F1 2012 Monaco GP

[Bartek S.]

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Pirelli expects wide variety of tactics for Monaco Grand Prix

Pirelli is predicting another mixed bag of strategies at the Monaco Grand Prix - with the tight track and opportunities offered by tyres likely to deliver another unpredictable race.
The more aggressive choice of compounds provided by Pirelli this season has contributed to Formula 1 producing five different winners from the first five races - which means this weekend's event is wide open.
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery thinks that F1 should prepare itself for another thriller, and that the choice of soft and super soft tyres means that teams will be able to execute varied tactics.
"You would have to guess it is going to be pretty exciting," Hembery told AUTOSPORT as he looked ahead to the Monaco GP. "It is a track that needs good traction, and we are going with soft and super soft – which are two very good compounds for those types of conditions.
"In Bahrain, we saw Lotus had good traction out of the slow corners, so you have to imagine Lotus will be strong. Plus Williams has made a good jump forward.
"So it has the recipe for being another exciting race. I am not sure we will have three cars with a one, two and three-stop strategy in the first three on the road, but having said that I do envisage a mix of strategies."
Last year, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were locked in a tight battle for victory with all three drivers on different tyre strategies.
However, their fight was interrupted by a late-race red flag, which allowed all of them to swap to fresh rubber on the grid before the restart.

http://www.autosport

 

[Centurion]

Expect tons of fist shaking. Given how much problem traffic caused in China and Spain because drivers were on different strategies I'll expect more rear-end daggering like Schumi did on Senna.

 

[Bartek S.]

FP1
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m16.265s 22
2. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m16.630s + 0.365 17
3. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m16.711s + 0.446 19
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m16.747s + 0.482 12
5. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m16.760s + 0.495 20
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m16.843s + 0.578 19
7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.038s + 0.773 21
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m17.190s + 0.925 13
9. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m17.222s + 0.957 14
10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m17.261s + 0.996 18
11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m17.413s + 1.148 14
12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m17.631s + 1.366 18
13. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m18.106s + 1.841 14
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.209s + 1.944 25
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.252s + 1.987 28
16. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m18.302s + 2.037 16
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m18.617s + 2.352 20
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m19.039s + 2.774 20
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m19.341s + 3.076 16
20. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.838s + 4.573 26
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m20.895s + 4.630 18
22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m21.638s + 5.373 9
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m22.423s + 6.158 15
24. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1

FP2

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.746s 14
2. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m16.138s + 0.392 17
3. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m16.602s + 0.856 19
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m16.661s + 0.915 21
5. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m16.820s + 1.074 18
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m17.021s + 1.275 13
7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m17.148s + 1.402 21
8. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.153s + 1.407 20
9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m17.293s + 1.547 9
10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m17.303s + 1.557 19
11. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m17.375s + 1.629 17
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m17.395s + 1.649 19
13. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m17.655s + 1.909 18
14. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m17.800s + 2.054 23
15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m18.251s + 2.505 22
16. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m18.440s + 2.694 23
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.522s + 2.776 20
18. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m18.808s + 3.062 24
19. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m19.267s + 3.521 23
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.309s + 3.563 27
21. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m20.029s + 4.283 13
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m20.240s + 4.494 19
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m20.631s + 4.885 12
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.886s + 5.140 10

 

[Bartek S.]

Jenson he's my favoritie for Monaco.

 

[Centurion]

Welcome to Monaco guys!

 

[Bartek S.]

FP3

Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.159s 25
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.197s + 0.038s 21
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m15.209s + 0.050s 20
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m15.210s + 0.051s 20
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m15.445s + 0.286s 18
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.471s + 0.312s 19
7. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.734s + 0.575s 19
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m15.893s + 0.734s 23
9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m16.110s + 0.951s 14
10. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m16.219s + 1.060s 19
11. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.226s + 1.067s 20
12. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m16.301s + 1.142s 21
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m16.311s + 1.152s 19
14. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.479s + 1.320s 20
15. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m17.027s + 1.868s 20
16. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m17.055s + 1.896s 26
17. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m17.276s + 2.117s 25
18. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m17.390s + 2.231s 19
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m17.404s + 2.245s 22
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m18.259s + 3.100s 18
21. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m18.488s + 3.329s 22
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.099s + 3.940s 17
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.147s + 3.988s 19
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m19.151s + 3.992s 19

 

[Bartek S.]

Qual.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.301s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m14.381s + 0.080
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m14.448s + 0.147
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m14.583s + 0.282
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m14.639s + 0.338
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m14.948s + 0.647
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.049s + 0.748
8. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m15.199s + 0.898
9. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m15.245s + 0.944
10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m15.322s Gap **
11. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m15.421s + 0.510
12. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.508s + 0.597
13. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.536s + 0.625
14. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m15.709s + 0.798
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m15.718s + 0.807
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m15.878s + 0.967
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.885s + 1.974
Q1 cut-off time: 1m16.491s Gap *
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m16.538s + 1.120
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m17.404s + 1.986
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m17.947s + 2.529
21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m18.096s + 2.678
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m18.476s + 3.058
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.310s + 3.892
24. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari no time

 

[Bartek S.]

What happened to my favorite driver?

Jenson Button believes moving forward in tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix will be tough after he was mystified by a lack of pace in qualifying.
The McLaren driver had been competitive in practice, but failed to make Q3 and will start the race from 12th.
"I didn't make a mistake, it just wasn't quick," admitted the 2009 Monaco victor. "This morning the car felt good and the pace was pretty strong, but we don't have it this afternoon - when it counts."

