KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN – “SUNDAY IS THE PRIORITY; THAT’S OUR FOCUS”

A difficult weekend thus far for Kimi, but as always the Iceman has his eyes on the prize, and all thoughts on the race…

KIMI, P8 ON THE GRID FOR TOMORROW’S RACE; WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON QUALIFYING TODAY?

To be honest I think we’ve been slightly behind where we wanted to be all weekend. Missing FP1 didn’t help of course but the car itself feels ok; the biggest issue is getting the tyres working. I could have gone a bit quicker on my fastest lap but I locked a wheel in the second part of the swimming pool so unfortunately that lost us some time. Not the best day but Sunday is the priority; that’s our focus.

DO YOU THINK GETTING THE TYRES WORKING WILL BE THE KEY FACTOR DURING THE RACE?

I don’t think it will have such a big effect in the race as we’re doing much more laps on the tyres; it’s getting them right for a single lap that’s been a bit difficult. We still have a lot to learn with the super soft tyres though as it’s the first time we’ve used them.

YOU’VE USED UP THE ALLOCATION OF SUPER SOFT TYRES ALREADY; WILL THIS BE A HANDICAP IN ANY WAY?

Obviously it’s always nice to have fresh tyres but I don’t think it will make a huge difference. Degradation is very low here, and strategies will probably be very similar between the teams. Besides, when you look at the front of the grid it was so close that most people are in the same situation as us.

OVERTAKING IS NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT HERE; HOW HARD WILL IT BE TO MAKE PROGRESS IN THE RACE ITSELF?

You can never tell with Monaco. If we have a completely clean race then it will be tricky to improve but anything can happen here; especially if the weather changes. For sure we expected to be in the top five today and that would have made things easier, but the race could always bring a few surprises…

Source: Lotus F1

Webber: Fair play to Schumacher but P1 is nice

Mark Webber is relishing his starting position for Sunday's Monaco GP having been elevate to pole position by Michael Schumacher's penalty

The Mercedes driver claimed the coveted grid slot with a 1:14.301 around the streets of Monte Carlo with Webber 0.080s back.

However, Schumacher arrived in Monaco with a grid penalty for his Spanish GP crash with Bruno Senna, which means he drops to sixth and Webber is up to first.

And the Red Bull driver believes that starting at the front will stand him in good stead as his bids for his first victory of the season.

"It was an amazing session wasn't it? It was very, very close," Webber said.

"Q3 was tight between the first few rows obviously there were some different tyre strategies with different people getting to the difficult part of qualifying with different sets of tyres and in the end it was a good little battle.

"Michael did a good lap - fair play to him - but it's nice to move up a position, of all places it's good starting towards the front here and I'm really looking forward to the race tomorrow."

Looking ahead to Sunday's grand prix, the Aussie believes it will be a "chess match" as track position and strategy are vital on a circuit where overtaking is extremely difficult.

"We know track position round here is important so you need to keep that as much as you can and you also have the chess match.

"Off the front here is a little bit easier for the guys in terms of strategy for them to look for a place for you to drop in to in terms of stops. We know overtaking here is notorious. Then there's obviously a long grand prix.

"Concentration for the drivers; we're going to have phases of the grand prix where the tyres will be fresh, the tyres will be very tired, so you have to be ready for that."

Source: Planet-F1

Qualifying: Schumi quickest but not on pole

Michael Schumacher turned back the clock on Saturday when he set the pace in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix

The seven-time World Champ, who had 68 pole positions heading into this weekend's grand prix, posted a 1:14.301 to take the P1 slot in qualifying by 0.08-s ahead of Mark Webber.

However, it's the Aussie who will start Sunday's 78-lap grand prix from pole position as Schumacher has a five-grid slot penalty for his crash with Bruno Senna at the previous race in Spain.

Nico Rosberg will therefore join Webber on the front row of the grid ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Romain Grosjean.

Fernando Alonso will start P5 alongside Schumacher.

Jenson Button failed to make it into Q2, falling short on speed, which put him down in 13th place.

Meanwhile, Sergio Perez failed to make it into Q2 for the first time in his F1 career as, for the second time in his F1 career, he crashed in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

This time, though, he was unhurt and will start Sunday's race 24th on the grid.

