Spain saw the new upgrades take effect as we arrived in Europe but while some teams were still struggling to get caught up with the pack, it was Mercedes who extended there lead.
Fortunately, as the teams head to Monaco, the teams with the lower gear ratios will be looking to capitalise on the speed advantage around the nimble streets for the Monaco Grand Prix.
One team that will be wanting to capitalise on the advantage of their short gear ratios will be Red Bull. Currently far behind Mercedes, they have struggled to match the pace of the other teams after losing out on the straights. As teams have to maintain their gear ratios throughout the season, this may be the best chance for them to grab pole from the ever dominant Mercedes and lead from the front. As this years new regulations have also produced a display of wiggling cars, teams will have to turn up the downforce, to avoid major squirming or oversteer from the rear end of the car. Any suspension damage would ruin a race, and in Monaco it can happen oh so easily.
The first “Grand Prix” in Monaco was organised by Anthony Noghes and held in 1929, and immediately began to rise in importance. It was the first race in which grid positions were decided by practice time instead of balloting. It finally arrived in Formula 1 for the first season’s calendar when the Championship began in 1950. The race made host to Fangio’s first win but was not held again until 1955, where it has since held it’s place as the jewel of the F1 Calendar. The race everyone dreams of winning.
The track tends to bring out something special in every driver. With all the cars confined to a small section of the track, overtakes are rare and simple mistakes can nruin a race. Many crashes have place at this track, and there is almost always a safety car. Last year saw many crashes such as Grosjean, Perez and Maldonado.
The layout of the track is iconic to every F1 fan. The track begins with St Devote, a tight right hander that has been the cause of multiple first lap crashes. The track then heads up the winding straight hill before the long left hander of Massenet, then the famous Casino Square. The cars then approach a section of the track on the exit of Casino Square, where drivers must avoid a large bump in the track, before heading right and down into the Grand Hotel Hairpin.
This hairpin one of the many landmarks through the Monaco Circuit. Drivers must go full lock as they slowly make their way round. Surprising, the track has also seen multiple successful and unsuccessful overtakes, including Adrian Sutil on Fernando Alonso last year and Lewis Hamilton on Massa in 2011.
Coming out of the hairpin, the drivers make their way onto the seafront, and enter the Monaco tunnel. The only tunnel on the F1 calendar, it’s the longest run on the calendar and as well as some great camera shots, it leads down to the easiest overtaking spot on the circuit, the Nouvelle Chicane. “Easy” being relative to all other corners. The track gradient changes and dips downhill, making it easy to lock up the front tyres, and the short run off allows cars to take a shortcut to avoid an accident. Getting the exit of the tunnel wrong can lead to a serious accident.
The cars then head up towards the swimming pool section, as a dab on the brakes as they head through Tabac, a place which can pull the rear end out, and with the control of this years cars, we may see similar accidents this year. After, the cars head through the extremely quick Louis Chiron Chicane. This chicane is a perfect example of the pure speed that F1 cars change direction. After the cars prepare for the heavy braking into Piscine, which is not dissimilar to a mirror of the Nouvelle chicane.
Avoiding the bollard, the cars exit and head up to the tight right hander of “La Rascasse” then past the pit entry into Anthony Noghes, where the track dips down onto the entry of the start finish straight. The start finish straight is hardly a “straight” but is the only DRS zone on the track, and so it is critical to get a good exit when wanting to overtake.
Being the unique circuit that Monaco is, it has also seen some interesting moments. In 1991, the race saw an incredible finish between the leading Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell. Mansell, in the faster Williams did everything he could to make his way past Senna, but he ran out of time. Senna himself holds the record of six victories at Monaco. In 1990 he qualified more than a second ahead of Prost behind him, and although he was leading the race by 50 seconds, he crashed the car and failed to win.
Damon Hill’s father, Graham Hill, was nicknamed “Mr Monaco” after his successes at the track won him five trips to the top of the podium. The track appears to suite certain drivers. For example, Mark Webber has enjoyed much success at this track and Webber himself claimed that Monaco is Nico Rosberg’s track, the driver who won here last year.
Last year we saw one of the best Monaco GP’s in a while. In a rare moment, the Grand Prix was also red flagged after Max Chilton came into contact with Pastor Maldonado, causing the stoppage as his car blocked the track. Nico Rosberg led every lap of the race from pole position and was joined on the podium by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, who managed to undercut Lewis Hamilton in the pits.
Lewis made a late lunge at La Rascasse to grab the final podium spot, but the circuits unforgiving and enclosed walls prevented the manoeuvre. The win was very significant for multiple reasons, as it gave Mercedes and Nico Rosberg there first win since China 2012 and it gave Rosberg his first Monaco win 30 years since his father Keke had won it in 1983
(Written by @Michael Johnston)
Fortunately, as the teams head to Monaco, the teams with the lower gear ratios will be looking to capitalise on the speed advantage around the nimble streets for the Monaco Grand Prix.
