Its one of the oldest, but still the most prestigious race weekends on the grid. A mix of celebrities, fast cars and the feeling of money all around makes Monaco one of the most exciting races on the calendar.
It is not just the Monaco landscape which is stunning, the circuit is a beauty too. The challenge of racing just centimetres away from barriers which could ruin your weekend its very risky, but very good for the TV viewers.
Here is my report of the whole race weekend, starting with FP1 and FP2 on the Thursday (As Friday is a public holiday), before FP3 and Qualifying on Saturday. Finally there will be the exciting race around the streets of the principality on Sunday.
Its one of the most difficult circuits on the calendar and one of the most unique too, giving the drivers an impressive challenge. The classic circuit is a treat to watch, with classic corners like Tabac, swimming Pool, the Nouvelle chicane and the illusive Tunnel. However it could be the weather which springs a surprise on the Mediterranean coast.
FP1
The first practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix, held on a Thursday, was one full of drama. The cars struggled on a dusty track and the bumps caught out many. It was Fernando Alonso who topped the time sheets after 90 minutes of continuous running. His lap time of 1m16.265 was 3 tenths faster than Lotus's Romain Grosjean.
It was a different story for Grosjean's team mate as Raikkonen failed to set a lap time due to the steering not being to his liking. Someone who was out on track and setting fast times was Sergio Perez in the Sauber. He finished the session in 3rd, ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Jenson Button finished the session in 8th, with Michael Schumacher a few places back in 11th. The German driver damaged his front wing on the swimming pool kerbs and had to change the nosecone on his Mercedes. Mark Webber finished the session 13th, 4 places behind his team mate.
A number of drivers struggled out on track, with the Nouvelle Chicane being the scene of many a lock up, likewise at Ste Devote. HRT saw their drivers run down the escape road and Felipe Massa, along with a few others, tapped the wall at Tabac. No severe damage was done however.
With just a few minutes to go Heikki Kovalainen's high mileage engine let go as he went into the Tunnel. He stopped just by the exit but it left a huge smoke screen going through the famous turn. This caused the red flag to come out as it became clear the Finn had dropped oil on the racing line in the tunnel.
FP2
The second 90 minute session in Monte Carlo was disrupted by some uncharacteristic rain. The weather radar showed rain would arrive shortly after the green light for FP2, so the cars flooded out for some quick laps on the dry tyres.
Fortunately the rain came later then planned, Jenson Button setting the best time of 1m15.746 on the super soft tyre. He was one of the only drivers to take to the track on those tyres, with his nearest challenger 3 tenths back (Romain Grosjean) on the softs. The quick lap times were set in the first 15 minutes of the session before the rain came.
Silence descended across the Monaco harbour, a regular occurrences during the session as rain arrived as the cars went back into the garages. The Drizzle stopped shortly after so the cars rejoined only for more rain to fall. This time it was heavier and many drivers decided it was time for the Intermediate tyres.
Many drivers struggled for grip, with the Mirabeau escape road being used by both Williams drivers, Perez and Kovalainen. However it was the latter that stayed there, Heikki's reverse gear was not selecting and he was left stranded.
Both Ferrari's finished in the top 5, Massa this time ahead of Alonso. Maldonado finished the session 5th, for the second practice in a row. Webber and Vettel were 7th and 10th and Hamilton was in 11th place.
Kimi Raikkonen struggled after missing the whole of FP1 and finished the 1 hour 30 minute practice session in 19th. Petrov even ended the session in 16th as Caterham aim for 1 car being in Q2.
FP3
After the free day on Friday the cars were back in action for FP3 on Saturday Morning. The Monaco principality was basking in stunning sun shine, but after FP3 some of the drivers were not.
Nico Rosberg topped the time sheets with a time of 1m15.159, set at the end of a longer super soft run. He finished just ahead of Felipe Massa, rejuvenated after some were questioning his speed. Vettel and Alonso made late improvements and Grosjean, who topped the session early on, was 5th.
The 2 Mclarens were 3 and 6 tenths off the front running pace respectively, with Button ahead of Hamilton. Webber finished the 60 minutes in 10th, with Raikkonen in 13th. A range of drivers experienced traffic problems around the tight and twisty track as the cars tried to fit in as much running as possible.