Times

01 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:14.301
02 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:14.381 0.080
03 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:14.448 0.147
04 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:14.583 0.282
05 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:14.639 0.338
06 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:14.948 0.647
07 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:15.049 0.748
08 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:15.199 0.898
09 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:15.245 0.944
10 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull11 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:15.421 0.510

12 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:15.508 0.597
13 Jenson Button McLaren 1:15.536 0.625
14 Bruno Senna Williams 1:15.709 0.798
15 Paul di Resta Force India 1:15.718 0.807
16 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:15.878 0.967
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:16.885 1.974
18 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:16.538 1.120
19 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:17.404 1.986
20 Timo Glock Marussia 1:17.947 2.529
21 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:18.096 2.678
22 Charles Pic Marussia 1:18.476 3.058
23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:19.310 3.892
24 Sergio Perez Sauber

Source: Planet-F1

Practice Two: Button tops rain-interrupted session

Jenson Button set the pace in Thursday's second practice session in Monaco before the rain came down and the lap times dropped dramatically

With rain on the horizon, the drivers were quickly out on track to get in as much dry running as possible.

Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez set the early pace, trading blows before Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton overhauled the Sauber pairing. Their reign was short-lived as Jenson Button took the P1 slot with a 1:17.095.

Button was dropped by Fernando Alonso, who in turn lost out to Pastor Maldonado only for the Spaniard to come back at him and retake the P1 slot.

Button ventured out again, this time on the super soft Pirellis, taking the P1 slot with a 1:15.746 while Romain Grosjean climbed to second place.

And then the rain came, not heavy at first but enough for race control to declare the track wet. Moments later, though, it did intensify.

With the rain lessening after 20 minutes the drivers ventured back out only to pit a few minutes later as the second shower hit. The silence was broken by the Toro Rosso drivers with several others opting to head out as well. They were, however, on average 20s a lap down on the leading dry times.

Surprisingly, other than the two Williams, Perez, Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovalainen heading up the escape road at Mirabeau, there were no other issues to report despite the greasy track surface.

Mark Webber was quickest on the wet track with a 1:31.777 although others did go a bit faster in the final few minutes when a dry line started to appear.

The session ended with Button, Grosjean and Massa in the top three positions and more rain forecast for Saturday's qualifying.

Times

1 Jenson Button McLaren 1:15.746 17 laps
2 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:16.138 0.392 19 laps
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:16.602 0.856 21 laps
4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:16.661 0.915 23 laps
5 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:16.820 1.074 20 laps
6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:17.021 1.275 15 laps
7 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:17.148 1.402 23 laps
8 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:17.153 1.407 22 laps
9 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:17.293 1.547 11 laps
10 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:17.303 1.557 21 laps
11 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:17.375 1.629 19 laps
12 Paul di Resta Force India 1:17.395 1.649 21 laps
13 Bruno Senna Williams 1:17.655 1.909 18 laps
14 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:17.800 2.054 25 laps
15 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:18.251 2.505 24 laps
16 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:18.440 2.694 24 laps
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:18.522 2.776 22 laps
18 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:18.808 3.062 26 laps
19 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:19.267 3.521 25 laps
20 Timo Glock Marussia 1:19.309 3.563 29 laps
21 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:20.029 4.283 13 laps
22 Charles Pic Marussia 1:20.240 4.494 20 laps
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:20.631 4.885 12 laps
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:20.886 5.140 10 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Practice One: Alonso quickest in shortened session

Fernando Alonso set the pace in a shortened first practice session in Monaco after a spectacular engine blow-out for Heikki Kovalainen in the tunnel

Practice One got off to a slow start with just four drivers, led by Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne, set lap times in the opening half an hour. The benchmark was a 1:22.207.

The Frenchman continued lapping, dropping it to a 1:19.086 before he was overhauled by another Frenchman as Romain Grosjean posted a 1:18.820.


Michael Schumacher was the next to lead the way only to lose out to Grosjean as the duo traded fastest lap times. Grosjean emerged quickest with a 1:17.188.


Halfway through the session it was Grosjean, Schumacher, Kamui Kobayashi, Pastor Maldonado, Vernge, Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg and Felipe Massa in the top eight positions.


Fernando Alonso was the next to lead the way, taking 0.062s off Grosjean's time while neither McLaren was able to break into the top ten in their early runs.


