The Alfa Romeo name was back on the famous streets of Monte Carlo yesterday as the Sauber team took to the iconic temporary circuit for the first day of free practice sessions in the build-up to Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Alfa Romeo has three previous wins on this circuit, coming in 1932 with Tazio Nuvolari, in 1934 with Guy Moll and finally in 1950 thanks to Juan Manuel Fangio. The race wasn't held in 1951, the final dominant year for Alfa Romeo in F1. This time around though Alfa Romeo has returned to grand prix racing as the title sponsor of the Swiss-based Sauber team.
As is traditional in Monaco, the Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 sessions both take place on Thursday, rather than Friday as is the usual procedure at the other grands prix. Today, Friday, is a rest day before the third free practice session and qualifying are held tomorrow, Saturday.
It was the first time for Monegasque rookie, Charles Leclerc, to experience the streets of his hometown in the cockpit of an F1 car, while it was a productive day at a dry and sunny Monaco for Marcus Ericsson as well.
Both drivers worked in preparation for the race on the city circuit of Monaco where the track layout is particularly challenging for the team; despite the track demands with high levels of downforce, they are optimistic for tomorrow’s sessions, with the gaps between all competitors being very close.
Marcus Ericsson (car number 9):
C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
1st practice: 19th / 1:15.206 min (39 laps) / 2nd practice: 20th / 1:14.173 min (46 laps)
“It has been quite a good day. It is important to get in a lot of laps on Thursday in Monaco, so that is a positive for us. We struggled a bit of the hypersoft tyres, but apart from that it was a smooth day. We built up the speed and have a good base to work from for Saturday and Sunday. I look forward to the rest of the weekend.”
Charles Leclerc (car number 16):
C37 (Chassis 04/Ferrari)
1st practice: 16th / 1:14.521 min (39 laps) / 2nd practice: 17th / 1:13.575 min (45 laps)
“It was a productive day for us. It ran quite smoothly overall. We know that this track is going to be a challenge for us, and we have used today’s practice sessions to start setting up our car in the best possible way. We will now look at our data and start working on preparations for tomorrow’s qualifying session. I look forward to being back in the car.”
Photos: Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team - 2018 FIA F1 World Championship