There were a number of incidents during the short session. A number of drivers cut the Nouvelle Chicane and locked up into Ste Devote. Vettel and Perez both glanced the Armco but it was Paul Di Resta who made the hardest impact. Under braking for the Nouvelle chicane his car bottomed out on the bump and he was turned into the barrier. Fortunately he only sustained front wing damage.
Next up it was Spanish GP hero Pastor Maldonado's turn to hit the wall. He collided with the Armco on the entry to Casino Square as he turned in, highly unusual. The hit propelled him across the track and into the barrier on the exit of the turn, losing a wheel. It came to light through later replays that he turned in on Mexican Sergio Perez as the latter slowed to let him past. It was just before the turn going into the tunnel and Perez lifted his hands in frustration, a highly unusual and (if deemed deliberate) immature event from the Spanish GP winner.
Qualifying
Some would say it is the most important qualifying session in the season, with overtaking notoriously tricky around the twisting Monaco streets. Before it even got underway Schumacher had to start 5 places back after his collision in Spain with Bruno Senna, while the laters team mate Pastor Maldonado will be moved back 10 places thanks to him barging into Sergio Perez in FP3.
Q1
The main problem in the first 20 minute session was traffic. With cars backing off, particularly around the final sector. It meant the stewards were busy with baulking and traffic problems. 24 cars racing around a 3.3km track meant there will be trouble.
The first person to suffer from the barriers is Sergio Perez in the Sauber. It came after he crashed in Qualifying for the 2011 race. He hit the barrier at the exit to the high speed swimming pool chicane. He had to park it up after the wheel came off, meaning the session was red flagged. He joined the 6 "newer" teams in the drop zone. However it could of been a mechanical issue as he radioed in complaining about power steering, possibly due to Maldonado's hit in FP3.
The session soon got under way and when the chequered flag came out it was Nico Hulkenberg on the super soft tyre who topped the times on a 1m15.418, 2 tenths ahead of Kobayashi and 3 tenths ahead of Grosjean. Vettel used up a set of super soft tyres to go 4th, ahead of Schumacher and Raikkonen.
Out in the first session were Kovalainen, Petrov, Glock, De La Rosa, Pic and Karthikeyan. Perez did not set a lap time so will start 24th, unless penalties mean otherwise.
Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton finished down the field due to them staying in the garage as others panicked and used up a set of super soft tyres.
Q2
15 minutes was all it took to get into Q3, but for 7 of them, they did not progress. This was the session which was hotly contested, the margins on the short circuit were smaller than ever.
Nico Rosberg took the early lead, with all but a few drivers going onto the super softs. However a yellow flag came out after Jean-Eric Vergne crashed and lost his front wing. After that slight delay the cars carried on regardless and continued to progress.
The 2nd runs commenced with cars emerging for a full Q2 house. Cars improved on the rubbered track as the bottom top 10 places switched continually. Massa went top and Hulkenberg, Kobayashi and Vettel all improved.
Button found himself in the drop zone but meanwhile Maldonado went 3rd. However he does have that 10 place grid penalty. Grosjean improved and put his Lotus into the top 10, while Button struggled.
In the drop zone finished Hulkenberg, Kobayashi, Jenson Button in the Mclaren, Senna, Di Resta, Ricciardo and Vergne. It was the 2nd poor qualifying in a row for Button, with his last lap being just 1 tenth off the top 10.
9 tenths of a second split the top 16, the short circuit meant there were fine margins. Felipe Massa was fastest and the only man to dip below the 1m15's this weekend. Even more impressive was the 4 tenths separating the top 10.
Q3
The short confines and competitive nature of Monaco and F1 in 2012 meant the last 10 minute qualifying session was hotly anticipated.
Through to the last session were both Lotus drivers, both Mercedes, both Ferrari's, both Red Bull's, Maldonado and Hamilton. The session started with drivers emerging for their first runs. Some split their strategies between doing 1 or 2 runs respectively, traffic not much of an issue with only 10 cars circulating.
