Monaco GP

[Gnam]

Reminder that practice starts tomorrow.
Speed coverage below:

Thursday, May 26
Practice, 4 am ET, (web)
Practice, 8 am ET, (TV)

Saturday, May 28
Practice, 5 am ET, (web)
Qualifying, 8 am ET, (TV)

Sunday, May 29
Monaco GP, 7:30 am ET, (TV)

[cameraman]

We need to start a pool for in which session Ste Devote breaks up and who crashes there first. #lorryflambe

[NismoZ]

So, who won practice?:gomer:

[cameraman]

Michael Schumacher. Destroyed the right side of the car in Ste Devote.

[The Doctor]

GP2 destroyed the entire field... Or, well, tried to. And this was only qualifying...

rm2BMM71S14

[Easy]

Solid work by the JV squad. Did they consider split qualifying?

[NismoZ]

Good LORD! Is this the future of F-1?

[extramundane]

Nice team-on-team violence going on. Grosjean/Varhaug was pretty stellar.

I always wondered what IRL 1996 would've looked like on a street circuit. :shakehead

[cameraman]

Looks like Liuzzi might miss qualifying as he just wrecked his car in Ste Devote. Red flag to clear the debris. He is fine, the left side of the car is destroyed.

Rosberg did his car in coming out of the tunnel. Let lost the rear end and had a massive shunt. He was extremely lucky as he just barely missed the barrier at the exit of the chicane. The car is in very grim shape, Nico is fine.

Alonso is hooked up. He was fastest during the session but he looked very good on every lap.

[cameraman]

A caveat to Alonso's speed. In the rush to the track after Liuzzi's shunt neither Red Bull nor Hamilton were able to set a fast lap. All three were tied up in traffic.

[cameraman]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/308359289.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1306581433&Signature=kVddfZcep4UHC1nMUaQEyl6HIWE%3D

http://twitpic.com/53l7jt
if the direct link doesn't work

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/308357613.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1306581553&Signature=PMYedumpi4e6UfSiq%2BO4MLYQlic%3D

http://twitpic.com/53l699

[opinionated ow]

The Red Bulls finished the session with Sebastian Vettel fourth (1:15.245) and Mark Webber seventh (1:15.529) but it is reasonable to expect the pair to be right in the pole position battle. Red Bull spent most of the session on the soft rather than supersoft tyre, as they appeared to collect race data, only deploying DRS on the front straight, where it will be used in the race.
http://www.grandprix.com/race/r845p3report.html

[emjaya]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/308359289.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1306581433&Signature=kVddfZcep4UHC1nMUaQEyl6HIWE%3D

http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/large/308357613.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1306581553&Signature=PMYedumpi4e6UfSiq%2BO4MLYQlic%3D

I'm seeing not anything. :confused:

[cameraman]

Try these:

http://twitpic.com/53l7jt
http://twitpic.com/53l699

HRT are not even trying to fix Liuzzi's right now. He will miss qualifying.

[trish]

I hope Perez is ok.

[cameraman]

This is taking far too long. Perez must be in bad shape.

[EDwardo]

That was a truly wicked hit.

[cameraman]

Awake and talking. Minor miracle.

[trish]

That's good news.

[RTKar]

A nerve wracking scene, waiting for news. I can't imagine being a driver waiting to get back out after your adrenelin has come down, wondering what happened. It all brings back memories of Imola 94 to me.

[NismoZ]

As far as I could tell, Perez was either beyond help (because he sure as hell wasn't getting any) or immediate medical help was not a huge concern. Awake alert and talking is always a good sign...but so was Mark Donohue.:( What are the odds of a tweak in the track design at that point?:rolleyes:

[cameraman]

The drivers were complaining that the track needs to be resurfaced coming out of the tunnel and down the hill into the chicane before today's accidents. With two cars going off at the same spot, both being upset by the same bumps in the track, I'm going to think that that section will get replaced before next year.

[cameraman]

Perez took one hell of a hit and I seriously doubt he is going to be in any kind of shape to drive tomorrow. So if Perez can't drive Sauber would be allowed to use a spare driver. Their test driver is Esteban Gutiérrez who is driving in GP2 this year and not particularly well at that. It will be interesting to see what they do.

Button praised Charlie Whiting for removing the speed bumps after Rosberg's accident. Button said Perez' accident could have been a lot worse.