With 30 minutes remaining in the session, reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel finally posted his first lap time but it was only good enough for 18th place.


That, though, left Kimi Raikkonen as the only driver without a time to his name as the Finn's Lotus mechanics worked on his steering system.


Grosjean returned to the front with a 1:16.751 only to lose out to Hamilton by 0.004s. The Lotus driver, though, came back at the McLaren driver to again take the lead. However, that tussle came to an end when, with 13 minutes remaining, Alonso hit the front with a 1:16.495.


With nine minutes to go, the sessionw as red flagged as Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham ran into problems as his engine blew in the tunnel. And with so much smoke - there was a lot! - the session had to be stopped no one could see anything.




The session was not restarted with Alonso finishing on top ahead of Grosjean, Perez and Hamilton.

Times

01 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:16.265 22 laps
02 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:16.630 0.365 17 laps
03 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:16.711 0.446 19 laps
04 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:16.747 0.482 12 laps
05 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:16.760 0.495 20 laps
06 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:16.843 0.578 19 laps
07 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:17.038 0.773 21 laps
08 Jenson Button McLaren 1:17.190 0.925 13 laps
09 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:17.222 0.957 14 laps
10 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:17.261 0.996 18 laps
11 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:17.413 1.148 14 laps
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:17.631 1.366 18 laps
13 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:18.106 1.841 14 laps
14 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:18.209 1.944 25 laps
15 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:18.252 1.987 28 laps

16 Paul di Resta Force India 1:18.302 2.037 16 laps

17 Bruno Senna Williams 1:18.617 2.352 20 laps

18 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:19.039 2.774 20 laps

19 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:19.341 3.076 16 laps

20 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:20.838 4.573 26 laps

21 Charles Pic Marussia 1:20.895 4.630 18 laps

22 Timo Glock Marussia 1:21.638 5.373 9 laps

23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:22.423 6.158 15 laps

Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Hamilton apologies to Massa, Maldonado

Lewis Hamilton had apologised to Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado for remarks made following their accidents in Monaco

The McLaren driver had previously criticised the pair, calling his rivals "ridiculous" and adding that the duo closed the door on him when he felt he already had his nose in front.

However, the Briton has taken to Twitter to express his regret at the situation.

"To Massa and Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended you. Both of you are fantastic drivers who I regard highly," he wrote.

Hamilton also apologized to his fans and anyone who may have been offended by comments that he made, with an attempt at a joke made by the 26-year-old regarding being penalised for his skin colour garnering widespread criticism.

"Hey guys. I wanted to apologise for last weekend's performance and also my comments after, I never meant to offend no one," he said.

"To my fans lost and my fans won, I wish you nothing but love and happiness. God Bless you. Onwards and upwards, Montreal next. Lewis," he added.

Source: Planet-F1

Alonso's Blog: I tried to the very end

I arrived in Maranello late this morning and in the afternoon, I was involved in some PR activities. I also got the chance to meet two of our young FDA drivers, Raffaele Marciello and Brandon Maisano, who were at Fiorano for a Formula 3 test. Then, I headed off for Parma where tonight I am playing in the “Partita del Cuore” (game of the heart) a three-way football tournament which is raising funds for the Telethon charity.

Over twenty four hours have passed since the end of the Monaco Grand Prix and I certainly haven’t changed my mind. Yesterday we had a real chance of taking our first win of the season and the interruption following the accident with Petrov and Alguersuari robbed us of the chance of trying to the very end. In the second part of the race, after the pit stop, I tried to save the tyres specifically to be prepared for the closing laps, when I hoped I’d be able to make the most of it if Sebastian had any difficulties with his tyres, given he’d been on the same set for many laps. Unfortunately, that plan went out the window, but you have to accept it, because we know that situations like the one we saw in Monaco yesterday happen quite often.

Immediately after the race, I said the fight for the title was getting ever more difficult, not to say impossible. Sure, if Vettel ends up winning a race in which we felt there was a chance of victory, then you get a feeling of disappointment, but that does not mean will not continue working hard at the track and back home on developing the car. Clearly the gap in the championship is widening all the time: we can do the maths, but neither myself nor the team are used to throwing in the towel. Already today, I’ve been talking to the engineers about the new parts we will have in Montreal, but above all, of the steps forward we must take for Silverstone, when we will back at a track which requires a lot of aerodynamic downforce. That’s where we will really see how our season is going to pan out. Up until then, we want to and we must believe in ourselves.