Rosberg set the opening time, fuelled for 2 runs as it seemed the second run was the faster of the 2. He backed off on his opening lap which meant the time was slow, a 1m18.853. That was quickly trumped by Maldonado, Hamilton and Grosjean before the second runs improved.
Rosberg dislodged Grosjean and Hamilton went 3rd. Webber then moved Hamilton down to 4th, with his team mate Vettel staying in the pits. He emerged on the slower soft tyre for 1 final run, like Massa and Alonso. Massa set a lap of 1m15.379 to go 8th, quite far off the pace. Vettel aborted the run to save his tyres, so he will start 10th.
Alonso set his first timed lap to go 5th fastest. The times were improving slightly but purple sectors were limited to the odd few. Mark Webber took provisional pole from Rosberg and Hamilton was 2 tenths slower in 3rd.
Next up were Massa, going 6th, and Schumacher went on pole by 8 hundredths of a second. However he has a 5 place penalty so pole position will go to Webber, from Rosberg, Hamilton, Grosjean, Alonso, Schumacher, Massa, Raikkonen, Vettel and Hulkenberg. Maldonado did finish 9th but will start down the field.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.301s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m14.381s + 0.080
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m14.448s + 0.147
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m14.583s + 0.282
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m14.639s + 0.338
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m14.948s + 0.647
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.049s + 0.748
8. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m15.199s + 0.898
9. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m15.245s + 0.944
10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m15.322s Gap **
11. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m15.421s + 0.510
12. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.508s + 0.597
13. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.536s + 0.625
14. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m15.709s + 0.798
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m15.718s + 0.807
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m15.878s + 0.967
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.885s + 1.974
Q1 cut-off time: 1m16.491s Gap *
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m16.538s + 1.120
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m17.404s + 1.986
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m17.947s + 2.529
21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m18.096s + 2.678
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m18.476s + 3.058
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.310s + 3.892
24. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari no time
The Race
It was the race everyone wanted to win. It was the race everyone wanted to go to. After the form of the 2012 F1 season thus far, we could well see the 6th different winner this season.
Glitz and glamour played host to the F1 Monaco GP, the most picturesque but risky Grand Prix on the calendar. A circuit packed into just 3.3kilometres is a drivers dream, but who's dream came true today? Keep reading to find out.
The grid was ready, the lights came on. F1 went racing in the streets of Monaco. Off the line and on the short run to Ste Devote there was trouble for Grosjean as he collided with Schumacher as he went 4 wide with Grosjean, Alonso and Hamilton. Webber maintained his lead with Rosberg and Hamilton slotting behind. Alonso moved up and Button lost a number of positions to avoid Kobayashi after he made contact with the spinning Grosjean. Maldonado damaged his car too, from hero to zero it seemed.
By lap 2 the safety car was out due to Grosjean's stricken car at turn 1 and Malonado's damaged Williams stranded on track too. A HRT also lost its rear wing, thanks to a punt by Maldonado. A replay of the start showed Grosjean made contact with Schumacher, causing Grosjean to spin. As he came to rest Kobayashi tried to avoid him but got clipped, sending him into the air. Maldonado rammed one of the HRT's as the field bunched up.
The safety car came in at the end of lap 3, with Hamilton seemingly asleep. Further down the field Button was looking at overtaking Kovalainen for 13th. Massa was shaping up Alonso but it was all about keeping the tyres in shape for the leaders.
DRS was activated after the safety car but it did not feature as the main factor of the race, the zone being too short. On lap 8 there was a warning for the cars who cut turn 1 on the opening lap, with them being investigated. However the incident was later concluded to be fine, leading to drivers like Vergne being agitated after losing positon. It began to look a tad processional by lap 10, drivers being cautious in the few possible overtaking zones and saving tyre wear.
The first overtake came on lap 13 thanks to Sergio Perez. He lunged up the inside of Jean-Eric Vergne into the Nouvelle Chicane. Vergne cut the corner and maintained the place but was ordered to give the place back to Perez after his valiant effort.
