F1 Paddock Notebook - Monaco GP Friday
- As is tradition in Monaco, Friday was rest day, meaning there were no Formula 1 activities taking place on-track. Porsche Supercup, Formula Renault and Formula 2 did all complete sessions, though. A number of F1 drivers were nevertheless around in Monaco today, meeting with a number of fans alongside their other duties with their teams.
- Former McLaren youngster Nyck de Vries managed to take his second straight F2 win as he dominated a messy Feature Race on Friday. The win from pole catapulted him up to P2 in the drivers' championship, one point shy of Nicholas Latifi.
- As is tradition in Monaco, Friday was rest day, meaning there were no Formula 1 activities taking place on-track. Porsche Supercup, Formula Renault and Formula 2 did all complete sessions, though. A number of F1 drivers were nevertheless around in Monaco today, meeting with a number of fans alongside their other duties with their teams.
- Former McLaren youngster Nyck de Vries managed to take his second straight F2 win as he dominated a messy Feature Race on Friday. The win from pole catapulted him up to P2 in the drivers' championship, one point shy of Nicholas Latifi.
- The race was red flagged for 30 minutes after a road block was caused in an incident between Mick Schumacher and Tatiana Calderon at La Rascasse (where Mick's father famously caused a red flag in qualifying in 2006). Schumacher tried passing Calderon, only to spin her and block the track.
- Mercedes unveiled a red Halo on its cars for the remainder of the race weekend in tribute to Niki Lauda, adding to the design tweaks it has already made on its car.
Danke Niki pic.twitter.com/h28XF31fEu
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) May 24, 2019
- Ferrari held a special press conference on Friday to help explain F1 race strategy to the media, led by its head of strategy Inaki Rueda. Rueda talked through the importance of the overcut in Monaco compared to other races, as well as giving a detailed analysis and explanation of the 2017 race battle between Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. There were, however, no questions permitted regarding the team's recent strategy calls.
Good of @ScuderiaFerrari to put on a ‘lesson’ for us today about why strategy is so tricky in Monaco and why the overcut can be so powerful #F1 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/nyEkpme9x5
— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) May 24, 2019
- Renault drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo were on-hand to try out the new Renault Megane R.S. Trophy R around the streets of Monaco today.
Going for it! #RSspirit #MonacoGP #TrophyR @RenaultSport pic.twitter.com/G7K3EN0wAe
— Renault F1 Team (@RenaultF1Team) May 24, 2019
- Away from F1, the Red Bull-designed Aeroscreen cockpit protection has been confirmed for usage in IndyCar from 2020. The Aeroscreen was rejected from F1 for 2018 after a one-off trial, with the Halo being settled on instead. The Aeroscreen has been updated since then, though, with a central structure being added to the screen.
- Track running begins at 12pm on Saturday in Monaco with FP3 (11am UK) ahead of qualifying at 3pm local time.
