Tag: monte carlo

Alonso eyeing points in Monaco

Fernando Alonso is eyeing to score his first points for the season at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix and is optimistic that McLaren can challenge for points.

McLaren has had a dismal start to their season and is yet to score a point since reuniting with Honda at the start of 2015. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Alonso progressed through to Q2 during qualifying but retired from the race when a visor tear-off strip caused a brake failure. His team mate Jenson Button also had a very difficult run, labeling the car as being “scary to drive” and finished in 16th position.

Alonso however is hopeful that McLaren-Honda can compete for a top 10 postition around the streets of Monte Carlo.

“Monaco is one of those circuits that’s in its own league,” Alonso said. “Although it’s almost impossible to overtake there, it still produces one of the most impressive and exciting shows on the Formula 1 calendar.

“As a circuit and as a place, it’s completely unique, and this is what makes it so special. There are three areas you have to focus on for this Grand Prix – qualifying, concentration, and strategy.

“Saturday is where you can increase your chances of getting a good result from the weekend, so this will be our first objective, and I’m hopeful we can continue to strengthen our qualifying performance and improve our starting position.

“On Sunday, the most important thing is concentration – the streets are so narrow and twisty that there is no margin for error – so if you can do this and also maximise your strategy, you have the best chance of moving up the order by the end of the race.

“My home race in Barcelona was obviously a frustrating weekend for the whole team; we were unlucky with how my race ended and we firmly believed we could’ve achieved a positive result there.

“Our fighting spirit is still strong though, and we’re determined to take that to Monaco and see how much progress we can make there. I’m hopeful our car will perform better there than in Spain, and we’ll be pushing again to get into the points.”

Fernando Alonso Photo Credit: McLaren F1

May 18, 2015
Rosberg Rules Monaco Streets

From magical drives throughout the decades to duelling teammates in 2014, the streets of Monte Carlo have seen it all.

Since the Bahrain Grand Prix the duel between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg has been simmering just below the surface. In Monaco, a controversial moment in Saturday qualifying nearly detonated the tension between the two.

Lewis Hamilton v Nico Rosberg

As brilliantly as Lewis Hamilton has played the psychological game with his teammate, Rosberg has landed his own mental blows on the Brit this weekend. A controversial mistake in qualifying stopped Hamilton from potentially securing pole position. Most significantly, Hamilton seemed convinced that Rosberg’s trip down the escape road, which brought out yellow flags, was anything but accidental. The stewards found no fault with Rosberg’s actions and he kept his pole position.

Subsequent statements from Hamilton in the press suggested that the relationship between the two was icy at best. Nonplussed by Hamilton’s remarks or attitude, Rosberg maintained the lead off the line and managed the 78 lap race with a determined Hamilton breathing down his neck for the majority of the afternoon.

For all of Hamilton’s talk he delivered no challenge to Rosberg where it matters most – on the Monte Carlo streets. He got to within a couple of tenths of the car in front but did not feint a pass even once. In fact, Rosberg achieved much more than victory this weekend. He almost entirely erased Hamilton’s month-long mind games with the single lock of a wheel. Intentional or not, Rosberg got inside Hamilton’s head. It upset the 2008 champion to the point where he didn’t want to participate in the post-qualifying press conferences and suggested that he may take a page out of Senna’s book to deal with his teammate.

If Hamilton was upset with Saturday’s result, and the steward’s subsequent findings, he was entitled to his own opinion and feelings. However, his failure to accept defeat and blatant refusal to congratulate his teammate is disappointing. There are few who would disagree that Lewis Hamilton is a great driver but his sportsmanship could use some improvement.

Bad Luck Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen rocketed off the line and flew past teammate Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo. The Finn ran solidly in third nine seconds off the leading Mercedes duo but the second safety car would bring an end to any podium aspirations. As the lapped Marrussia of Max Chilton overtook he clipped the back wheel of the Ferrari causing a puncture. Raikkonen was forced back into the pitlane and out of contention. The former champ told Finnish TV after the race that his team had not informed him at what point lapped cars would be overtaking and that he felt that a third place finish was a serious possibility.

Raikkonen attempted a comeback into the points by passing several cars but ended up in the barriers of the Lowes hairpin with light damage. The Finn received a reprimand from the stewards for causing a collision with Kevin Magnussen.

Ricciardo Shines

Daniel Ricciardo continues to deliver for his new Red Bull team while teammate Sebastian Vettel once again suffers a reliability issue. An issue with the Renault Turbo unit cut Vettel’s 100th F1 race short. However, Ricciardo made the most of what he was dealt and once again delivered a solid drive for the final step of the podium.

