The Greatest Spectacle in Motorsport

(and the Monaco Grand Prix)

From the outside, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 don’t have a whole lot in common. 

One track is one car wide, while the other can comfortably fit four. The historic Monaco circuit is all tight corners, white knuckles and predictability without overtaking opportunities. Indy is constant overtaking, grazing the grass from the inside or risking brushing the wall on the outside racing line. Even the locations couldn’t be more different: one is nestled between France and Italy, hugging the yacht-filled sea and a string of designer shops. The other is in the heartland, a short drive from Dollar Tree and McDonald’s. 

Despite all their contradictions, the two giants of the race calendar had more similarities than expected. From driver stamina and dicey tire strategy to an unlikely third-place finisher, they both lived up to their titles as the “Crown Jewel of F1” and “The Greatest Spectacle in Motorsport.” 

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The Monaco Grand Prix: The only certainties in life are death, taxes and Max Verstappen winning 

As the F1r the Girls podcast hosts said in this week’s episode, the only certainties in life are death, taxes and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) winning. While the second may not apply to the local population, the latter seemed inevitable in this year’s Monaco Grand Prix. 

While debatably less exciting than qualifying, the race featured all the migraine-inducing fuss that keeps spectators glued to their screens. From a rain-soaked track and overeager overtakes to a thrilled Frenchman and a decidedly less delighted Red Bull driver, the race shook up the field even further.

Although Verstappen’s lead is like clockwork each coming week, his race was anything but electrifying. The Red Bull driver wore down his tires to a dangerous amount, waiting to pit for a fresh and weather-appropriate set until well past the respectable moment. As the rain began to fall and George Russel (Mercedes) led the pack into the pits for a wet tire (intermediate) change, Verstappen was speeding along. 

Despite clicking the radio to tell his team “I have to drive super slow because my tires are ****,” the Dutch driver drove quicker than necessary. The gulf between his car and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin remained staggering, with Verstappen finishing the race 27.795 seconds ahead. Verstappen now holds the title of the most Red Bull wins.

Tire strategy is, needless to say, always a cornerstone of successfully winning a race and keeping pace. However, as some teams made correct pitting choices and others made more questionable ones, the order shuffled slightly. 

Aston Martin’s unorthodox decision to pit Alonso for dry medium tires (slicks) despite the steady trickle of rain only increased the distance between his car and the Red Bull. 

Alonso’s teammate, Lance Stroll, had even worse luck. The Canadian driver began the race by slamming into Logan Sargeant (Williams) around the hairpin turn in a bold and impractical outside overtake that had commentators confused. Stroll had a notable move on lap 11, as he took a position from Sargeant. However, as the rain pelted down, it was clear he couldn’t control his car in the conditions. The emerald green body of his Aston Martin slid from one corner of the hairpin to the next, hitting each wall in sight. 

Autosport rated Stroll’s performance a two out of 10, citing overconfidence that led to unsafe collisions with Alex Albon (Williams) and Nico Hülkenberg (Haas). Stroll did not finish the race. 

Monaco requires a different skill set and several drivers ended a poor performance by parking their car in the wall as a result of the demanding street track. The instinct to counter-correct when the back of the car slips around a turn would be acceptable and even favorable at any other circuit. However, as eff won with DRS pointed out, there wasn’t room for that millisecond correction. 

“The second you save the back, you’ve ensured your front is going straight into the barrier,” the hosts said in this week’s episode. “They have to have two sets of muscle memory. Monaco muscle memory should be: just ride that drift.” 

Specifically, the chicane proved to be a problematic turn for drivers, Carlos Sainz in particular. 

The Scuderia Ferrari driver had a spectacular showing in practice but was antsy in his fourth-place position. His eager attempts to overtake Esteban Ocon (Alpine) on three separate occasions around the chicane only ended in disaster. The first opportunity came too late with Sainz rear-ending Ocon on lap 11 and damaging his own front wing while the third-place finisher continued on. 

Ocon had a drive worth celebrating, and he did just that: dousing himself in champagne and yelling excitedly into the microphone once he crossed the checkered flag. His teammate, Pierre Gasly, quietly finished a solid seventh. Both results within the top 10 reflect Alpine’s rise in the ranks from a C-tier team status. 

McLaren also had both drivers finish within the points in ninth and 10th. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris stuck close by, even overtaking cars sequentially. After an uncharacteristic rough start to the season, is the team making up significant ground? 

While McLaren’s upgrades may be aiding in their performance, it was difficult to accurately gauge the impact of teams’ advances because of Monaco’s unique circuit. 

Mercedes went into the weekend with major upgrades, including the addition of sidepods, a piece of the car that extends from the cockpit to the rear and helps reduce drag. Both Mercedes drivers ranked high, thanks to upgrades or not. Lewis Hamilton took fourth followed closely by Russell in fifth. Hamilton also set the fastest lap, hitting a 1:15.650-minute time. 

Verstappen, the two-time World Champion, solidified this year’s domination as he lapped his fellow Red Bull driver Checo Perez not once, but twice. What seemed like a potential title fight just last race, now seems improbable with 39 points between the two. 

Autosport rated Verstappen’s race much more favorably than Stroll’s measly two points. The publication backed up the nine out of 10 point rating by saying Verstappen “responded to Alonso’s contra-strategy perfectly and managed his medium tyres [tires] through the graining phase to extend his stint. This built flexibility into his race and ensured that he could remain on level terms with the more durable compound run by Aston Martin. [He] kept the car afloat during the downpour, and only a few minor scratches against the wall took some shine off.” 

