2017 Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo, 26-28 May

[ChrisDanger]

FIA Event and Timing Information:
http://www.fia.com/events/monaco-2017/eventtiming

Circuit Information and Times





Tires

TBA...

2016 Qualifying Results (link to wiki)



2016 Race Results (link to wiki)



2016 Pole Lap:

[WaikeCU]

Are there parts of the circuit resurfaced for this year's venue?

[ChrisDanger]

The link below has a bunch of information about resurfacing (specifically for the F1 race) that happened in early April.

http://www.hellomonaco.com/news/resurfa ... pril-2017/

[F1Krof]

I suspect the Pole Lap Time won't see much of an improvement. The increased weight of the car will cancel the extra grip from the wider tyres, also the tyres being harder than last year.

[dren]

It'll be Vettel vs Hamilton for pole. Pole wins the race.

[Vasconia]

It'll be Vettel vs Hamilton for pole. Pole wins the race.

Not an adventurous forecast, isn´t it?

Another (semi)wet race would be great but yes, another Vettel-Hamilton fight for the pole for sure. I still have some hope to see the best Kimi. A pole from him would be awesome.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

So, we see Button's name again on F1 charts !

[dren]

It'll be Vettel vs Hamilton for pole. Pole wins the race.

Not an adventurous forecast, isn´t it?

Another (semi)wet race would be great but yes, another Vettel-Hamilton fight for the pole for sure. I still have some hope to see the best Kimi. A pole from him would be awesome.

Yeah, I was looking for some possible surprises, but I just don't see any. The Red Bull chassis isn't quite there yet. Kimi looked better last year yet was quite a ways off pole at Monaco. He isn't impressing much this year, so I don't think he'll be in the mix. I'm not convinced Bottas will be anywhere near as strong as Nico was at Monaco. I think Mclaren will be much improved here. Too bad Alonso isn't racing. I don't expect much of Button since he hasn't raced at all in the new cars. Vandoorne still has yet to impress me. Hulkenburg might put in a strong drive to challenge towards the top 5.

[Phil]

The big question will be if Mercedes have found a way to keep the Ultras in the correct temperature window?

I think RedBull will be right there, maybe even in the fight for the front positions.

[JonoNic]

Will Verstappen finish a Monaco GP this year? Statistically this is his weakest race.

[Fulcrum]

It'll be Vettel vs Hamilton for pole. Pole wins the race.

Not an adventurous forecast, isn´t it?

Another (semi)wet race would be great but yes, another Vettel-Hamilton fight for the pole for sure. I still have some hope to see the best Kimi. A pole from him would be awesome.

Yeah, I was looking for some possible surprises, but I just don't see any. The Red Bull chassis isn't quite there yet. Kimi looked better last year yet was quite a ways off pole at Monaco. He isn't impressing much this year, so I don't think he'll be in the mix. I'm not convinced Bottas will be anywhere near as strong as Nico was at Monaco. I think Mclaren will be much improved here. Too bad Alonso isn't racing. I don't expect much of Button since he hasn't raced at all in the new cars. Vandoorne still has yet to impress me. Hulkenburg might put in a strong drive to challenge towards the top 5.

Historically this is one of Kimi's worst races, if not his absolute worst. I don't know if he's ever been quoted as not enjoying driving in Monaco, but his results indicate this might be the case. I've included his teammate's results in parentheses.

2001 - 10th (Retired)
2002 - Retired (1st)
2003 - 2nd (7th)
2004 - Retired (Retired)
2005 - 1st (5th)
2006 - Retired (2nd)
2007 - 8th (3rd)
2008 - 9th (3rd)
2009 - 3rd (4th)
2012 - 9th (Retired)
2013 - 10th (Retired)
2014 - 12th (4th)
2015 - 6th (2nd)
2016 - Retired (4th)

Using the current points system, Raikkonen has scored 76 points from 14 attempts, an average of 5.43 points per race. His combined teammates have scored 143 points, averaging 10.21 points per race - almost twice Raikkonen's average.

Looking into this in greater detail, here are Raikkonen's average points per race for all races with reasonable representation (10 races or more), and largely static track layouts. I've ranked them from worst to best.

Monaco - 5.43
Malaysia - 7.64
Monza - 8.14
Barcelona - 8.73
Canada - 9.15
Australia - 9.20
Brazil - 10.08
China - 10.67
Suzuka - 10.67
Belgium - 11.25
Hungary - 11.71
Bahrain - 13.00

Monaco is a massive outlier. If one removes all retirements - self-inflicted or otherwise - the averages are as follows:

Monaco - 7.60
Monza - 9.50
Canada - 9.92
Malaysia - 10.70
Australia - 11.50
China - 11.64
Suzuka - 11.64
Brazil - 11.91
Barcelona - 13.10
Bahrain - 14.18
Hungary - 14.91
Belgium - 15.00

As before, Monaco provides Raikkonen's worst results - on average.

To summarise, I'd be surprised to see Raikkonen on the podium this year.

[dren]

Nice summary Fulcrum! I'd like to see him get another Spa victory, but he doesn't seem at home in these new cars.

[NAPI10]

How many laps Stroll & Palmer will be able to keep car intact?

[Xwang]

According to you are we going to see shorter wheelbase cars?
Sometimes some teams have reduced the wheelbase with a specific front suspension (which is often needed at Monaco to have a greater steering angle).

[godlameroso]

Monaco is a paradox, it's incredibly bumpy, but having been there once or twice the roads are always very well maintained. Also the weather is hugely unpredictable, and it's easier to predict the weather in Silverstone than it is here.