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Nico Rosberg makes it an F1 qualifying hatrick in Monaco

Nico Rosberg took his third pole position in a row today as Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix in a rain hit qualifying session.

The Red Bull drivers will be occupying the second row of the grid tomorrow, followed by Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso.

Q1 started just after rain hit Monaco – following three days of sunshine in the principality. The track was damp at the start of the session, making it necessary for everyone to come out on track on the intermediate Pirelli tyres.

Everyone headed out to get an early banker lap in, except for the three drivers who crashed during FP3, Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean and Adrian Sutil.

Jules Bianchi was struck out of the session early with an airbox fire, ending his session before it had really even started.

The Lotus F1 team got Grosjean out onto track in the final minutes of the session and repayed them by setting the fastest time after the session.

Ferrari were not able to get Felipe Massa’s car ready in time to get it out and he will start from the pit lane.

Giedo van der Garde was the greatest surprise of the first session, getting his Caterham into Q2. Paul di Resta, Charles Pic, Esteban Gutierrez, Max Chilton, Jules Bianchi and Felipe Massa were eliminated after Q1.

The second part of qualifying made it difficult for drivers to decide which tyres to be on as the track continued to dry. In the end they all opted for slicks. Van der Garde was the first driver to switch to the dry supersoft tyres and managed to out-qualify Pastor Maldonado and qualify an amazing P15 for the Caterham team.

Jean-Eric Vergne surprised all by securing his place in Q3 for the first time this year.
Grosjean, unfortunately was not able to make it through and blamed one of the Toro Rossos for holding him up.

Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Bottas, van der Garde and Maldonado were all eliminated after Q2.

The track was dry enough for everyone to head out on supersoft dry tyres for the third session. Lap times were falling like crazy as the track kept improving.

Alonso was one of the first drivers to change tyres and head out for his final run, giving him two chances to have a go at a time. But he only managed P6 with his final effort.

Despite how it after FP3, Ferrari and Lotus were nowhere near the battle for pole in qualifying and it was between the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers.

It was Nico Rosberg who went fastest with a 1.13.876 by the end of the session with Lewis Hamilton one tenth behind him.

Below are the full results for F1 Qualifying in Monaco.

May 25, 2013
Monaco Grand Prix FP3 Results – Nico Rosberg makes it 3 in a row

The third practice session at Monaco was pretty eventful. Things started off rather slowly but quickly the session became very incident filled.

Felipe Massa took a massive hit – something went wrong on his Ferrari and he smacked the left barrier entering into Sainte Devote, then went on into the barrier straight ahead. His Ferrari is severely damaged so Ferrari have a tough job getting the car ready before Qualifying later this afternoon. It is still unsure what went wrong, but speculation points to either a steering, or throttle failure.

Sutil was the next guy to take a hit. Damage to his Force India is also pretty severe so they’re another team who probably won’t be having a lunch break.

1 minute before the end of the session Romain Grosjean also smacked his car in Sainte Devote, adding Lotus to the no-lunch-break-teams.

It was Nico Rosberg who stamped his absolute authority on the session though, finishing 6 tenths faster than Grosjean in second place. His Mercedes is going to be tough to beat during qualifying but rain could still be a factor.

Here are the Monaco Grand Prix FP3 Results:

May 25, 2013
UPDATED: F1 Monaco Grand Prix Helmet Designs of 2013

Post Updated: 25 May 2013

Yup! It’s that time of year again. Drivers are known to bring new, blingy helmets to the Monaco Grand Prix and this year is no different. There are a number of cool new helmet designs we’ve spotted for the weekend so far. Here are the Monaco Grand Prix Helmet designs of a few of the drivers.

Sebastian Vettel has gone all out this year. His helmet reveals a (mostly) naked woman when it heats up. The top of the lid is a tribute of Monaco Grand Prix past, with images of moments of some of the greatest races in Monaco.

Around the back, is the pinup girl in her dainty little bikini. But that bikini is painted with heat activated paint and disappears once it’s warmed up. It becomes transparent and reveals her body adorned with two little stars in the appropriate places.

Lewis Hamilton’s Monaco Grand Prix Helmet design also stands out. A graffiti-type cartoon of Himself, girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger and his dog, Roscoe. Pretty cool helmet design really and definitely one that stands out.

