Monaco Grand Prix Archives

F1/Round 7: Provisional Results and Highlights of 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

Just as the race was preparing to start, rain came down heavily, creating additional levels of stress. There was uncertainty about which tyres to start on, made worse by the fact that the street circuit is used by normal traffic at night, so it was a bit greasy too.

The formation lap was to start behind the Safety Car so everyone was required to be on full wet tyres. However, as the rain got heavier, there was a delay extending the start time to 16 minutes later than scheduled. After the cars moved off on the formation lap, the rain got even heavier and the red flags came out, so the race was suspended even before it started. There were remarks that the rainfall was unusually great… a climate-change message?

*Frustrated in the pits waiting for the rain to stop, Alfa Romeo ORLEN’s Valtteri Bottas sent this tweet out to the world.*

While safety considerations were understood, the teams were frustrated that they had to sit still waiting. As the rain suddenly ended 55 minutes after the race should have started, the race Director sent a message to the team to be ready to start in 10 minutes. The track was still wet, there were still dark clouds but it seemed that the race could get underway. A second message informed that the race would start at 4:05 pm – 65 minutes after the original scheduled time.

“For us, the preparation is before the start of the race and then the teams have the full allocation of tyres in blankets and can decide at the last minute what they want to do and the decision is up to the teams. The real problem here is the level of grip because we are on a street circuit. It is not the temperature because we tested the tyres in this temperature, but it is the level of grip that is really low. If the sun is coming out, the track is going to dry out very quickly, so it is another important choice for the teams’ strategists,” said Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Mario Isola.

The 20 cars cautiously followed the Safety Car driven by birthday boy, Bernd Maylander, around the wet circuit. Two laps were completed as the race got underway with a rolling start. But even before the start took place. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll had a rear puncture and Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi slid into the barrier.

Charles Leclerc had sprinted off and was holding the lead with his team mate Carlos Sainz protecting him from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen who were just seconds behind. Scuderia Alphatauri’s Pierre Gasly, in spite of a slide, set the fastest lap in the early stages. But just two laps later, on lap 9, Leclerc used the advantage of clear air to set a faster lap time.

By lap 12, the two Ferraris and two red Bulls were 8 seconds away from the rest, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes-AMG’s George Russell duelling carefully for 5th place. Russell’s team mater, Lewis Hamilton was trying to move forward but it was hard to get past Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton came in on lap 16, switching to intermediate tyres. He managed to get back out in time to lose just one position to Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, slotting into ninth place. Meanwhile, Russell was asked to manage his tyres, possibly till slicks could go on. Right after Hamilton, Perez dropped out of third place and came in on the next lap for intermediates as well.

On lap 19, both Leclerc and Verstappen came in and took on intermediate tyres. However, Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher who also came in took on hard tyres, much to everyone’s surprise. The order then was Sainz in the lead, still on the first set of tyres, followed by Perez and then Leclerc.

As the 20th lap approached, Hamilton and Ocon were dicing and on one occasion, had contact. The Mercedes-AMG driver was uncertain if his car was damaged but did not report any unusual condition.

On lap 22, it was time to go to hard compounds and both the Ferraris quickly shot into the pits. Perez took over the lead as Sainz returned to the track behind him and Verstappen slotted into the space ahead of Leclerc.

Yellow flags appeared on lap 26 as Schumacher crashed and the Virtual Safety Car was activated initially and then the Safety Car went out. With Schumacher’s departure, both Haas cars were out of the Monaco GP as Kevin Magnussen had retired earlier. Sainz too had a heart-stopping moment as his car slid towards the barrier but there’s probably some rally DNA from his father and he managed to save the car from crashing.

As Schumacher’s car was being cleared, it was found that the barriers were quite severely damaged and more time was needed to make repairs. The decision was made to put out the red flag (which the Red Bull boss predicted) and stop the race, and the drivers headed back to the pits. The running order at that time on lap 29 was Perez, Sainz, Verstappen and Leclerc. Six seconds away from the Ferrari driver was Russell in fifth place.

The race was suspended for 19 minutes and resumed with a rolling start. The running order when the red flag had come out was Perez, Sainz, Verstappen and Leclerc. Six seconds away from the Ferrari driver was Russell in fifth place. The forecast was that there would be no more rain for the remaining 44 laps of the 77-lap race – but there was also the possibility that time might run out at the 2-hour limit.

The four frontrunners sped off but this time, Russell and Norris were also closer, just a few seconds further back and ready to take advantage of any slip the Ferrari or Red Bull ahead made. Behind Norris was a big 15-second gap to the next car.

