Typical F1. You wait three weeks for a race and then two come along at once.
So it's on to one of F1's 'Marmite' tracks since drivers, teams and fans alike either love it or hate it. One thing's for sure though, Monaco provides a unique challenge and is one of the few tracks left on the calendar where mistakes aren't rewarded with a three mile wide run off area. Instead, drivers who over-cook it at Monaco are met with the sound of cracking carbon fibre and the end of their afternoon.
As we all know, qualification on Saturday is the key to race performance on Sunday. The debate has raged this year as to whether the first session of qualification should be split but this now looks unlikely to happen. The back markers however, will have to be even more vigilant of their surroundings.
Several areas of the track have been re-surfaced but the road is always going to be bumpy and some of the kerbs around the Swimming Pool and Nouvelle Chicanes have been raised to prevent them being cut by drivers.
To win in Monaco you need a perfectly balanced car instead of massive straight line speed. Expect McLaren and Red Bull to be right on the pace all weekend. Ferrari and Mercedes have pace but whether their cars are subtle enough for Monaco remains to be seen. Because there is less requirement for top end speed this is a good chance for Renault and Force India to push the big four and they may cause an upset.
Williams and Toro Rosso seem a bit out of sorts at the moment and if Williams' aero package problems at Spain were anything to go by, don't expect a great deal of improvement this weekend.
At the back of the grid the 6 mobile chicanes will once again be raising the blood pressure of those towards the front of the grid. Expect plenty more "Charlie, Charlie......" radio calls this weekend. Virgin look set to continue with only one updated car. The battle between the three could be a lot closer here because again it's not all about speed.
So it's on to one of F1's 'Marmite' tracks since drivers, teams and fans alike either love it or hate it. One thing's for sure though, Monaco provides a unique challenge and is one of the few tracks left on the calendar where mistakes aren't rewarded with a three mile wide run off area. Instead, drivers who over-cook it at Monaco are met with the sound of cracking carbon fibre and the end of their afternoon.
As we all know, qualification on Saturday is the key to race performance on Sunday. The debate has raged this year as to whether the first session of qualification should be split but this now looks unlikely to happen. The back markers however, will have to be even more vigilant of their surroundings.
Several areas of the track have been re-surfaced but the road is always going to be bumpy and some of the kerbs around the Swimming Pool and Nouvelle Chicanes have been raised to prevent them being cut by drivers.
To win in Monaco you need a perfectly balanced car instead of massive straight line speed. Expect McLaren and Red Bull to be right on the pace all weekend. Ferrari and Mercedes have pace but whether their cars are subtle enough for Monaco remains to be seen. Because there is less requirement for top end speed this is a good chance for Renault and Force India to push the big four and they may cause an upset.
Williams and Toro Rosso seem a bit out of sorts at the moment and if Williams' aero package problems at Spain were anything to go by, don't expect a great deal of improvement this weekend.
At the back of the grid the 6 mobile chicanes will once again be raising the blood pressure of those towards the front of the grid. Expect plenty more "Charlie, Charlie......" radio calls this weekend. Virgin look set to continue with only one updated car. The battle between the three could be a lot closer here because again it's not all about speed.
)
)
