz added.

"It was just the smallest of contacts. A bit unlucky to get the puncture in a way, but then lucky to get the position back. From there on, honestly, it was a new race and we had our opportunities, but never really a clear one."

‘Avoided making a lunge’;

https://racingnews365.com/sainz-forc...ng-monaco-fear


Why McLaren believe Sainz had luck on his side three times in Monaco
26th May 2024, 19:51
Written by Keith Collantine
RaceFans

Carlos Sainz Jnr had luck on his side when the race director’s decision moved him up from 16th to third on the grid for the restart. But McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes that was one of three times Sainz benefited from good fortune on his way to the podium.

Sainz was fortunate as only one driver, Zhou Guanyu, had not completed the first sector when the red flag was shown. Had he done so, Sainz would have had to restart the race from 16th. However Zhou was caught behind the three-car crash which triggered the red flag, and had to slow down significantly as a result. “Obviously, the whole point that’s saved Carlos today was that Zhou had not crossed the sector time at the time the race was suspended. Lucky Carlos!”

However Stella believes Sainz was also fortunate not to be penalised for damaging Piastri’s car, as he was in Miami. “He was also applied a lenient approach from the stewards because the collision in corner one obviously created significant damage to Oscar’s car,” said Stella. Sainz also avoided a penalty for impeding Alexander Albon in qualifying yesterday. Had he been penalised, McLaren’s Lando Norris would have started third instead of him. “I think these are summed up with yesterday’s impeding,” said Stella.

‘Luck on his side three times’;

https://www.racefans.net/2024/05/26/...mes-in-monaco/


2024 Monaco Grand Prix: Listen in to the chat in the cool-down room from the Leclerc, Piastri and Sainz
16:46 Mon, 27 May 2024.
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Hear what Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz had to say to each other as they waited for the podium ceremony in the cool-down room after Leclerc’s first home victory in Monaco.

‘Chat in the cool-down room’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/20...37964475373548


Carlos Sainz told by 6-time F1 champions that he’s ‘not a candidate’ for 2025 seat
Mon 27 May 2024 14:00
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

There have been reports that the Dutchman wouldn’t be comfortable racing against someone as fast as Sainz as he wants to continue being the team’s clear number-one driver. That leaves Sainz in an awkward position and with a 50/50 choice to make relatively soon.

The report from Motorsport.com suggests that sources with ‘good knowledge of the situation’ believe that Red Bull still think Perez is the best driver to partner Verstappen going forward.

They go on to say that Yuki Tsunoda, despite his brilliant start to the year with RB, is still not being considered while Daniel Ricciardo hasn’t made the expected impact at Red Bull’s sister team.

‘Not a candidate’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/car...for-2025-seat/


Carlos Sainz has now received ‘satisfactory’ offer from 114-win Formula 1 team
Sat 25 May 2024 11:00
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

Williams have now made acceptable offer to Carlos Sainz: According to The Race, interest from Williams has now reached an advanced stage. There has been an offer and a counteroffer behind the scenes, culminating in a ‘satisfactory’ proposal.

The Grove outfit has clearly demonstrated that it has the resources to sign one of F1’s A-listers. Sainz has won three Grands Prix, most recently in Australia in March, and taken 21 career podiums. Of course, it now remains to be seen whether he’s willing to sign the contract. But he’s evidently ‘open to the idea’, otherwise negotiations wouldn’t have progressed this far.

Ted Kravitz expressed surprise when he heard about the negotiations in the Monaco Grand Prix paddock. But he also feels that they’re a marker of Vowles’ ambition as he simultaneously pursues Adrian Newey ahead of the designer’s Red Bull exit. Crucially, Williams will be racing with a Mercedes power unit come 2026. And Sainz is aware of rumours that they have stolen a march on their competitors with their new-look engine.

‘Satisfactory offer’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/car...ormula-1-team/

[Fortitude]

‘It’s just unfair’: ‘Frustrated’ Lando Norris fumes McLaren rival got ‘very lucky’ in Monaco GP.
“Carlos was really lucky because he was last and it was his own fault,” Norris said, via quotes by Motorsport-Total.com. “The fact that he was allowed to move up again was, of course, annoying because it meant I had to go back to fourth place. But that’s the rules.”
Tue 28 May 2024 13:00
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

McLaren star Lando Norris is frustrated after a rival Formula 1 driver gained an ‘unfair’ advantage during the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix after getting ‘very lucky’ last weekend. “I’m sure there have been moments in the past where I’ve benefited. If you look at it bluntly, it’s obviously frustrating and unfair because someone makes a mistake.”