Petrov pitted on the first lap after a problem, but he re-emerged to continue racing. However he became the 5th retirement due to an electrical problem on lap 17. The pit stop window opened with Jean-Eric Vergne pitting for the soft tyre after starting on the super soft's.
Perez overtook Timo Glock for 15th place at the Nouvelle Chicane. Glock cut the chicane like Vergne, but he was overtaken into Tabac, a brave move again by Perez who was leaving no prisoners. Alonso was on the pace by lap 20 and kept setting fastest laps, closing on Hamilton and pushing Massa back. Raikkonen was starting to get a Que forming behind him, with Schumacher, Hulkenberg and Senna stuck behind him.
The tyres were going alot further than anticipated. Rain was expected and drivers were eeking out the wear of the super softs at the front, while the few drivers on the soft were coming back at the cars in front. The first leader to pit was Nico Rosberg, taking a set of soft tyres. The drivers were complaining about the wear on the super softs by lap 25. The Que behind Raikkonen was increasing and Schumacher failed to pass into the Nouvelle chicane, a good 8 cars behind.
Next up in the pits came Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton, who was being hounded by Alonso. Behind them Raikkonen, Hulkenberg and Bruno Senna pitted which left Schumacher in clear air. The new leader was Alonso who was flying and pitted a lap later. He emerged ahead of Lewis Hamilton as the Spaniard made the jump on the Brit.
Kovalainen also pitted which left Button in clear air on his soft tyre at the 30 lap mark.
Felipe Massa then pitted and left Vettel in the lead on the soft compound. The cars which were previously held up by Raikkonen started to set their personal bests on lap 32. Rain was still expected and Vettel continued to set personal best times to push out the gap to Webber. Schumacher pitted to get rid of his worn super softs on lap 35 and emerged ahead of the traffic and Kimi Raikkonen.
Lap 36 was when the rain arrived. Drizzle started falling on track reducing the grip. A replay showed Perez pitting and forcing Raikkonen, who was overtaking on the inside, to slam on the brakes and this gifted Nico Hulkenberg a position. On lap 39 Perez was presented with a drive through for the late pit entry and for holding up Raikkonen.
Button finally pitted for the first time on lap 40 and put on the super soft's, despite the spitting rain. He emerged behind Kovalainen which led to questions being asked on Mclaren's strategy. Ricciardo stopped and fell behind Jenson Button, who he was holding up before the pit stops. Vettel remained in front and lapped similarly to Webber at that point of the race.
The last runner to pit was Vettel, from the lead. He put on the super soft tyres and emerged just ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton seemed to be frustrated after losing a place to Alonso. Yellow flags came out on lap 54 for debris at the swimming pool, part of someones front wing.
Schumacher radioed on lap 60 complaining of a problem, while further behind Button was stuck behind Kovalainen and forming a Que. Reviewing the images at Sky Sports F1 during the quiet pace of the race, I spot the extraordinary image of Kamui Kobayashi with all 4 wheels off the ground during the turn 1 incident. Within 6 hours of tweeting the image it had got 550 ReTweets and the top F1 hashtag tweet in the world, an exciting time for me.
An overtaking move came from Jean-Eric Vergne on lap 61 into Ste Devote on Michael Schumacher who was nursing his car. The move stuck due to Schumacher making it easy due to his problem. However the race came alive with just 13 laps left as Rain came into play, closing the front up. One who would not benefit was Mercedes who retired Michael Schumacher's car just as the rain began to fall, it was not all over.
The problem was, would it rain enough for intermediate tyres? Charles Pic stopped on track at the chicane which briefly saw the yellow flags come out. With 10 laps to go it was still close at the front, just 7 seconds separated the top 6. Webber started backing up the pack and the whole top 5 were closing in, just a few seconds separating them all.
It was unbelievable. Webber was holding up the whole of the top 6, with the rain also making it dangerously slippery. Jean-Eric Vergne pitted for Intermediate tyres in a big risk. Jenson Button retired from the race at turn 1 after hitting Kovalainen. Perez and Kovalainen also collided as the Caterham held Perez up in 11th. The Finn had a damaged front wing which was dangerously hanging off. Their battle carried on and Perez overtook on the outside but had to cut the corner. Kovalainen reluctantly pitted and emerged in 13th.