Charlie Whiting is getting soft. Both HRT's will be allowed to start tomorrow.

FIA press release: Perez will spend the night in Princess Grace Hospital but has not sustained any fractures. He has a probable concussion. I would think so...

[Trevor Longman]

What are the odds of a tweak in the track design at that point?:rolleyes:

Well, two new chicanes have just been added in the form of Karthikayen and Liuzzi! :laugh:

[NismoZ]

Oooo...passing at Monaco!:thumbup:

[Insomniac]

So they are using the super soft and soft tires this weekend?

[opinionated ow]

So they are using the super soft and soft tires this weekend?

Yep. Supersoft are Red, Soft are Yellow

[Insomniac]

Yep. Supersoft are Red, Soft are Yellow

What happened to the rule about a gap between compounds?

[opinionated ow]

What happened to the rule about a gap between compounds?

I think it is an MOU rather than a regulation and Pirelli reserved the right to not necessarily make that the case. It's the same for Montreal (although having said that, Bridgestone pulled the same routine last year for those two races)

[dando]

Rubbin' is racin' F1 style. :gomer: :saywhat:

-Kevin

[devilmaster]

Rubbin' is racin' F1 style. :gomer: :saywhat:

-Kevin

ditto.

[devilmaster]

wow. just wow.

[devilmaster]

petrov complaining of back pain...

they thought he was unconscious

edit:
team engineer to bbc: petrov complained of leg pain, no breaks, just bruising, took a bit to extract him

[RTKar]

He reported pain and didn't want to get out himself according to T/S.

Great race. Nice runs by Koybayashi and Maldonado

[SteveH]

Hard to imagine a better race for Monaco :thumbup:

[RTKar]

Hard to imagine a better race for Monaco :thumbup:

Especially in dry conditions. The key is the safety crew takes out disabled cars really quickly unlike CART. Who failed miserably at clearing the track.

[opinionated ow]

Especially in dry conditions. The key is the safety crew takes out disabled cars really quickly unlike CART. Who failed miserably at clearing the track.

Yep. Bloody Lewis Hamilton...turning into Cheatmacher!

DRS was completely useless which absolutely made my day. I had to dig through the F1 specific regulations with regard the red flag; the international sporting code calls it a completed event if a red flag is shown after the 75% mark.

[RTKar]

Yep. Bloody Lewis Hamilton...turning into Cheatmacher!

DRS was completely useless which absolutely made my day. I had to dig through the F1 specific regulations with regard the red flag; the international sporting code calls it a completed event if a red flag is shown after the 75% mark.

I looked on an info page on T/S and they listed a "red" as suspended.

[Pilgrims Drop]

Hamilton :saywhat::shakehead:thumdown:
Changing tyres whilst the race is suspended :saywhat::flame::thumdown:

[patski]

Hamilton :saywhat::shakehead:thumdown:
Changing tyres whilst the race is suspended :saywhat::flame::thumdown:

That ruined a great race for me.

[Andrew Longman]

Hamilton had some choice words after the race and gave this interview with the BBC.

Reporter: "Lewis, why do you feel you are being singled out by the stewards?"
Hamilton: "Maybe its cause I'm black!" :rofl: :laugh:

hD8T8_JR4Mw

[Insomniac]

Especially in dry conditions. The key is the safety crew takes out disabled cars really quickly unlike CART. Who failed miserably at clearing the track.

CART did not want safety crews on green tracks. It's a pretty big difference.

[RTKar]

CART did not want safety crews on green tracks. It's a pretty big difference.

The accident areas would have been under yellow...

Some races damn near 50% of the race was run under yellow :thumdown:


CART didn't want to spend any money on multiple cranes for portions of the track that had a high accident potential. It made for some brutal races to watch. F1 can do it, CART should have been able as well. They were early adapters of other safety programs....

[Insomniac]

Changing tyres whilst the race is suspended :saywhat::flame::thumdown:

I don't think it would've mattered in the end. The tires were holding up very well. Button was able to put on a set of super softs he had already used for a stint.

[emjaya]

I don't think it would've mattered in the end. The tires were holding up very well. Button was able to put on a set of super softs he had already used for a stint.

Maybe, maybe not. On the BBC broadcast they said Vettel's tyres were about to go off in a big way and he would lose up to 3 seconds a lap. This was to be about lap 74/75.