Fernando Alonso finished a distant and anonymous fourth and Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg held on for fifth place. Jenson Button’s sixth place gave McLaren its first point finish in three races ahead of Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Jules Bianchi and Kevin Magnussen.

Brilliant Bianchi

Jules Bianchi was the star driver of the day as the Frenchman secured the first ever points for the Marussia team. Despite a five second stop/go penalty Bianchi finished in ninth place. Through whatever means it came about credit is due to the Marussia F1 Team. So often the smaller teams in F1 are forgotten but they fight as hard as anyone for every square inch of tarmac and that hard work has finally paid off for the team from Banbury.

Lewis Hamilton was affected by a vision problem late in the race which caused him to lose sight of his teammate. It cleared up a few laps later and this time he was able to maintain his position. If he is to be the champion again it is important for Hamilton to rise above the psychology of the fight and keep his eye on the prize.

Photos by Courtesy Pirelli and Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1

May 26, 2014
2014 Monaco Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

DRIVERS

1st Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

2nd Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

3rd Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Benedict Cumberbatch)

Nico, congratulations, man – a home win for the home boy. How did it feel? You had Lewis very, very close to you all the race but you held on to your lead. How was it?

Nico ROSBERG: A very, very special day for sure. Lewis drove really, really well and pushed me massively hard, so the pressure was on all the way. But I kept it cool and, yeah, was able to win, in the end pulling a bit of a gap because I had the fresher tyres. So, fantastic and I’m very, very happy for the whole team, it’s an amazing car they’ve built and given us this year.

Congratulations, well done to the Monaco boy. Lewis, how are you? Tell us a little bit about what happened on the 56^th lap? You got something in your eye?

Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, just through the visor… but anyway that’s not important. It was a good day and really good for the team to get a one-two.

You had [Daniel Ricciardo] right close behind. How was it? You started second and finished second and how are things with your team-mate, I think people want to know?

LH: I had great pace, you know, obviously I felt I was very strong today but it’s a very, very difficult circuit to overtake on…

It’s incredibly thrilling to watch, you were all incredible out there, the closeness of the cars…

LH: Thank you. Fortunately we didn’t make any mistakes, so….

Daniel, well done, man. Nice to meet you; Benedict. Tell us a little bit about your race. You were in third for a while, then the pit stops, tell us a little about your strategy.

Daniel RICCIARDO: Firstly, it’s really nice to be up here on the podium in Monaco.

It’s your first podium here isn’t it? Congratulations.

DR: Yeah, thank you. The start was not great, I dropped back to fifth actually. A bit of frustration but then we saw Vettel had a problem, so we were able to get fourth and then we saw Raikkonen had a puncture on one of the safety cars. So we sort of inherited third after a poor start…

You got very close to Lewis. You were right on his gearbox at the end?

DR: At the end we really closed in. I believe he had an issue. We tried to put some pressure on but in the end third was the best we could do.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Congratulations Nico – a two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner, only a handful of drivers have ever done that before. Fifth consecutive one-two finish for the Mercedes team and you are back on top of the Drivers’ standings. Can you sum up what this win means for you today in the context of tyhe4 battle with Lewis for the championship?

NR: Yeah, it’s a special win, definitely, because Lewis has had the momentum with the results and everything and I really needed to try to break that momentum and somewhat I managed to do that this weekend. Of course taking the leading again in the world championship and winning here in Monaco, yeah, all in all really, really cool.

Well done. Lewis, obviously the momentum is broken for the moment. We heard you on the radio quite a lot after the safety car and the pit stops, questioning and speaking about the strategy calls. Obviously you pitted together under the safety car. Had there been a thought that you might try to undercut Nico before that? Can you explain to us what the conversation was about?

LH: I don’t remember to be honest. I don’t. I think they saw a crash and normally under the crash we could have come in and I really should have come in but the team didn’t call us in. We really should have pitted that lap.

Fair enough. Daniel, your first Monaco podium. Can you describe your feelings about that and looking back across qualifying and the race is there any way you could have got a better result than the one you got today.

