Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok analyses the Circuit de Monaco ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix; watch the Monaco GP, F1's most famous event, all live on Sky Sports F1, with Saturday qualifying at 3pm and Sunday's race at 2pm
Thursday 25 May 2023 16:07, UK
As Formula 1's drivers prepare to take on a challenge unlike any other at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok explains what makes the circuit so special.
The 2023 season resumes at the most famous track on the calendar with the chasing pack looking to halt Red Bull's early-season dominance.
The unique nature of the Circuit de Monaco makes it somewhat of an outlier, where form can go out the window with Saturday's crucial qualifying often proving decisive.
Red Bull have been untouchable, winning each of the opening five races of the season, but Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes are all likely to see this as their best chance to upset world championship leader Max Verstappen and his team-mate Sergio Perez.
The cancellation of last weekend's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix due to flooding in northern Italy means the unveiling of Mercedes' highly anticipated upgrades will come in Monaco, adding a further layer of intrigue.
With all of that to look forward to, Chandhok offers up a drivers' perspective on approaching the spectacular challenge.
Monaco is one of the last great challenges. We exist in a world now where circuits are quite significantly sanitised compared to what they were in the 1980s or 1990s and I think as a driver, driving on a street circuit where the walls are close and the track is narrow with also the history of the place makes it an extremely rewarding and challenging place to drive, particularly in qualifying.
You prepare for Monaco like you do for any street circuit in the sense that it's about building the rhythm, building confidence.
To be quick around a street circuit, it's not about going and trying to hammer a lap time straight off the bat on the first lap - street circuits are about reading the track conditions, reading the track evolution, understanding when the moment is to take risks and that is often when you get to qualifying.
You don't want to be taking risks in Practice Three which could put you out of qualifying, as has happened to Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen in the past.
You prepare for street circuits like Monaco in a slightly different way, they're builder-uppers unlike Barcelona or Silverstone where you go out and hammer it from the opening lap.
It's about being comfortable with the car being up against the barriers, but you also need to have controlled aggression to be quick.
You've got to carry momentum through the pretty quick corners around the Hotel de Paris, Massenet and Casino Square and then you've got Tabac and the swimming pool section which are pretty quick.
But then it requires a lot of discipline around the middle sector of the lap through Mirabeau, the Fairmont Hairpin, Portier as well as the last two corners Rascasse and Antony Noghes.
So you have to have this mindset where you have to flick your brain between being aggressive and being disciplined. It's a very intense driving experience and you have to really be mentally in a very strong place.
The remarkably tight nature of the circuit means there is severe danger at almost every turn for drivers. Chandhok's appearance in the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix was ended prematurely as his HRT was taken out by Jarno Trulli when the Lotus driver attempted an ill-advised overtake into Rascasse.
I remember we had a differential issue in qualifying so we started at the back of the grid. I was always quite good in Monaco - I'd been on the podium in GP2 in 2008, I'd been leading the race in 2009 until the drive shaft broke - so I'd had a pretty good record and in the race we'd managed to use a bit of strategy and get ahead of our competitors at the back.
Jarno was in a much quicker car and was a former winner in Monaco so he was obviously chasing me down. I took my normal line for Rascasse knowing there was no way he was going to get past and next thing I knew he was on top of me and I was suddenly facing Mark Webber, the race leader, nearly running into the front of my car.
I knew I needed to jump out of the car as quickly as possible to signal to my mum and dad that I was OK because I imagined they were watching on TV and feeling pretty nervous about it.
Jarno came to apologise straight away and check if I was OK and actually at a following race he brought me a case of his finest wine from his vineyard to say sorry for nearly taking my head off.
I think it is a chance for the pack to jostle Red Bull. The Red Bull is an extraordinary car that works well everywhere but if you look at their advantage over the opposition, a decent chunk of it has come from straight-line performance as well.
We've seen that Ferrari and Aston Martin have got pure downforce and good ability to rotate in slow-speed corners and there are plenty of those in Monaco.
We have seen Charles Leclerc do some pretty amazing qualifying laps around Monaco including last year. He's obviously very motivated on home ground and he's coming off the back of a brilliant couple of qualifying laps in Baku as well.
Qualifying is absolutely imperative in Monte Carlo. Ferrari managed to screw it up for him last year, despite taking pole he finished fourth, and that illustrates that there is every chance of an upset.
Anything can happen in Monaco.
Friday May 26
10.05am: F3 Qualifying
12pm: Monaco GP Practice One (session starts 12.30pm)
2.05pm: F2 Qualifying
3.45pm: Monaco GP Practice Two (session starts 4pm)
5.30pm: The F1 Show: Monaco
Saturday May 27
9.55am: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Monaco GP Practice Three (session starts 11.30am)
1.30pm: F2 Sprint
2:30pm: Monaco GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: Monaco GP Qualifying
4.45pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Sunday May 28
7.15am: F3 Feature Race
8.45am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday Monaco GP build-up
2pm: THE MONACO GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag Monaco GP reaction
5pm: Ted's Notebook
5.30pm: The 107th Indy 500
Formula 1 now heads to the streets of Monaco for the sixth Grand Prix of the 2023 season - watch all the action on Sky Sports F1 from May 26-28. Get Sky Sports
