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/

 

[Fenderman]

No. That's why he's called Boogy!!

 

[tranquility2k9]

McLaren could do really well at Monaco - supposedly Red Bull's advantage over them is in high speed corners, in qualifying especially, being able to take them flat out or with the DRS open. In Sector 3 at Barca, which is mainly slower corners, McLaren in the race were consistently faster.

I remember last year, McLaren were poor at Monaco due to their long wheel base, being poor over the bumps and having poor slow corner performance. I think they have sorted most those problems now and actually have a car that can tackle the streets of Monaco. Although McLaren has a very stiff suspension setup, I remember Brundle saying last year that, in theory, a stiff setup should suit monaco, so long as the bumps aren't throwing them off line.

In all honesty, they need to start clawing back Vettel's advantage and the next 3 races should all suit the McLaren more.

 

[johnnoble1990]

I agree. Think Mclaren could be the fastest at Monaco. Would be great to have a 1-2. Reckon a few over teams might surprise as well like last year.

 

[no-FIAt-please]

Hmm I can't see past Red Bull again being the fastest team, Monaco is a track that demands maximum downforce and this is an area where the RB7 excels, not to mention KERS won't be much use at the circuit which also limits one of McLaren's stronger features. I think we'll see a repeat of Spain, Red Bull qualify some distance ahead but have similar pace to McLaren, all in all the race will probably be won by an undercut at exactly the right time or a safety car tyre change, again at the right time.

As for DRS causing lot of crashes I simply don't see it, I think it is far more likely we'll see one, maybe two crashes in the race and then it simply won't have too much affect as I doubt it will even be half as effective as it was in Spain.

Also I believe Monaco will mark the first appearance of the Pirelli super soft tyre (am I right?) and one would have to wonder if the strategy guys will have another difficult weekend if it turns out the tyres burn up incredibely fast.

 

[johnnoble1990]

Well that could be an interesting factor thrown in. and yes you are right.

 

[MCLS]

After all, If Mclaren can match Red Bull at the strongest Red Bull circuit they should be in contention for the rest of the season.

 

[Fenderman]

My pessimism regarding the DRS is that we've seen what happens when it's activated too early - i.e. before the car is more or less pointing in a straight line. Monaco doesn't have a true straight so timing when to activate the thing is going to be interesting to say the least. In reality it will be in practise when we'll see the mistakes and if Spain was anything to go by I can't really see it being used very effectively in the race.

 

[tranquility2k9]

I know Monaco demands a lot of downforce, but taking the streets of Monaco is much more than just having downforce, it requires a car that is good mechanically, and has a good front-end, etc. Hamilton and Vettel both said the McLaren seemed faster round the slow - mid speed corners at Barca and that Red Bull were supreme round the real high speed corners, which they could take flat out, when McLaren couldn't. The DRS will be used much less around Monaco and therefore in qualifying, Red Bull won't have the advantage of being able to use it a lot more than their rivals.

 

[MCLS]

We have finally reached a point where we are complaining that its not working then we are complaining that it is

 

[Fenderman]

Trouble is when it works it's ridiculous. When it doesn't it's a waste of time. Does a happy medium exist?

 

[MCLS]

Apparently not

 

[Fenderman]

Oh. Fiddlesticks

 

[LifeW12]

How many stops are to be expected here?

There are going to be so many marbles, expect someone to crash at either Massanet or Tabac late in the race

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

I remember last year, McLaren were poor at Monaco due to their long wheel base, being poor over the bumps and having poor slow corner performance. I think they have sorted most those problems now and actually have a car that can tackle the streets of Monaco.

Isn't the Mclaren wheelbase even longer this year?

 

[MCLS]

Any chance of rain this weekend?

 

[chimera]

Any chance of rain this weekend?

From @fergieweather on twitter:

MONACO, EARLY OUTLOOK: Cold front moving E on Fri likely to bring showers at times, but Sat/Sun expected dry as pressure builds; temp 21-25C
MONACO cont'd: Free practice on Thurs has low chance of showers but looks largely dry in most forecast model output, as things stand...
MONACO Cont'd: Thurs set-up fairly typical at Monaco; showers tending to form to N by sea breeze / orographic effects while circuit prob dry

 

[Speshal]

Please bear in mind there is a seperate thread to discuss the use of DRS in Monaco

 

[tranquility2k9]

I think the hugely interesting factor in Monaco will be the tyres, with the soft and super-soft being brought. The super-soft was about 1 second quicker than the soft on the first lap, but then degraded much quicker. Therefore, I imagine the soft might actually be the optimum tyre for the race over a whole stint. We could see drivers going super-soft, soft, soft, soft. Thus getting a good qualifying position but being on the more durable tyre for the rest of the race and if 4 stops is necessary, they could put the super-soft back on at the end, on low fuel.

If this is how it pans out, you could see drivers using the super-soft in Q1 rather than the soft, as they want more newer fresh sets of soft tyres.

 

[downforce]

I actually don't see McLaren being as close to Red-Bull in Monte-Carlo as they were in Spain.

Last year the McLaren was good in high speed high downforce corners like turkey as opposed to low speed high downforce corners like Monaco. And I see similar traits this year.

Red-Bull are more consistent in downforce generation and seem to be better than the rest in low speed corners like monaco.

Also the Renault engine has more low power torque than the Mercedes which is what is needed at Monaco as opposed to absolute power. Its also more fuel efficient which will be a major advantage in the 1st half for this track.

Another thing is McLaren still have a long wheelbase which hurt them last year.

 

[LifeW12]

Someone is bound to try a one-stopper here, one of the Saubers or Force Indias