DR: To describe the feeling, it’s really nice to be up here. Could we have done better? I don’t know. I felt yesterday that we left a little bit of lap time on there. Where that would have jumped on the grid, who knows. After that, the race itself – the start was not good, not what I wanted. I actually dropped back to fifth and then Seb had his problems, still not sure what, but pretty evident he had problems when he slowed on the straight. Then Raikkonen I saw got a puncture under the safety car, so I got third and then pretty much was just trying to maintain the gap behind me to Alonso. Then when I thought there was enough or the right amount of laps left before the end to push and not really save tyres anymore, I did and went for it. We got close to at least one of the Mercedes at the end but you know what it’s like around here, it’s quite hard to pass. Tried to put a bit of pressure on but third was the best we could do but not a bad day.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello sport) A question for Nico and Lewis. We have seen that there is a pretty tense situation between the two of you and we also heard comments from Lauda saying you did not want to talk and apologise. Are you going to have a pizza together, a dinner, to sort the problems, talk about it and try to get the situation back to normal.

NR: It’s fine. We’ve had discussions and the benefit we have is that we’ve known each other for so long. We always sit down and discuss it and then move on and that’s what we’re doing this weekend also.

Lewis?

LH: I don’t really have an answer for you there.

Q: (Oana Popoiu – F1 Zone) I have a question for Lewis. Niki Lauda said that in Barcelona you used an engine mode you were told not to and you had to apologise to Nico for that. Do you think that that mode would have helped you win the race today?

LH: No… today we were using all the modes. In the last race it was a mode that didn’t really affect the outcome of the race. We were told that we had to stay in a certain mode. Nico did it in Bahrain and I did it in Barcelona. In this race we stuck to the strategies we had to stick.

NR: I don’t know what Niki is referring to but it’s completely normal that we switch modes together you know, we always do that in the races. It’s nothing unusual.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Lewis, yesterday you told the BBC that you might handle the situation with Nico like Senna would. What did you mean by that?

LH: I don’t know. I can’t really remember to be honest. I think it was just a joke. Obviously I didn’t.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) I think you said on the radio that you had a problem with your eye in the closing stages. What happened there?

LH: I’ve never really had it before. I kept making sure my visor was as closed as possible but I had quite a bit of wind coming in. I got close to Nico at one stage and all of a sudden I got a bit of debris in my eye, or some dirt, so I was driving with one eye, which is virtually impossible to do and so through the low-speed corners I was trying to open up my visor to clear it up but it was just making it worse. Fortunately, I think with five laps to go it cleared up so I was able to stay ahead of Daniel.

Q: (Vincent Marre – Sports Zeitung) in the last days Nico was mentioning that the previous races were not one-to-one races. What do you think Lewis about this race or this race weekend. Was it a one-to-one races.

LH: I don’t fully understand the question.

Q: (Vincent Marre – Sports Zeitung) last day Nico Rosberg was mentioning that the previous races were not one-to-one races, relating to the weather, because you were winning the races and this time he’s winning the race and I want to know if you think this weekend is a one-to-one race for you?

LH: I’m still not fully understanding it, but all the races have been very, very close but this weekend I think I had very good pace. I drove with all my heart and gave it all I could, fairly, and I feel like I drove fairly all weekend. So I leave today quite happy and I can go into the next race with even more energy and determination.

Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Lewis, it seems pretty clear to us that you feel aggrieved with the events that occurred yesterday in qualifying. Is this it now for you? Is it gloves off in your battle with Nico? And secondly, do you feel that you are getting full and fair support from the team?

LH: Generally, there is a fierce battle between me and Nico and it will continue that way to I’m sure quite late in the season. Nico’s not had a single hiccup through the season so far. Obviously I had a car that didn’t finish in Melbourne but otherwise it’s still quite close, so I’m just going to keep my head up, keep pushing. I know the team are working hard for the both of us. The team can sometimes be in awkward positions, which they were yesterday, and their job is really to protect us both and that’s what they did.

Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Question for Nico: you were being told to back-off and coast with fuel. How critical was your fuel?

NR: Yeah, the fuel was very critical and caught me off-guard a little bit because it was a major change that I had to make and especially with Lewis being so close behind, it was a tough moment because I had to change the driving style completely, use different gears, different lifting and coasting, everything different. But, again, the team managed that well and got me to do what I needed to do. And then, once I got into the groove again, it was OK and everything… it was no problem them. But it was still difficult.

Q: (Jussi Jäkälä – YLE) Nico, 31 years ago Keke won here, today you are double Monaco winning. Which do you think is prouder at the moment: you or your Dad?

