.:: 2011 Monaco GP - 26-28-29 May ::.

.:: 2011 FORMULA ONE MONACO GRAND PRIX ::.

Welcome to the 2011 Monaco GP Thread. cjek and mjk1 will keep the thread updated with the latest times as they happen.

RANDOM FACT

It takes six weeks prior to the GP weekend to set Monte Carlo up for the race, and three weeks to de-assemble everything again.

CIRCUIT STATS

2011 Race Number: 6
Circuit Event Number: 58
Circuit Length: 2.075 miles
Number of Laps: 78
Lap Record: 1:14.439 (M.Schumacher, 2004)

2010 Podium
1. Mark Webber (Red Bull)
2. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
3. Robert Kubica (Renault)

POINTS OF DISCUSSION

1. Should the DRS be used in Monaco or not?
2. With qualifying always being the key factor in Monaco, can you see anything other than a Red Bull 1-2 happening?
3. Even with qualifying on pole, Mark Webber has still yet to lead a full lap ahead of his teammate - the only driver in respective inter-team battles to have failed to do so. What more does he need to do to stop his charging teammate?
4. Last year, Kubica made the Renault fly around the circuit, finishing 3rd. What do you feel the Pole could've achieved if he was able to compete this weekend?
5. What does Monaco need to do to be able to bring the excitment back to races around the Monte Carlo circuit?

SCHEDULE FOR WEEKEND (All Times UK)

Thursday 26 May: Practice one - 0900-1030; Practice two - 1300-1430

Saturday 28 May: Practice three - 1000-1100; Qualifying - 1300-1400

Sunday 29 May: Race - 1300

WEEKEND WEATHER

THURSDAY: Sunny, Max. 24 deg. cent.
SATURDAY: Sunny Intervals, Max. 22 deg. cent.
SUNDAY: Sunny, Max. 23 deg. cent.

PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY:Rubens Barrichello (Williams), Jenson Button (McLaren), Nick Heidfeld (Renault), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) and Jarno Trulli (Lotus).

THURSDAY:Graeme Lowdon (Virgin), Vijay Mallya (Force India) Adrian Newey (Red Bull), Peter Sauber (Sauber) and Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren).

QUALIFYING:Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Jenson Button (McLaren) & Mark Webber (Red Bull).

RACE: TBC

BBC PRESENTS: 2011 Monaco Grand Prix - Sunday

PREVIOUS SESSIONS
FP1 (Unavailable)
FP2 (Unavailable)
Quali (Unavailable)
Race (Unavailable)
Forum (Unavailable)

1. Yes!
2. Yes with tyre wear and strategy playing a key role I think there is every chance we will see another mixed up race
3. Keep on plugging away. Vettel has had some luck and is clearly a better one lap driver than Mark - is he a better racer? Probably not.
4. The Renault is good ( although possible slipping back ) and Kubica is undoubtably a better driver than the 2 current ones. That being said I think a top 5 is the best he would have achieved at Monaco
5. I predict a very exciting race with the tyre choices available and the fantastic degradation :D

5. I can't really think of a way to bring more "excitement" to the race this year. However, they could reduce the size of the car next year. How? Well they could re-introduce refuelling. This will shorten the length of the car which can help make overtaking a little easier, plus the cars won't look like the result of a F1 car breeding with a limousine anymore.

DO NOT WANT!

First grand prix with the red super softs. They remind me of the red band tires Champ Car used to run. What do you guys think?Rayrota

FP1 - RED FLAG (Length: 6 Minutes)

Moisture on circuit.

FP3 - RED FLAG (Length: 13 Minutes)

Nico Rosberg (GER, Mercedes) crashes at Nouvelle.

FP3 - RED FLAG (Length: 4 Minutes)

Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA, Hispania) crashes at Sainte Devote.

FAILED TO QUALIFY

Narain Karthikeyan (Hispania)
Vitantonio Liuzzi (Hispania)

A problem with Karthikeyan's rear suspension was why he didn't get in to qualifying.

Sounds like they will get in with the 107% rule as they got under 1:20.4 according to Brundle in practice with a 1:20.1 and a 1:20.2 for each driver in practice 3. Whether this will be the case I do not know.

Not sure if it would be safe for them to drive considering how bad that car looked before going into the wall (i.e. sliding around like it was a drift event). Disapointing as I wanted to see them push the Virgins again and try and get ahead of them rather than being a lot slower than their main rivals yet again.

QUALIFYING - RED FLAG (Length: 38 Minutes)

Sergio Perez (MEX, Sauber) crashes at Nouvelle.

