Mika Hakkinen: Monaco Grand Prix Preview

I won in Monaco 25 years ago, a race to remember because it was a perfect weekend for me and my team at McLaren. I qualified on pole after putting together a great lap, the kind of lap that makes driving in Monaco so rewarding.

I led every lap of the race, set fastest lap and won the Grand Prix every driver wants to win.  Monaco is not the fastest track, it’s a very a different type of challenge, but it’s a special place in which to race.

Some people say that Monaco is too predictable because it is so hard to overtake, but for me the challenge is between you, the driver, and the circuit.  You have to be so precise, pushing your car to the limit in a different way.  You have to make sure you don’t hit the barrier because it’s so easy to get it wrong, destroy the suspension or gearbox.  Touching the barrier very lightly is ok!  That’s different from hitting it…

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Today’s F1 cars are much bigger than when I raced, also heavier, partly due to the increase in safety and crash structures as well as to accommodate to the hybrid engine and battery.  This makes overtaking is even more difficult.  If the driver in front of you makes a mistake, gets things wrong, there are three places where you could pass – Turn 1, the Ste Devote corner, Turn 5 at Mirabeau and Turn 10, the chicane after the tunnel.  But if the guy in front is not making mistakes, has the car working well, overtaking is off the table and you have to rely on strategy and pit stops.

Based on the season so far we will expect Max Verstappen and team mate Sergio Perez to come into this weekend as favourites, but I think there could be surprises.  This is not a track that plays to Red Bull’s straight line speed and aerodynamic efficiency.

Perez won in Monaco last year, Red Bull taking advantage of a strategic mistake by Ferrari, and I am certain he will want to repeat that success this year.  He is only 14 points behind his team mate in the World Championship and his motivation is high.

Ferrari dominated qualifying last year and they will also be hoping for a repeat.  I think Leclerc will be on a maximum attack this weekend.  Team mate Carlos Sainz qualified and finished second last year, so his ability around Monaco is clear.

Fernando Alonso is third in the World Championship, has scored four podium finishes in the first five races and is in fantastic form.  It is brilliant to see, and this week’s news that Honda is going to become Aston Martin’s official partner from 2026 will have given the team an even bigger boost.  The team’s Technical Director, Dan Fallows, has said that Monaco could be a race that favours their car and Alonso’s experience, so let’s see what they can do.

After the cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix due to flooding, this will be the first time we see Mercedes’ major design changes.  Monaco is not the best track on which to test and develop a new design philosophy but if the changes give Lewis Hamilton and George Russell a better connection with their car that could be a good step on a track which rewards confidence.