NR: I don’t know. I hope… of course my father is proud today and that makes me very happy, that I’m able to make my parents proud. Hopefully even my friends, for example, who all were here also this weekend and that makes it all the more special to have family, friends, everybody I know lives here and is at the track watching the race and that’s even nicer.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) One question to Nico and one to Daniel. Nico, you said that you had to break the momentum, since Lewis is coming from four consecutive wins. Is this your most important victory so far? And to you Daniel, from what we have seen today from Red Bull, are you going to have the pace to challenge Mercedes in Montreal in two weeks?

NR: I don’t know about the most important. For sure it was very, very important, yes, today because Lewis had the result moment and I needed to try and bring that to an end and managed to do that today, so that’s great but, y’know, it’s still early days and for sure it’s going to continue to be a very, very tough battle.

Daniel?

DR: I think, yeah, we closed up a bit here in Monaco which we knew would be our best chance up until now. This circuit definitely suits our package a bit better than previous circuits – we still didn’t finish in front so, unfortunately, it’s still not where we want to be. Montreal is still a street circuit but unfortunately the straights go on a little bit longer there so we’re still down a little bit in that area, which I think everyone’s aware of and we’ve made progress. Whether it will be enough by then, honestly, probably not but we are closing the gap so, that’s all we can ask for, for now, and just keep chipping away at it and be patient. I’m sure a bit of perseverance as well and we’ll get there.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo Online) Daniel, for sure as a driver you must trust in yourself but in any moment did you believe you could beat Vettel in the way this season you are beating him in qualifying and the race?

DR: I didn’t really have any visions exactly on how it would go, what the race results would be or what the qualifying score would be – but I knew that I have some talent and obviously got a bit of experience now in Formula One. So, every year, even every six month period I feel I’m still growing and getting better as a driver as well so, I knew coming into the season with the team behind me and sort of a new opportunity, that I would be able to challenge Seb. Did I think it would be going, let’s say, as well as it was now? I don’t know. But I knew if I had everything underneath me I’d be capable of getting the results. So, fortunately the team saw that as well, back in September, I think, last year. So, it’s coming good.

Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Lewis, after your victory in Barcelona, you said that Nico was faster than you in the race. Today he can even beat you. Is it a worry for you? And do you know where you should improve pace-wise.

LH: erm… not really. I was pretty comfortable with my pace this weekend.

Q: (Yassmin Abdel-Magied – RichardsF1.com) Daniel, you said yesterday that there was a little bit left on the table in terms of qualifying. Do you think that there was a little bit left on the table still in the race, and was there was there any point – you got pretty close to Lewis at the end there – when you were going to go for it and then maybe not – don’t want to risk it? What was the thinking in those last few laps?

DR: Everyone was trying to do a one stop today; it’s a bit of a weird one, you don’t really push much of the race because, especially after the first pit stop, we still had a long way to go, so you’re in two minds: do I push or do I just try and hold the guy off and get to the end. By the time we’d got 15/20 laps to go I knew the tyres were going to last so then I could actually start my race, so to speak, and then start to set some quicker times. We caught Lewis, the team said I was going to catch him, the pace was good so I knew I was eventually going to get on to him. Knowing it’s hard to pass around here, I wasn’t… I don’t know. I was just waiting to see what happened but I wasn’t just going to settle for third. Obviously in the end I did but if there was a clean move to be taken then yeah, I would have taken it.

Q: (Nicola Pohl – Bild) Lewis, what do you think was the reason why the team didn’t call you in immediately after the crash? You complained over the team radio about that.

LH: I think it’s just what we have a rule that the guy in front gets the first opportunity to pit first so I think that would be why.

Q: (Haoran Zhou – Formula One Express) Lewis, how did the debrief of yesterday’s qualifying go because as we understand, you were not in the debrief room, while Rosberg was?

LH: I was in there. I went to the toilet and Nico did his big debrief before I got there which is unusual. Usually we do it when we’re both in the same room but as I came up I did mine and fortunately the engineers had written down what Nico had said so I read it.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Nico, have you been surprised that the team didn’t call you in right after the crash of Sutil?

NR: No. Surprised? No, not really, because I don’t think about that too much. I know I can rely on them to make the right call at all times so it’s not something that I’m thinking too much about, the strategy and should I be boxing now or not, because I know that they’re going to make the right call.

Q: (Christian Hoenicke – Der Tagesspiegel) Nico, do you think it was fair what Lewis said about you not being hungry as him because you were growing with boats and jets and all that stuff?

