Grand Prix 2011 Monaco Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Well how about that then, in a similar case in 2010 the doom and gloom merchants have vanished with a cracking grand prix in Spain. With the champagne still flowing we move on to Monaco a week later.

Mclaren will be a lot happier after running Red Bull all the way to the finish at a circuit where Red Bull normally run out of sight and could be favourites going into the Monaco race. Red Bull, however, will be the team to beat after 4 wins out of 5 races with Vettel looking unbeatable at the front but Spain showed that he wouldn't have it all his own way with Hamilton chasing him all the way to the end, even if Vettel extended his ever growing lead at the top of the championship

Ferrari seemed to have dropped back again after a superb start in Spain and eventually Alonso wound up 5th. But no doubt the Scuderia will be challenging the Mclarens and Red Bulls come the Grand Prix on Sunday. Felipe Massa's early season promise has vanished and he's back to his 2010 level and his seat will be back under scrutiny if he continues this lack of speed

Michael Schumacher will have reason to be optimistic after a strong race, beating his team mate and finishing a strong 6th as he best of the rest behind the Ferraris,Mclarens and Red Bulls. Mercedes no doubt have become the 4th fastest team over Renault who are now fighting over the lower points with Sauber and Force India.

However the big question on everyones lips will be DRS which didnt help overtaking in Spain (which is better) but more importantly where it will be placed on a circuit where straight track is at a premium so safety is a concern.

HRT continue to improve and are taking the fight to Virgin which for them is a massive achievement and its not long before they overtake them while Team lotus's optimism on Saturday didn't replicate on Sunday with a DNF for Kovalainen. But on a track where they would be weak, to get into Q2 is a massive achievement.

Hope seems to have returned to F1 after a surprisingly exciting race in Spain and it seems as if the feared Red Bull domination has been alleviated by the charging Mclarens and while Monaco is never a classic due to the nature of the track, it's certainly a spectacle

For Galahad's superb write up see here http://cliptheapex.com/pages/circuit-de-monaco/

 

[MCLS]

Top marks for the stewards, thats a thankless task and they have done it magnificently.

 

[Brogan]

Biggest disppointing anti-climactic finish to a qualifying session for a long, long time.

 

[Slyboogy]

Well it should have been expected, since they weren't out on track for a long while, lost the 'rythm'

 

[Brogan]

Expect Vettel to extend his lead by a significant margin tomorrow.

I can't see him doing anything other than winning and the closest man to him is 7th on the grid.

I wouldn't be surprised if he is at least 50 points ahead, or 2 clear wins.

 

[tranquility2k9]

Well I am completely gutted. The first time Hamilton finally gets a decent chance at knocking Vettel off his perch and snatching pole position, all that shambles happens. If Hamilton had of managed to get a proper lap in, he would at the very worst have been P2 and I think he definitely had a chance of pole. We don't even know if Button did an optimal lap yet and Hamilton had the pace on him. This is the worst possible track to have your qualifying session messed up, I just can't see what Hamilton can do from 7th at Monaco. I just hope Button can keep up with Vettel, because im sure Hamilton could if he was in P2.

I'm sick of seeing Vettel's smug face after qualifying on pole - his lap wasn't even that good, he missed a few apex's, locked up and in general didn't look that close to the barriers, he just has a super fast car that is glued to the track.

 

[tranquility2k9]

I assume Hamilton didn't go out early in Q3 because of an issue he had that they were fixing? Other wise, it's a big mistake to not get a banker in, especially at Monaco. I know in Q2, he went out, did 1 lap and did the business, but it's about what incidents might happen around you.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Hoping to god that young Perez is ok.

 

[Brogan]

his lap wasn't even that good, he missed a few apex's, locked up and in general didn't look that close to the barriers, he just has a super fast car that is glued to the track.

He still managed to beat his team mate by half a second so it can't have been that bad a job.

I would say Vettel is driving better than he ever has done, right now.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

This is the worst possible track to have your qualifying session messed up, I just can't see what Hamilton can do from 7th at Monaco.

Not only the worst, but the most likely. Something that Mclaren ought to have sussed out in advance.

 

[Brogan]

I would be interested to know what the problem was with Hamilton's car which prevented him going out for the first part of Q3.
Does anyone know?