Perez had the advantage of clear air but the race was not going to run for 77 laps and was likely to have only 29 laps remaining. Hamilton was again stuck behind Alonso and trying to take over 7th place. The Alpine driver seemed to be losing the pace although the team’s engineers said nothing was wrong. Still, it was difficult for Hamilton to get past on the narrow track.

Understanding that the race was shortened, Norris was beginning to plan for a more aggressive effort to take the fifth place from Russell before the race ended. The main consideration was whether the tyres could take the increased efforts and last for another 20+ laps – and Pirelli said that there was an outside chance of rain before the race ended.

And it was not only the Mercedes-AMG driver being frustrated by Alonso but others as well and the gap from the front got wider and wider. In fact, when Hamilton asked how far ahead the front-runners were, his team suggested that he not think of that and instead think of how far they were behind – which was about 30 seconds! By lap 51, Perez was already seeing the backmarkers not far ahead.

As Perez closed in on the lapped cars ahead, Sainz began to put the pressure on. Encountering traffic would make things tricky for the Mexican Red Bull driver who had to look ahead as well as watch behind. Verstappen and Leclerc were about 2 seconds away, also in a position to grab a better spot if the opportunity came up.

The pressure on Perez was very great as the Ferrari was right behind, almost under his wing. His tyres were not in great shape and at that point, no one was certain what the outcome of the race would be. The four leaders came up behind Alfa Romeo ORLEN’s Zhou GuanYu who got out of the way quickly to let them pass.

It was clear that with 5 minutes remaining, the front drivers were giving everything that had as there were moments when they looked like they would lose it. Sainz was pushing Perez and Verstappen was also pressuring from behind. Latifi was also in the way but moved aside and then there was some space to the next cars so the leaders began to push harder.

The clock stopped at lap 64 and Perez held on to his lead through 19 corners to cross the finish line and win the 2022 Monaco GP. Sainz was not letting up and neither was Verstappen so it was that order of finish, with a disappointed Leclerc coming up behind in fourth.

F1/Round 7: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 Monaco Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in Monaco/9 pm in Malaysia

After the Spanish Grand Prix a week ago, Formula 1 is in Monte Carlo this weekend for the seventh round of the 2022 World Championship – the Monaco Grand Prix. This is among the oldest events and this year is the 68^th time the event has been held as a championship round. It was on the original calendar in 1950 and has only been cancelled once – in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced authorities to stop all public gatherings.

The Monaco GP is probably the most famous race of each season and for a while, its major attraction was being a street circuit. Because it uses public roads, the track is narrow with many tight turns. It is a challenging track with no run-offs, just concrete walls and barriers. Overtaking is nearly impossible, putting the emphasis on qualifying – but the drivers have always loved it.

*Somewhere in there is the Formula 1 racetrack that has been used since 1950.*

There is a high risk of incidents, and the Safety Car has often influenced the race outcome at this track in the past. However, as with the other tracks so far, the new generation of F1 racing cars this year will also present new challenges as their behaviour and performance will be different.

“Winning a race there in 2008, I felt like I was at the top of the highest mountain of the world,” said Mercedes-AMG’s Lewis Hamilton. “So many different things need to come together for that to happen and it is a track where you just can’t leave anything on the table.”

“Usually after that race, you are mentally destroyed for a good couple of days,” Hamilton said. Other tracks require a mix of physical and mental strength but, in Monaco, the focus is much more on the mental side, due to the levels of concentration needed to lap the circuit.

“Monaco is a circuit that’s probably the highest in concentration and mental focus,” he explained. “The street circuit nature, the fact it is quite short and there are not very long straights. It’s not a massively physical circuit because we are not doing really high speeds through corners and pulling the g-forces you would somewhere like Barcelona. But your mind is having to work so much faster.”

*The cornering speeds and gears used by the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team drivers.*

Over just one lap in Monaco, there’s little time for drivers to rest, taking multi-tasking to the next level. Balancing the brake, throttle, steering, dealing with the forces and feeling what the car is doing through their body, and also paying attention to their surroundings – there’s a lot for drivers to deal with over a lap that is just 3.337 kms in length.

And then you have to consider the drivers making switch and steering wheel changes as they lap the track, too. With few straights, there aren’t many opportunities to take their hand off the wheel and make those adjustments. So teams have to really consider whether it’s worth the risk of drivers making switch changes, and also ensure they head out on track each time with the correct settings, to minimise the workload.

When it comes to the track layout, the circuit is dominated by slow and medium-speed corners, including some of the lowest corner speeds on the calendar. The slippery street asphalt (which is opened up to traffic each evening) and slow speeds mean that the energy going through the tyres is low, with minimal wear and degradation, but quite a high degree of track evolution each day.

