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,
. 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.
Shame right at the end. The Red Bulls again managed to pull something out at the very end of Q3.
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.
