Monaco: Flashback 2018 and Prediction of the Winner

2018 in Outline: Ricciardo’s Redemption in Monaco

After his disappointment in 2016, where a poor pit stop cost him the victory, Daniel Ricciardo was set to take his revenge in 2018. On Saturday afternoon, the Australian did the hardest part in qualifying by placing his Red Bull in pole position while his garage neighbor, Max Verstappen, started from the back of the grid following his crash during the third free practice. At the start, the Perth native got off to a good start and maintained the lead of the race ahead of Sebastian Vettel driving the Ferrari. The only incident in the early moments of the race was the minor collision between Lance Stroll’s Williams and Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber.

On his side, the Dutch Red Bull driver made his way through the melee by overtaking the cars in front of him one by one. His former 2015 teammate, Carlos Sainz, caused a lot of trouble for the young prodigy of the Austrian team, who had to make several attempts before finally overtaking the Spaniard, in his Renault, at the tunnel exit. A very daring overtaking maneuver, but it concluded Verstappen’s comeback, finishing 9th.

At the front, Daniel Ricciardo had changed his tires on the 17th lap while still maintaining a certain lead over Vettel. About ten laps later, the race seemed to take a turn when driver No. 3 complained over the radio about a problem with his car! Vettel then came back like a rocket, but the narrow streets of Monaco often prevent drivers from overtaking. After 40 laps trying in vain to find a breach in the Australian wall, the Scuderia driver had to finally surrender and settle for second place, ahead of his rival Lewis Hamilton, who nonetheless held onto the championship lead.

Thanks to this victory, his second in six races at the start of 2018, Ricciardo appeared as a potential title contender. Unfortunately for the Australian, numerous mechanical and reliability issues undermined his season. He eventually finished 6th in the overall standings.

If Romain Grosjean struggled with a very uncompetitive Haas in the Principality (15th at the finish), the Frenchmen Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly managed to score big points for their respective teams, with a 6th place for the Force India driver, earning 8 points, while the young Red Bull protégé finished just behind his compatriot.

In this race, it was Charles Leclerc who had the least luck! The Monegasque surely retained a bitter taste from his first home Grand Prix in Formula 1. On board a Sauber clearly not up to par, the current Ferrari driver had to settle for being on the brink of the points. That was before his brakes failed on the 72nd lap, catapulting him into the Toro Rosso of poor Brendon Hartley at the exit of the Tunnel, forcing both rookies to retire.

The Editorial Team’s Predictions

Having become a key event every Grand Prix weekend, the Motors Inside editorial team offers its speculations on the pole sitter and the race winner. Unsurprisingly, Lewis Hamilton is expected to be the man to watch in qualifying, but Max Verstappen shouldn’t be underestimated, as he is also mentioned by the editors as a pole sitter. In the race, Hamilton and his Mercedes still seem to be the favorites. For the Motors Inside team, the other two podium places are promised to Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas, or even Charles Leclerc, who could impress at home. However, no editor has mentioned Sebastian Vettel! Winner in 2017, will the German prove the editorial team wrong?