Monaco GP: What has Thursday told us?

Mercedes dominated again throughout the first day of the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday. Lewis Hamilton topped both sessions, with Valtteri Bottas coming in third and second, respectively. So, what has Thursday told us about how the weekend will unfold?

"Mercedes are too quick"

Above are the thoughts of Max Verstappen, who couldn't be more spot on. Mercedes are too quick at the moment. FP1 was entertaining to watch because Verstappen himself, challenged the Mercs. The Dutchman was sandwiched between the two Silver Arrows. However, a problem with his RB15 forced him to sit out the majority of FP2.

Ferrari were nowhere to be seen, really. At one stage, when Sebastian Vettel dipped into the 1:11s, with his fastest lap - he went top - but that was very shortly lived, as Mercedes let its dominance tell once again.

Something was odd about Charles Leclerc's FP2. The Monegasque driver recorded the 10th quickest time, and despite coming out on fresh new tyres at one point; the youngster never really went for the fast laps.

The importance of qualifying

It's crucial where you qualify at the Monaco GP; something that's been emphasised in the build-up to the prestigious race. With the track being extremely narrow, and so short, overtaking is only realistically possible in one or two areas. 

Writing this on Thursday evening, Red Bull are looking like they're the only side who can actually danger Mercedes this weekend - if anyone. Ferrari don't look up to it, like they haven't all season. If Verstappen's FP2 had gone smoother, we might've seen the Dutchman really challenge Hamilton's fastest lap.

Pierre Gasly recorded P4 in FP2 - which is really saying something - he was eight-tenths adrift of Hamilton at the top. Gasly's car has been slower than Verstappen's all season. So if Red Bull can sort out the problem with Verstappen's radiator damage, we could see the closest race of the season thus far.

It might not seem it at the moment. Straight off the bat of another Mercedes one-two; but Verstappen showed enough in FP1 to put himself amongst the serious contenders for this race. You've got to feel for the 21-year-old, who has not had one smooth Monaco GP. He must be getting really sick of Monte Carlo.

FP2 CLASSIFICATION #F1 #FP2 #MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/8RjrpnvyYN

— GPblog_com (@GPblog_com) 23 May 2019

Predictions for qualifying

It's near-impossible to look past Mercedes nowadays. Its dominance of the sport is becoming something else. However, Verstappen, as just mentioned, really impressed during FP1 and his form all season has been remarkable.

Verstappen is Formula 1's only chance of seeing the Mercedes one-two streak end at the weekend. The Dutchman needs a seriously strong qualifying session, and likewise, Gasly, who could genuinely challenge the Ferraris on Sunday, given a strong quali position.