The anticipated rain subsided, with the pit stop by Vergne not paying off. With 4 laps left the cars were still separated by just seconds, Hamilton being told to put his fuel mix up to take advantage of the minuscule gaps. With the laps counting down it seemed that the places would stay as they were, and they did due to Monaco's overtaking difficult being high. The last lap was closer than ever but the Monaco nature meant overtaking was near impossible.
Webber crosses the line to win the Monaco Grand Prix and become the 6th different winner in 6 races.
Webber became the 6th different winner in 6 races and made it into the history books. Nico Rosberg was just a few tenths behind, ahead of Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were close behind, with Massa getting some welcome points.
The next few cars were Di Resta and Hulkenberg in the Force India, with Raikkonen and Senna rounding out the top 10. Perez and Vergne had eventful races and finished just outside the points, with Kovalainen staying in 13th with a result helping Caterham move ahead of Marussia and HRT to 10th in the constructors.
The result meant the title race is still as close as ever, with Lotus fading and Mclaren disappointing. Red Bull were not optimistic for the race but they managed to pull it off.
Classified: Pos Driver Team Time
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1h46:06.557
2. Rosberg Mercedes + 0.643
3. Alonso Ferrari + 0.947
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 1.343
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 4.101
6. Massa Ferrari + 6.195
7. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 41.500
8. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 42.500
9. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 44.000
10. Senna Williams-Renault + 44.500
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
14. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
Fastest lap: Perez, 1:17.298
Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap
Button McLaren-Mercedes 71
Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 66
Pic Marussia-Cosworth 65
Schumacher Mercedes 64
Petrov Caterham-Renault 16
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 6
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1
Maldonado Williams-Renault 1
Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Here is my report of the whole race weekend, starting with FP1 and FP2 on the Thursday (As Friday is a public holiday), before FP3 and Qualifying on Saturday. Finally there will be the exciting race around the streets of the principality on Sunday.
Its one of the most difficult circuits on the calendar and one of the most unique too, giving the drivers an impressive challenge. The classic circuit is a treat to watch, with classic corners like Tabac, swimming Pool, the Nouvelle chicane and the illusive Tunnel. However it could be the weather which springs a surprise on the Mediterranean coast.
FP1
The first practice session of the Monaco Grand Prix, held on a Thursday, was one full of drama. The cars struggled on a dusty track and the bumps caught out many. It was Fernando Alonso who topped the time sheets after 90 minutes of continuous running. His lap time of 1m16.265 was 3 tenths faster than Lotus's Romain Grosjean.
Jenson Button finished the session in 8th, with Michael Schumacher a few places back in 11th. The German driver damaged his front wing on the swimming pool kerbs and had to change the nosecone on his Mercedes. Mark Webber finished the session 13th, 4 places behind his team mate.
A number of drivers struggled out on track, with the Nouvelle Chicane being the scene of many a lock up, likewise at Ste Devote. HRT saw their drivers run down the escape road and Felipe Massa, along with a few others, tapped the wall at Tabac. No severe damage was done however.
FP2
The second 90 minute session in Monte Carlo was disrupted by some uncharacteristic rain. The weather radar showed rain would arrive shortly after the green light for FP2, so the cars flooded out for some quick laps on the dry tyres.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
Many drivers struggled for grip, with the Mirabeau escape road being used by both Williams drivers, Perez and Kovalainen. However it was the latter that stayed there, Heikki's reverse gear was not selecting and he was left stranded.
Both Ferrari's finished in the top 5, Massa this time ahead of Alonso. Maldonado finished the session 5th, for the second practice in a row. Webber and Vettel were 7th and 10th and Hamilton was in 11th place.
Kimi Raikkonen struggled after missing the whole of FP1 and finished the 1 hour 30 minute practice session in 19th. Petrov even ended the session in 16th as Caterham aim for 1 car being in Q2.
FP3
After the free day on Friday the cars were back in action for FP3 on Saturday Morning. The Monaco principality was basking in stunning sun shine, but after FP3 some of the drivers were not.
