Summary of the Friday in Monaco: Top teams anticipate competition with Ferrari

After the first free practice sessions on Thursday, it was a lot quieter on the Monte Carlo street circuit today. Nevertheless, there was a lot of anticipation on the qualifying and the Grand Prix of this weekend. Read all the highlights of Friday in Monaco here!

Despite Max Verstappen's dissatisfaction with his performance in the two free practice sessions on Thursday, in which he registered the third and fourth fastest times respectively, an analysis from the official website of Formula One 1 Red Bull Racing is the favourite to win the race. Lawrence Barretto, who interpreted the data for the medium, sees the complaints from Verstappen and his team as a possible distraction and part of the mind games that are currently being played between the top teams.

It's no understatement that Ferrari were the big surprise during Thursday's free practice sessions. The Italian team even managed a 1-2 in the second session, although results this early in the weekend should be taken with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, the top teams are preparing for the entrance of a third player in the battle for victory, as Mercedes technical director Andrew Shovlin announced today.

It also became clear today that the competition between Red Bull and Mercedes is also felt in the wallets of the top teams. Horner said today that the discussion around the flexible rear wing and the new FIA regulations on this issue are giving the team a significant financial blow. However, the competition is not safe either, as an announcement from Mercedes today suggests: the team will have to miss out on an important tyre test for financial reasons. Wolff explicitly cites the budget cap as the reason for this.