Kimi Raikkonen’s Monaco Grand Prix Helmet design is a tribute to James Hunt, celebrating Hunt’s 40 anniversary debut Grand Prix. The inscription on the back above the Iceman insignia says “Kimi on the Hunt”. Lotus are also sporting Daft Punk on their side pods and at first we were unsure about the link but Sarah from @F1_Fans_Updates pointed out that it is most likely the Daft Punk song “Get Lucky” Lotus, who always use quirky hashtags for every race is using #GetLucky as their twitter hashtag for the weekend.

UPDATE: The FOM has decided that Kimi’s helmet breaks advertising rules. And he has been forced to black out the James Hunt tribute. Some say it has to do with advertising the movie, Rush. I see no Rush advertising though and the only other wording that could be a problem is the name James Hunt. For some reason last year James Hunt’s name was just fine facing the on board cameras, but this year it is a problem for the FOM. Kimi’s Helmet has been updated and the Hunt tribute has basically been blacked out.

F1sasha posted this hilarious take on the new helmet design.

UPDATE: During qualifying, Kimi had the James Hunt tribute back on his helmet so it seems as though Bernie and friends had a change of heart. Not sure what happened there, but happy that the James Hunt tribute is once again allowed.

Moving on, have a look at Charles Pic’s new Monaco helmet design. Lots of names on there so would have been strange if Kimi were not allowed the James Hunt tribute, and something like Pic’s helmet was allowed.

Jean-Eric Vergne has also brought a special helmet to Monaco. His helmet design is in honour of Francois Cevert, killed 40 years ago at the wheel of a Tyrrell at Watkins Glen. Vergne said, “I didn’t want to do the usual, glitzy, shiny Monaco helmet and this seemed like a nicer idea. For me Cevert represented ‘La Belle Epoque’ of Formula 1.”

Fernando Alonso revealed his helmet design on Twitter. A gold and white design featuring jigsaw puzzle pieces commemorating his Formula One victories throughout the years.

Daniel Ricciardo also showed off his helmet design on Twitter. His Monaco Grand Prix helmet design contains an image of Monaco’s spectacular harbour.

Romain Grosjean’s new helmet design is really just a slight diversion from his regular helmet adding a gambling stig holding all the cards 😉

Sergio Perez is another driver who took to Twitter to brag about his Monaco helmet design stating that the helmet will be auctioned off next week to raise money for charity.

Pastor Maldonado’s 2013 Monaco Helmet Design is quite unique too. A picture of Sainte Devote and the inscription, “No points … no party”. We like that. 🙂

Paul di Resta also tweeted a photo of his new helmet – a casino theme, featuring the icons of card suits on the lid of the helmet.

Jules Bianchi is also sporting a special design for his Monaco Grand Prix helmet. Not our favourite of the lot quite honestly.

Please check back for updates! This post will be updated as more images of the Monaco Grand Prix Helmet Designs become available.

Which is your favourite design so far? Let us know in the comments below.

May 23, 2013
Monaco Grand Prix Free Practice 2: Rosberg Makes it Two for Two

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg made it two from two this afternoon after topping the time sheets in Friday’s second practice session.

Lewis Hamilton finished in 2nd while the Ferrari’s of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa finished off 3rd and 4th respectively. The session wasn’t without incident this time round as Romain Grosjean had a little meeting with the barrier at the exit of Sainte Devote (Turn 1). Grosjean out braked himself into T1, locked up and went straight on towards the barrier. He ripped off his front left suspension and that was the end of his session. Shortly after the Grosjean incident the session was red flagged to allow the marshals to repair the kerbs at the swimming pool section (T13-T14).

There’s lot of talk of two stop strategies. Some even speculating that some teams might gamble with a one stop. And we all know how well the Lotus cars take care of their tyres. But for the moment Mercedes and Ferrari look very strong with Red Bull and Lotus not very far off the pace.

May 23, 2013
Monaco Grand Prix Free Practice 1: Rosberg Fastest in FP1

Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheets in Free Practice 1 of the Monaco Grand Prix.

On a sunny and warm Thursday in Monaco Merdeces’ Nico Rosberg was the fastest with a 1:16.195. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was second only 0.087s off the pace with a 1:16.282. Felipe Massa put his Ferrari in 4th with a 1:16.394. Lewis Hamilton could only manage 5th. The surprise was Williams’ Pastor Maldonado in 6th. The two Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber were 9th and 7th respectively. Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen could only manage 13th. His team mate, in the other Lotus, Romain Grosjean, finished in 3rd.

As we all know from Free Practice, these times are not representative of the absolute pace of the cars. We only get to know that during qualifying and to some extent in FP3.

We’ll be back again for Free Practice 2 at 14:00. As always you can follow us on Twitter at @F1_Madness for live updates.

