Quali requires individual strategy

The Monaco Grand Prix is no Formula One race like any other. The narrow and twisty street circuit requires highest concentration of the drivers. And this particularly applies to the possibly most important qualifying session of the season. Nick Heidfeld speaks about the difficulties that the drivers are expecting.

Both free pracitce sessions on Thursday already showed that the smallest mistake at the 'Circuit de Principauté' are immediately punished. Honda driver Anthony Davidson, for instance, crashed into the barrier in the St Devote corner, which led to a tyre being torn straight off his car. The qualifying session should prove to be even more nervous and hectic, when 22 drivers simultaneously enter the battle for pole position.

"It can become a problem to drive on a track this narrow with so many cars," BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld admits. "When you look into the mirror, you can hardly see the car behind you. And it's the sme with the cars in front of you because of all the barriers."

The restricted view on the shortest track on the Formula One calendar can cause some real difficulties and rear-end collisions are not uncommon in Monaco. Nick confirms: "The problem is that the track is immediatly blocked when somebody spins off and that can happen very quickly here."

That is why it is even more important for the teams to enter the race with an appropriate tactical scheme. Nick invests a lot of truts in the strategists of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. "I am sure the engineers have already worked something out," the German says. "It is possible to choose a different approach to the qualifying, for istance, by staying on the track for a shorter or longer amount of time to receive a free lap."