Flashback: Ricciardo’s 2016 Monaco GP heartache
Formula 1’s annual trip to the Principality delivers a race invariably defined by small margins. In 2016, one hap-hazard pitstop proved the decisive factor at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo had to settle for second on a day in which the race results failed to tell the story.
Throw the form guide into the harbour. For a race that is so often described as predictable on account of the lack of overtaking is typical on Monaco’s tight and twisty streets, it’s uniqueness will often generate an unexpected pecking order for the weekend.
Max Verstappen may have brilliantly propelled Red Bull back to the top step of the podium at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, but the quadruple world champions were on the back foot at the start of that season.
Its form was better than that of a dire 2015, but winning races required exceptional circumstances, such as Mercedes’ dramatic self-destruction on the opening lap in Spain. Red Bull was still not in a position to win races on pace alone.
The team’s speed through sector three at the Circuit de Barcelona, however, was an early barometer that the package might be strong in Monaco. Verstappen’s performance at the end of the lap, where traction and mechanical balance are crucial, was what allowed him to stay ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari down the long pit-straight in Spain.
While it was Verstappen who made the headlines in Spain, Ricciardo hit his stride in Monaco. The best qualifying performance of his career to date launched him to his maiden pole position. It was the first time in 2016 that a non-Mercedes driver had taken the spoils on a Saturday.
Rain on Sunday was the double-six that Red Bull could have done without. Ricciardo’s pace in the dry was clearly the class of the field, but it remained to be seen if he could replicate his qualifying heroics on a treacherously wet circuit.
His response was emphatic. Once the safety car pulled in after having led the field around the opening seven laps, Ricciardo unleashed a searing pace. At times, he was three seconds per lap faster than the immediate opposition.
Nico Rosberg, who was falling behind at an alarming rate in second, made way for team-mate Lewis Hamilton. However, even the reigning world champion in clean air had no answer for the pacesetter in first.
Red Bull ultimately made two strategic errors on the day. First, the team was out-foxed by Mercedes who used the value of track position to its advantage. As the circuit dried, Hamilton stayed out while Ricciardo pitted to switch from wets to intermediate tyres.
This advantage was by no means insurmountable for Ricciardo and when Hamilton was one of the earliest to made a stop for slick tyres, the race leader delivered stunning lap times once again.
However, a miscommunication between pitwall and mechanics meant that they did not have Ricciardo’s supersoft tyres ready when the Aussie made his stop.
A frantic scramble ensued and when Ricciardo eventually left the pitlane, Hamilton had edged ahead. With track position, Hamilton would go on to take his first win of 2016 with a dejected Ricciardo in second.
As Jedi Master Yoda said, “failure is the best teacher.” Red Bull learned several lessons on a haunting day. Communication methods between pitwall and mechanics were evaluated and amended and the team will have developed a renewed appreciation the value of track position in Monaco.
However, Ricciardo and Red Bull’s heartache was not without precedent. In 2015, a strategic blunder at Mercedes robbed Hamilton of victory when he was the only one of the top three to make a pitstop during a late race safety car period.
Monaco can be fickle and pace only counts for so much, but if Red Bull manages to execute a smooth weekend this time around, Ricciardo could be about to make up for his 2016 heartache.
As was the case that year, Red Bull was sublime in the third sector two weeks ago in Spain. In Q3, Ricciardo set the session best time through the split, 0.2 seconds clear of the next best.
So far in 2018, the fortunes of the top three teams have been defined by small margins, with circuit characteristics proving decisive. Monaco typically serves to exaggerate the strengths of the Red Bull package and that effect could be amplified by the closer competitive order that F1 is delivering this year.
With Mercedes already expressing its concerns for this weekend, the main threat to Red Bull is likely to be Ferrari. Given Vettel and Raikkonen’s strength at the Principality last season, they cannot be ruled out.
However, with a longer wheelbase car in 2018 and on the back of what was, by Ferrari’s own admission, a ‘weak’ Spanish Grand Prix weekend, Red Bull can be classed as favourites.
The bad news for Ricciardo and Verstappen is that, as noted, favourite status doesn’t count for much at mad Monaco.