2010 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix

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Tough luck for Kubica to lose out in the last few seconds. He's picking that Renault up and dragging it along behind him!

Indeed, amazing stuff once again!

I was kind of expecting Rosberg higher up there. After Q2 he was my personal bet for pole, but it looks I'll have to hope for more tomorrow.
 
The track seems to play well to the Renault engine's strengths... That's 1-2-3 Renault.

Then the Ferrari... Alonso may have been on the second row if he hadn't binned it in practice. The only guy remotely close to the front-runners is Hamilton, outqualifying Button by 0.2. Monaco is a track that flatters "natural" drivers like Hamilton... but I don't think that McLaren can keep up with the front of the pack.

Shame about the Mercedes GP cars... they looked very strong in the early parts of the practice. Michael should be happy about qualifying within 0.05 seconds of Nico... :lol:

Look for Alonso to cut up the backmarkers quickly and possibly make the top six after the pits. A no-refueling race will be really interesting here, as Monaco can shred tires quickly. Smooth driving might give Alonso a realistic chance at getting pretty far up in the order by the end of the race.
 
Might as well stop watching qualifying, cause Red Bull is gonna pole all year. But holy crap, that was a lightning lap!!
 
But it's so funny.

:lol:

Why is someones misfortune funny?

He's British. We like to laugh at others' misfortune. :)

Tough luck for Kubica to lose out in the last few seconds. He's picking that Renault up and dragging it along behind him!

I was rooting for him too :( Shame right at the end. The Red Bulls again managed to pull something out at the very end of Q3.
 
Not someones misfortune, Alonso's.

+1m 👍 Someone keeps smiling on Massa, hope for his sake it works well for him tomorrow.

The only hope Alonso has now is for a shrewd pit stop strategy and a whole bunch of safety car incidents.

I thought Kubica would shine but the biggest surprise for me is Webber, he has out shone his team mate....again, ftw.
 
What a bloody sensational run by Kubica. He really did pushed real hard throughout the whole session and boy he really was determine to be up there. In the end, a blistering lap from Webber rewards him a pole for the Monaco GP. Congratulations to all the drivers who did a fantastic job driving in such a tight street circuit...

Also great to see Lotus again ahead of the Virgins and around 0.3 secs clear of them. Credits to Kovalainen though he really tried to make up 0.5 but just couldn't make it and spun around 2 times in the process... Sweet qualifying session it was and all I hope is, a rain :trouble:
 
Let's just say that if Jenson had put his car in the barrier in the free practice and thus rendering him unable to take part in quali and I then expressed my "schadenfreude" of that fact I would be slapped with a warning faster than Webbers pole lap today.
 
Let's just say that if Jenson had put his car in the barrier in the free practice and thus rendering him unable to take part in quali and I then expressed my "schadenfreude" of that fact I would be slapped with a warning faster than Webbers pole lap today.

Why would you?
 
Yes indeed, why would I want to express joy over someone elses misfortune.

You already asked that. It was already answered. Stop trolling and answer the question.

What rule would we be enforcing if we were to give out the Warning you're sure you'd get? Why do you think double-standards are at play - even though they aren't? You've made a very bold claim here and I'd like you to back it up rather than squirming away from it.
 
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I think there's going to be a huge turn 1 crash tomorrow. Bots Lotus cars will make contact and spin each other, with DiGrassi getting tangled in it as well, while Alonso sneaks past unharmed, then Safety Car deployed, everyone at the front switches to hards, and Alonso will already be in the top 10.
 
You already asked that. It was already answered. Stop trolling and answer the question.

What rule would we be enforcing if we were to give out the Warning you're sure you'd get? Why do you think double-standards are at play - even though they aren't? You've made a very bold claim here and I'd like you to back it up rather than squirming away from it.

I think he's referring to the 'You will not state a desire to see a driver crash or be injured' rule. But in this case, Alonso had already crashed, and he was absolutely fine.

Yes indeed, why would I want to express joy over someone elses misfortune.