I am pleased to hear that Sergio Perez has already left the Monaco hospital this afternoon. He had a truly horrible accident and the fact he came out of it almost unscathed is a clear indication of the progress made in terms of Formula 1 car safety. You can never do away with the risks completely, but they can be significantly reduced for the drivers and for all those who work at the track.

Source: Ferrari.com

Sebastian Vettel Blog: Sweet taste of success

Sebastian Vettel talks tactics and savours victory after extending his lead at the top of the Formula One Drivers' Championship with a win at the Monaco Grand Prix

by Sebastian Vettel on May 30, 2011

What an amazing day! I know that champagne tastes sweet, but the one I drank after the ceremony in Monte Carlo tasted even sweeter than usual! I am indescribably happy with our win and very proud about the whole team. They did an amazing job today.

I think it's easy to describe the race in one word: thrilling. I'm sure it was for the spectators and fans and it definitely was for us drivers. I would never have expected a strategy like the one we had today and that we would be able to get to the finishing line with only one pitstop. Well, almost one pitstop! We talked about it a lot and decided to put it all on one and not go into the pit for a second time. The worst that could have happened was a third place but I think that we would also have won if the safety car had stayed out.

'I never expected that we'd be able to finish with only one pitstop'

The key to our success today was definetely our endurance and the fact that we never lost faith in ourselves. Even the pit stop, which wasn't perfect, didn't change that. We lost time and the lead through it but that was when we knew that we had to give everything we had and attack. In the end, this approach helped us get back into the lead and, when we had the safety car coming out towards the end, it helped me to relax a bit and cool off the tyres. After the restart, we luckily didn't have too many laps to go and after a few minutes we were finally allowed to celebrate this fantastic victory.

I'm pretty sure that we'll go on and party tonight and have an amazing time. I want to send out a big thank you to everyone involved in this victory. It wouldn't have been possible without you. And also a big thanks to all the fans – you were amazing guys!

Talk to you soon from Canada!

All the best,

Sebastian

Source: Red Bull

Räikkönen at wild party at Monaco GP 2011

Kimi Räikkönen made his NASCAR Nationwide debut on Saturday, but showed up already the next day at the Monaco Grand Prix. He hosted there a wild party for the "Finnish Jackass" The Dudesons.

So we can almost say that Kimi was with his performance even faster than Monaco GP winner Sebastian Vettel...

Räikkönen did not miss any speed and dangerous moments when hosting his guests. Jukka from The Dudesons made everybody laugh by dressing in Kimi's NASCAR-overall:



Source: RacingNewsFlash

Video: BBC - Lewis Hamilton fuming after Monaco 'weekend to forget'

Lewis Hamilton is furious after being called to the stewards about two incidents in the Monaco Grand Prix



Source: FiftyBuckss

Seb Vettel Is The New King Of Monaco

Sebastian Vettel claimed his maiden Monaco Grand Prix win, but for the second time in two days his performance was overshadowed after a fellow driver was injured in a heavy shunt

On Saturday, a serious accident involving Sergio Perez's led to qualifying to be delayed while on Sunday Vitaly Petrov was involved in a crash that saw him being taken away by ambulance after picking up a leg injury.

The race was red flagged, but restarted after an 11-minute stop and Vettel - who had fresh rubber fitted to his car during the break - eased his Red Bull home with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button closely behind.

Earlier, Vettel made a clean start alongside Button and Alonso. From then on it turned into a battle of the strategies.

McLaren looked like they had one over their rivals when they pitted Button earlier than usual for supersofts and got him out in clean air. However, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton's crash with Felipe Massa probably cost Button a potential win after the Safety Car was deployed.

That allowed the field to bunch up and with Button forced to stop for a third time, he lost valuable time to the top two, but Red Bull and Ferrari's decision not to pit their drivers again gave the McLaren driver an opportunity to attack on fresher rubber.

The trio found themselves tail-to-tail for the best part of 15 laps, but more drama was to follow with eight laps to go after Adrian Sutil, Petrov and Hamilton got tangled up during their scrap for sixth place together with backmarker Jaime Alguersuari. Petrov and Alguersuari both crashed out and the Safety Car was deployed. The race was then red-flagged as the medical team was called to tend to Petrov.

