Louis Sharp followed up his best-ever fourth-place finish last weekend at Imola, Italy, with two equally standout top ten finishes on his first-ever visit to Monaco.
“Ever since I was a kid I’ve fantasised about racing at Monaco, so it was a dream come true for me,” admitted Louis. “It was super cool to get my first taste of it and overall it has been a fantastic experience.”
It was an outstanding debut on the famously challenging harbourside streets, too, further cementing the highly promising teenager’s reputation as one of motorsport’s most exciting rising stars.
While many of his rivals benefitted massively from having raced in Monte Carlo two or three times previously, Louis had never competed on a street circuit – let alone one as famously unforgiving barrier-lined streets of Monte Carlo.
The young New Zealander arrived in the Mediterranean Principality as a complete novice and, making life even harder, had just a single 45-minute Free Practice session on Thursday to learn the circuit and fine-tune his Rodin Motorsport-entered F3 car.
Then it was straight into Friday’s ultra-short 16-minute Qualifying session ahead of the Sprint and Feature races on Saturday and Sunday mornings – just before the iconic Monaco Grand Prix.
Louis, who turned 18 earlier this month, completed just a handful of flying learning laps in Free Practice, then worked closely with his technical team to improve the chassis setup ahead of critical Qualifying.
On a narrow track where overtaking is notoriously difficult, grid position is paramount, and, with so little time to deliver the ultimate lap, the pressure in Qualifying was immense.
Under those circumstances, rookie Sharp did well to qualify in the top half of the grid – though it could have been even better.
A slight braking error – his only one during an otherwise flawless debut weekend – saw him take a brief trip up an escape road. During the multiple-point turn required to extricate himself, he lost critical tyre temperature, costing him valuable time on subsequent flying laps.
“It’s pretty tough competing against guys who’ve been racing here for years but I’m pretty sure we’d have been top five without the mistake,” he reflected with a tinge of frustration. “That said, it was always going to be a big challenge as I didn’t have many laps to get up-to-speed and went into Qualifying on the back foot.”
As it stood, Louis would start both races from a very respectable 13th in a highly competitive 30-car field. It was ‘unlucky 13’ too, as the top 12 are reversed for the opening Sprint race grid – meaning he narrowly missed out on a sensational pole position by just one place. On a circuit where track position is king, such a start could have set the stage for a stunning debut win.
Instead, Louis would have to impress from a lower starting position – and impress he certainly did.
Defying the notion that overtaking in Monaco is nearly impossible, Louis gained three places on the opening lap of Saturday’s Sprint race, moving into a points-scoring tenth place. Then, on the penultimate lap, he capitalised on a brief tussle between the two cars ahead to grab another position and finish a highly commendable ninth – notably up four places from his midfield grid slot.
In Sunday’s longer Feature Race, starting again from 13th, his first lap wasn’t quite as fruitful, but he kept his composure. As others ahead made costly mistakes, Louis steadily gained ground, once again taking the chequered flag in ninth.
That meant scoring points in both races for the first time this season – an impressive feat for his first-ever street races and vital experience for his future rise up the motorsport ladder.
“It was incredibly tough to pass but in both races I managed to be quite smart and made several overtakes. I think we maximised what could be achieved from where we started. It wasn’t quite where I want to be but it was a fabulous experience and I have learned so much.”
The Formula 3 teams now head west along the Mediterranean to the fast, flowing Barcelona circuit for the next two rounds this weekend. In complete contrast to Monaco, the Catalan track is familiar to all drivers, thanks to extensive pre-season testing.
“It’s the first track this season which I can say I know, so that’s a positive,” he grinned. “We were also fast there in the tests, so I’m hoping to be right at the front.”
Once again, the action begins with a 45-minute Free Practice session on Friday (09:55–10:40), followed by Qualifying on Friday afternoon (15:05–15:35). The Sprint Race (21 laps or 40 minutes + 1 lap) kicks off at 10:05 on Saturday, with the Feature Race (25 laps or 45 minutes + 1 lap) taking place at 08:30 on Sunday – just before the Spanish Grand Prix.
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