May 23, 2013
Monaco Grand Prix Preview Quotes: Sauber F1 Team

Preview Quotes from the Sauber F1 team ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend.

Nico Hulkenberg: “I’m really looking forward to the Monaco Grand Prix. The circuit along with the backdrop of the principality are just fantastic, and the atmosphere is one of the best in the season. The track is one of a kind with extremely narrow streets that will punish every little mistake. This is a great challenge between me, the car and the track, and I always have a lot of fun driving there. In terms of performance, I’m quite positive. We’ve seen that the softer tyre compounds suit us quite well, which gives me confidence we’ll have a good weekend.”

Esteban Gutierrez: “Driving on the limit through the narrow streets of Monaco is something special that I am really looking forward to. It’s one of my favourite tracks. I’ve driven there in GP2 twice and competing there in a Formula 1 car will be even more challenging and interesting. It’s a high down force track with a lot of slow corners, and management of the rear tyres will be crucial. After the positive race in Barcelona, I am focusing on building on my performance there.”

Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering: “The circuit in Monaco is a real challenge for the drivers and the team. The track improves throughout the weekend and it’s important to give the drivers a set-up that gives them confidence as the barriers are very close. For Esteban it will be his first experience in a F1 car in Monaco, but his GP2 experience has given him a good reference. This will be the first race of the season where we use both the soft and super-soft tyres. We have some further updated aero parts to add to the package we took to Barcelona. Coming off the back of our better race pace in Barcelona, our aim is to qualify stronger, as this is particularly important in Monaco where overtaking is so difficult.”

May 22, 2013
Monaco Grand Prix Preview Quotes: Mercedes F1 team

Here are the Monaco Grand Prix Preview Quotes from the Mercedes F1 team:

Nico Rosberg: Monaco is always a fantastic weekend and it’s great to race in the city where I live. Knowing that all my family and friends are watching makes it very special and I love being able to drive from home into the paddock on a scooter! The surroundings definitely make Monaco the coolest track on the calendar and the atmosphere over the weekend is great. I have good memories from the race last year after finishing in second place and I hope we can get another good result this time around. At the moment we have a good car for qualifying which helps in Monaco as it’s the most important qualifying session of the year as track position is so important. So that might be helpful for us but there are so many unknowns, especially with the tyres, so we will just have to wait and see.

Lewis Hamilton: Whilst there hasn’t been a lot of time since Barcelona, we’ve been working hard to put the disappointment of the last race behind us and focus on the opportunities ahead. Monaco is one of my favourite races of the year and I love driving the streets there. As a driver, you know that you have to perform on every single lap and it’s a challenge that I really enjoy. It’s a real experience to see the barriers flashing past at high speed and I love the fact that the fans can get so close to the track making for a great atmosphere. Perhaps more than at many other tracks, qualifying and getting the best possible track position is crucial in Monaco, but we have to keep our focus on Sunday as well and keep working to improve our race pace. Everyone is working really hard and I know we can get there. We just need to keep motivated and work it out together.

Ross Brawn: Monaco is a not usually a race to which teams bring many updates because the track conditions change so much across the weekend. The priority is always to get the drivers comfortable with the unique challenge the circuit presents and to give them a set-up they feel confident pushing to the limit. Both Nico and Lewis have historically been incredibly competitive in Monaco and this weekend will certainly allow their talent to shine. The engineering team will be focused on getting the most from our car on the slow, bumpy layout and there will of course be particular emphasis on achieving tyre consistency and durability. Meanwhile, our work continues back at Brackley and Brixworth to fully understand the reasons for our below-par race performance in Barcelona, in order to develop the right solutions for the upcoming circuits where high tyre usage could once again be a limitation for us.

Toto Wolff: Monaco is the most famous race in our sport and a special moment of every Formula One season. The narrow streets will give our drivers the perfect opportunity to display their talents and, historically, the team’s cars have performed strongly there in terms of pure speed. However, it is clear to everybody in the team that, while we have a strong car right now, we are not able to use that performance properly on Sunday afternoon. Although overtaking in Monaco is difficult, we cannot afford to be complacent in terms of tyre management and we will need to do significantly better than we managed in Barcelona in order to score a strong result. We have only scored points with one of our cars at the past three races and this is something we must improve quickly, beginning next weekend in Monte-Carlo.

May 22, 2013
F1 2013: Lowe blow for McLaren

McLaren’s techincal director Paddy Lowe is join the Mercedes team in June after recieving an early release from McLaren.

