The glitz and glamor of the Monaco Grand Prix returns this weekend. This time of year is different for the microstate on the French Riviera as thousands anticipate Formula 1 cars flying around its streets. The city-state comes alive with the colorful liveries of the racing teams, the smell of burning rubber, and roaring engines.

The race calendar heads East from Spain with Max Verstappen leading the Drivers standings for the first time this season. The Belgian-Dutch driver for Red Bull scored his third victory of the season and puts him six points ahead of Charles Leclerc. Furthermore, the one-two finish of Verstappen and Sergio Perez brings Red Bull racing to the top of the Constructor standings, overtaking the Scuderia.

There’s been controversy surrounding the track, mainly involving cars increasing in size. Overtaking points are scarcity on the narrow street circuit, which means pole position is of paramount importance. In fact, the qualifying stage is just as intense as race day. With anticipation growing stronger towards the weekend, Nitrobetting covers the top storylines ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Top Storylines Ahead Of 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

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READ MORE: 2022 Monaco Grand Prix F1 Odds, Preview, and Prediction

Will Leclerc snap his bad spell in Monaco?

The Monegasque driver remains hunting for a win in his home race. Charles Leclerc is Monaco’s most successful Formula 1 driver, but he has yet to finish a race at Monaco. He’s seen a handful of DNFs dating back to his Formula 2 career. With Ferrari, he fell out in Q1 following a team error in 2019 and then saw the race canceled the year after that. The unlucky run continued to 2021 when he secured pole position only to crash on his final Q3 run and rendered his car unavailable for the next day with major gearbox damage.

It doesn’t help that Leclerc suffered a brake failure driving Niki Lauda’s classic Ferrari race car this month, causing him to hit the wall at Rascasse. Can the 24-year-old bounce back and finally grab his first career win in Monaco? With a competent car and lots of pace leading up to the weekend, we expect his luck to turn soon.

A must-watch qualifying session

Fighting for pole is much more intense in Monaco. All the drivers need to be on top of their game when navigating the tight and twisty street circuit. Missing fine margins could mean losing precious seconds around the corners. That said, watching some of the fastest machines in the world take on the turns and avoid barriers in search of better lap times is a spectacle. No qualifying session is more important than in Monaco. It’s always a thrill to watch the session where cars are not limited by traffic and drivers can go all out. In this scenario, the qualifying is just as important as Sunday’s race.

Mercedes is back in the mix

Leclerc dominated the early weeks, but it won’t be easy with a Mercedes racing team slowly moving up the ranks. Ferrari and Red Bull have been trading punches at different tracks. But, the Silver Arrows resolved technical issues and developed a pace that could threaten the two frontrunners this weekend.

Mercedes are headed in the right direction. George Russell qualified fourth and bagged a P3 in Spain. Lewis Hamilton made a strong comeback after a tussle with Kevin Magnussen that left him at the back of the pack, and eventually finished P5 with the Driver of the Day award. Moreover, Russell stated that he believes Mercedes will be more competitive in Monaco, where the lack of high-speed sections plays to their advantage.

Familiar streets, new cars

The 2022 cars and regulations still have untapped potential. We’ve seen drivers race more closely together than in recent years, but there are certain variables that introduce more challenges. Low speed is one of the main concerns of teams, as the new cars are relatively heavier than their predecessors and affect downforce in different ways. Drivers cited tougher handling during lower-speed sections, which is essentially what Monaco is made of.

After racing in numerous circuits, Monaco still presents numerous question marks for the drivers. The street circuit demands further familiarity from the drivers to produce the best lap times out of the 2022 cars.

A slippery Monaco track, a positive outlook for Hamilton

Weather forecasts predict a wet track this weekend, and Monaco drenched in rain produces a different breed of racing. It transforms the event into a much more open contest versus a dry track. The last wet race happened over six years ago and saw Daniel Ricciardo miss out on victory after an imposing weekend. Meanwhile, the rain brings back Lewis Hamilton in the blend. The British driver, also known as “The King of Rain”, is likely to perform well, looking at his previous records racing on wet tracks.

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