The Monaco GP is the most glamorous race on the Formula 1 calendar every year. With this big weekend, the LWOM website would like to roll out a new series that will be presented each race weekend, called LWOM Picks. Formula 1 writers from the LWOM team have been asked questions ahead of this weekend and weigned in with their predictions for the upcoming race.
The Last Word On Motorsport (LWOM) Team Predicts The 2018 Monaco GP
The five questions asked this week are pretty standard practice in motorsport predictions. We ask who will win, who will grab pole position and we ask who will over and under perform. The final question is about what the writer’s bold prediction is.
Writers Polled: Sudha Sundar, Víctor López, Siddharth Kumar and Jack Wannan
Question 1: Who will win?
Sudha Sundar: Daniel Ricciardo
Víctor López: Sebastian Vettel
Siddharth Kumar: Daniel Ricciardo
Jack Wannan: Sebastian Vettel
For the first question, there was a trend in answers. I picked Sebastian Vettel, and so did Victor. I thought this was a safe (or safer) bet, as he has won the race before. Sudha and Siddharth picked Daniel Ricciardo, which is also not out of the realm of possibility. Ricciardo has seen himself on the podium of the Monaco GP, but has never attained a victory at the street course. I found it interesting that Mercedes isn’t predicted to do too well, based on the writers insight.
Question 2: Who will underperform?
Sudha Sundar: Stoffel Vandoorne
Víctor López: Lewis Hamilton
Siddharth Kumar: Valtteri Bottas
Jack Wannan: Lewis Hamilton
Well, if you are a Mercedes fan, this isn’t what you want to see. The LWOM team is predicting that it will be a rough weekend for the team. Victor, Siddharth and myself all predict that a Mercedes driver will underperform. To be fair, underperform is a vague phrase. To some people, underperforming for Mercedes would be a 4-5 placing. For others, it’s way down the grid. Besides that, Sudha predicted that Stoffel Vandoorne wouldn’t have that good of a race. Personally, I chose Lewis Hamilton because I feel that the pressure is getting to him.
Question 3: Who will overperform?
Sudha Sundar: Fernando Alonso
Víctor López: Fernando Alonso
Siddharth Kumar: Fernando Alonso
Jack Wannan: Pierre Gasly
This weekend, the team is putting a lot of trust in Fernando Alonso. I chose Pierre Gasly because I feel that he has the potential to really break out like he did at Bahrain. It’s just a matter of when he will do it again and have an impressive finish. I feel that Gasly has the potential to have a breakout performance.
Sudha explained her over and under picks, saying “Alonso dragging that car into the points and Stoffel not doing so. Fernando is not a great qualifier and Vandoorne should be easily beating him in qualifying at least.”
Question 4: What is your bold prediction?
Sudha Sundar: Toro Rosso In The Points
Víctor López: Alonso Finishing In The Top 4
Siddharth Kumar: Nico Hulkenberg On The Podium
Jack Wannan: 5 Or More DNFs
This is my favourite category of prediction. The prediction that possibly goes against the grain, or is a surprise to most people. Sudha predicts that Toro Rosso drivers will score points. The team has only been able to score points on two occasions this year, and one of those outings only got them one single point.
Victor predicted that Alonso will be finishing in the top four, which lines up with his prediction that Alonso will overperform. Interesting that he was not ambitious enough to say that Alonso would get a podium. Siddharth however, put all of the poker chips in, and said that Nico Hulkenberg will be on the podium.
I have predicted 5 or even more DNFs in the race. I have made this prediction because I feel that since Monaco is such a tight circuit, and we have already seen quite an amount of carnage this season, it wouldn’t surprise me if a quarter of the grid did not see the checkered flag.
The final question was who would get pole position, but not surprisingly, everyone’s pick was identical to their pick of who would win the race.
In a weekend that has lots of hype around it, there is room for even more if these predictions are validated with reality.