All this means that a one-stopper is the norm in Monaco, but there’s quite a wide pit-stop window and the timing of the stops can be influenced by Safety Cars, which are very likely around the tight confines of the circuit.

The cars run a special high-downforce configuration for Monaco in order to maximise grip at low speeds, with combined grip generated both mechanically from tyres and aerodynamically from downforce. This is obviously the first time that the new generation of 18-inch Formula 1 cars has raced at Monaco though, so the teams will have a lot to learn about how they react in these unique conditions, with the weather on the Mediterranean coast sometimes hard to predict at this time of year.

“Monaco is often described as one of the most unpredictable races of the year,” said Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Mario Isola. “We might see some different strategies this year, with some drivers picking harder compounds to begin the race to target running a long first stint, given the difficultly of overtaking. Others may choose a more traditional approach by starting on the softest compound, at a race where strategy can make a real difference.”

F1/Round 5: Highlights & Provisional Results For 2021 Monaco Grand Prix

♦ Charles Leclerc, who had qualified with the fastest time and crashed at the end of the final session but could claim pole position on the grid, lost that position as the damage to his Ferrari’s gearbox was too great. This gave Red Bull driver Max Verstappen the pole position, with Mercedes-AMG’s Valtteri Bottas alongside. Uncharacteristically, Lewis Hamilton had qualified only in seventh (and moved up to sixth).

♦ The tightness of the circuit makes passing difficult so the status quo was maintained for most of the front runners although Alpine F1’s Fernando Alonso managed to move up two positions from his grid position to 14th.

♦ Left alone to represent Ferrari, Carlos Sainz slowly took time off the gap with Bottas which was about 3 seconds with 10 laps completed.

♦ By lap 13, gaps were beginning to open up as some drivers were urged to pick up the pace. Sergio Perez, who was 20 seconds from his Red Bull team mate, was trying hard to get past Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.

♦ Nikita Mazepin (Haas F1) and Lando Norris (McLaren) were some of the drivers who got black and white flags to warn them about track limits. If they did it too many times, the Stewards would give them time penalities.

♦ With 29 laps done, all eyes were on the pits to see who would come in for their tyre changes. It was Lewis Hamilton who was the first, follow by his team mater Bottas was was around 63 seconds behind Verstappen. And then disaster struck for the Finn to make it worse as a front wheel could not come off the Mercedes-AMG. As a result, the tyre could not be changed – and it meant retirement for Bottas.

♦ Amazingly, Pierre Gasly (Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda), who was just ahead of Hamilton, came in and returned to the track still ahead of the Mercedes-AMG driver. But Vettel was quick to exploit the pit stops, passing Gasly and Hamilton to take fifth place.

♦ With half the 78-lap race completed, Verstappen was not secure yet as he had a lead of only 3 seconds ahead of Sainz. With Bottas out, there was a strong possibility of Hamilton losing his championship lead and implications for the team as well.

♦ With 30 laps remaining, Norris was in third – too far from Sainz but 7 seconds ahead of Perez. Vettel was a further 11 seconds but trying very hard with what has been an uncompetitive car.

♦ Hamilton was not giving up easily and pushed hard although, unlike other tracks where he could push forwardm difficulty overtaking held him back behind other cars.

♦ As the laps counted down, Perez was one of the more aggressive drivers, trying hard to pass Norris and be on the podium place instead of the McLaren driver.

♦ Yuki Tsunoda (Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda), who seemed to show promise at the start of the season, was the last car to pit and he was down in 16th position.

♦ As 10 laps remained, Hamilton came in for a new set of tyres, aiming to go flat out to the finish and improve his position from seventh and more importantly, try and set the fastest lap and get that one bonus point. He was the only driver to come into the pits twice – and he was also about to be lapped by Verstappen.

♦ Perez kept the pressure on Norris right till the end, coming within less than 2 seconds, but his fight could not continue as Verstappen crossed the finish line – and into the championship lead.

F1 – Turkish Grand Prix cancelled, 2 races to be run in Austria

Is the Monaco Circuit the hardest on brakes in the F1 championship? (w/VIDEO)

With all its twists and turns as well as tight corners, you would think that the street circuit for the 67^th Monaco Grand Prix would be the toughest on brakes among all the circuits of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship. However, it’s not and according to Brembo technicians, the Monaco Circuit falls into the category of tracks that present an average challenge for the brakes. On a difficulty index scale of 1 to 5, it is classified as a three, exactly the same as the tracks of the last three races.