Nico Rosberg topped the time sheets with a time of 1m15.159, set at the end of a longer super soft run. He finished just ahead of Felipe Massa, rejuvenated after some were questioning his speed. Vettel and Alonso made late improvements and Grosjean, who topped the session early on, was 5th.
There were a number of incidents during the short session. A number of drivers cut the Nouvelle Chicane and locked up into Ste Devote. Vettel and Perez both glanced the Armco but it was Paul Di Resta who made the hardest impact. Under braking for the Nouvelle chicane his car bottomed out on the bump and he was turned into the barrier. Fortunately he only sustained front wing damage.
Next up it was Spanish GP hero Pastor Maldonado's turn to hit the wall. He collided with the Armco on the entry to Casino Square as he turned in, highly unusual. The hit propelled him across the track and into the barrier on the exit of the turn, losing a wheel. It came to light through later replays that he turned in on Mexican Sergio Perez as the latter slowed to let him past. It was just before the turn going into the tunnel and Perez lifted his hands in frustration, a highly unusual and (if deemed deliberate) immature event from the Spanish GP winner.
Qualifying
Some would say it is the most important qualifying session in the season, with overtaking notoriously tricky around the twisting Monaco streets. Before it even got underway Schumacher had to start 5 places back after his collision in Spain with Bruno Senna, while the laters team mate Pastor Maldonado will be moved back 10 places thanks to him barging into Sergio Perez in FP3.
Q1
The main problem in the first 20 minute session was traffic. With cars backing off, particularly around the final sector. It meant the stewards were busy with baulking and traffic problems. 24 cars racing around a 3.3km track meant there will be trouble.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
The session soon got under way and when the chequered flag came out it was Nico Hulkenberg on the super soft tyre who topped the times on a 1m15.418, 2 tenths ahead of Kobayashi and 3 tenths ahead of Grosjean. Vettel used up a set of super soft tyres to go 4th, ahead of Schumacher and Raikkonen.
Out in the first session were Kovalainen, Petrov, Glock, De La Rosa, Pic and Karthikeyan. Perez did not set a lap time so will start 24th, unless penalties mean otherwise.
Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton finished down the field due to them staying in the garage as others panicked and used up a set of super soft tyres.
Q2
15 minutes was all it took to get into Q3, but for 7 of them, they did not progress. This was the session which was hotly contested, the margins on the short circuit were smaller than ever.
Nico Rosberg took the early lead, with all but a few drivers going onto the super softs. However a yellow flag came out after Jean-Eric Vergne crashed and lost his front wing. After that slight delay the cars carried on regardless and continued to progress.
The 2nd runs commenced with cars emerging for a full Q2 house. Cars improved on the rubbered track as the bottom top 10 places switched continually. Massa went top and Hulkenberg, Kobayashi and Vettel all improved.
In the drop zone finished Hulkenberg, Kobayashi, Jenson Button in the Mclaren, Senna, Di Resta, Ricciardo and Vergne. It was the 2nd poor qualifying in a row for Button, with his last lap being just 1 tenth off the top 10.
9 tenths of a second split the top 16, the short circuit meant there were fine margins. Felipe Massa was fastest and the only man to dip below the 1m15's this weekend. Even more impressive was the 4 tenths separating the top 10.
Q3
The short confines and competitive nature of Monaco and F1 in 2012 meant the last 10 minute qualifying session was hotly anticipated.
Through to the last session were both Lotus drivers, both Mercedes, both Ferrari's, both Red Bull's, Maldonado and Hamilton. The session started with drivers emerging for their first runs. Some split their strategies between doing 1 or 2 runs respectively, traffic not much of an issue with only 10 cars circulating.
Rosberg set the opening time, fuelled for 2 runs as it seemed the second run was the faster of the 2. He backed off on his opening lap which meant the time was slow, a 1m18.853. That was quickly trumped by Maldonado, Hamilton and Grosjean before the second runs improved.
Rosberg dislodged Grosjean and Hamilton went 3rd. Webber then moved Hamilton down to 4th, with his team mate Vettel staying in the pits. He emerged on the slower soft tyre for 1 final run, like Massa and Alonso. Massa set a lap of 1m15.379 to go 8th, quite far off the pace. Vettel aborted the run to save his tyres, so he will start 10th.
