he Monaco Grand Prix is the one race of the year that every driver dreams of winning. Like the Indy 500 or Le Mans, it stands alone, almost distinct from the sport from which it was born. A combination of precision driving, technical excellence and sheer bravery is required to win in Monte Carlo, facets which highlight the differences between the great and the good in Formula 1. The Armco barrier-lined circuit leaves no margin for error, demanding more concentration that any other Formula One track. Cars run with maximum downforce and brakes are worked hard. Overtaking is next to impossible so qualifying in Monaco is more critical than at any other Grand Prix. The Portier corner is key to achieving a good lap time around Monaco. It is preceded by the Loews hairpin, the slowest corner in Formula 1, and followed by the tunnel, one of the few flat-out sections of the track. Some great names have ended their races in the barriers here, most notably Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. To win in Monaco places a driver's name on a list that includes many of history's all-time greats. Both Graham Hill, the man nicknamed 'Mr Monaco', and Schumacher won it five times, Alain Prost took four victories, whilst Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart each won here three times. But the record of wins in the Principality resides with the Senna, who won in Monte Carlo six times. The race has been a regular fixture of the world championship since 1955, but in that time the circuit has changed remarkably little. Slight alterations were made for the 2003 event, in particular a new, gentler entry to the Rascasse corner, with even bigger changes in 2004, with a new pit complex and increased spectator capacity. Qualifying has been singled out as Red Bull’s biggest weakness so far this season, but the unique challenge of Monaco has Daniel Ricciardo dreaming of pole position. Mercedes and Ferrari have dominated qualifying so far in 2018, with Sebastian Vettel securing three consecutive pole positions in between Lewis Hamilton’s successes in Australia and Spain. But Red Bull expect their engine deficit to be much less pronounced around the tight and twisty streets of Monte Carlo. When asked if that means he can secure pole position on Saturday, Ricciardo told reporters: “I think so. “Around here if we lost five tenths (of a second) in Barcelona maybe we lose two. But a bit of confidence and a good set up and two tenths can come pretty quickly on a track like this. If we are dialled in we can still do it. “[Confidence] is a big part of it. You still need the car to help you out everywhere, but the confidence is a big one. This is probably the circuit where if you are feeling it and having a good rhythm and flow, you can find the extra tenth or two. On a more open circuit it is less easy to do. “If you are confident braking a metre later, rolling off the brake a metre earlier, carrying that speed in and the walls are coming at you fast. But if you can be comfortable knowing that the car is going to hold, that helps. It is just fun. It is really cool. I am excited to get on the hypersoft. I think we will beat that lap record this weekend. It would be nice if I do it!” It isn’t just Ricciardo who is talking up Red Bull’s chances, with Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff both highlighting how strong they expect their rivals to be this weekend, something the Australian feels is partly an attempt to deflect attention. “They are also just trying to take a little bit of pressure off them and put it on us," said Ricciardo. "It is no secret that we are always pretty good around here. We weren’t good enough last year but for sure previous years we have been. “Everyone talked about the last sector in Barcelona. For sure we were pretty handy there, so we will be pretty decent. I’d be surprised if we weren’t at least close. We should be less than seven tenths from pole. Put it that way.” Ricciardo’s one and only pole position to date came in Monaco in 2016, and he should have won the race but for a Red Bull pit stop error that allowed Hamilton to jump him, something the Red Bull driver admits leave him feeling like he is owed a win at the iconic venue. “Yes, but I have to go and earn it," he said. "So it is not going to happen without me putting the effort in. If I put the effort in, then maybe some circumstances will help me out. But for sure I still have to be prepared to win. It is not going to happen because it should have already. “But I have had a really good week since Barcelona and done some good prep. Kind of feel good. The sun is finally out. Kind of. The weather has been pretty poor this year in Monaco. But it is getting better.” Having won the last two races on the bounce, it may sound strange for Lewis Hamilton to say he expects a difficult weekend in Monaco – but the unique layout of Monte Carlo is a concern for Mercedes based on recent history Ferrari were dominant in the Principality last year, with Sebastian Vettel leading home team mate Kimi Raikkonen for their first one-two of that campaign. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium in third. The best-placed Mercedes was Valtteri Bottas in fourth, with Lewis Hamilton capping a challenging weekend with a disappointing seventh, having qualified down in 14th. And while the Briton will hope to be higher this year, he reckons the advantage could swing Red Bull's way in Monaco, referencing the team's supreme pace in Barcelona's slow-speed final sector, which is often a barometer for Monte Carlo form. “We came from the last race knowing this is going to be one of the tougher races for us,” said championship leader Hamilton. “If you look at the last race [in Barcelona] and even in testing in February and even the test the other day, the Red Bulls were particularly quick in the last sectorsector – that’s where they’re always very, very strong. "So you can imagine that they will be incredibly quick here this weekend, which is actually a surprise on previous years, because Ferrari were very strong last year and for whatever reason, Red Bull didn’t get it together but maybe this weekend they will. “I do anticipate it’s going to be a difficult weekend [for Mercedes] – not one that is impossible but it’s a lot closer and we may not have the pace of the others. “But we will find out tomorrow the true pace and identity of what we arrive here with. I’m excited for the challenge. If you look at last year, there were overcuts and undercuts so anything is possible.” Mercedes struggled to assert their authority in the opening three races before somehwat fortuitously taking victory in Azerbaijan. But in Spain, they appeared to be back to their dominant best. Hamilton feels the team still have plenty of work to do, but they are making progress, which bodes well for the coming races. “I feel with the last race, the whole weekend, we took a lot of information,” said Hamilton. “The whole first five races, we’ve learned a huge amount. “We know our targets, we understand our issues. We’re working hard to address them. I think we’re working in the right direction and I feel more confident going forward. Have we rectified everything? We’ll find out.” Mercedes turned a four-point deficit to Ferrari into a 27-point lead in the constructors' championship after their one-two in Barcelona, while Hamilton extended his lead over Vettel in the drivers standings to 17 points The winglet (indicated by a red arrow in the drawing below) used in conjunction with the mirrors in Spain was connected to the mirror by a thin cable which the team claimed enabled the mirror and winglet to be considered as one halo-mounted piece, with the winglet serving a structural role in reducing vibration of the mirrors. The FIA countered that if this were the case, the winglet could have been mounted much lower (but where its aerodynamic effect in turning the upward wake of the airflow back down would have been much less) and from the same mounting point as the mirror. They concluded therefore, that the second mounting point implied that the primary purpose of the winglet was not structural but aerodynamic and that from Monaco onwards the arrangement must be changed. Source : https://www.formula1.com