NR: I didn’t hear Lewis say that and so I’m not going to comment because it’s easy for you to just invent something and so I’m not going to comment on that, and even if something like that was written – which I don’t know because I don’t read the media – then still, between what Lewis says and what’s written, so much can turn around so it’s better I don’t say anything and I know that Lewis wouldn’t say something like that, especially not to the press, maybe to me if he feels like it but not to the press.

Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Assocation) Nico, you may give the same answer to this question then, because there were some comments from yourself in one of the German newspapers or certainly a few of the German newspapers and you can correct me if I’m wrong, if the English translation was not correct but you remarked that when Lewis goes through a difficult period that he can crack. Do you think that that’s what happened this weekend, that maybe Lewis did crack under the press yesterday in qualifying, and Lewis, any comment on that yourself? Do feel you’re the kind of guy that doesn’t crack, that you can hold it together in these kind of circumstances?

NR: Again, that is definitely very very far from anything that I’ve ever said and ever would say. Definitely not and I’ve known Lewis for many many years and he’s always been strong, among other things mentally, so I’m definitely not expecting him to crack any time soon, that’s for sure. It’s going to be a tough battle which is going to be ongoing, but I would never say something like that anyways.

LH: Do I feel like I crack? No.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) Lewis, to clean the situation, did you tell the BBC in this interview where you said these things with the boat or didn’t you say that?

LH: I was asked who was hungrier. I think if you ask every driver they will say that they’re the hungriest and I said that what gives me the hunger is where I grew up in comparison to where Nico grew up. You know I’ve always been striving to come and live here. I used to travel around with Nico in his Dad’s plane, I used to go to his boat, I used to go to his house, I used to have those experiences and that gave me those experiences and that gave me the desire to want that one day, which gave me the hunger. It was his Dad obviously who inspired me to be where I am today.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) So you did say it.

LH: Yes, but – as Nico said – it was taken out of context a little bit.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo On Line) Lewis, do you believe with a normal pit stop – not under safety car conditions – you would have had any chance to overtake Nico and get the lead of the race?

LH: It’s irrelevant now, but obviously with the start, we got exactly the same start… there’s only two opportunities in the race and the pit stop would have been the other one but the safety car came out at the perfect time for him so I didn’t have the chance there. Otherwise, that was it.

Q: (Gloria Scola – El Mundo) The race has just finished; I was wondering what racing gives you, is it freedom of expression, a way to express yourself, adrenalin?

NR: First of all, we’re here to entertain and hopefully give people a great time and a spectacle to watch, and especially in Monaco, it’s very obviously because everybody’s there on boats and houses and everything, and I just hope that we’re able to put on a great show, that our sport is seen as the best sport in the world, the most fun sport in the world, the most exciting sport in the world and so that’s a special feeling as such. And then of course driving my car through the streets of Monaco on the limit, battling everybody else, trying to win and then of course the win itself is the most special moment.

LH: I’m living my dream so it gives good energy.

DR: I get… honestly, freedom is definitely one thing. I remember when I first hopped in a go-kart as a kid, just being in control and not having anyone else in your space and then going at speed was a sense of freedom definitely. It’s nice as well, particularly with everything that happens around F1, all the media and everything else – when you hop in the car, it’s just you and the car and occasionally you have an engineer on the radio but it’s just you so definitely a sense of freedom along with a wicked adrenalin.

May 26, 2014
F1 2014: Free Practice 3 – Hamilton Leads the Way In Monaco

The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton ended the third and final practice for the Monaco grand prix fastest.

Teams are drivers were left with a lot of work to do on Saturday morning as they played catch-up after Thursday’s washed out second free practice session. The Mercedes pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg traded fastest times throughout the session.

However, it was Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo who sprung the biggest surprise. The Australian set a laptime of 1:16.808 on his SuperSoft tyre run to split the two Silver Arrrows. Most signficantly, Ricciardo set his fastest time amidst a relatively long run. Teammate Sebastian Vettel, caught up in traffic during his attempt on the SuperSoft rubber, was fourth fastest.

Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen ended the hour long session in fifth and sixth respectively. The Ferrari however does not look like matching the pace of the front-running teams around the streets of Monte Carlo. BBC commentator and three-time Le Mans winner Alan McNish reckons that the Ferrari looks more like a “bucking bronco than a prancing horse.”

While SuperSoft tyre was the obvious choice for the qualifying simulation runs; it was significant to note that the Pirelli tyres took up to three laps to come into their own and deliver a lap time. This will be an especially significant issue during qualifying as drivers and teams will have to guard against getting caught in traffic.