Alonso set his first timed lap to go 5th fastest. The times were improving slightly but purple sectors were limited to the odd few. Mark Webber took provisional pole from Rosberg and Hamilton was 2 tenths slower in 3rd.
Next up were Massa, going 6th, and Schumacher went on pole by 8 hundredths of a second. However he has a 5 place penalty so pole position will go to Webber, from Rosberg, Hamilton, Grosjean, Alonso, Schumacher, Massa, Raikkonen, Vettel and Hulkenberg. Maldonado did finish 9th but will start down the field.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.301s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m14.381s + 0.080
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m14.448s + 0.147
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m14.583s + 0.282
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m14.639s + 0.338
6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m14.948s + 0.647
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.049s + 0.748
8. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m15.199s + 0.898
9. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m15.245s + 0.944
10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m15.322s Gap **
11. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m15.421s + 0.510
12. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.508s + 0.597
13. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.536s + 0.625
14. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m15.709s + 0.798
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m15.718s + 0.807
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m15.878s + 0.967
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.885s + 1.974
Q1 cut-off time: 1m16.491s Gap *
18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m16.538s + 1.120
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m17.404s + 1.986
20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m17.947s + 2.529
21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m18.096s + 2.678
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m18.476s + 3.058
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.310s + 3.892
24. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari no time
The Race
It was the race everyone wanted to win. It was the race everyone wanted to go to. After the form of the 2012 F1 season thus far, we could well see the 6th different winner this season.
Glitz and glamour played host to the F1 Monaco GP, the most picturesque but risky Grand Prix on the calendar. A circuit packed into just 3.3kilometres is a drivers dream, but who's dream came true today? Keep reading to find out.
By lap 2 the safety car was out due to Grosjean's stricken car at turn 1 and Malonado's damaged Williams stranded on track too. A HRT also lost its rear wing, thanks to a punt by Maldonado. A replay of the start showed Grosjean made contact with Schumacher, causing Grosjean to spin. As he came to rest Kobayashi tried to avoid him but got clipped, sending him into the air. Maldonado rammed one of the HRT's as the field bunched up.
The safety car came in at the end of lap 3, with Hamilton seemingly asleep. Further down the field Button was looking at overtaking Kovalainen for 13th. Massa was shaping up Alonso but it was all about keeping the tyres in shape for the leaders.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
The first overtake came on lap 13 thanks to Sergio Perez. He lunged up the inside of Jean-Eric Vergne into the Nouvelle Chicane. Vergne cut the corner and maintained the place but was ordered to give the place back to Perez after his valiant effort.
Petrov pitted on the first lap after a problem, but he re-emerged to continue racing. However he became the 5th retirement due to an electrical problem on lap 17. The pit stop window opened with Jean-Eric Vergne pitting for the soft tyre after starting on the super soft's.
Perez overtook Timo Glock for 15th place at the Nouvelle Chicane. Glock cut the chicane like Vergne, but he was overtaken into Tabac, a brave move again by Perez who was leaving no prisoners. Alonso was on the pace by lap 20 and kept setting fastest laps, closing on Hamilton and pushing Massa back. Raikkonen was starting to get a Que forming behind him, with Schumacher, Hulkenberg and Senna stuck behind him.
The tyres were going alot further than anticipated. Rain was expected and drivers were eeking out the wear of the super softs at the front, while the few drivers on the soft were coming back at the cars in front. The first leader to pit was Nico Rosberg, taking a set of soft tyres. The drivers were complaining about the wear on the super softs by lap 25. The Que behind Raikkonen was increasing and Schumacher failed to pass into the Nouvelle chicane, a good 8 cars behind.
Next up in the pits came Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton, who was being hounded by Alonso. Behind them Raikkonen, Hulkenberg and Bruno Senna pitted which left Schumacher in clear air. The new leader was Alonso who was flying and pitted a lap later. He emerged ahead of Lewis Hamilton as the Spaniard made the jump on the Brit.
Kovalainen also pitted which left Button in clear air on his soft tyre at the 30 lap mark.
