2013 Monaco Grand Prix

[iotar__]

It's not that important but yes, forget about three stops. Maybe two stops? It might be closer to 2011 than 2012.

Vettel did almost 60 laps on a set of soft tyres, so that also bodes well for a one stop.

2013 Pirellis are a bit different, there's this connection between qualifying and first stint for example. Di Resta kind of agrees with me :
http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/2947 ... ourselves/
"With a bit of luck you’ll see more pit stops – I think that’s what Monaco was missing last year – a bit of strategy. It was a one-stop for most cars and I think that probably was the best thing. You can defend, but if the tyres drop off too much, I don’t think you can."

[SiLo]

Considering Nico and Lewis are both brilliant around here (apparently) I can't really pick between the two. I might pluck for Lewis considering he's had a couple of bad races and will be super aggressive during quail.

[raymondu999]

super aggressive during quail.

"Super aggressive" doesn't always work in Monaco quali though.

[oT v1]

i predict........2 STR crashing to aid Vettel

Still annoyed Vettel was able to change tyres in 2011 after the STR red flag crash

For the race:
1. Goujon
2 Alonso
3. Kimi

[Nomore]

i predict........2 STR crashing to aid Vettel

Still annoyed Vettel was able to change tyres in 2011 after the STR red flag crash

For the race:
1. Goujon
2 Alonso
3. Kimi

Who is Goujon ?...

[dave34m]

i predict........2 STR crashing to aid Vettel

Still annoyed Vettel was able to change tyres in 2011 after the STR red flag crash

Has this rule changed or could that still happen?
It was a very lucky break for Vettel and the rules were clear about it, brings to mind Schumaker in the 98 British GP finishing in the pit lane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efZUyhATNTo

[raymondu999]

Has this rule changed or could that still happen?

The thing is - the red flag covers a multitude of situations - a lot of which could require the changing of tyres. Also - the rule is there to cover for extreme strategies, such as people who have not made a pitstop yet.

[FrukostScones]

Considering Nico and Lewis are both brilliant around here (apparently) I can't really pick between the two. I might pluck for Lewis considering he's had a couple of bad races and will be super aggressive during quail.

I agree, I think Lewis has a point to prove with Nico beating him to pole two times. He will be a tough to beat but Nico is no slouch either. I think its a given one of them will be on pole. They could even win this race if one of the drivers were sacrificed by holding the pack up and letting the other one go off into the distance. I think Brawn would at least consider that with all the tricks he's pulled with Ferrari before.

won't happen,
the only driver whose race will be sacrified by the team is MAS. I expect him superstrong, but... he is not entitled to win, yet to even race for the victory.

[GrizzleBoy]

I'm surprised people are of the opinion that the three Mercedes poles in 2013 are actually because of Mercedes and not because Red Bull/Ferrari/almost everybody else is going slowly in Q3.

Compare Rosbergs Q3 onboard footage to Vettel/Alonso/Raikkonen or even Hamiltons and it easy to see the other cars have more pace in them if they need it.

IMO, what it comes down to is that:

A) Merc knows their tyre wear Is not the best and therefore need to start higher up to limit damage come race day

and

B) Basically all the other fast teams know this, and therefore and not even taking any notice of Mercedes in Q3, because they are of the opinion that Mercedes will not be able to race against them on Sunday.

As far as they are concerned they are racing Le Mans and Mercedes is just a GT car that they will undoubtedly pass in their LMPs when the time is right.


Qualifying is just an additional part of car setup than it is actual qualifying imo.

[Javert]

A race run on current softs & supersofts could be a disaster even considering low deg of Monaco

I'll go for 3 pit-stops and chaos

[iotar__]

I'm surprised people are of the opinion that the three Mercedes poles in 2013 are actually because of Mercedes and not because Red Bull/Ferrari/almost everybody else is going slowly in Q3.
Compare Rosbergs Q3 onboard footage to Vettel/Alonso/Raikkonen or even Hamiltons and it easy to see the other cars have more pace in them if they need it.

IMO, what it comes down to is that:
A) Merc knows their tyre wear Is not the best and therefore need to start higher up to limit damage come race day
and

B) Basically all the other fast teams know this, and therefore and not even taking any notice of Mercedes in Q3, because they are of the opinion that Mercedes will not be able to race against them on Sunday.

As far as they are concerned they are racing Le Mans and Mercedes is just a GT car that they will undoubtedly pass in their LMPs when the time is right.


Qualifying is just an additional part of car setup than it is actual qualifying imo.

What does it even mean and where do I start?

1. So you deducted from "on-boards" (those deductions are always great) that everyone else bar Mercedes is "driving slower" not caring for qualifying position? But if you remove Mercedes from the equation the situation is still the same for everyone, nothing changes, they still compete against each other, wouldn't you agree?

2. By your logic everyone else is driving at the SAME SCALED speed (within limits and characteristics of specific cars of course which vary). Any deviation from said scaled speed by one of the competitors would result in a higher qualifying position against any "non Mercedes" car. What's stopping them from doing that?

It might be the case in some parallel universe (I mean the choice to drive faster/slower) but I'd rather believe what M. Gillian (formerly Williams) said on Allen's podcast. He suspects it's about getting and releasing energy into/from the tyres, which is both a benefit and a problem for Mercedes. Or something like that, don't quote me on that, listen to it if you need precise wording he used. It's probably not a simple trade-off if you realise that the same tyres have to deal with several "different" cars (fuel and other variables).

A race run on current softs & supersofts could be a disaster even considering low deg of Monaco
I'll go for 3 pit-stops and chaos

1. It's not going to happen 2. Why would it result in "chaos" if everyone stopped three times at roughly the same time?

[motobaleno]

I'm surprised people are of the opinion that the three Mercedes poles in 2013 are actually because of Mercedes and not because Red Bull/Ferrari/almost everybody else is going slowly in Q3.

people think this simply because your thesis is extremely hard to defend. slowing few tenths (we are talking of this) in a single lap will mean absolutely nothing in terms of tyre wear...expecially beacuse the tyres after this lap sleep for a whole day so you have no problem in terms of overheating.
there is infinitely more tyre wear in the (even should be few) laps that you have to do behind other cars ruining you aero on sunday than what you save slowing down few tenths in a single lap on saturday

[ChrisDanger]

...nice seeing Rosburg showing strong form in quali of late. I can't remember a team mate since Alonso that consistently challenged Ham

Wouldn't Rosberg have an advantage since he is much more familiar with the car? Or would Hamilton already be used to it's characteristics?

[raymondu999]

I'm surprised people are of the opinion that the three Mercedes poles in 2013 are actually because of Mercedes and not because Red Bull/Ferrari/almost everybody else is going slowly in Q3.

people think this simply because your thesis is extremely hard to defend. slowing few tenths (we are talking of this) in a single lap will mean absolutely nothing in terms of tyre wear...expecially beacuse the tyres after this lap sleep for a whole day so you have no problem in terms of overheating.
there is infinitely more tyre wear in the (even should be few) laps that you have to do behind other cars ruining you aero on sunday than what you save slowing down few tenths in a single lap on saturday

He's not talking of driving 95% in quali. He's saying that the other teams are qualifying on a race setup, Mercedes are not.

[Clew]

As well as Merc has done so far this season, I have no reason to discount Red Bull Racing. They've owned Monaco GP since 2010. I expect SV or MW to prevail in the end.

Although I agree Hamilton will be aggressive, like most other drivers, lets hope we don't have a Grosjean/Alonso 2012 repeat