May 24, 2014
Weather Forecast for the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2014

We are in Monte Carlo, Monaco for round 6 of the Formula 1 world Championship.

Owing to tradition. Free practice is on the Thursday instead of Friday. We can expect some showers for Free Practice 1 this morning and a dry FP2. If the rain does come down today for FP1 we can expect the drivers not to come out on track except for a few installation laps.

The weather on Saturday will be fine and dry temperatures will hover in the mid-to-low 20s with very little chance of rain. Sunday’s forecast is slightly more interesting. There are showers predicted for the start of the race and it will continue for an hour. We all know rain in Monaco can create havoc and we could see some interesting strategies deployed by teams.

May 22, 2014
F1 2014: Matchless Monte Carlo

There are few, if any, more evocative scenes than watching the breathless skill of a driver as he threads a 650 horsepower thoroughbred through the barrier-lined streets of Monte Carlo. Since 1929 Sainte Devote, Tabac and La Rascasse have been tantamount with style, money and speed.

As the most prestigious race in the world the Monaco GP and its hallowed streets has given rise to many legends among which ‘Mr Monaco’ Graham Hill and six time Monaco winner Ayrton Senna were the most majestic of all.

Formula 1 around the Monte Carlo streets is art in motion. “The track is properly old–school. Driving an F1 car anywhere is special – the speed, the power and the acceleration just blows you away – but here it’s… cool,” said Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Monte Carlo is well-known to most Formula 1 drivers. However having the confidence to skim a Pirelli tyre along the barriers comes from building momentum and any time lost will be detrimental. Every lap the self-belief will gradually build until the driver reaches his ultimate rhythm without consciously allowing room for error.

As the highest downforce track on the calendar the Anthony Noghes circuit presents a distinctive set of challenges. The added torque of the 2014 power unit has made drifting and sliding the rear end of a car quite common this season. The proximity of the barriers alongside the lively rear-ends will make mistakes a lot easier to make.

The 3.340 km layout of the circuit places greater emphasis on mechanical grip than anything else. It is good news for those that have been down on power in the opening rounds of the season. Since the Monaco GP is such a departure from the norm it might signify an opportunity to close the gap to Mercedes.

Nevertheless, the rest of the pack has their own battles to overcome before setting their sights on the high-flying Mercedes team. Inter-team politics reared its head in Spain as Ferrari bungled Kimi Raikkonen’s strategy. The usual procedure at Ferrari is for the driver who is ahead on the track to get first choice of when to pit. However, in Spain, preference was given to Fernando Alonso. The normally stoic Raikkonen demanded to know who had made the calls and appeared annoyed with the situation. If the two scarlet cars are running near each other in Sunday’s race the Italian team’s calls will come under scrutiny.

Red Bull Racing is on the upward curve but unreliability has blighted Sebastian Vettel’s performances. All the while Daniel Ricciardo is making hay and continues to grow in stature. Up until the last race Vettel was able to hide behind unreliability as the reason for lagging behind Ricciardo. Now that the RB7 has started to deliver in terms of pace the German must assert himself by comprehensively out-performing his new teammate.

If Nico Rosberg has any designs on re-gaining the championship lead he must put everything on the line. The most important battle for Nico Rosberg will be Saturday’s qualifying session. Pole position around the Principality will boost his own belief. If not, Lewis Hamilton will be more than ready to continue chipping away at his teammate’s perilously fragile confidence.

May 21, 2014
A fan’s Monaco F1 Grand Prix Experience

Almost every Formula One fan dreams of going to Monaco one day. Well Claire Jane Earley was lucky enough to do just that – and not just once either! She shared with us her experience at the 2013 F1 Monaco Grand Prix weekend and I’ll tell you now, we are all super envious! This lady clearly had a weekend to remember – pit pass and all! She’s also sent us a whole gallery of photos to share with you which you can find here.

Follow Claire on Twitter: @ClaireEarleyF1

Here is Claire’s post about her Monaco F1 GP weekend. Have you been to a Monaco GP or do you still dream of going? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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I have always loved Formula One, right from the get-go. So when the chance came to travel to the Monaco GP six years ago, I jumped at it. And I’ve been jumping at it ever since.

