MonacoMonaco
2021 season
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team scored its first double-points finish in its World Championship history through a combination of precise, on-the-limit driving from Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel and excellent strategy from the pitwall. With no Safety Cars or yellow flags, a rarity in Monaco, the team rose to the occasion to maximise its results.
This result is down to great decision-making on the pitwall and having good pace in the car when it mattered.
Sebastian's review
"I am happy with fifth place today and it is great for the team to have both cars inside the points. This result is down to great decision-making on the pit wall and having good pace in the car when it mattered. I knew that the two laps before my pit stop would be crucial to our race, and I was able to put in some good lap times on tyres that were past their best, and that made the difference [gaining two places by the overcut]. It was very tight when I came out of the pit lane because I knew [Pierre] Gasly was very close. It is not easy racing wheel-to-wheel up the hill to Casino Square, but we won the drag race, and he had to back out of it. Street circuits can always throw up the unexpected, and we rose to the challenge today."
We are still learning every race and we can be proud of the job we did today. We will work hard to keep up this momentum in Baku.
Lance's review
"Both cars scoring points in Monaco is a good day for the team. We executed a great strategy and picked up some deserved points for our hard work. It was not easy to race on the hard tyre in the first stint, especially at the start, but I was able to launch well off the line. That gave us a platform for the rest of the race, which came to life late in the stint as we pushed to make the overcut viable or be ready in case the Safety Car came out. We gained three places through the overcut in the end and had strong pace to the end, too. We are still learning every race and we can be proud of the job we did today. We will work hard to keep up this momentum in Baku."
We are pleased to have scored a total of 14 World Championship points here in Monaco today. Roll on Baku!
Otmar's review
"Sebastian produced a truly impressive drive today, finishing fifth after a tough race in which he never put a wheel wrong. He spent the early laps in a solid seventh place, keeping in touch with Lewis [Hamilton] in sixth. Then, in the pit stops, he delivered on an excellent strategy devised by our strategists and engineers to jump both Lewis and Pierre [Gasly]. Checo [Pérez] then jumped Sebastian but he had a net gain of two places: the outcome was P5. The way Sebastian exited the pit lane and held off Pierre up the hill to Casino Square was white-knuckle stuff: in fact, it was the highlight of the race, and Sebastian was duly voted Driver of the Day, which was both welcome and deserved. Lance also drove extremely well, pushing hard when it mattered to make the overcut work against Ocon and Giovinazzi. His pace was strong and it was a gutsy performance to gain four positions on a circuit on which gaining places is notoriously difficult. So, overall, we are pleased to have scored a total of 14 World Championship points here in Monaco today. Roll on Baku!"
In review
Gallery: 2021 Monaco Grand Prix
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Race Recap: Double-points finish in 2021 Monaco GP
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Lance vs Sebastian: who wins listening challenge?
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Season-best qualifying as Sebastian takes eighth for Monaco GP
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Sebastian and Lance kick off Monaco GP weekend
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Simulator insight: The search for performance
Read NowGuide to Monaco
There have been Monaco Grands Prix without a single overtake in the past – which makes strategy all the more important, as races can be won or lost on the pitwall. Our strategy engineers have analysed historic data and recent car performance to predict the key factors that could determine the result on Sunday, presented in partnership with our Title Partner Cognizant.
Cognizant's keys to the race
The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the slowest and most technical circuits on the 2021 calendar, and few tracks punish mistakes quite like the Principality. Even a minor scrape can prove terminal. Our official Cyber Security Partner SentinelOne presents the key technical facts and stats behind a single lap of the track.
Unlocking the lap
Drivers blast down the kinked start/finish straight at speeds approaching 300km/h (186mph) before dropping down to around 100km/h (62mph) in third gear for the deceivingly tricky Saint Devote, a corner that has seen plenty of incident across the years.
A good exit from Saint Devote is crucial for the climb up to Casino Square. Drivers hook seventh gear and approach at 280km/h (173mph) before braking for the sweeping Massenet bend. It’s tricky to find the apex for this bumpy left-hander because the Armco juts out at irregular intervals, and it’s easy to smack a wheel against the wall.
Taking in the iconic Casino Square backdrop, drivers brake lightly, maintaining speeds of 180km/h (111mph) before beginning the downhill run to Mirabeau, kinking right to avoid the big bump caused by a junction in the road. After a relatively high-speed first sector, the drivers reach the slowest corner on the Formula One calendar – the iconic hairpin, taken at just 50km/h (31mph).
Unlocking the lap
The tight and slow-speed sector continues into Mirabeau Bas and Portier. Drivers accelerate from around 100km/h (62mph) as they head for the famous tunnel. The low-lit, flat-out right-hander means the charge to Turn 10 is effectively the longest ‘straight’ on the circuit.
Drivers emerge from darkness at 280km/h (174mph), struggling for rear traction as the car goes light under hard braking for the Nouvelle Chicane. It’s a second-gear corner, taken at 70km/h (43mph), and is often the scene of wheel-banging drama as drivers attempt to slice up the inside.
The high-speed direction-changes of the Swimming Pool showcase the huge downforce of modern Formula One cars, as they rapidly switch left and right at over 240km/h (149mph). The final sector of the lap includes the slow-speed Rascasse hairpin – scene of the legendary nightspot – and a slow-speed right-left through the Antony Noghes corner as the drivers navigate back onto the start/finish straight.
Hundreds and thousands of simulations, precise enough to give a driver an insight into just how aggressive any given kerb can be to help the team find the trade-off between aerodynamics and kerb handling. The challenge of Monaco is unique, and the power of data and simulation is vital to performance. Drawing on NetApp's expertise, here's a selection of statistics to uncover the data that sits behind the glamour of the Principality.
#IAMSTORIES: Brian
Discover how a childhood trip to Monaco sparked Brian's enduring love of the Grand Prix and Formula One, and learn his tips for anyone visiting the race in the future
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