PEREZ CONSCIOUS, TALKING AFTER CRASH

Sergio Perez was conscious and talking following his accident during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, his Sauber team confirmed.

The Mexican crashed heavily against the barriers at the chicane after losing control at the exit of the tunnel and was not moving inside the car.

He was extracted from the cars by the marshals and then taken to the medical centre in an ambulance.

A Sauber spokesman said Perez was "conscious and talking" after the accident, and that he would be taken to hospital.

No further information was given.

SOURCE: Autosport

HISPANIA DUO ALLOWED TO RACE

Hispania Racing team's drivers Tonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan will be on the grid of the Monaco Grand Prix after being allowed to race on Saturday.

Neither Liuzzi nor Karthikeyan managed to set a time in qualifying, the Italian having crashed in final practice.

The Indian suffered a suspension problem during qualifying that meant he was unable to leave the pits.

Despite not managing to set a time, the Spanish squad confirmed that the Monaco stewards have decided to allow the duo to take part in the race based on their practice times.

SOURCE: Autosport

Sergio Perez has suffered a concussion. He will be evaluated in the morning as to whether he'll be fit enough to compete.

HAMILTON DEMOTED TO NINTH

Lewis Hamilton had his best qualifying time deleted for having jumped the chicane to set it and will drop down the grid of the Monaco GP.

The Briton had already endured a difficult session after finishing in seventh position, with his runs hindered by the crash involving Sergio Perez.

Hamilton's time, however, has been deleted by the FIA stewards, after they deemed the McLaren driver had jumped the chicane during that lap.

The British driver drops from seventh to ninth.

SOURCE: Autosport

PEREZ OUT OF MONACO GP

Sergio Perez will not take part in the Monaco Grand Prix following his qualifying accident, Sauber has confirmed.

The Mexican was taken to the Prince Grace hospital on Saturday after crashing heavily against the barriers at the chicane, having lost control of his car under braking.

Perez escaped serious injury, but his concussion means he will be unable to race in the Monte Carlo event.

Perez will stay in hospital at least overnight.

"Of course we are very relieved that Sergio wasn't seriously injured," said Peter Saber.

"Up to the accident he was doing very well in qualifying, and also better than expected as he had outperformed all his direct competitors."

Technical director James Key added: "First and foremost we are obviously relieved with the reports that Sergio is okay. It's always very worrying for a team when you see an accident of that magnitude, so it's good to hear that he is fundamentally okay.

"We are looking into what happened. There is no indication at the moment from the data we have seen that there was a problem with the car. But we have to talk to Sergio to investigate further what happened."

The rookie's absence means team-mate Kamui Kobayashi will be the only Sauber in the race tomorrow.

SOURCE: Autosport

HISPANIA DUO ALLOWED TO RACE

Hispania Racing team's drivers Tonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan will be on the grid of the Monaco Grand Prix after being allowed to race on Saturday.

Neither Liuzzi nor Karthikeyan managed to set a time in qualifying, the Italian having crashed in final practice.

The Indian suffered a suspension problem during qualifying that meant he was unable to leave the pits.

Despite not managing to set a time, the Spanish squad confirmed that the Monaco stewards have decided to allow the duo to take part in the race based on their practice times.

SOURCE: Autosport

Redders1989

Que?

P1

107% Time:  1:21.982

Liuzzi: 1:22.840

Karthikeyan: 1:23.885

P2

107% Time: 1:20.382

Liuzzi: No Time

Karthikeyan: 1:22.066

P3

107% Time: 1:19.643

Liuzzi: 1:20.115

Karthikeyan: 1:20.278

Someone explain this to me.

Someone explain this to me.Rayrota

I believe, however, they can compare their fastest practice times to the fastest time set in Q1 - and the 107% for that was 1:20.471, which puts both Hispanias in. I'm not fully certain on that though.

I believe, however, they can compare their fastest practice times to the fastest time set in Q1 - and the 107% for that was 1:20.471, which puts both Hispanias in. I'm not fully certain on that though.

Redders1989

If that's the case then the FIA is being REALLY lenient, which is quite a rarity.

You can now vote for your Driver of the Day and Star of the Day.

DotD: Button. Robbed of a win by his own freakin' teammate.

SotD: Button.

WotD: Hamilton.

After his crash during the Monaco GP this afternoon, Vitaly complained about his left ankle to the medical crew, so doctors drove him to the Princess Grace hospital for further checks. No fracture had been diagnosed at the circuit.

Once at hospital, it was confirmed that there was no swelling or broken bone. As a precaution, Vitaly will undergo a full body scan but he should be back in the paddock within a few hours.