It would have made for an interesting last few laps.

Hamilton must have thought he was back in GP2 the way he was driving. :thumdown:

[cameraman]

If they had not red flagged it then it would have finished under yellow. Once it was stopped they had to get tire warmers on because if the tire had been allowed to cool for 15-20 minutes everyone would have crashed, those tires don't function cold. I think the red flag rule should be that they can use tire warmers to keep them hot but you have to put the same tires back on again.

[pchall]

Hamilton must have thought he was back in GP2 the way he was driving. :thumdown:

Seems desperate.

[cameraman]

He has a tendency to lose his mind when things go against him on a weekend.

[Fio1]

The pass on Schumacher was great! The pass on Massa was desperate. The pass on Maldonaldo was legit, and the contact was caused by Pastor turning in on him. But, Lewis shouldn't have said the because I'm black b.s. I didn't think I'd ever see him play that card. Oh, well. :shakehead

[opinionated ow]

The pass on Schumacher was great! The pass on Massa was desperate. The pass on Maldonaldo was legit, and the contact was caused by Pastor turning in on him. But, Lewis shouldn't have said the because I'm black b.s. I didn't think I'd ever see him play that card. Oh, well. :shakehead

The pass on maldonado was never going to work. Surely he'd had enough discretions to warrant disqualification from the race.


P.s. So nice to see that stupid business of lapped cars to the back was dropped. Keep it in the correct order so everyone has the same challenge...

[Insomniac]

Maybe, maybe not. On the BBC broadcast they said Vettel's tyres were about to go off in a big way and he would lose up to 3 seconds a lap. This was to be about lap 74/75.

It would have made for an interesting last few laps.

Hamilton must have thought he was back in GP2 the way he was driving. :thumdown:

And SPEED said the tires maybe could last 40 laps if needed. Vettel had gone way past that point. There was a possibility though, I just didn't think it was likely.

[Insomniac]

If they had not red flagged it then it would have finished under yellow. Once it was stopped they had to get tire warmers on because if the tire had been allowed to cool for 15-20 minutes everyone would have crashed, those tires don't function cold. I think the red flag rule should be that they can use tire warmers to keep them hot but you have to put the same tires back on again.

I did not know that. I always thought they were a bunch of babies who didn't want to run on cold tires for a lap.

[Insomniac]

The pass on Schumacher was great! The pass on Massa was desperate. The pass on Maldonaldo was legit, and the contact was caused by Pastor turning in on him. But, Lewis shouldn't have said the because I'm black b.s. I didn't think I'd ever see him play that card. Oh, well. :shakehead

The pass on Moldonado looked desperate to me. He stuck his nose in there at the curbing. Seems like he was hoping that would be enough to keep him on the outside so he could get past.

Why didn't they show any footage of him and Massa entering the tunnel before Massa crashed? I really wanted to see the move Hamilton made to get inside in the tunnel.

I thought Lewis was joking. Maybe he feels there is some truth to it, but he was laughing. What other problems has he had this season?

[cameraman]

I did not know that. I always thought they were a bunch of babies who didn't want to run on cold tires for a lap.

I don't think they have ever run on a truly cold tire. Look what happened during qualifying. The cars that were first out, Hamilton et al, had sat at the end of the pit lane for less than 5 minutes and the tires were hopelessly cool by the time they got out on the track. After 20 minutes with no heat they would be bricks. They have really boxed themselves into a corner by designing compounds that must be truly hot in order to work at all.

[Insomniac]

I don't think they have ever run on a truly cold tire. Look what happened during qualifying. The cars that were first out, Hamilton et al, had sat at the end of the pit lane for less than 5 minutes and the tires were hopelessly cool by the time they got out on the track. After 20 minutes with no heat they would be bricks. They have really boxed themselves into a corner by designing compounds that must be truly hot in order to work at all.

It's interesting. I just thought that they used them to get that immediate high level of performance from the tire. I always thought if CART added tire warmers that would be the reason. It never occurred to me that the tire manufacturers could then change the compound to take advantage. (In retrospect, that was an obvious thing to do.)

[cameraman]

Ouch


the FIA accident data recorder on the Sauber logged a lateral impact of 80G, believed to be the highest seen in F1 since the system was introduced. His helmet showed no external markings, while the headrest foam did its job.

