For the first time since 2022, at the upcoming Monaco GP, Red Bull could have a head-on fight for a race win. As F1 travels to the Principality, the Milton-Keynes-based outfit assesses how McLaren and Ferrari can challenge them. Team Principal Christian Horner gave his two cents on this prospect, highlighting one team in particular as Red Bull’s main threat.
According to Autosport, Horner said,
“I think you have got to say McLaren. They have a very fast car at the moment. Piastri looked quick at certain moments, Lando was very quick at the end of the race there [Imola].”
The Briton also highlighted how Ferrari is also in the reckoning to upset the grid hierarchy in Monaco.
Hence, with a McLaren and Ferrari challenge looming, Horner knows Red Bull has “four cars” to look out for, which has rarely been the case since the ground-effect regulations came into effect two years ago.
In 2023, qualifying in Monaco was close, with Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Ferrari competing for the top spot on the time charts. Still, Max Verstappen prevailed. This year, however, with the strides McLaren and Ferrari have made, Verstappen may find it difficult to repeat his heroics.
Horner added that Monaco is a weekend where qualifying matters the most. Thus, taking the pole position with one supreme lap will be the clear aim for all teams. On that front, both McLaren and Ferrari have been nip and tuck against Red Bull so far in 2024.
Horner is wary of McLaren’s singe-lap pace in particular. At the Emilia-Romagna GP last weekend, both drivers of the Woking-based outfit – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – gave Verstappen a tough time. And they could make life difficult for the Dutchman at the Principality once again.
McLaren goes high on confidence into the Monaco GP
Since Austria 2023, McLaren has been on the ascendency. The start of last season saw them struggle at the back end of the the grid, but their development has been top notch, and they were close to Red Bull towards the end of the campaign. Fast forward to 2024, the British outfit has become a contender for race wins.
Through upgrades brought to Miami, Norris managed to get his first race win, and McLaren’s first since 2021. He followed it with a P2 finish in Imola, where he finished just 0.7 seconds behind the winner Verstappen.
Norris’ late charge in the dying embers of the Emilia-Romagna GP was a sign that the MCL38 has the potential to match Red Bull. Going into Monaco, the team will be even more confident of edging out the reigning World Champions.
If Norris or Piastri can outqualify Verstappen to get the pole, the 26-year-old will be stuck behind the papaya car(s) for a huge chunk of the race, and will find it difficult to make a pass. On the other hand, the prospect of Ferrari being in the mix too, opens up a lot of possibilities for what could be a blockbuster Monaco GP.