Once the track was cleared, the race was restarted under the Safety Car and turned into a five-lap shoot-out. Vettel, Alonso and Button held station, but there was one final incident when Hamilton tried to squeeze past Pastor Maldonado in sixth place. The duo made contact and the Williams driver came off second best.

The McLaren driver finished sixth while Mark Webber fourth and Kamui Kobayashi was fifth.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2h09:38.373
02. Alonso Ferrari + 1.138
03. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.378
04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 23.100
05. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 26.900
06. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 27.200
07. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
08. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
09. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps
13. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
15. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
16. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
17. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 5 aps

Retirements
Petrov Renault 68
Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 68
Massa Ferrari 33
Schumacher Mercedes 33
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 31
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC - Monaco GP: Ferrari quicker than we showed today - Fernando Alonso

After finishing fourth in Saturday's qualifying, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso predicts pit strategy rather than overtaking will determine the result of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix



Source: FiftyBuckss

Monaco GP: Webber still eyeing victory

Mark Webber will once again start behind his team-mate Sebastian Vettel, the fifth time in six races

Mark Webber said he was still aiming for victory in the Monaco Grand Prix despite only qualifying on the second row.

Having taken a lights-to-flag victory around the streets last year, Webber knows the importance of qualifying on pole position at a track that is notoriously difficult to overtake at. Despite being outqualified by his team-mate Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's Jenson Button, Webber still said it was possible to win, especially with the 2011 regulations leading to more exciting races.

"The races are more mixed up this year compared to the last few years, and tomorrow is no exception," Webber said. "It's possible to win from P3 but, that said, qualifying is crucial here and pole is certainly a nice benefit to have. Seb did a great lap and deserved pole and JB [Button] did too."

Webber also said that Sergio Perez's crash had resulted in a "messy" qualifying session, but that the most important thing was that lessons were learned from the incident.

"It was a messy session for all of us - you never anticipate not getting a second go, but that's the way it fell today and bigger priorities took over when one of our colleagues, Sergio, had a crash.

"All our thoughts are with him; he's in great hands and he's talking and is conscious, which is good news; he'll bounce back I'm sure. We can learn from this in terms of safety here and it's probably an area that we need to look at improving for the future. Jenson was lucky and Karl Wendlinger back in the nineties - so there are a few places around here we need to keep an eye on."

Source: ESPNF1

Perez suffers concussion and sprained thigh

Sergio Perez escaped serious injury in his horrific Monaco qualifying accident, Sauber have revealed

The Mexican rookie, on a hot lap, crashed heavily with three minutes remaining in qualifying bringing out the red flags.

The Monte Carlo medics spent almost half an hour assisting the driver before he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

Initial reports were that Perez was "conscious and talking" to the medical staff while Sauber have now revealed that he has suffered a concussion and a sprained thigh.

"It was with great relief the Sauber F1 Team received the news that Sergio Perez has no serious injuries after his heavy accident in the closing minutes of the final part of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix," Sauber said in a statement.

"Shortly before 15:00 hrs he had crashed into the barrier after the fast tunnel section of the circuit.

"The 21-year-old Mexican was taken to the Hospital Princess Grace in Monaco from where the team received further information at 16:25 hrs.

"The doctors said Perez had suffered concussion and a sprained thigh, but no broken bones and, following a scan, they could find no further injuries.

"The reason for the accident will be investigated and the team will update the media as soon as it has any further information."

His injuries, though, mean Perez is unlikely to line-up on the starting grid for Sunday's 78-lap Monaco Grand Prix.

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC Monaco GP - Sebastian Vettel 'very happy' with Monaco pole position

Despite a "shadow hanging over qualifying" after Sergio Perez suffers a serious crash, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel is pleased with pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix



Source: FiftyBuckss

Monaco GP : Vettel takes pole, Perez crashes

Sergio Perez's massive accident in qualifying for the Monaco GP overshadowed Sebastian Vettel's first Monaco pole position

Q3 was halted for almost 40 minutes after Perez suffered a huge accident, hitting the dividing barrier at the Nouvelle Chicane after losing control of his car over the bumps at the exit to the tunnel.