Lowe will start work at Mercedes on 3 June but was originally expected to see out his contract with McLaren until the end of the year. Lowe will join the Mercedes team as executive technical director and will work closely with team principal Ross Brawn.

“I am excited to become part of a highly talented and capable technical organisation, ” said Lowe about his move.

“The team has already produced probably the fastest car of the 2013 season while the technical challenges of the new regulations for 2014 will give us the opportunity to maximise the synergies available to a works manufacturer.

“That is a challenge I am relishing. I have worked closely with Mercedes-Benz for almost 20 years and deeply admire the company’s phenomenal commitment to Formula 1. I look forward to much success together in the years ahead.”

No wonder Lewis feels so at home!

May 22, 2013
F1 2013: Kimi Raikkonen – cool on F1 future

Lotus F1 team driver Kimi Raikkonen is remaining unaffected by the buzz that surrounds his future in Formula 1.

The Finnish driver’s contract with the Enstone based team ends at the end of the season but he is in no hurry to sign a new deal, with anyone for that matter. “I am not in a hurry. If I was desperate for a contract I would have already tried to sign it last year,” said Raikkonen. “I would rather do my work well and if I do well I am sure I will get the contract I want.”

Speculation about a possible move to Red Bull, as replacement for Mark Webber, has intensified in 2013 but Raikkonen remains impassive to all of it. At this stage everything from leaving F1 to a team switch seems to be on the table for the 2007 world champion.

Raikkonen’s long-term manager Steve Robertson says it is obvious that the Finn would be considered the hottest property on the driver’s market.

“Kimi has done a brilliant job with Lotus so it’s no secret that, at the moment, he is the hottest driver available for next year,” he told Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

“You know what a good job a driver is doing when a team (Lotus) starts talking so early about next year,” added Robertson.

But dont expect a decision to make soon.

“When I know what will happen I will tell and it is as simple as that, but I am sure it is not going to be the next race or the race after that.

“It will take time whatever the decision.”

May 22, 2013
F1: 2013: Monte Carlo, timeless perfection

For more times than I could remember I have imagined a Formula 1 car hurtling down my street, braking hard for the ninety degree turn just beyond my gates and planting the throttle which would induce that chill down the back of your spine as the magnificent whine of that V8 engine bounces off the surrounding buildings. If you live in Monte Carlo, this is no fantasy.

In one way or another, since 1929, racing cars have flashed through the sun drenched streets of Monte Carlo and through the decades has become the most prestigious motor race in the world. The 2013 edition of the Monaco grand prix will mark the 71^st race to be run in the Principality.

Throughout its rich history many drivers have left their mark in the annals of this track’s history books. As a result of five victories around the famous streets, Graham Hill was christened ‘Mr Monaco’ and Formula 1 legends Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher took five victories a pair. The undisputed master around the tight and twisting Monte Carlo streets was unquestionably the incomparable Ayrton Senna. Of the Brazilian idol’s six unforgettable victories it was the 1989 race that yielded one of Senna’s most memorable quotes. “There is a rhythm… something like a perfect melody. Not always… but in any case I am always looking for that melody. And when I have found it I drive in a different dimension. I sense and I feel much more than I calculate. These rare moments are marvellous.”

Now it is time for someone else to become the winner of this extraordinary race. The winner may be amongst the current contenders for the world championship. Fernando Alonso has big momentum on his side and a tremendously fast Ferrari; Kimi Raikkonen brings to Monaco a car that has shown improved pace in qualifying – immensely important around the Anthony Noghes circuit. The championship leader, Sebastian Vettel wants to re-assert his dominance but problems with the tyres and a more than handy teammate around the streets may scupper his plans.

Mercedes could throw their hat into the ring and almost certainly will come qualifying. But will qualifying performance mean anything in the face of severe rear tyre wear in the race? Whichever driver is to be the eventual winner on Sunday it is nearly impossible to win the race from anywhere but the first two rows of the grid. “Overtaking is almost impossible, so to really enjoy racing there you have to be in the front,” said 2005 winner Kimi Raikkonen.

There isn’t just something special about the Monaco grand prix, everything about it is exceptional. The quick changes of direction between Ste Devote and Casino Square, the dark, very fast and loud tunnel, the mega fast left-right chicane just after Tabac at the entry to the swimming pool – all unite in the most exhilarating experience for both driver and fan.

*A small reminder that free practice 1 and 2 at Monaco will be run on Thursday as opposed to Friday.

May 22, 2013