Perez was released from the hospital today.

Adam Cooper F1 blog (http://adamcooperf1.com/2011/05/30/perez-allowed-home-after-80g-impact/)

[SteveH]

80 Gs? That's a pounding. Up there with C. Fittipaldi at Chicago and Blundell at Rio. Anyone remember what their numbers were?

[emjaya]

Pirelli is open to a change to the red flag rules in Formula 1 to prevent teams from changing tyres if a race is stopped - after feeling fans were robbed of a great finish to the Monaco Grand Prix.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91893

[cameraman]

Allow warmers but don't allow tire changes. It is safe and simple.

[Indy]

80 Gs? That's a pounding. Up there with C. Fittipaldi at Chicago and Blundell at Rio. Anyone remember what their numbers were?

I have been horrified at Roger Williamson's death for many years, so I have read a lot about David Purley, the driver who stopped to try to save him. He also had a horrific crash in 1977, supposedly 179 G's. He talks about it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk4WX02aGf8

Not to diminish what happened to Perez, but the guys who drove in that era had to have been very extreme thrill seekers with the ability to block out all fear.

[cameraman]

I was surely true of Purley. He was killed when he crashed this Pitts Special sometime in the mid eighties.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Cynops/Purley.jpg

[TrueBrit]

The pass on Moldonado looked desperate to me. He stuck his nose in there at the curbing. Seems like he was hoping that would be enough to keep him on the outside so he could get past.

Why didn't they show any footage of him and Massa entering the tunnel before Massa crashed? I really wanted to see the move Hamilton made to get inside in the tunnel.

I thought Lewis was joking. Maybe he feels there is some truth to it, but he was laughing. What other problems has he had this season?

Lewis didn't exactly cover himself with glory this weekend...what with the pre-emptive "The Torro Rosso's are out to get me" spiel, the continued whingeing about being blocked (dude, it's monaco, what are they supposed to do evaporate?), and then the insane attempt down the inside of Massa..yes he did move over, but you have a brake pedal too matey...

Must say I did love the tongue-in-cheek "maybe it's because I'm black" line...of course no-one in charge has a sense of humour, but hey, that's because the Man is always keeping the black man down ya know...(that too is a joke).

Re-starting the race with only 6 laps to go is weird, especially if you allow teams to change tyres, seriously, what's the point? If they just re-started the race, no tyre changes, no rear-wing replacements, it might have been alot more interesting..

All in all, quite an interesting race, except for the inevitable first-place winner of course...

[chop456]

Re-starting the race with only 6 laps to go is weird, especially if you allow teams to change tyres, seriously, what's the point?
Bad decision and a potentially MASSIVE loophole should someone plan well enough to exploit it.

[opinionated ow]

Bad decision and a potentially MASSIVE loophole should someone plan well enough to exploit it.

The problem is a race is defined as occurring drom the extinguishing of lights to the showing of the chequered flag. A race isn't stopped, only suspended and so technically is still under way. I don't think there is a way to change that short of introducing the red flag after 75% completion is a declaration rule from the international sporting code. Frankly i'm happy the way it is

[chop456]

1) No touching the cars under a red flag except cooling. No tires.
2) Work on the car for "safety reasons" and incur a stop and go. Last lap? +30 second penalty in the final results.

[Cam]

1) No touching the cars under a red flag except cooling. No tires.
2) Work on the car for "safety reasons" and incur a stop and go. Last lap? +30 second penalty in the final results.

Yup. :thumbup:

[TrueBrit]

1) No touching the cars under a red flag except cooling. No tires.
2) Work on the car for "safety reasons" and incur a stop and go. Last lap? +30 second penalty in the final results.

Yup x2.

A six lap race with Jenson and Freddie The Grass on newish rubber chasing Vettel on dodgy tyres makes much more sense than giving everyone fresh donuts and telling them to try and keep them off the barriers...What's next "competition yellows"?

In the flow of the race, had the accident not occurred, the three-way fight at the front could have become very interesting, as it was it was an open-wheel version of GWC which is complete and utter bullsnit..

[Indy]

1) No touching the cars under a red flag except cooling. No tires.
2) Work on the car for "safety reasons" and incur a stop and go. Last lap? +30 second penalty in the final results.

Add tire warmers being OK, and I think that is just about right.