SOURCE: Lotus Renault GP

Oh Hamilton, you're going to regret that in the morning.

Don't suppose anyone else saw his interview on the red button, very cringe worthy.

Yeah, I did. What a horrible, horrible thing to do. This is supposed to be the man the majority of Brits support.

If you missed it, here it is.

Oh Hamilton, you're going to regret that in the morning.

Don't suppose anyone else saw his interview on the red button, very cringe worthy.

Racky_rules

What did he say? Considering the weekend he had, you would think he would be more careful with his words.

Exciting race!

Awesome battle between the top three. Tough luck for Schumacher.

[QUOTE="Racky_rules"]

Oh Hamilton, you're going to regret that in the morning.

Don't suppose anyone else saw his interview on the red button, very cringe worthy.

Rayrota

What did he say? Considering the weekend he had, you would think he would be more careful with his words.

when asked why he feels he keeps getting summoned to the stewards, he claimed "maybe it's because I'm black".Redders1989

What....?

HAMILTON PENALISED FOR MALDONADO CLASH, REMAINS SIXTH

Lewis Hamilton has been given a penalty for having caused a collision with Pastor Maldonado in the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Briton, who got his qualifying time deleted on Saturday and got a drive-through penalty for causing a collision with Felipe Massa during the race, was handed another drive-through post-race after his crash with Williams driver Maldonado.

The McLaren star was given the penalty after the race, which means 20 seconds were added to his final time. Hamilton keeps his sixth place despite the penalty.

Hamilton was very critical of the stewards after the race, labelling their decisions as a "joke".

"Out of six races, I've been to the stewards five times. It's a joke," Hamilton told the BBC. "It's an absolute frickin' joke."

He added: "I went up the inside of Maldonado and you can see on the [TV] screen that he turned in a good car length too early to stop me overtaking him and he crashed into me.

"It's just ridiculous. These drivers are absolutely frickin' ridiculous. Just stupid."

Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi and Force India's Adrian Sutil were given reprimands post-race for incidents during the event.

SOURCE: Autosport

Great race, lots of incident but have to pull Redders on saying Hamilton cost Button the win - absolutely not - he pitted half a lap before Hamilton/Massa incident because McLaren thought a safety car was going to come out for the car that stopped ( can't remember who it was ) - this was an error since Red Bull weren't planning to pit Vettel again and ultimately the pile up on lap 72 cost him any chance of squeezing past as Vettel's tyres were apparently about to "fall over the cliff".

Anyway driver of the day is a tough one - Button did well, as did Reubens and Sutil but:

DotD: Kobayashi

SotD: Hamilton

this was an error since Red Bull weren't planning to pit Vettel again and ultimately the pile up on lap 72 cost him any chance of squeezing past as Vettel's tyres were apparently about to "fall over the cliff"SadPSPAddict

If I'm not mistaken, Red Bull only did this once the SC actually happened, otherwise I think they were gonna come in as well. In fact, the only reason he was able to continue was because the team put the wrong tyres on at the stop - he was meant to go on the supersofts too. So yes, I stand by my viewpoint.

Lewis is also incredibly lucky that the stewards have accepted that he made a "poor joke", and has got away with it.

[QUOTE="SadPSPAddict"]this was an error since Red Bull weren't planning to pit Vettel again and ultimately the pile up on lap 72 cost him any chance of squeezing past as Vettel's tyres were apparently about to "fall over the cliff"Redders1989

If I'm not mistaken, Red Bull only did this once the SC actually happened, otherwise I think they were gonna come in as well. In fact, the only reason he was able to continue was because the team put the wrong tyres on at the stop - he was meant to go on the supersofts too. So yes, I stand by my viewpoint.

Lewis is also incredibly lucky that the stewards have accepted that he made a "poor joke", and has got away with it.

Red Bull reacted to McLarens poor call! At the end of the day the McLaren stragegists were poor this weekend to say the least. It's the one area the team have struggled with since they cost Lewis the chance of winning the title the year before he did win it due to a poor pit stop call. Pitting Jenson at that point was a MISTAKE since they did it in anticpipation of a safety car, which duely arrived albeit for a different incident!

DotD: Kobayashi

SotD: Button

Hey guys. I wanted to apologise 4 last weekends performance & also my comments after, I never meant to offend no1.Lewis Hamilton on Twitter

2 Massa & Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended u. Both of u r fantastic drivers who I regard highly.Lewis Hamilton on Twitter

2 my fans lost & my fans won, I wish u nothing but love & happiness. God Bless u. Onwards & upwards, Montreal next. LewisLewis Hamilton on Twitter