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/
 
Great! Just a few days till Monaco! It should be another similar race to this weekends in the fact that overtaking will not be as important as tyres. We really are getting a mixed bag this year which is great. I'd say this weekends race was best of the season, although maybe China should be, but it felt a little artificial really.

It looks like it could be a tight race. Lewis needs to finish ahead of Vettel. Could be dramatic. :D
 
If there is one thing to be sure of for next week, people won't be dodging qualifying like they did yesterday. The race itself could well be determined by a perfectly timed undercut or poor pitstop.
 
Yeah the Principality takes centre stage next weekend :). Can't wait as it's only a few days away and is this the first double header of the season, can't remember?

Reckon we could be in for a cracking race next weekend. Mclaren could come out winners (hoping to god i haven't jinxed them now) as they car is more suited to a track like Monaco. But i'm not counting my chickens yet as this race is the longest of the season and anything can happen in the 78 laps around Monaco. But for the shake of both championships i hope a Mclaren driver wins the race and we see a 1-2 from them.

Also gonna keep my eye on Renault during this race, i think they car will also be much more suited to Monaco than any other track thats been and gone.

Fingers-crossed that Di Resta can claw some points in his first time at Monaco aswell.
 
With the Pirelli tyres, DRS, and KERS, coupled with the relative narrowness of the circuit and a lack of passing places, this race could end up being blighted by safety cars.

Therefore it really is anyone's guess as to who will eventually win.

Either that or it will be a procession as usual :D
 
They may as well not bother having it then, it'll change nothing at all, the straight is short and curved
 
Don't like to repeat myself but

"Monaco? Doesn't matter where they put it, it's a recipe for safety car after safety car. Despite the best efforts of the superb Monaco marshalls (best in the F1 world) I predict the race will run for two hours and will not complete 78 laps. The only (convincing) overtakes will be by the helicopter so expect to see fantastic aerial views of the Cote de Azure.:)"

Nothing I saw today changed my mind.:thinking: .... yet.
 
I think we know too little about the DRS to say it is going to be such a problem at Monaco. I think the most likely thing is it will do nothing at all. The main reason it will likely have a fair bit of safety cars will be due to tyres. I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing some dramatic collisions - safely of course. There hasn't been a lot of dramatic DNFs this year. I'm also interested to see how safety cars will play into the teams strategies. The mad dash in the pits for tyres will surely happen at least once considering anytime there is a safety car it will be like a free pit stop, unless you've only just pitted.

Overall though, this is the one i'm most looking forward to so far this season. It's Monaco. It's so unique. Almost an anomaly in the F1 calendar. I can't wait for practice. If there is ever going to be drama in practise, this is the circuit. I really think there should be a few more circuits like Monaco. It is the ultimate test for a driver to prove themselves.
 
@slyboogy

That was a great lap. He gets so close to those barriers at 0:56ish and 1:02ish. At those speeds, it takes bravery. So hope he comes back fulfills his potential.
 
Well we saw its not actually the length of the DRS zone its the corner before it that makes the big difference, The section in Turkey was geared towards overtaking so that is why there was more compared to Spain even though the zone in Spain was longer.
 
Overall though, this is the one i'm most looking forward to so far this season. It's Monaco. It's so unique. Almost an anomaly in the F1 calendar. I can't wait for practice. If there is ever going to be drama in practise, this is the circuit. I really think there should be a few more circuits like Monaco. It is the ultimate test for a driver to prove themselves.

If that happened, it wouldn't really make it unique now would it? ;)
 
Yes, every time we saw the flaps open today it just looked too late. Might have been more use if the effective zone was just off the corner.

Edit: Slow again. Responding to MCLS post before Sly's.
 
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