Grand Prix de Monaco 2012

[phil1993]

Vettel was very lucky at the start

[mikhailv]

You mean where Alonso was keeping a 2-3 second gap to Hamilton infront so he didnt get dirty air destroying his tyres, controlling the gap and making sure his pace was enough not be caught in traffic on a track where you cant overtake the car ahead, which means you wont be able to overtaken. And then after 20 laps of tyre saving, being the fastest man on track for 10-12 laps after using your brain and saving tyres, having an in lap which was what, 2 seconds faster than Hamilton and leaving Massa for dust?

Yeah, course he was being out driven. Seriously, were you watching the race?

And how would letting Massa pass have affected this "strategy"? Sorry but hindsight and rationalizing doesn't change the facts.[/quote]

Because he would be a car behind hamilton. check the forum, I said it when the race was going he was tyre saving. He had no reason to let massa go infront. He would've just gone onto Hamiltons gearbox and then dropped back and backed fernando up. Look at the gap he made to lewis, then look at how he pushed and closed the gap and dropped massa for dust, if he let massa past, Massa didnt have lewis' pace and would've held alonso up. Also the car infront has pit priority as well, so massa couldve stayed out and slowed Alonso down meaning they would be both jumped by Vettel and Hamilton.

Anyway, even if it was team orders, Ferrari are right to do it. 2 points to 61 points and a race win. Felipe has done nothing this season like last season and the season before. I hope though, this is the turning point for him and he can start backing Alonso up. Its all he is good for, and Redbull used webber to make sure vettel could get maximum points as well. Mclaren would use jenson for lewis. So its fair game to be honest.

Massa surely wouldve just rammed it up the inside if he was being impeded so badly. w

[phil1993]

Comparison of pit stop times from entry to exit:

---
M. Webber - 25.566
N. Rosberg - 24.874
F. Alonso - 25.220
S. Vettel - 25.079
L. Hamilton - 25.748
F. Massa - 24.993
---
P. Di Resta - 25.642
N. Hulkenberg - 26.447
K. Raikkonen - 26.380
B. Senna - 26.410

Force India served Di Resta well, a second faster than Hulkenberg. Top teams very evenly matched but that 0.7s difference between Vettel & Hamilton was crucial!

[JoostLamers]

What the hell is wrong with McLaren, the first race they were very fast and nowadays they are the 4th, maybe even 5th fastest team?! They are going backwards. And Whitmarsh should stop saying they're still in contention, cause with the pace of the last 3 races, they just aren't!

[mikhailv]

What the hell is wrong with McLaren, the first race they were very fast and nowadays they are the 4th, maybe even 5th fastest team?! They are going backwards. And Whitmarsh should stop saying they're still in contention, cause with the pace of the last 3 races, they just aren't!

To be honest, and Im sticking my neck out here;

Mercedes, Redbull, Lotus and Mclaren cant do much more with their cars. I think theyve maxed the designs out as much as possible.

Ferrari I believe, have pulled a master stroke. They started slow but had a great salvation with Alonso, but they can do so much with the car its almost completely new. Mclaren have limited options, especially with such a low chassis correct? RB lost their ace in the whole which was the Double Diffuser, then the Exhaust Blown Diffuser, and theres nothing much RB can do to evolve their car. Renaults R30 development started in June 2009, and carried on when Genii took over, and they have been very lacklustre in putting a weekend together, let alone developing through a season. Mercedes still have the Brawn Model, and its not been developed that well.

Redbull has resorted to putting holes in the floors to try and improve and push the rules to the max, because to be honest I cant see where they can truly improve much more. Change the nose maybe? Everyone thought Mclaren pulled a master stroke in going for a much lower car and nose, but they are falling back and back.

The only team to improve drastically is Ferrari. Sauber have fell back, so have Force India. Williams got the Bonus ball in spain, but it was Ferrari who stamped their improvement all over monaco.

Mclaren loses so much in race pace its unreal and unfathomable, putting fuel on the car murders its performance sometimes, Redbull have been very hit and miss, Mercedes very hit and miss, Lotus have always threatened but failed miserably.

As much as im not a ferrari fan, they are the team im most impressed with this year. Not only have they been radical, theyve proved its not just for the sake of it, theyve shown the cars possible capabilities, theyve built on those capabilities and they have made a bigger leap than any other team in the past 3 years IMO, because from being outpaced by 5 other teams, infact Force India had legs sometimes, they have come into the top two on race pace, and even qualifying pace they have improved massively.

