Track: Monte Carlo street circuit
Laps: 78
Race start: 2000 HRS SIN
Free practice takes place on Thursday for the jewel in Formula 1's crown. The streets are tight, narrow and twisty. Run-off areas are almost non-existent, and the utmost finesse, commitment and concentration are required. Here is a circuit where a driver's skill shows much better.
The average speed here is the slowest on the F1 calendar. Maximum downforce and lots of mechanical grip (coming from the suspension's use of the tyres) are the key while aero efficiency and engine power are not priorities. Gearboxes take a massive bashing as they go through 3000 gear changes over the course of the race. Overtaking is almost impossible on the narrow streets but the attrition is often high.
Brawn's Jenson Button goes into this race in the lead with 41 points out of a maximum of 45, and he is 14 points ahead of his closest challenger and teammate Rubens Barrichello. The talk in the paddock lately revolves around the inability of the teams and the FIA to agree on a voluntary budget cap for 2010. Some teams have issued quit threats with the deadline for next season's entries looming next Friday. This morning, Ferrari failed to get a court injunction to stop the new rules. Meanwhile, several new start-ups and teams from junior formulae have expressed serious interest in taking the quiting parties' place.
Stay tuned while the drama on and off the track unfolds!
Monaco Grand Prix free practice session one
1. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m17.189s
2. MASSA Ferrari 1m17.499s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m17.578s
4. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m17.686s
5. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m17.839s
6. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m18.000s
7. ROSBERG Williams 1m18.024s
8. BUTTON Brawn 1m18.080s
9. ALONSO Renault 1m18.283s
10. WEBBER Red Bull 1m18.348s
11. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m18.695s
12. PIQUET Renault 1m19.204s
13. VETTEL Red Bull 1m19.233s
14. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m19.255s
15. FISICHELLA Force India 1m19.534s
16. KUBICA BMW 1m19.560s
17. HEIDFELD BMW 1m19.579s
18. SUTIL Force India 1m19.600s
19. GLOCK Toyota 1m19.698s
20. TRULLI Toyota 1m19.831s
It turns out Massa's car was not running our of fuel during the last race in Spain.
His car had provided a wrong reading of the remaining fuel onboard.
And the man himself said "I saved fuel for nothing."
Monaco Grand Prix free practice session two
1. ROSBERG Williams 1m15.243s
2. HAMILTON McLaren 1m15.445s
3. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m15.590s
4. BUTTON Brawn 1m15.774s
5. MASSA Ferrari 1m15.832s
6. VETTEL Red Bull 1m15.847s
7. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m15.984s
8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m15.985s
9. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m16.260s
10. PIQUET Renault 1m16.286s
11. ALONSO Renault 1m16.552s
12. WEBBER Red Bull 1m16.579s
13. SUTIL Force India 1m16.675s
14. TRULLI Toyota 1m16.915s
15. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m16.983s
16. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m17.052s
17. HEIDFELD BMW 1m17.109s
18. GLOCK Toyota 1m17.207s
19. FISICHELLA Force India 1m17.504s
20. KUBICA BMW no time
Kubica engine blew?
Originally posted by la luce nella piazza:Kubica engine blew?
Yup, as posted on FB, and only on his second lap of the session. Vettel had an engine failure too in FP1.
Originally posted by Kuali Baba:Yup, as posted on FB, and only on his second lap of the session. Vettel had an engine failure too in FP1.
garh - it only bums me that Ferrari is doing so badly this season, plus the threatened pull-out next season.
Anyway Monaco should be a surewin for the pole position, which will probs go to a Brawn car. :( :(
Originally posted by la luce nella piazza:garh - it only bums me that Ferrari is doing so badly this season, plus the threatened pull-out next season.
Anyway Monaco should be a surewin for the pole position, which will probs go to a Brawn car. :( :(
Well, you never know, especially since Red Bull have the trick diffuser this weekend.
Originally posted by Kuali Baba:Well, you never know, especially since Red Bull have the trick diffuser this weekend.
Oh have they now! Pity I can't watch - got no TV and can't get to a pub (still got that accursed last paper). Well do post updates!
Nick Fry, the chief executive officer of Brawn, believes teams have found some common ground with the FIA, despite failing to reach an agreement with Max Mosley on Friday.
The teams spent several hours in discussions with the governing body at the Automobile Club de Monaco, but their meeting ended without agreement about a way forward that both the teams and the FIA are happy with.
With time running out ahead of next week's entry deadline for the 2010 championship, more meetings are now scheduled to take place over the Monaco weekend.
