Formula 1 lessons from Monaco: It's getting tight for "crash pilot" Mick Schumacher

The Formula 1 wet race in Monaco is spectacular.

Formula 1 lessons from Monaco: It's getting tight for "crash pilot" Mick Schumacher

The Formula 1 wet race in Monaco is spectacular. Ferrari struggles with its own strategy and Red Bull, who leave the principality with plenty of points and as a moral winner. Mick Schumacher, on the other hand, crashes again. It's getting tight for the German pilot.

Spectators will get their money's worth at what may be the last Formula 1 race on the streets of Monaco. But the principality is threatened with extinction. The racing series is no longer dependent on the track. It would be a loss. Before the short break and the race in Azerbaijan in mid-June, the rain, Mick Schumacher and a botched Ferrari strategy are causing a stir.

Leclerc is the angriest person in all of Monaco

At least Charles Leclerc reached the finish for the first time in his home race. That's something for someone who had previously failed five times in five attempts. But the 24-year-old was the unhappiest and most angry person in all of Monaco on Sunday. Rain that started shortly before the start of the race, but above all a Ferrari strategy marked by mistakes, robbed the sovereign of the training sessions and qualifying of the triumph on his streets. Leclerc knows: If the world title is to be something, gross mistakes are forbidden. In the end, he finished fourth, but a possible second place at the green table could hardly have comforted him, at least for a short time.

Ferrari digs up the hatchet

The fact that a subsequent "climb" in the daily classification suddenly seemed possible for Leclerc also has to do with his team. After the race, Ferrari tried to beat Red Bull with winner Sergio Perez and third-placed world champion Max Verstappen on the green table. However, the FIA ​​​​commissioners smashed the advance, the Red Bull duo had by no means illegally crossed a line when exiting the pits, according to the verdict. Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto secretly talked himself out of it. You just wanted clarity - for everyone in Formula 1. It wasn't a targeted attack against Red Bull. who believes it The hatchet in the World Cup duel between the two top teams has been unearthed.

"Moral winner" Red Bull takes trophies

Red Bull not only leaves Monte Carlo with two nice trophies, but also as a moral winner. In Formula 1, which is often characterized by intrigues, the cops were allowed to bask in the role of the victim who was wrongly accused. The team had previously shown Ferrari how to do it at the command post: Red Bull kept a cool head and, on a track where overtaking is considered impossible, used a clever pit strategy to move Perez up two places and Verstappen up one position.

Schumacher at the crossroads

Gradually Günther Steiner no longer knows what to do with Mick Schumacher. It was "not very satisfying to have another major accident," said the South Tyrolean in the press release from the Haas racing team, adding a sentence that leaves room for speculation: "We'll have to see how we can continue from here." Actually, Schumacher's apprenticeship in Formula 1 should have ended at the end of the past season, in which he often satisfied the team. This year, however, things are not going well for him at all.

The car enables good results, but Mick Schumacher is still missing these. There are already three serious accidents in his statistics in 2022: the violent crash in qualifying in Jeddah, the racing accident with Sebastian Vettel in Miami - with which Schumacher lost his first points - and now the violent impact in Monaco. It is to Schumacher's credit that he admitted his guilt without any ifs or buts, but once again his team is left with a pile of expensive junk. Schumacher has to be careful that the image of a crash pilot doesn't stick to him soon. This is not conducive to further careers.

Veteran Vettel delivers

The other German was almost inconspicuous. Vettel is beginning to understand Aston Martin's improved package. Tenth place reads conservative, but the four-time world champion had a good weekend with all his routine. He has his teammate Lance Stroll more and more clearly under control. The AMR22, which is nicknamed the "green Red Bull" because of its similarity to the Verstappen car, obeys Vettel more and more. Even if the steps forward are small.

Monaco refuses to say goodbye

Should that be it, does Formula 1 have no solution? You have to wait and see. One thing is clear: the motorsport premier class is no longer dependent on racing in the glamorous principality, rich history or not. There is now glamor elsewhere, and other organizers pay significantly higher entry fees. But Monaco has once again shown itself from its best side. The track is the ultimate challenge for every racing driver, ask Mick Schumacher. The fans are closer than anywhere else. And the race - admittedly helped by the rain and a confused Ferrari strategy - was also good entertainment. It would be a shame if Monaco had to give way somewhere in the middle of nowhere for a retort course.