 

[Centurion]

^^
Button is struggling. Unlike Lewis and Alonso he is very sensitive to tires and setup. The slightest thing that's not working and he's thrown off.

 

[Bartek S.]

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS The Monaco Grand Prix Monte Carlo, Monaco; 78 laps; 260.520km; Weather: Cloudy. Classified: Pos Driver Team Time
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1h46:06.557
2. Rosberg Mercedes + 0.643
3. Alonso Ferrari + 0.947
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 1.343
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 4.101
6. Massa Ferrari + 6.195
7. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 41.500
8. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 42.500
9. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 44.000
10. Senna Williams-Renault + 44.500
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
14. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

Fastest lap: Perez, 1:17.298

Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap
Button McLaren-Mercedes 71
Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 66
Pic Marussia-Cosworth 65
Schumacher Mercedes 64
Petrov Caterham-Renault 16
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 6
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1
Maldonado Williams-Renault 1
Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1

 

[Bartek S.]

World Championship standings, round 6: Drivers:
1. Alonso 76
2. Vettel 73
3. Webber 73
4. Hamilton 63
5. Rosberg 59
6. Raikkonen 51
7. Button 45
8. Grosjean 35
9. Maldonado 29
10. Perez 22
11. Di Resta 21
12. Kobayashi 19
13. Senna 15
14. Massa 10
15. Hulkenberg 7
16. Vergne 4
17. Schumacher 2
18. Ricciardo 2

Constructors:
1. Red Bull-Renault 146
2. McLaren-Mercedes 108
3. Ferrari 86
4. Lotus-Renault 86
5. Mercedes 61
6. Williams-Renault 44
7. Sauber-Ferrari 41
8. Force India-Mercedes 28
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6

 

[Centurion]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz this was one hell of a snooze fest. Maldonado has gone from zero to hero and now back to zero. What a fall from grace. I'm bummed that the rain came down about 10minutes after the race has ended. A rather anti-clamatic ending to the procession of top runners just coasting until the end.

Bring on Canada please

 

[Deleted member 25]

Unf*cking believable that Mercedes benz is still uncapable of producing and managing two cars.

 

[MoSs]

Monaco isn't the same anymore, it's becoming more boring and the pirelli tires make it worse, idk about u guys but f1 is really confusing me.

Maybe it's the setup or cars are changing dramatically every race.

 

[Monster]

Monaco isn't the same anymore, it's becoming more boring and the pirelli tires make it worse, idk about u guys but f1 is really confusing me.
Maybe it's the setup or cars are changing dramatically every race.

IMO it is all down to the tires, it is up to the team to find the set up of the cars to make these tyres work on different circuits and at different temperatures ranges. These tyres are so ultra sensitive that the smallest changes to one of the many variables can affect the balance and performance of the car, that will explain why we have 6 different winners in 6 races, however the RB8 is the only car to take two race wins.

 

[Centurion]

Monaco isn't the same anymore, it's becoming more boring and the pirelli tires make it worse, idk about u guys but f1 is really confusing me.

Maybe it's the setup or cars are changing dramatically every race.

To be honest Monaco has always been a bore unless the heavens open and rain pours down. However the Mozarellis made Monaco even more dull since not a single driver but Perez was attacking. Everyone was just focused on maintaining the tires.

 

[MoSs]

I think there should do improvements there. Make it wider or longer straights.

there's no chance to overtake, unless the defender lets them by, but it's imposible there will be a contact or big incident. the cars are not designed for a street circuit like Monaco, 4 years ago they were much smaller, and now they are like giants. I saw the rb7 last year at la auto show and that thing was huge!

The mclaren and Mercedes are obviously the fastest cars, followed by close redbull and Ferrari, they seem to have more downforce but the problem is the more downforce the more tire ware per lap, and it looks like the mclaren chassis doesn't work for those tires in the race.

Vettel did 46 laps with the primes! And he was still fastest.

 

[Centurion]

^^
Yeah Vettel's stint was nuts likewise was Hamilton's 30+ lap stint in Spain. You just never know where you have the tires at every race. They are so unpredictable. Lotus has had best consistency in terms of the car working with the tires, whoever the pit strategies for Kimi have been disastrous.

In Canada I will expect drivers like Schumi, Vettel and Kimi not to run in Q3 but in stead save tires. 3-4 stoppers are common there and given that overtaking is easy thanks to double DRS zones, starting position on the grid won't matter much, but having sets of fresh tires will.

 

[Gullwing]

Force everyone who makes it to Q3 to go out and put out a correct lap time, otherwise they get a 5 place penalty.
Improve the tires or force two stops. Drive through for those not pushing as hard as they should (FIA monitors during race).
Allow several different changes to the rules- movable suspension, movable aero, ground affects... but only allow the teams to use two or so, let them pick. Different teams will pick different setups.

 

[Centurion]

Force everyone who makes it to Q3 to go out and put out a correct lap time, otherwise they get a 5 place penalty.

Vettel did that in Spain. He didn't want to contest in Q3 but simply went out on a cruiser lap so that he could start higher up on the grid than his peers who also didn't want to set a competitive time. Either way qualifying rules will change next year or tires will have to so that qualifying is actually taken seriously.