Or was it just poor strategy again?

 

[tranquility2k9]

All I can say is that as a huge F1 fan and specifically supporting Hamilton as my driver of choice, it is just hugely dissapointing to have not managed to have seen what he could do. Martin Whitmarsh has just said that "Lewis was convinced that he was going to get pole after Q2". In all honesty, I think everyone thought it was possible and I think Lewis had the capability to pull out those couple of extra tenths to just edge past Vettel. I got up incredibly early this morning because I was really excited about what would prevail, im sure every neutral out there also wanted to see the ultimate fight for pole. I just hope there was a good reason as to why Hamilton didn't set a banker lap, because quite frankly, it was a stupid decision, whether it be his own or the teams.

 

[Brogan]

I just hope there was a good reason as to why Hamilton didn't set a banker lap, because quite frankly, it was a stupid decision, whether it be his own or the teams.

Especially at Monaco.

The teams and drivers know better than anyone how important a banker lap is, we've seen it a few times over the last few seasons.

If I was Hamilton, I would be tempted to pit on the first lap, at least then he would have clear air.
Yes it may require another stop but if he can lap that much faster then he would be in with a chance.

 

[sportsman]

Not only the worst, but the most likely. Something that Mclaren ought to have sussed out in advance.

I agree Chadders.This is the one race where you cannot take the chance of not setting a banker time ASAP.
The supersoft tyre is good for two laps provided you cool them between laps.

 

[tranquility2k9]

The only way I see Hamilton being able to beat Vettel is by doing a 1 stopper, which I think is pretty much impossible, because although you can go long on these soft tyres at Monaco, they still have a cliff and once you hit it, they fall off drastically. Hamilton will have to go for a different strategy, but if he pits more than Vettel then he can't gain an advantage because he will just go straight back into traffic. It's basically a disaster.

The F1 season may as well be over in my opinion. Vettel will be well over 50 points ahead after this race. Wow, suffice to say, this has all seriously ruined my day.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

The other daft idea was to leave both Mclarens sat in the pit lane with nearly two minutes to let their tyres go cold before the session re-started. Did they have to be quite so paranoid about track position?

Also, how about this for a conspiracy theory; is it possible that Ferrari might have deliberately sent Massa out at precisely the time they did?

 

[Sarinaide]

I would have prefered front row for Alonso, but 4th is not to bad shape, if he can get a good pull off perhaps take a position he is in good stead.

Hamilton in 7th could ge backed up a bit by the Mercs and Massa

 

[tranquility2k9]

Especially at Monaco.

The teams and drivers know better than anyone how important a banker lap is, we've seen it a few times over the last few seasons.

If I was Hamilton, I would be tempted to pit on the first lap, at least then he would have clear air.
Yes it may require another stop but if he can lap that much faster then he would be in with a chance.

If he pits early though he will just come back out in traffic, or even at the back of the pack and as overtaking is so hard, he will lose even more time than if he was stuck behind the guys in P4 and 5 for example.

His only chance is if some of the guys in-front have to pit fairly early, but seeming as Ferrari are the softest of anyone on these super-soft tyres, then that is an impossibility. If however, somehow, people in-front did pit earlier, he could just cruise behind them and then really unleash his speed.

 

[tranquility2k9]

The other daft idea was to leave both Mclarens sat in the pit lane with nearly two minutes to let their tyres go cold before the session re-started. Did they have to be quite so paranoid about track position?

Also, how about this for a conspiracy theory; is it possible that Ferrari might have deliberately sent Massa out at precisely the time they did?

Massa certainly did a pretty shit job of getting out of the way. He knew Hamilton was coming for quite some time and just carried on racing, rather than slowing down and pulling aside. Of course, Ferrari will now use Massa to block Hamilton in the race because they know he will probably be faster than their beloved Alonso and that is probably the best way to beat him.

 

[tranquility2k9]

"I had the pace to be on pole, no doubt about that"
Lewis Hamilton

 

[Johnny Carwash]

As much as i am disappointed Hamilton only managed 7th, and the race looks like damage limitation as regards to the championship for him, the most important thing is that hopefully Sergio Perez is ok after his accident.