As the intro suggests, this recent trip to Monaco was my sixth. I know that some of you will be saying that I’m spoilt, but consider that I have friends there, so I invariably stay for free, and all I have to cover are my flights. I also work there (on a yacht most recently, which is an awful lot harder than it sounds), so it’s not all fun and games 😉

There is something intrinsically special about Monte Carlo. Something that stems from the tiny country being packed to capacity for a week, as the jet set fly in and celebrate the Grand Prix in style. It is impossible not to be stylish in Monaco. You can’t help yourself. Everywhere you turn beautiful people, beautiful cars, beautiful yachts, and beautiful scenery surround you. You naturally up your game. It’s also impossible to take in Monaco completely during Grand Prix week, which is why I keep having to go back 😉

Now let’s be honest, no matter how much of an F1 fan you consider yourself to be, you don’t go to Monaco for the race. The race is almost an afterthought. There are so many other things going on (parties, parties and more parties) that when Sunday finally rolls round you can barely keep your sunglasses on straight. Luckily, Monaco always turns out to be a bit of a procession race unfortunately; and although there was some drama this year, it really did very little to add to the race itself, so you didn’t have to concentrate too much.

Thursday passed in a bit of a blur for me. I was lucky enough to be stationed on the Sylvia M yacht so I spent the whole day chilling on the top deck watching Free Practice with a bunch of really cool Aussies on their first trip to the GP. Being pretty comfortable with Monaco I showed them around when the sessions were over and partied a little with them at the legendary Rascasse that night. Rascasse is something of a party central, with there being around ten different bars and nightclubs you can go to along that whole strip between Swimming Pool and Rascasse.

That is the one thing most people forget about Monaco, but all the parties happen on the track. It’s quite surreal to watch the cars race round all day, and then spend all night partying on corners like Rascasse and Swimming Pool. You can literally sit in the grandstands opposite where you were partying the night before. Nowhere else in the world can offer this kind of opportunity, and every year without fail, I take the customary “Me on the start line” photo!

This year I was fortunate enough to have a pit pass for the Friday, something I’ve never done before, so I was super excited! Sadly Fernando Alonso wasn’t waiting at the gate to greet me, but I did get the signatures of Giedo Van Der Garde, Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi! I also watched Force India practice their pit stops numerous times (and developed my new life ambition to be the person who sits in the car as it gets pushed in for tyre change practice), and watched the two Mercedes’ undergo FIA testing. It was pretty special for me.

I went out on the Friday night with some friends, and it ended up being a bit of a late one (whoops!), but it did give me the chance to walk home on the Saturday morning, on the empty track, as the sun rose over the port. Amazing. Nothing like having one of the most famous race tracks in the world to yourself.

Later that day I found myself back on the Sylvia M watching some GP2 action and some Porsche Supercup. When you’re on the yacht you don’t actually realise how close you are to the action, but it is right there in front of you! You can almost touch it! For me, that is another reason why Monaco is so special, because you are never more than two meters from the track.

Saturday night I was lucky enough to have access to a party on the Quid Pro Quo yacht where a French musician was giving a private party on the inside deck, and DJ was playing on the upper decks. The food and drinks were free, so needless to say the champagne was flowing (when in France and all that…), and I met some awesome guys from Essex who were extremely entertaining and good fun to hang out with so I had a good time.

Race Day dawned nice and hot after the rain on Saturday, and I was sent off in my tender to the Talila yacht. You need to catch a tender from Fontvielle to Monaco Port if you’re ever there. The view is like nothing else and it gives you an opportunity to see just how beautiful the place actually is. It truly is something special.

The Talila was moored right in front of where Pastor Maldonado crashed out. The crash itself I didn’t see until all the people on my yacht started sprinting to the trackside. I have seen red flags before in Monaco, but never for a crash like that, and although I am not a Maldonado fan, I am glad that he walked away from it uninjured. Once all the excitement died down, and Rosberg took the top step, it was time to get back on dry land.

Wandering around the streets after the race I bought some gifts and things for the family, whilst watching how quickly Monaco returns too normal. It takes a month to put all the barricading and stands up for the race, and only two weeks to get it all down again. By the time I left on Tuesday, half of the grandstands were already down, and most of the barricading along the main road was down as well. Each piece of metal is specifically numbered to ensure that set up next year is smooth and efficient.

I love Monaco. I love watching how it changes for the race, and how quickly things go back to normal. Every time I leave to come home I think I leave a small piece of me there, and I can’t wait to go back next year!

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Click here for Claire’s gallery of photos from her Monaco Grand Prix experience.

June 6, 2013
F1 2013: Monte Carlo Review – Lights to flag victory for Rosberg

It has taken thirty years for a son to emulate his father’s victory around the tight and twisting streets of Monte Carlo.