But if Famine had said: "I hope Alonso crashes because it would be so funny" then he would have breached the rules... But he didn't, and neither would you be if you said the same thing about Jenson Button had he been in the same situation.

Anyways...

I'm surprised at how slow Petrov is in relation to Kubica. The BBC commentators seem to praise Petrov here, there and everywhere. But I don't see anything special about him.
 
Nice to see Kubica up there, would love to see him in the best car. Thought Alonso could've been a threat too. Disappointed in the McLarens performance though. Hopefully a bit of luck and their better race pace can do something.

Incredible lap from Webber. Looks unbeatable lately.

Wasn't happy with the TV coverage. Thought I'd tuned into "Moments of Reflection with Fernando Alonso" and just not enough onboard shots or following the right cars.
 
I was watching Kubica the whole waiting for him to get in the 1:13's. Then out of nowhere Webber does it! That was a stonking drive from him, and Red Bull have got one mother of a car!
 
When my friend moved into a new house, he got SPEED Channel, and since we had never followed F1 before, we decided that this year we would. We each chose our teams before the season started. I picked Red Bull, and I do not regret the decision!:D Webber had a fantastic lap, and Vettel is right there in third! I hope Red Bull can turn this good qualy into a first place finish.
 
I think there's going to be a huge turn 1 crash tomorrow. Bots Lotus cars will make contact and spin each other, with DiGrassi getting tangled in it as well, while Alonso sneaks past unharmed, then Safety Car deployed, everyone at the front switches to hards, and Alonso will already be in the top 10.

Why do you think the Lotus cars will hit each other?
By the way, safety cars are not that common at Monaco, because of the excellent marshalling and all those cranes. Also consider that for Alonso to get in the top ten in that scenario, it assumes everyone from 11th place back will start on softs. From what I hear, its more likely for the middle of the pack to run hards at the start to try and captialise on the top 10 wearing out early on.

Anyways...

I'm surprised at how slow Petrov is in relation to Kubica. The BBC commentators seem to praise Petrov here, there and everywhere. But I don't see anything special about him.

Its because everyone thought the Renault isn't very good initially and that both Kubica and Petrov were doing the pulling. But I think its quite clear the Renault is quite decent, definitely ahead of the Mercedes at this point.
Also, Petrov is showing more promise than Hulkenburg at the moment - more flashes of speed to go along with his mistakes, whereas Hulkenburg hasn't really showed much pace just mistakes. So, Petrov is getting praise for being the most promising rookie this season, but as I just suggested, this may be more because of the Renault being a bit better to drive.

You jinxed him. Heikki was faster in all 3 practise sessions and in qualifying.

Me and the autosport forum, :lol:. Perhaps its an indication of how good Heikki is or how bad Trulli has become? Or just a reflection on how well Trulli is fitting in at a brand new, backmarker team?

Anyway, no one expects a rookie to match an experienced and proven quick driver like Kubica. The praise is not to do with his teammate comparison, its more to do with comparisons to his fellow rookies.

Anyway, top marks to Kubica, Barrichello and Liuzzi for performing beyond their car's abilities (though perhaps Liuzzi especially is merely performing like he should of at previous races).
Its looking promising for Lotus too, only 9 tenths off Kobayashi is not bad though naturally the short circuit length and reliance on mechanical grip helps.

Can't possibly make a prediction driver-wise for tomorrow, its still all to play for. The start will be super critical, it could mean 1st or 2nd place for Kubica, Webber and maybe Vettel. With this in mind, a Renault-powered win is probably quite likely.
The key issue for tomorrow is tyre wear. I think all of the top 10 will start on worn softer tyres, which wear quite quickly at Monaco as we saw last year. This will be the thing to watch out for, theres potential for some drama in this respect.
 
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I was expecting Renault to be up there. I mean, the Renault is shorter than the rest of the cars, remember?

That's a huge advantage in low-speed-cornering and zig-zagging circuits like Monaco.
 
I was expecting Renault to be up there. I mean, the Renault is shorter than the rest of the cars, remember?
I remember, before the season had started, I told Blake that Kubica would win the Monaco GP precisely for that reason. My prediction is looking plausible right now, but this post probably jinxed it.
 
