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

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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/
 
I'm not sure about that, I still think Button has a strong chance of victory, particularly if he can get the jump into turn 1, like Coulthard in 2002
 
Jenson needs to show balls of steel in lap one and he'll take the win on a one stop.
 
I'd actually make Button favourite. Alonso is close enough to be a factor too.

Great performance by Perez, I was about to acclaim him as the new F1 star before his accident. Actually, I think I'll acclaim him anyway. Outstanding job to beat Kobayashi by that margin.

Maldonado absolutely did well too, but he is a Monaco expert to a ridiculous degree. I think I'm right in saying that even in his worst GP2 seasons he still won, or got on the podium, there. But, full credit to him. Three Spanish speakers in top ten - must be a while since that happened.

Another tactical cock-up from McLaren. How long before Hamilton gets sick of it?
 
Yes, he wont, otherwise what would be the point in penalising a driver if he gets an advantage to choose fresher tyres?

It was a rule brought in, in 2010, and I remember Martin Brundle (not Legard :snigger:) mentioning it back then

I just thought the loss of the lap was it. I don't even consider it a penalty, it's just he didn't go round the track properly so that lap doesn't count and he set no time. What happens if a driver sets a time, then set a faster time on another set of tyres but it doesn't count because he cut the track. What tyres does he start on then, the ones he set the time on, or the ones he cut the track with.
 
I still think we need to find out what tyres Lewis starts on before we call it a total disaster. It's possible they might choose the current ones anyway, but going for softs would mix his strategy up a bit.
 
I just thought the loss of the lap was it. I don't even consider it a penalty, it's just he didn't go round the track properly so that lap doesn't count and he set no time. What happens if a driver sets a time, then set a faster time on another set of tyres but it doesn't count because he cut the track. What tyres does he start on then, the ones he set the time on, or the ones he cut the track with.

In the Sporting Regulations they refer to the "grid time". So my guess would be, the first set that he set the valid time on. But hey, this is in the realm of "making-it-up-as-they-go-along".
 
Red's a much faster color.

[Pedantic] must....resist....urge....to...criticise.....bad...American...spelling[/pedantic]

Back on topic it wouldn't surprise me if they started on the option tyre, Hamilton will want to get as high up as quick as possible really
 
Interesting that the FIA and F1 results haven't yet been amended.

I wonder if they're still debating over Massa?
 
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