Red Bull approaches the Monaco Grand Prix with many questions. According to Jolyon Palmer, the Austrian team would have only one reason for optimism against a competition that now seems to have taken the advantage.
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Max Verstappen’s third place in Montreal allowed Red Bull to limit the damage, but does not hide the difficulties encountered by the RB22 since the start of the season. On the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit, the Austrian single-seater again seemed a step behind Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren in pure performance.
Although Verstappen managed to get on the podium, several external factors clearly played in his favor. George Russell’s retirement while he was in a leading position and McLaren’s strategic errors strongly influenced the final classification.
In this context, Monaco promises to be even more complicated. Verstappen has already expressed his difficulties with a car uncomfortable on bumps and curbs, a crucial point on the Monte-Carlo track.
The only hope identified by Jolyon Palmer
For Jolyon Palmer, only one element could offer a minimum of optimism to Red Bull this weekend.
“The only positive point I saw for Red Bull is the change they made between the sprint race and qualifying, where they found a good gain in mechanical compliance” explained the former F1 driver in the podcast F1 Nation.
According to him, the adjustments made between the sprint and qualifying in Canada allowed the RB22 to gain mechanical compliance, an essential parameter on a circuit like Monaco.
“Analyzing the sector times, Max and Isack were really fast in the first sector, so that’s the only hope I see for them, and maybe they found something that brings them closer to the front group.”
But Palmer remains cautious about the real extent of these progresses.
“We will only really know once the cars are on track, and they need to start their weekend better than in the last races.”
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A podium to be put into perspective according to Hinchcliffe
Former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe shares an even more reserved analysis regarding Red Bull’s performance in Canada.
“Mechanical compliance is extremely important in Monaco, and that was precisely one of Max’s main complaints in Montreal” he recalls.
According to him, Verstappen’s podium must be nuanced: “Yes, it was a great performance and an excellent result, but it took a Mercedes retirement and a double strategic error by McLaren for him to be in the fight.”
He also highlights the pressure suffered by the Dutchman at the end of the race: “Hamilton came back on him by reducing the gap from six, seven to eight seconds, so this podium clearly carries an asterisk.”
Monaco, a high-risk weekend for Red Bull
The characteristics of the Monaco circuit could further accentuate the weaknesses of the RB22, especially in terms of behavior on bumps and precision in slow corners.
For Hinchcliffe, the hierarchy seems already clear even before the start of the weekend.
“With the difficulties of this car, I don’t see how it could be as competitive as the top three teams in Monaco.”
Under these conditions, Red Bull will probably have to rely on a feat by Max Verstappen in qualifying to hope to be competitive at the front. Otherwise, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren seem to have a clear advantage in the Principality.
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