Top stuff from Webber and Kubica today 👍

It was a shame (at least for me :lol:) seeing Alonso stuck in the garage spectating todays much anticipated Qualy session. So far things haven't gone too smoothly for Alonso this season, despite being very well in the Championship hunt. Hopefully he can turn things around starting tommorow and stay out of trouble throughout the remainder of the season 👍


Its because everyone thought the Renault isn't very good initially and that both Kubica and Petrov were doing the pulling. But I think its quite clear the Renault is quite decent, definitely ahead of the Mercedes at this point.
.

That's because Renault have had an immense development rate throughout the first few races (over a second a lap improvement- quoted by Renault), thanks in part to large advancements like their revolutionairy double floor design which they introduced at Malaysia, as well as general improvements to the f/r wings and diffuser efficiency they have made since Bahrain.

I think it is a bit bold to say that Renault is definitely ahead of Mercedes at this point though. This track just happens to suit the Renault extremely well with its short wheelbase, great mechnical grip, and engine driveability. I believe on most traditional circuits the Mercedes is still possibly on level ground with the Renault or possibly a bit better.
 
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Renault were already quite close to Mercedes at the first 4 races in my opinion and its not just about pace of development, the car appears to be fundamentally better balanced than the Mercedes, seeing as the Mercedes drivers are endlessly complaining of issues with understeer and trouble with using the ballast effectively.

I can easily see Renault continuing this form for the rest of the season, its not like they have been poor at the other tracks either. The car just looks more sorted than the Mercedes does, even if its not quite there on ultimate pace, its the confidence and consistencey for the drivers that counts too.

I'm not trying to downplay Kubica's brilliant driving this weekend, on the contrary, I am underlining it further by suggesting the car is not on pace with the Red Bulls, Ferraris or McLarens, yet Kubica has put it on the front row! According to what I have just said, it should be around 8th amongst the Mercedes but Kubica's immense driving has put it where it is.
I think Petrov is flattering Kubica a little though, the car is definitely top 10/Q3 stuff, its not like its a "dog of a car".
 
Very interesting Quali...

Not sure how Red Bull do it - they looked near enough in Q2 - but an amazing couple of last ditch laps for them to get 1&3...

Massa should've got a penalty for blatantly slowing down in front of Jenson though...

Kubica drove the nuts off of that Renault - 1st turn down the inside banzai?! Probably not - but it's pretty much the only chance of overtaking - I think this race will be decided by mistakes and issue - or the lack of - in the pits.

Oh - and to the person querying about Alonso's "misfortune" - it was a lack of fortune for him - he made a mistake - simple.

C.
 
......Massa should've got a penalty for blatantly slowing down in front of Jenson though..
C.

Having watched it, it was obvious that Massa had backed right off. I also wasn't aware of any car in front of Massa when Button was approaching.

That said, Button has consistently performed as the 8th best driver during the practice sessions and so to get 8th position on the grid was no underachievement. Button wasn't even on a particularly good lap.

I think Button was just spouting off. I don't think Damon Hill would even contemplate imposing a penalty. That said, there's always tomorrow morning!
 
But it's so funny.

alonsou.jpg


I also wasn't aware of any car in front of Massa when Button was approaching.

There was, just not that close.
 
Red Bull had to have been running with more fuel than the rest until Q3.

The Renault obviously just needs a good aero pakage to compete at the front, as this circuit will show off mechanical grip and driver skill.

Whether or not Button was on a pole sitting lap, Massa clearly held up him finishing the lap that he was on at full pace. This is a breach of a qualifying rule and the penalty should be inplace.



@chromatic9: I'm pretty sure Webber was checking Kubica's LF.
 
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@chromatic9: I'm pretty sure Webber was checking Kubica's LF.

Nah, he was checking his own tyre because he later said in interview he was a little worried about a moment where he brushed the barrier. There were no visible marks on the Bridgestone lettering, so I don't think there was anything to worry about.
 
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