2018 Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo, May 24-27

[FrukostScones]

Easy HAM borefest siesta. Not worth watching.

[Phil]

The only glimmer of hope for Mercedes is, they have moved to the opposite spectrum of tyre issues, where they are now having issues with warming up the tyres, Hypersoft could be a saving grace as it is the softest in the range and should heat up faster too. If this is true, then they should feel OK.

This. Exactly my thoughts too.

[MtthsMlw]

Ahead of the Monaco GP.

[godlameroso]

Weather for the weekend, going to be a nice one, not too windy, temperatures mild, track temperature will be high, it won't be an issue to turn on the tires. For once a dry normal weekend, it's still going to be a crash fest. The rear tires are going to need some looking after, and track position is king around here.

[Just_a_fan]

Love&hate for me.

Love the qualifying here.

Hate the race.

Pretty much sums it up for me. It's great watching these silly-fast cars trying to get around the streets as fast as they can in qualifying. The race is usually just a pointless procession unless something odd happens. A decent shower of rain, for example, can work wonders. Can't be so heavy that Charlie throws the safety car out, but heavy enough that they need to make tyre choices.

Otherwise, if it's dry there'll be a few crashes in to T1 and perhaps a VSC or two which might make it a bit more "interesting" but there is no real racing here. It's worse than any Tilke circuit in that regard.

Watching an F1 car in Q3 through the sea front section is amazing, however.

[turbof1]

Guys, please stay on topic. No more conjecture about Pirelli handing out purposely advantages to particular teams. Such discussion will always, ALWAYS lead to frustration and anger to one another.

[GrandAxe]

My prediction for this weekend remains the same for all race weekends ... Grosjean will spin, Grosjean will not win.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

Guys, please stay on topic. No more conjecture about Pirelli handing out purposely advantages to particular teams. Such discussion will always, ALWAYS lead to frustration and anger to one another.

I have a hunch that, Hypersofts are specifically made for Mercedes. If they get pole, it would be confirmed.

[Fulcrum]

Ricciardo for pole and the win? He's been threatening it a few times already.

Hartley to crash.
Grosjean to crash.
Magnussen to crash someone.
Leclerc to outperform on Saturday and provide an epic road block on Sunday.

[NathanOlder]

what are you trying to say, this sentence makes no sense.

May be he is saying, Mercedes were class of the field in qualifying last year and hence they were closer by 0.002 and because this year, they aren't the fastest in qualifying, they might be quite far behind. Theoretically, it might be correct.


The only glimmer of hope for Mercedes is, they have moved to the opposite spectrum of tyre issues, where they are now having issues with warming up the tyres, Hypersoft could be a saving grace as it is the softest in the range and should heat up faster too. If this is true, then they should feel OK.

Exactly

But last year Ferrari had a decent advantage in the shorter wheelbase , where as this year they went longer while Merc stayed pretty much the same. Hence why red bull with their shorter wheelbase are likely to do very well here in Monaco.

[zibby43]

But last year Ferrari had a decent advantage in the shorter wheelbase , where as this year they went longer while Merc stayed pretty much the same. Hence why red bull with their shorter wheelbase are likely to do very well here in Monaco.

My thoughts exactly.

Mercedes and Red Bull were virtually neck-and-neck through Sector 3 at Barcelona in testing. Several trackside analysts noted how smooth the W09 looked through that sector. The W09, unlike the W08, is actually pretty comfortable in slow, tight corners.

Both the RB14 and W09 have developed quite a bit since testing. I know the RB14 was mighty in Sector 3 again over the course of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend. Was the W09 strong there again as well?

On a related note, the "drivability" of the Merc PU out of slow corners is something that often gets overlooked.

Hamilton's Q3 lap was sabotaged last year but before his final attempt was scuttled (Vandoorne?), I believe Lewis went purple in Sector 2. Bottas was close to a front row position, too.

I think the W09 may be a bit underrated heading into the race this year. We'll see.

[Vasconia]

Easy HAM borefest siesta. Not worth watching.

It could be a borefest but I doubt it Will be a race for Hamilton. RB has the biggest chance here, they should get the pole and victory. It Will be a close battle between Ferrari and Mercedes but the Italians must be ahead thanks to these hypersoft tyres.

[zibby43]

This is likely relevant for this weekend . . .

Mercedes asking for clarification on oil burning. Another oil burning loophole closed as a result . . .

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/merc ... e-1040317/

[ian_s]

ricciardo pole, vestappen 2nd, 1st corner vestappen takes out ricciardo, double RB DNF

[TwanV]

ricciardo pole, vestappen 2nd, 1st corner vestappen takes out ricciardo, double RB DNF

This is getting old.. . I wouldn't be surprised if RB make it a 1-2 on saturday but with VES on top, RIC wasn't quite comfortable with the "twitchy" new updates in spain at least. In any case I think even RB would have team-orders in that situation for the first corner.