[reppo]

Mika Salo's blog:
http://blogit.mtv3.fi/f1salonsilmin/ (in Finnish)

All the time on the podium
Published on 29/05/2012

In Monaco an even race was seen. It is such a track, which always balances the strength a bit. Heikki drove a good race, but that was mainly due to the fact that he took a short cut at the first corner. Thereafter, he kept his car wide as you are supposed to do.

Kim had a really difficult weekend. As soon as first practice was not driven and since then everything started to go wrong. Kimi's weekend started really on Saturday when he got to drive the first full hour. Kim's car did not behave as nicely as Grosjean's car. In addition, a two-year break from Monaco could be inevitable seen in driving. It is the most difficult track and with only a hour of practice it did not go as planned.

I hope in Canada we get seventh seventh different winner. Then in starts to go exciting. I think the season's unpredictability is a good thing, but it makes commentator's job really difficult.

When different winners comes all the time, drivers must change their tactics to little different when guys are eating each other's points. Victory is no longer necessary, even though it gives a lot of points, but the important thing is to achieve good points all the time. When you are always on the podium, like Alonso this time, it will go far. The driver must always leave behind the opponent, which is the closest in championship points. In Monaco Alonso focused his driving in particular against Vettel.

Ferrari's car has improved considerably. Now even Massa is able to drive it well. On going towards the end of the season, Ferrari will be one of the strongest. Red Bull guys are pretty close to Alonso in championship, but in the long run they'll take points from each other. From Alonso, his team mate does not eat points in the same way.

It is very possible that Kimi will the seventh different winner, but somehow my feelings are for Hamilton's win in Canada. Also he does not yet have a win in this year. I do not know why McLaren was so lame in Monaco. Button's race was miserable there. Hamilton was able to struggle, but had still not quite enough pace.

Mercedes worked fine in Monaco, so why wouldn't it go well in Canada too. Their straight speed is in order. However, I do not think that Michael Schumacher would win yet in Montreal. Pole in Monaco's qualification was thanks to the experience. I went to ask the questions from Michael, how the old man succeed in it. He did not do anything else than grab his crotch meaning that the b*** are still big.

[joebravo]

What the hell is wrong with McLaren, the first race they were very fast and nowadays they are the 4th, maybe even 5th fastest team?! They are going backwards. And Whitmarsh should stop saying they're still in contention, cause with the pace of the last 3 races, they just aren't!

To be honest, and Im sticking my neck out here;

Mercedes, Redbull, Lotus and Mclaren cant do much more with their cars. I think theyve maxed the designs out as much as possible.

The car upgrades/setup are not suit with tyres..Mclaren overconfident to skip Mugello test, unlike Merc who run the most 100 plus lap gathering data,find suitable car set-up for Pirelli tyres..understanding tyres behave with car set-up were crucial, IMO stilll too early to say that merc has found the solution on tyres as Monaco track has less degradation effect on car but merc progessing much better in term car set-up with less tyre hustle

[reppo]

Williams won at least something
http://www.ts.fi/moottoriurheilu/f1/352 ... kuskikisan (in Finnish)

Catwalk shy Bottas won the race of test drivers
F1 | Turun Sanomat 10:51

Williams F1 team did not stay without a victory on the weekend in Monaco. The first ever Grand Prix race of test drivers was won by Williams' Valtteri Bottas.

The test drivers competed in driving simulators on Monaco GP street track. From total of three starts Bottas won two. The prize included among others a fine SLR camera.

Second in the competition was Pirelli's Lucas di Grassi and third became Force Indian's Jules Bianchi.

In all ten test drivers participated the competition. In addition to top trio along, in the event organized in F1 fan zone, were Marc Gene (Ferrari), Jerome d'Ambrosio (Lotus GP), Sam Bird (Mercedes GP), Alexander Rossi (Caterham), Maria de Villota (Marussia), Dani Clos (Hispania), and Jaime Alguersuari (Pirelli).

Bottas represented Williams also in Amber Lounge in a traditional fashion event. Wearing a suit and being staired by the audience was not so enjoyable to the man as being in race overalls in the simulator.

- It's really not my thing. I prefer to spend time walking on the track than walking on the catwalk, Bottas confessed.

- As such, the simulator was a nice experience. Everyone of us wanted to win it pretty much.