Speaking about the state of play, Fry said there were some some positive signs that came out of the meeting.
"Proposals were made on both sides and common ground was found so I'm sure there will be more discussion," he explained. "It was a good meeting and everyone's made some progress."
When asked how quickly he reckoned a resolution to the situation could be found, Fry said: "I think it will be done this weekend."
A Ferrari spokesman added: "It was a long constructive but not definitive meeting, so there will be more talks in the next few days."
It's still a very difficult call to say who will be at the top of the pile come qualifying. With all the cars on the track towards the end of the session when the grip is at its highest, the true pace is not always revealed in the overall lap time.
Looking at the pace over the course of the session though, Alonso, the Brawns, the McLarens and the Ferraris will be right in the mix. They were covered by just two-tenths of a second.
Monaco Grand Prix free practice session three
1. ALONSO Renault 1m15.164s
2. BUTTON Brawn 1m15.233s
3. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m15.278s
4. BARRICHELLO Brawn 1m15.286s
5. MASSA Ferrari 1m15.293s
6. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m15.382s
7. HAMILTON McLaren 1m15.389s
8. VETTEL Red Bull 1m15.722s
9. ROSBERG Williams 1m15.758s
10. WEBBER Red Bull 1m15.985s
11. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m16.103s
12. SUTIL Force India 1m16.228s
13. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m16.301s
14. FISICHELLA Force India 1m16.317s
15. PIQUET Renault 1m16.382s
16. BUEMI Toro Rosso 1m16.432s
17. GLOCK Toyota 1m16.527s
18. KUBICA BMW 1m16.599s
19. HEIDFELD BMW 1m16.661s
20. TRULLI Toyota 1m16.810s
Hamilton spun and shattered his left-rear suspension at Mirabeau early in Q1. Ferrari roar back into past form while Toyota prop up the grid.
Monaco GP starting grid
1. BUTTON Brawn
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari
3. BARRICHELLO Brawn
4. VETTEL Red Bull
5. MASSA Ferrari
6. ROSBERG Williams
7. KOVALAINEN McLaren
8. WEBBER Red Bull
9. ALONSO Renault
10. NAKAJIMA Williams
11. BUEMI Toro Rosso
12. PIQUET Renault
13. FISICHELLA Force India
14. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso
15. SUTIL Force India
16. HAMILTON McLaren
17. HEIDFELD BMW
18. KUBICA BMW
19. TRULLI Toyota
20. GLOCK Toyota
Pos Driver Weight (kg.)
1. Jenson Button 647.5
2. Kimi Raikkonen 644.0
3. Rubens Barrichello 648.0
4. Sebastian Vettel 631.5
5. Felipe Massa 643.5
6. Nico Rosberg 642.0
7. Heikki Kovalainen 644.0
8. Mark Webber 646.5
9. Fernando Alonso 654.0
10. Kazuki Nakajima 668.0
11. Sebastien Buemi 670.0*
12. Nelson Piquet 673.1*
13. Giancarlo Fisichella 693.0*
14. Sebastien Bourdais 699.5*
15. Adrian Sutil 670.0*
16. Lewis Hamilton 645.5*
17. Nick Heidfeld 680.0*
18. Robert Kubica 696.0*
19. Jarno Trulli 688.3*
20. Timo Glock 700.8*
Vettel is fueled really light and Webber's position is probably a more accurate reflection of Red Bull's slight weakness in the suspension department. Button did a better job than Kimi and Rubens. 3.5kg translates to just a tenth's theoretical advantage in the Ferrari's favour.
Hamilton has been dropped to the back of the grid for changing his gearbox, which was damaged in the qualifying accident.
Monaco Grand Prix result - 78 laps
1. BUTTON Brawn
2. BARRICHELLO Brawn +7.6s
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +13.4s
4. MASSA Ferrari +15.1s
5. WEBBER Red Bull +15.7s
6. ROSBERG Williams +33.5s
7. ALONSO Renault +37.8s
8. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso +63.1s
9. FISICHELLA Force India +65.0s
10. GLOCK Toyota +1 lap
11. HEIDFELD BMW +1 lap
12. HAMILTON McLaren +1 lap
13. TRULLI Toyota +1 lap
14. SUTIL Force India +1 lap
15. NAKAJIMA Williams +2 laps
16. KOVALAINEN McLaren +27 laps
17. KUBICA BMW +50 laps
18. VETTEL Red Bull +63 laps
19. PIQUET Renault +68 laps
20. BUEMI Toro Rosso +68 laps