The medical staff and marshals were quickly on hand to assist the Sauber driver, who was taken directly to the local hospital in an ambulance. he was conscious and talking.

With the session resuming with just three minutes left on the clock, many expected a mad flying lap dash for pole position. However, it wasn't to be.

Instead the session came to a low-key end with Vettel on pole thanks to his earlier 1:13.556.Jenson Button will join him on the front row, having qualified ahead of Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m13.556s
2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m13.997s + 0.441
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m14.019s + 0.463
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m14.483s + 0.927
5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.682s + 1.126
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m14.877s + 1.321
7. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.280s + 1.724
8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.766s + 2.210
9. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m16.528s + 2.972
10. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari No time
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m15.815s + 1.540
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m15.826s + 1.551
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m15.973s + 1.698
14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m16.118s + 1.843
15. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m16.121s + 1.846
16. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m16.214s + 1.939
17. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.300s + 2.025
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m17.343s + 2.136
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m17.381s + 2.174
20. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.820s + 2.613
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m17.914s + 2.707
22. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m18.736s + 3.529
23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth No time
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth No time

Source: Planet-F1

Monaco GP – Domenicali: “It was a decision taken for the good of the team”

The Friday of the Monaco Grand Prix is always a strange day. Officially it’s a day of rest yet the paddock and the pit lane are a frenzy of activity until the evening. With so much time available, the engineers make the most of it to study the data they’ve collected in the three hours of yesterday’s free practice to the tiniest detail. They also meet with the drivers and give the latest information to the mechanics who have to prepare the cars for the rest of the weekend.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro also followed this programme, with meetings that began at 11am and didn’t finish until after 7pm. Felipe and Fernando joined in with some of these briefings but they were also involved in PR activities, among them an autograph session organised by the grand prix promoter and cocktails with a group of Ferrari clients. For Felipe there was a special end to the day with his participation as a model at the Monaco Charity Fashion Show, which earned the most applause of the evening.

But Ferrari’s day was summed up above all by this afternoon’s briefing by Team Principal Stefano Domenicali for the press from Italy and the rest of the world. The hottest topic – and it couldn’t have been anything else – was the reorganisation of the technical division of the Scuderia that was announced last Tuesday.

“It was a decision that was taken for the good of the team, in order to improve,” explained Domenicali. “It was a rational decision, not an emotional one: a change that brings stability for the future.” It was certainly the hardest decision of Domenicali’s career, which will total twenty years at Ferrari a few days from now. “I don’t want to go into the details out of my respect for Aldo, a person who is a friend who I admire. We aren’t here to make things personal. Over the years there have been changes for various reasons: some have asked to have certain responsibilities taken away, such as Chris Dyer who had a problem of authority after the outcome of the race in Abu Dhabi. Now this decision was difficult because I’ve worked together with Aldo for so many years. But in my position you have to take the most rational decisions possible for the good of the team, even when they are hard.”

For those who made objections about timing, Domenicali replied: “These are structured timings that can’t be linked to the racing calendar. We want to keep competing for this world championship but we are obviously also working on the car for 2012, which is starting to take shape at this time. The decision was welcomed by the team, which reacted by immediately putting its foot on the accelerator. Clearly you can’t expect something to change in two days. It’s a question of changing working methods and trying to improve them, otherwise there’s no point in changing. We will try to establish different priorities in the car’s development.”

Domenicali didn’t play down his own responsibilities and he refused to see the reorganisation as a defeat for the Italian side of the team. “I know well that I am also under the microscope. It’s always like that and those are the rules of the game. It’s true that there is an Englishman, Pat Fry, in Costa’s place but when it comes to Italians there are also Marmorini and Lanzone alongside myself. Tombazis? Nikolas remains in charge of planning the car and he will have to concentrate on developing the aerodynamic side, the area where we concentrate the most effort. Perhaps the culture of aerodynamics doesn’t play a big part among the talents of Italy and we ought to make some important interventions to improve that situation.”