While both Ferrari drivers, Sainz and Charles Leclerc, along with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, attempted to act as their own race engineers, Verstappen was one of the few who was asked for his opinion rather than demanding a change or refusing a pit stop. His decision to wait out the rain—even though it meant wearing down his tires to worrying levels—resulted in only needing to pit once and ensured he kept his position at the front. 

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Indy 500: A maiden win

The 107th Indianapolis 500 graced the screens of nearly 5 million viewers on Sunday. With 200 laps, 500 miles and 33 drivers, the chaos and stakes only heightened as the hours ticked by. 

Josef Newgarden (Team Penske), the 2023 Indy 500 winner, started the first lap in 12th, with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou on pole followed by Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing) in second and Felix Rosenqvist (Arrow McLaren) in third. 

It really was anyone’s race to win. At one point—or, rather, many points throughout the race—all four were leading, along with Santino Ferrucci (A.J. Foyt Enterprises), Marcus Ericsson (Chip Ganassi Racing), and Rosenqvist’s teammates Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi. 

Newgarden stealthily worked his way to the top. By lap 69 he was only in 10th and halfway through the race he had climbed to fourth. With 50 laps to go, he hung back behind Ericsson in second. 

While the two IndyCar empires, Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing, finished first and second, the leaderboard doesn’t tell the full story. For the first 150 laps, B- and C-tier teams came close to tasting glory, and their milk of choice, without the final result to reflect their drive. 

Notably, Ferrucci, who qualified fourth, overtook with veteran confidence and held tightly onto his lead. The former Formula 2 and GP3 Series rookie finished 23rd last race with an average race finish of 20th so far this season. 

Despite his sluggish start to 2023, his performance in Indianapolis showed tremendous potential. In lap 76, Ferrucci flew past Palou in an outside overtake that had the commentators gushing; however, his tires and gas tank couldn’t have been thrilled as over 100 laps remained. In lap 157, his double overtake, launching him from fifth to third, was a sight to behold. Ferrucci’s third-place finish was a welcome surprise.

If Ferrucci stomped through the crowd, the second newbie driver, Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Autosport), tiptoed. His quiet drive toward the top four mirrored the race winner. On lap 101, Kirkwood snuck past several cars as he swung in on the outside, narrowly missing the wall as he drove four cars wide. His drive showed immense control. 

The Andretti Autosport driver seemed only a small push from his second podium of the season until Rosenqvist clipped the wall and spun into Kirkwood, sending him flying. In a series of events that could have resulted in somber headlines, Kirkwood’s rear tire shot into the air, breached the protective fencing and swept above the crowd into the parking lot, totaling a car. 

The incident served as a reminder of just how dangerous racing is. 

While failing to stand on the podium, McLaren’s drivers proved what they’ve been saying all season—they’re just as good as the best and they have the fuel mileage to be better. O’Ward, Rosenqvist and Rossi swapped first position with O’Ward leading, falling back to 12th, then leading once again. As the 182nd lap began, Ericsson’s upper-hand position just ahead of O’Ward was reminiscent of last year’s podium. Maybe that was the reminder O’Ward needed to pull in front. 

The Mexican driver’s advantage didn’t last long as Newgarden forced both him and Ericsson backward. With just eight laps to go, O’Ward’s hopes of one-upping the 2022 Indy 500 Champion crumbled as he clipped the Swedish driver during a bold inside overtake and twisted to a stop, his car mangled as the wall cushioned his spin. 

He had a heated reaction to the incident. 

“I was way too nice,” O’Ward said in a post-race interview. “I’ll make sure he comes with me next time.” 

The resulting restart summed up the chaotic energy that spread over the field. Sting Ray Robb’s (Dale Coyne Racing) crash in lap 92 brought the first yellow flag and the havoc commenced from there. Veekay hit Palou in the pit lane, Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport) hit his teammate in a botched pitstop, Katherine Legge (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) slid in the pits, Romain Grosjean spun out after making contact with the barriers, Rosenqvist took out Kirkwood and O’Ward, Agustin Canapino (Juncos Hollinger Racing) and Simon Pagenaud (Meyer Shank Racing) crashed out and slashed their chances at finishing. 

Of those who did finish, Palou surprised nearly everyone with his ability to recover after suffering a hit. From starting on pole and dropping down toward the bottom of the rankings to gaining 12th and rising to third, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s fourth-place finish was the real story behind the race. 

Newgarden’s maiden win was well-deserved and long overdue, but simply looking at the ranking, or the podium, doesn’t paint a complete picture.  

As Newgarden pulled ahead of Ericsson on the last lap for a push across the finish line following a final-lap restart, the move garnered mixed reactions, the strongest critic being second-place finisher Ericsson. 

“It was an unfair and dangerous end to the race,” Ericsson said. “We’ve never done a start straight out of the pits. We don’t get the tyres [tires] up to temperature. I don’t think there were enough laps left to do what we did, I don’t think it’s safe.” 

Despite the former Indy 500 winner’s complaints, the results stand and the edge-of-your-seat finale to an action-packed, yet admittedly long, race may help bring an even larger audience. 

The 0.097-second margin between Newgarden and Ericsson marks the fourth-closest in history. As motorsport hits peak fanfare in the States, the likelihood of IndyCar cracking down on tight margins and close calls that provide a show to viewers is slim. 

The day ended on an emotional note, and not just for Newgarden. Tony Kanaan (Arrow McLaren) ended his final Indy 500 with a heartfelt message after battling for 15th. He crossed the waving flag in 16th-place. 

“What a day. What a race,” Kanaan said. “You guys, these fans, they make me feel very special and I think I will take that forever.”