Grand Prix 2019 Monaco Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Ah the monaco gp the glitz the glamour, the yachts, the harbour, the jewel in the crown & according to reports the most viewed race globally at 110 million viewers. it is the only Grand Prix that does not have to adhere to the FIA's mandated 305 km minimum race distance for F1 races. so its 78laps instead of 91. sad story for the 1st ever winner of monaco gp in 1929 William Grover-Williams who was captured & killed by the nazis in final few months of the war remaining.

but on brighter news. when you think of the Monaco GP you cant help of think of

Sainte devote - the corner that is 100m from Sainte-Dévote Chapel that is named after & dedicated to Saint Devota, the patron saint of Monaco.

Casino square - which has been Featured in 3 bond films & also in weird quirk Charles Leclerc is forbidden by law to even set foot in the Casino. because its illegal for people born in monaco but legal for people of other nationality but live in monaco

Mirabeau - the ex mirabeau hotel, now luxury apartments on rumoured the most expensive street by square ft in the world. & if you have a spare 37.5m euros you can buy the 6 room apartment that's for sale

Fairmont (lowes) hotel - which if you fancy a night there at end of the june just set you back £508

Tabac - on the outside of the corner is the tobacconist

Swimming pool - or The Rainier III Nautical Stadium which has a heated saltwater Olympic-size swimming pool, with 1m 3m 5m & 10m diving platforms & apparently the pool is converted into a 1,000m ice rink from December to March

La Rascasse - where if you fancy a meal at the restaurant. mushroom risotto costs €12, cheeseburger & fries €11 or creme brulee for €7

Anthony Nouges - the founder of the Monaco GP, set up the Automobile Club de Monaco, helped create the Rallye Monte-Carlo in 1911 & He suggested the international adoption of the checkered flag to end races.

On the race its hard to get exited about the championship because we had so much hope preseason after the anti climaxs of 2017 & 2018 but wheels have come off Ferrari before weve only just begun. the constructors championship is all but over seems like 2014 & 2016 where the drivers title is also off to mercedes but which side of the garage is it going to. The circuit some love it some hate it. for me im a fan, its the biggest test of a driver to thread it through the barriers not just the race but Practise & Qualifying because as max verstappen proved in 2018 when he effectively handed the monaco gp to his teammate in FP3 when he slammed it into his wall in a qualy dress rehearsal. i think the race gets more stick than it deserves. because it has more memorable moments than most over the last decade just 2011 & 2013 where a bit boring & anonymous then in the past 1981 1982 1984 1992 1996. also if we are going to have a boring race then at give me monaco over catalunya any day.

Finally a big rarity for
only the 3rd time after Louis Chiron who made podium in 1950 & Oliver Beretta 8th 2 laps down in 1994, we have a monasque in his home race on the grid in charles leclerc. although hopefully he will have better luck than when came in F2 which a chance to win got pole. but in feature & sprint if it could go wrong it did. so maybe could be the 1st ever monasque pole sitter or 1st driver to finish in the top 2
 
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I still love Monaco, mainly for the onboard footage and for Saturday, and also but less so for the sheer razzmatazz and history. Monaco still encapsulates a large slice of F1 as it always has been - exotic, refined, extreme. Sunday can be a bit of a let down - the trick of course is not to expect a good race. Then it’s more than bearable. Enjoy! And good luck to Leclerc. And Max.
 
yeah & their circuit even more impossible to overtake. can you imagine bird going from 14th to 6th in F1

I only wish I could :rolleyes: So it was a slightly different circuit then was it? I can't watch it as I've explained before, but a friend of mine who did said he thought it was slightly different.
 
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I only wish I could :rolleyes: So it was a slightly different circuit then was it? I can't watch it as I've explained before, but a friend of mine who did said he thought it was slightly different.

yes they didnt use any of the 1st of the track. no sainte devote casino square mirabeau or tunnel turned even more left down whats normally new chicane run off. used that as a hair pin. then track as normal
 
the only thing they've done to Monaco in recent years is to remove barriers so there is more space like St Devote and coming out of the tunnel and kept the circuit layout the same despite reclaimed land which means there are run off areas

I miss the old Monaco, it was easy to slap the car into the barrier from one mistake. Not only that but Senna's pole lap when you watch the on board camera is just unbelievable to watch. That was a real challenge over 30 gear changes in the lap and over 2500 in the race when you had to do everything manually
 
yes they didnt use any of the 1st of the track. no sainte devote casino square mirabeau or tunnel turned even more left down whats normally new chicane run off. used that as a hair pin. then track as normal

I see, so quite a bit different then. Ta for explaining that :)
 
Saw the Formula E race on the shorter version of Monaco and the thing was it was possible to overtake if the cars were skinnier and you did not have aero trouble following . Maybe someone in F1 should take note how Monaco can be more exciting
 
RasputinLives At least it was possible to make a pass though. The problem with F1 the cars are too wide and the DRS to the start and finish straight does not really work because the St Devote chicane positioning makes it impossible
 
I caught up with a newish series yesterday. It finished with four cars way ahead of the rest of the field, all these had been in the first four on the grid plus one more was dnf. There was only one change of the order except when one driver made a bad boob.

The second group was led after very early on by one driver who was busy ensuring that no-one could get past him despite being slower than most of them. In that second group there was some overtaking, but it was too far back to make any difference.

At the end there was a big crash which made a nonsense of the order of the finishers.
 
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