Source: Ferrari.com

Video: BBC Monaco GP - Team restructure will boost Ferrari - Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso says he has full confidence in Stefano Domenicali's choices after Ferrari restructured their technical team following a disappointing start to the Formula 1 season



Source: FiftyBuckss

Monaco GP: Alonso edges Hamilton

Fernando Alonso set the pace in Thursday's second practice session in Monaco as Ferrari and McLaren came to the fore

Alonso, who is bidding to win the Monaco GP with his third different team this weekend, crossed the line with a 1:15.123 to edge McLaren's Lewis Hamilton by 0.105s.

Third place went to Mercedes GP's Nico Rosberg, who finished ahead of Jenson Button, while Sebastian Vettel could only manage the fifth best time. The reigning World Champion was half a second behind the leading Ferrari.

Felipe Massa took sixth place ahead of Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber.

Report: The sun was out and the track temperature was a hot 45'C as Timo Glock hit the track to start Thursday's second practice in Monte Carlo. Pastor Maldonado narrowly escaped damaging his car as he locked up, run wide and had to take to the escape road.

The drivers were quick to get down to work with Vitaly Petrov leading the way ahead of Jaime Alguersuari while Mark Webber, who missed FP1 with a gearbox problem, took third place ahead of Sebastien Buemi. Felipe Massa was the next to lead the way with a 1:17.483. Yellow flags came out as Alguersuari made a mistake, hitting the barriers at Turn 1.

A near collision between the two Ferrari drivers as Fernando Alonso, on course for the P1 slot, came up behind his team-mate, who was slowing down to make room for himself. Alonso came within a millimetres of hitting the back of Massa's car. The Spaniard will not be happy.

Nico Rosberg took over at the top with Jenson Button improving to second place and Lewis Hamilton to fifth behind Massa and Petrov. Without his team-mate in front of him to bulk him, Alonso was able to take the P1 slot with a 1:16.408. Hamilton climbed to fourth place as Sebastian Vettel just, and only just, missed hitting the barriers with the rear left of his RB7.

Heikki Kovalainen had to take to the escape road after missing his braking point. Massa, pushing too hard, almost lost it around the Casino hairpin. Problems for Paul di Resta as the Scot is pushed down the escape road by the marshals after coming to a halt at the chicane.

At the halfway point of the session it was Alonso ahead of Rosberg, Button, Hamilton, Massa, Petrov, Rubens Barrichello and Buemi.

Massa is doing everything he can to put his car in the wall and mounts the kerb, almost hits the armco barrier and a few metres later, almost hits the barrier again. But hey he's up to third, 0.718s slower than his team-mate. Massa was dropped one place at Vettel took the P1 slot with a 1:15.667, almost a second quicker than his P1time from this morning. Massa moved up to second place, 0.114s off Vettel's time.

Alonso returned to the front, half a second up on Vettel's best. Rosberg improved to second place with Vettel taking third before he was dropped by Button. Hamilton climbed to second place, missing out on the P1 time by a tenth. Minor problems for Glock, Hamilton and Schumacher, all of whom ran off the track but without any damage. Massa stalled as he attempted to leave the pits and Petrov lost his front wing as he exited the tunnel.

Thursday's second practice ended with Alonso in the P1 slot, ahead of Hamilton and Rosberg.

Times
01. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m15.123s 42 laps
02. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.228s + 0.105 33 laps
03. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.321s + 0.198 44 laps
04. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.448s + 0.325 38 laps
05. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m15.667s + 0.544 46 laps
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.781s + 0.658 45 laps
07. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m16.356s + 1.233 33 laps
08. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m16.642s + 1.519 42 laps
09. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m17.101s + 1.978 46 laps
10. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m17.126s + 2.003 38 laps
11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m17.337s + 2.214 35 laps
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.541s + 2.418 47 laps
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m17.570s + 2.447 39 laps
14. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.581s + 2.458 32 laps
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m17.633s + 2.510 49 laps
16. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m17.706s + 2.583 37 laps
17. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m17.789s + 2.666 43 laps
18. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m18.266s + 3.143 50 laps
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m18.490s + 3.367 39 laps
20. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m19.053s + 3.930 15 laps
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.185s + 4.062 40 laps
22. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m19.338s + 4.215 35 laps
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m22.066s + 6.943 33 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC F1 2011 - Lewis Hamilton bullish about his chances in Monaco Grand Prix

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton believes this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix is his "best chance so far" of getting ahead of Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, as "a driver can make more of a difference" around the principality's circuit than on other tracks



Source: FiftyBuckss