One team that will be wanting to capitalise on the advantage of their short gear ratios will be Red Bull. Currently far behind Mercedes, they have struggled to match the pace of the other teams after losing out on the straights. As teams have to maintain their gear ratios throughout the season, this may be the best chance for them to grab pole from the ever dominant Mercedes and lead from the front. As this years new regulations have also produced a display of wiggling cars, teams will have to turn up the downforce, to avoid major squirming or oversteer from the rear end of the car. Any suspension damage would ruin a race, and in Monaco it can happen oh so easily.
The first “Grand Prix” in Monaco was organised by Anthony Noghes and held in 1929, and immediately began to rise in importance. It was the first race in which grid positions were decided by practice time instead of balloting. It finally arrived in Formula 1 for the first season’s calendar when the Championship began in 1950. The race made host to Fangio’s first win but was not held again until 1955, where it has since held it’s place as the jewel of the F1 Calendar. The race everyone dreams of winning.
The track tends to bring out something special in every driver. With all the cars confined to a small section of the track, overtakes are rare and simple mistakes can nruin a race. Many crashes have place at this track, and there is almost always a safety car. Last year saw many crashes such as Grosjean, Perez and Maldonado.
The layout of the track is iconic to every F1 fan. The track begins with St Devote, a tight right hander that has been the cause of multiple first lap crashes. The track then heads up the winding straight hill before the long left hander of Massenet, then the famous Casino Square. The cars then approach a section of the track on the exit of Casino Square, where drivers must avoid a large bump in the track, before heading right and down into the Grand Hotel Hairpin.
This hairpin one of the many landmarks through the Monaco Circuit. Drivers must go full lock as they slowly make their way round. Surprising, the track has also seen multiple successful and unsuccessful overtakes, including Adrian Sutil on Fernando Alonso last year and Lewis Hamilton on Massa in 2011.
Coming out of the hairpin, the drivers make their way onto the seafront, and enter the Monaco tunnel. The only tunnel on the F1 calendar, it’s the longest run on the calendar and as well as some great camera shots, it leads down to the easiest overtaking spot on the circuit, the Nouvelle Chicane. “Easy” being relative to all other corners. The track gradient changes and dips downhill, making it easy to lock up the front tyres, and the short run off allows cars to take a shortcut to avoid an accident. Getting the exit of the tunnel wrong can lead to a serious accident.
The cars then head up towards the swimming pool section, as a dab on the brakes as they head through Tabac, a place which can pull the rear end out, and with the control of this years cars, we may see similar accidents this year. After, the cars head through the extremely quick Louis Chiron Chicane. This chicane is a perfect example of the pure speed that F1 cars change direction. After the cars prepare for the heavy braking into Piscine, which is not dissimilar to a mirror of the Nouvelle chicane.
Avoiding the bollard, the cars exit and head up to the tight right hander of “La Rascasse” then past the pit entry into Anthony Noghes, where the track dips down onto the entry of the start finish straight. The start finish straight is hardly a “straight” but is the only DRS zone on the track, and so it is critical to get a good exit when wanting to overtake.
Being the unique circuit that Monaco is, it has also seen some interesting moments. In 1991, the race saw an incredible finish between the leading Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell. Mansell, in the faster Williams did everything he could to make his way past Senna, but he ran out of time. Senna himself holds the record of six victories at Monaco. In 1990 he qualified more than a second ahead of Prost behind him, and although he was leading the race by 50 seconds, he crashed the car and failed to win.
Damon Hill’s father, Graham Hill, was nicknamed “Mr Monaco” after his successes at the track won him five trips to the top of the podium. The track appears to suite certain drivers. For example, Mark Webber has enjoyed much success at this track and Webber himself claimed that Monaco is Nico Rosberg’s track, the driver who won here last year.
Last year we saw one of the best Monaco GP’s in a while. In a rare moment, the Grand Prix was also red flagged after Max Chilton came into contact with Pastor Maldonado, causing the stoppage as his car blocked the track. Nico Rosberg led every lap of the race from pole position and was joined on the podium by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, who managed to undercut Lewis Hamilton in the pits.
Lewis made a late lunge at La Rascasse to grab the final podium spot, but the circuits unforgiving and enclosed walls prevented the manoeuvre. The win was very significant for multiple reasons, as it gave Mercedes and Nico Rosberg there first win since China 2012 and it gave Rosberg his first Monaco win 30 years since his father Keke had won it in 1983
(Written by @Michael Johnston)