Felipe Massa then pitted and left Vettel in the lead on the soft compound. The cars which were previously held up by Raikkonen started to set their personal bests on lap 32. Rain was still expected and Vettel continued to set personal best times to push out the gap to Webber. Schumacher pitted to get rid of his worn super softs on lap 35 and emerged ahead of the traffic and Kimi Raikkonen.
Button finally pitted for the first time on lap 40 and put on the super soft's, despite the spitting rain. He emerged behind Kovalainen which led to questions being asked on Mclaren's strategy. Ricciardo stopped and fell behind Jenson Button, who he was holding up before the pit stops. Vettel remained in front and lapped similarly to Webber at that point of the race.
The last runner to pit was Vettel, from the lead. He put on the super soft tyres and emerged just ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton seemed to be frustrated after losing a place to Alonso. Yellow flags came out on lap 54 for debris at the swimming pool, part of someones front wing.
Schumacher radioed on lap 60 complaining of a problem, while further behind Button was stuck behind Kovalainen and forming a Que. Reviewing the images at Sky Sports F1 during the quiet pace of the race, I spot the extraordinary image of Kamui Kobayashi with all 4 wheels off the ground during the turn 1 incident. Within 6 hours of tweeting the image it had got 550 ReTweets and the top F1 hashtag tweet in the world, an exciting time for me.
An overtaking move came from Jean-Eric Vergne on lap 61 into Ste Devote on Michael Schumacher who was nursing his car. The move stuck due to Schumacher making it easy due to his problem. However the race came alive with just 13 laps left as Rain came into play, closing the front up. One who would not benefit was Mercedes who retired Michael Schumacher's car just as the rain began to fall, it was not all over.
The problem was, would it rain enough for intermediate tyres? Charles Pic stopped on track at the chicane which briefly saw the yellow flags come out. With 10 laps to go it was still close at the front, just 7 seconds separated the top 6. Webber started backing up the pack and the whole top 5 were closing in, just a few seconds separating them all.
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| (c) Octane Photographic |
It was unbelievable. Webber was holding up the whole of the top 6, with the rain also making it dangerously slippery. Jean-Eric Vergne pitted for Intermediate tyres in a big risk. Jenson Button retired from the race at turn 1 after hitting Kovalainen. Perez and Kovalainen also collided as the Caterham held Perez up in 11th. The Finn had a damaged front wing which was dangerously hanging off. Their battle carried on and Perez overtook on the outside but had to cut the corner. Kovalainen reluctantly pitted and emerged in 13th.
Webber crosses the line to win the Monaco Grand Prix and become the 6th different winner in 6 races.
Webber became the 6th different winner in 6 races and made it into the history books. Nico Rosberg was just a few tenths behind, ahead of Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were close behind, with Massa getting some welcome points.
The next few cars were Di Resta and Hulkenberg in the Force India, with Raikkonen and Senna rounding out the top 10. Perez and Vergne had eventful races and finished just outside the points, with Kovalainen staying in 13th with a result helping Caterham move ahead of Marussia and HRT to 10th in the constructors.
The result meant the title race is still as close as ever, with Lotus fading and Mclaren disappointing. Red Bull were not optimistic for the race but they managed to pull it off.
Classified: Pos Driver Team Time
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1h46:06.557
2. Rosberg Mercedes + 0.643
3. Alonso Ferrari + 0.947
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 1.343
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 4.101
6. Massa Ferrari + 6.195
7. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 41.500
8. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 42.500
9. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 44.000
10. Senna Williams-Renault + 44.500
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
14. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps
Fastest lap: Perez, 1:17.298
Not classified/retirements: Driver Team On lap
Button McLaren-Mercedes 71
Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 66
Pic Marussia-Cosworth 65
Schumacher Mercedes 64
Petrov Caterham-Renault 16
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 6
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1
Maldonado Williams-Renault 1
Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1
2 comments:
Just looking at these poll votes. It's ironic how the only person who didn't get a vote was Webber.
The race was so great! I love it. Thanks for posting. An I have to mention, Monaco GP Packages if ever you want to book your holidays to Monaco GP again.
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