Actual GP did not go as well for Williams. In Barcelona two weeks earlier from pole to victory driven Pastor Maldonado lost his chance even on Saturday morning collision, which costed 10 places in the starting grid to Venezuelan. In an attempt to avoid the crash part of Maldonado's front wing went under the car and he hit the rail in the hair pin.

At least Bruno Senna got his third point place as follow up to Malaysia, and China after being tenth in the finish.

Senna is required show results all time to preserve his seat to the rest of the season, as FW34 car has the potential to drive consistently for good points.

Turun Sanomat

HEIKKI KULTA

Simulators Future of F1 and the teams will be IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Oracle, Google....

[reppo]

This kind of wraps it nicely:
http://blog.axisofoversteer.com/2012/05 ... snore.html

2012 Monaco GP : Formula Snore
by AC at 4:47 PM


Despite all the breathless commentary you may have heard from the professional motoring press, mostly concerned with keeping their Monaco paddock pass, this was the most boring race in years.
The previous edition of the Monaco GP actually had some on track action but this year without taking anything away from Webber's good drive, there were zero highlights and the only significant pass happened via a pit stop.

Of course passes in the pits do not just happen, Alonso was very good, saving his tires for the one lap when Hamilton was brought in by Mclaren for his stop. Fernando put the hammer down on old tires and blitzed his old rival to a third place which is good for first place in the Driver's Championship. Clever boy.

Vettel also had a good race but isn't it time to call an end for the business of not running in Q3 to save a set of tires? Can't blame teams of using a badly written rule but still, cheesy.

Apparently despite 60 years plus of experience, the FIA cannot write rules unequivocally as demonstrated by the technical row ahead of the start with Red Bull's "holy"floor. Kind of pathetic.

And yes, Schumacher would have won from pole, Massa finally drove well and Lotus needs to feed Kimi more ice cream.

Anyway, yawn. See you in Canada.

[Eric_Cartman]

I also believe that Schumacher would've won the Grand Prix if he had started from pole. Rosberg said in an interview after the race that Webber was driving very slow and that he could have driven much faster. The Mercedes was clearly the fastest car in Monaco. I hope that it works similiar for them in Montreal.

[Edi96]

Schumacher had the pace to win but would have retired anyway.

[mikhailv]

I also believe that Schumacher would've won the Grand Prix if he had started from pole. Rosberg said in an interview after the race that Webber was driving very slow and that he could have driven much faster. The Mercedes was clearly the fastest car in Monaco. I hope that it works similiar for them in Montreal.

I think we all know he was backing the pack up for Vettel

[François]

Schumacher had the pace to win but would have retired anyway.

Is the fuel pressure thing official? During the live broadcast (in French) they said something about a suspension spring getting loose, possibly as a consequence of the tangle with Grosjean at the start. Since the impact was sufficient to break the Lotus's rear suspension on the spot, I can't imagine Schumi's car wasn't damaged at all in the incident.

[mileso]

I also believe that Schumacher would've won the Grand Prix if he had started from pole. Rosberg said in an interview after the race that Webber was driving very slow and that he could have driven much faster. The Mercedes was clearly the fastest car in Monaco. I hope that it works similiar for them in Montreal.

Except Sauber posted the fastest lap time.
Kimi didn't win, Alonso didn't win, Schumacher didn't win. Webber won. It's over guys. Should coulda woulda.
All these articles to support the point that the race was boring. Overtaking isn't the only thing that makes F1 exciting.
I'm starting to feel sorry for you guys. I have enjoyed all the races this year. I look forward to the races to come without the need to know who is going to win. That's why it's called a race. It's a contest, not a foregone conclusion.

[tderias]

I also believe that Schumacher would've won the Grand Prix if he had started from pole. Rosberg said in an interview after the race that Webber was driving very slow and that he could have driven much faster. The Mercedes was clearly the fastest car in Monaco. I hope that it works similiar for them in Montreal.

Except Sauber posted the fastest lap time.
Kimi didn't win, Alonso didn't win, Schumacher didn't win. Webber won. It's over guys. Should coulda woulda.
All these articles to support the point that the race was boring. Overtaking isn't the only thing that makes F1 exciting.
I'm starting to feel sorry for you guys. I have enjoyed all the races this year. I look forward to the races to come without the need to know who is going to win. That's why it's called a race. It's a contest, not a foregone conclusion.

I think all of us in this forum would enjoy F1 regardless of overtakes... because F1 is F1, so yeah, you're kinda stating the obvious... its just about seeing more thrilling races thats all.