Mercedes’ chances in Saturday qualifying had always looked good but the test would come in the 78 lap race. The team’s struggles with tyre degradation had been well documented and many had expected them to fade on this Sunday as they had on so many other occasions. However, a controlled race from lights out had Nico Rosberg in the pound seats from the very first lap.

The first thirty laps of the Monaco GP was an exhibition by Rosberg and Hamilton as the two Mercedes set a steady pace and managed their race to within an inch of perfection. The two Red Bull’s of Vettel and Webber had made better get-aways but the tight entry to Ste Devote meant they had nowhere to go and the pair of them slotted in behind the two Silver Arrows.

So docile was the pace of Rosberg and Hamilton that the Caterham of Giedo van der Garde ran as the fastest car, by quite some margin, for a limited period of the race. Nevertheless, the twenty-five points and glory of winning the Monaco grand prix was the end goal and how they went about reaching it wasn’t of any concern.

After this display of ‘controlled aggression’ as coined by Mark Webber, the questions around Pirelli and what they are offering Formula 1 will deepen. Critics of the 2013 tyre compounds were undoubtedly armed with new ammunition after the Monaco GP and rightly so. Cruising around, three seconds a lap off the possible pace is not what fans want to see and more than likely not what drivers want to be doing. Formula 1 has always been about pushing the limits, daring to go the very edge of what is possible. It may be easy and comfortable to poke holes in Pirelli’s brief Formula 1 sojourn but it is also clear that something needs to change. A second tyre manufacturer to stir the pot perhaps?

Despite the monotony of the opening sting of the race by lap 30 the most famous race on the calendar would be turned on its head. A car problem pitched Ferrari’s Felipe Massa into the barriers of turn one and deployed the safety car. The Brazilian was held at the side of the track for a while but was later reported as uninjured. Two Red Bulls, Raikkonen, Alonso and the two Macca’s made use of the safety car and dived into the pits for a fresh set of boots. It didn’t quite go to plan for Mercedes as they had to stack Rosberg and Hamilton in the pitlane with the latter slipping from second to fourth as a result.

While Rosberg was easily holding Vettel and Webber at bay, a crash triggered by Marussia’s Max Chilton would bring the race to a stop. After failing to see him, Chilton clashed with Pastor Maldonado on the entry to Tabac sending the Williams airborne into the barrier. The track, partially blocked by the Tecpro barrier, had to be cleared on debris before the race could be restarted.

The carnage was far from over and to say Romain Grosjean had been experiencing a tough weekend could be considered the understatement of the year. The Lotus driver had crash on three separate occasions earlier in the weekend and the race was going to be no exception. Saving the most peculiar crash for last, Grosjean ran into the back of Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso on the exit of the tunnel. Grosjean’s Lotus was strewn across the track and the safety car deployed for a second time. Grosjean later remarked that he didn’t anticipate Ricciardo braking at that point. Can we deduce that in future he would prefer the car in front not to brake for the corner? Scarily, that almost makes perfect Grosjean-esque sense. The Frenchman has been given a ten place grid penalty for the next race and is believed to be on the brink of being replaced by his team.

The drama was far from over when the race restarted on lap 67 as a rejuvenated Adrian Sutil first passed Button and then Fernando Alonso. A ridiculous call from the stewards instructed Alonso earlier in the race to give his sixth place to Sergio Perez after avoiding a collision with the Mexican. Spotting that it had already worked once, Perez tried the same move on Raikkonen into the Nouvelle chicane. Perez, nowhere near enough to attempt an overtake, collided with Raikkonen. Checo was finally put out of his misery with a broken left-front suspension. There is no hesitation about the fact that the young Mexican has talent but his current way doing business and mistaking the rest of the field for bumper cars already has him well on his way of being branded F1’s newest crash-kid.

As a result of the incident Kimi Raikkonen was forced to pit with a puncture and exited the pitlane in 16^th place with seemingly no chance of scoring any points on the day. But with fresh tyres the undoubtedly angry Finn lapped six seconds a lap faster and passed five cars, in two laps, to take tenth and the final point on offer.

Nico Rosberg drove a composed race to clinch his second career victory and he deserved every one of the twenty-five points for it. He wasn’t expected to rattle Hamilton’s cage the way he has in 2013. Rosberg has been the nearly-man in F1 for too long but the way he has upped his game with the arrival of the illustrious Lewis Hamilton has boosted his shares and earned widespread respect. Good on you Nico!

May 29, 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