Grand Prix 2013 Monaco Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

After the excitement of Spain the GP circus moves on to the glamour of Monaco, the longest serving race on the F1 calendar. Monaco, I'm sure, is probably the most testing circuit of the season for the drivers. Hurtling millimetres from unforgiving armco barriers at speeds of up to 180 mph, trying to wrestle 700 plus horsepower engines through tight and twisty corners with no hint of a run off area and having to cope with going from broad daylight into a tunnel with your foot planted hard to the floor before bursting back into the sunlight metres from probably the tightest chicane on any track, anywhere.

It is, almost certainly, the most marmite race on the season. Many love the glamour, the history and the challenge for the drivers. Others feel it is an anachronism in 21st century sport, that it is dangerous and doesn't show F1 at it's best with virtually no opportunity to overtake anywhere on the circuit. Whatever your feelings toward Monaco it isn't going anywhere soon and, I believe, is the only race which can thumb it's nose at FOM when they come along asking for money to allow the race to run. As important to Formula One as Ferrari apparently.

The battle at the top of the WDC leader board has closed up post Spain. Fernando Alonso & Ferrari were outstanding in the Catalan race and the team chose exactly the right tactics to help him win on home ground. Red Bull looked out of sorts, third best behind the Ferrari's and the Lotus Renaults (in Kimi Raikkonen's hands at least).

The tyres should probably not have quite so much of an influence on the racing in Monaco as they have in other races so far this season and Pirelli are planning changes to the rubber to give a maximum of 3 pit stops. Maybe this will help Mercedes, who appear to suffer most of the top teams with decaying rubber. Either that or Ross Brawn should remove the cheese graters Adrian Newey screwed on next to the tyres on the Merc when no one was looking.

If Mercedes manage to show the one lap pace they have elsewhere this season this could be their best chance for a win as they can lead a train around the track. However, it's hard to see past Alonso and, without some mistakes and mechanical failures, you can imagine he would have a VERY healthy lead in the drivers race by now. Perhaps the better driveability of the Renault engines will allow Lotus and Red Bull to mount a more serious challenge to Ferrari. Could someone like Force India spring a surprise, or McLaren? Sorry Macca fans, a little joke there. I shouldn't get your hopes up.

Meanwhile, down at the back. Aww, who cares as long as they get out of the way when being lapped, or get in the way depending on which driver arrives behind them. No safety cars so far this year, some how I'll be shocked if Monaco doesn't give Bert Mylander his first outing.

So Monaco, remember FP1 and 2 are on the Thursday as Friday is a religious holiday for Monegasques. Who'd have thought all those millionaires were so religious. Hope you all enjoy the race, or doing the ironing or gardening if it get's too dull/exciting (delete as appropriate).
 
lets say Red Bull were outpaced again and they are going to a circuit they have never won before and where Vettel choked next race
 
I think Rosberg showed great maturity rather than anything else. He pulled out some gaps when he needed to at the end of the SC and drapeau rouge.

In a car that eats tyres at that speed, I think maintaining the gap is the sensible option, especially on such a difficult overtaking track. For all the slow speed, he was never threatened by Red Bull.
 
Lewis was also caught out by the Red Bull's seemingly having the opportunity to pass the safety car (and lap at speed) as it waited to pick up the leader, Rosberg.

What I really don't understand about the tyre management bit is why Nico and Lewis weren't instructed to do ball's out in-laps to pit in response to Vettel pitting.

These go hand in hand. When the SC picked up the Red Bulls, Mercedes reasoned that all cars would continue lapping to the SC delta. Therefore they instructed Hamilton to leave a 6 second gap (prior to SC they had nowhere near 6 seconds to spare). When the Bulls were inexplicably released to race back to the line, the gap that had been reasonably expected to remain dissipated very quickly.
 
the idea that the Red Bulls were racing under safety car conditions is nonsense and the safety car always allows cars to pass until it picks up the race leader if it didn't the leader in this case would have ended up in about mid pack or if he came out in front of the safety car then Nico would have had to do a whole lap and ended up at the back of the pack and so would Lewis because a driver is not allowed to leave the pits mid train he has to wait until it has passed and join it at the back leaving the Red Bulls I and 2..
 
Has anyone satisfactorily explained why the RB's were released from behind the safety car?

No.

On the "SkyPad", Davidson showed just how much ground the Red Bulls made up after they were released. They were unequivocally racing back to the finish line.

I actually think the SC/FIA was expecting to pick up the Mercedes cars, but they decided to stay out for another lap.
 
Raikkonen was reprimanded for speeding during the SC period. The RBRs weren't. So I doubt that they were actually driving too fast.

Although they may have achieved their "Delta" time over the whole lap, as they did roughly 1/2 of the lap behind the SC, they were absolutely racing from Portier homeward.
 
KekeTheKing as I explained in my post above the safety car always and has to let all the cars pass until it picks up the lead car otherwise in this case if it hadn't Sebastian would have won the race with Webber second and the Mercs god knows where, out of the points probably...
 
Mephistopheles....

I don't disagree with the principle of your post, but the likely outcome isn't correct; essentially, had the safety car picked up Vettel - and kept them behind, then when the cars formed up behind the safety car, the Red Bulls would have been about a lap behind! Had the safety car been deployed immediately, though, it would have picked up the Mercs straight away, and they'd have had to spend a lap behind it, on their way to the pits, and THAT might have caused them to lose a huge amount of time to the Red Bulls!
 
Yes of course sorry, but either way it wouldn't have been correct to not allow the Red Bulls pass until Merc had finish both pitstops and then let them pass that would also have been wrong you can't purposely gift someone a free pitstop.

That fact is Mercedes screwed up, it's no good blaming Red Bull or the Safety car...
 
It's not about blame, it's about explaining the circumstances. It certainly was a miscalculation on Mercedes part and better strategy and timing whether by luck or judgement on the part of Red Bull. In total that cost Hamilton two places. Let's not get hung up on interpreting every explanation as apportioning blame. Personally, I try to leave that for total **** ups and totally dozy or dangerous incidents.

Of course I knee jerk as much as the next person for which I do apologise :)
 
Yeah, me too. They can check the sector times. If they're too fast it'd show. Instead Mercedes say Hamilton was driving too slow. So is Hamilton. Unless proof is given that the RBRs were driving too fast, I'm inclined to believe Mercedes and Hamilton.
 
Hamilton was 3 seconds behind Rosberg on lap 30, then ended up 10 seconds down after pitting on the same lap. That's what cost him his place to the Red Bulls.
 
So, if I have this right, Lewis being 3 sec's behind Roserg was effectively asked to lose a further 3. At the same time Rosberg was given a hurry up and the Red Bull's were able to optimise their lap times in the process of joining the safety car parade Lewis is apparently beating himself up over the lost time when in fact it was a combination of factors (as is usual in all things). The question I have remains: Why did Mercedes pit wall instruct Lewis to maintain a 6 sec' gap - which would be hard to do without knowing exactly what Nico's pace was - instead of just letting things pan out, and with Lewis as close to Nico as possible?
 
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