“But because a certain number of cars, or whatever the rule is, don’t cross the line before the red flag comes out, he can undo his mistake and get a free pit stop. It’s just unfair.” Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen’s crash delayed Zhou Guanyu to Carlos Sainz’s relief

‘It’s just unfair’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/fru...-in-monaco-gp/


Norris on McLaren progress: ‘Every race we do we gain more confidence’
26 May 2024
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Lando Norris was fourth in Monaco with team mate Oscar Piastri up in second – and Norris promised he and McLaren will “keep pushing” as they aim for more wins this yar.

‘We gain more confidence’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/no...32923027827666


Lando Norris 'ready to rival' Max Verstappen for F1 world title
19:36 Sat, 25 May 2024.
BY PHILIP DUNCAN, PA F1 CORRESPONDENT, MONTE CARLO
Somerset Live

Max Verstappen believes Lando Norris is ready to rival him for the world championship as the Red Bull driver cast doubt on his own chances at the Monaco Grand Prix. After his maiden victory in Miami, Norris chased Verstappen all the way to the chequered flag in Imola, finishing less than a second behind the Dutchman.

Norris, from Somerset, is 60 points off the title pace ahead of this weekend's race in the principality, but Verstappen said: "He (Norris) is really in the mix. He is quite a few points down but if they suddenly start winning, that can turn around quite quickly. But from our side we just have to focus on ourselves because that is the only thing in our control.”

"It has closed up which makes it very important to be at our very best, and 100 per cent. We need to be on it. Imola started off badly and we managed to turn it around but I wouldn't want to have a weekend like that again."

‘Lando Norris ready… …for F1 world title’;

https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/sport...al-max-9307213


Lando Norris hails McLaren’s march of progress
26 May 2024
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport

Lando Norris has no hang ups about being beaten by Ferrari at the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix as the McLaren star heaped praise on his team for what he described as “an amazing result” in Monte Carlo.

Whilst the win slipped away, McLaren’s Senna-style livery will still leave the track with a significant 30 points’ haul to extend their gap to Mercedes and close in on Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, with Norris perhaps reflecting on how far the team has come in the last year. “The red flag simplified things and made thing less action-packed than they normally are in Monaco,” Norris told Sky Sports F1 after the 2024 Monaco GP.

“It’s a good result for us as a team, not a lot to aim for during the race. You always think of what could have done and should you have done, but it’s impossible to answer it correctly. We did what we could, I think the pace was strong from the car today…so we’ll keep pushing. A fourth and a second for us is still an amazing result.”

‘McLaren’s march of progress’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/f1-...arch-progress/


How McLaren was ready to pit Norris – but Ferrari ruined its Monaco F1 plan
The tactical battle in Monaco over the top four Formula 1 cars' gap to George Russell was won by Ferrari as it denied McLaren's attempts to use it to pit.
May 28, 2024, 1:50 PM
Jake Boxall-Legge
Motorsport.com

McLaren had hoped to push Ferrari into extending its lead at the front of the 78-lap race, in a bid to build a sufficient buffer between the cars in the top four and Russell to allow McLaren to make a pitstop.

Having started on hard tyres, Russell switched to the medium compound during the early red flag, which forced him into managing his tyres to make it to the end. As the top four were all equipped with the harder tyres, the chasm between the two groups began to grow quickly.

McLaren wanted this to grow to a stable 20 seconds-plus gap to get the option of bringing Lando Norris in for a free stop without losing position, which Ferrari was aware of and thus tasked race winner Charles Leclerc with slowing down the tempo of the race to quell the growing gap.

‘Ferrari ruined its Monaco F1 plan’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/h...plan/10616861/


Lando Norris demands FIA fix F1 issue that is 'a bit silly' after Monaco Grand Prix
Lando Norris narrowly missed out on the podium spots at Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.
14:17, Tue, May 28, 2024
By Charlie Gordon
Daily and Sunday Express

Lando Norris has criticised the FIA for failing to deal with sticker problems at the Monaco Grand Prix. The McLaren star, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez were among the drivers inconvenienced by stickers coming off barriers during the race weekend.

Leclerc and Norris were both forced to pit during Saturday's first qualifying session after stickers came off the Armco barriers and latched onto their cars. Perez, meanwhile, claims to have lost two tenths by dodging a sticker during the lap which saw him suffer a surprise Q1 exit. Before Sunday's race, Norris lashed out at F1's governing body for failing to deal with the issue, despite the fact it was raised at the driver's briefing on Friday.

"I had to pit to get it off," he vented. "It just shouldn't happen in Formula One. It's a bit silly in my opinion, we said it would happen yesterday and they said they were going to fix it but obviously it wasn't fixed. It's a shame that you have to get lucky, I was lucky that I had enough time [to remove the sticker] otherwise it would have ruined my qualifying and my whole weekend.”

‘Lando Norris has criticised the FIA for failing to deal with sticker problems’;

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...aco-grand-prix