The circuit stands out for its high aerodynamic load and the considerable percentage of braking time. The calipers and brake fluid reach high temperatures and vapour lock was a common phenomenon in the past, causing the lengthening of the brake pedal action.

Brembo carbon doesn’t melt at 3,000°C
Carbon discs began to be used in Formula 1 in the 1980s, and then spread into other motorsport competitions. Indeed, no other element offers that special combination of light weight, high thermal conductivity and absence of dilation, even at 1,000°C, a distinguishing feature of Brembo’s F1 discs.

The density of carbon is 1.7 grams per cubic centimetre, compared with 7.8 grams for steel and 7.3 grams for gray cast iron. Its thermal expansion coefficient is 1/15th that of steel and 1/11th that of cast iron. The melting point of carbon is higher than 3,000°C, compared with the 1,200°C of cast iron and 1,800°C of steel.

3 metres make all the difference
Carbon discs aren’t suitable for road use, mainly because the braking system doesn’t reach the minimum operating temperatures needed, but also due to their high consumption. Some of their benefits, however, can be found in the carbon ceramic discs of which Brembo is the main worldwide manufacturer.

Carbon ceramic discs allow a saving of 5 to 6 kgs in weight compared with traditional cast iron discs. What’s more, their lifespan may even equal that of the vehicle they’re mounted on, depending on how it’s driven. But, above all, carbon ceramic guarantees a reduction of about 3 metres in the braking distance from 100 km/h to 0 km/h compared with a traditional disc.

4.6g deceleration after the tunnel
Of the 11 braking sections of the Monaco Circuit, two are classified as very demanding on the brakes, another two are of medium difficulty, and the remaining 7 are light. The hardest for the braking system is the one that comes after the tunnel (Turn 10): the cars arrive at 307 km/h and have to get down to 90 km/h within just 121 metres. To do this, the drivers brake for 2.47 seconds, applying a load of 146 kgs on the pedal and experience a deceleration force of 4.6g.

870 braking points
Despite being the shortest World Championship track at just 3.337 kms, the Monaco Circuit has 11 braking points per lap (although only one of them is particularly intense). On 4 turns, the brakes need to be used for no more than 1.1 second. The drivers use their brakes for 18.7 seconds, corresponding to 27% of the total race time.

Notwithstanding the 7 braking points per lap where the load on the pedal is less than 90 kgs), the overall load exerted by each driver from the starting line to the checkered flag is more than 62 metric tons. Only in Singapore – also a street circuit – is the figure higher than this. It also has to be said that the braking system is used about 870 times on the Monaco track, from start to finish.

The 2021 Monaco Grand Prix will start at 3 pm in Monaco/9 pm in Malaysia tonight.

F1/Round 5: Preview & Starting Grid for 2021 Monaco Grand Prix

F1/Round 5: Preview & Starting Grid for 2021 Monaco Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in Monaco/9 pm  in Malaysia

After a forced cancellation last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Formula 1 World Championship is able to return to the classic street circuit of Monaco this year for the fifth round. This will be the 67^th Monaco Grand Prix since the first one was held in 1950 as the second round of the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship. Although it was not run in the first half of the 1950s, when it resumed as a venue on the calendar, it would remain there every year with 2020 being the first time that there was no Monaco GP.

The Monaco circuit runs around the seaside resort city and is narrow with many tight turns, but the drivers love it. It is a challenging track with no run-offs, just concrete walls and barriers, and the relentless nature of the circuit is what makes it so special.

*This year, Aston Martin joins Mercedes-AMG to supply the FIA Official Cars. At Monaco, the Safety Car will be a Vantage (below) while the Medical Car will be a DBX SUV (above).*

“For me, personally, in terms of workload for the driver, Monaco is the toughest because there is no time to rest” said Mercedes-AMG’s Valtteri Bottas. “It is literally corner after corner, and even the straights aren’t really straight, you are always turning even just a little bit.”

“There’s really no race like it… it’s such a unique, intense weekend for the drivers and the team, with no margin for error. It puts the fire under your ass, and we love the challenge!” added his boss, Toto Wolff.

The 3.337-km circuit has been resurfaced in a number of locations and it’s in good condition, according to Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing. “There’s significant track evolution, thanks also to the support events. We saw solid performance from all three compounds, with a similar time gap between all of them. We’ve seen nothing to suggest that teams will deviate from the usual one-stopper at Monaco, with the soft and the medium preferred,” he said.

The key to competitiveness is to gradually build pace through each session in order to peak during Saturday’s crucial qualifying session. That process is even more difficult this year due to the reduced duration of Friday’s practice sessions. With the narrowness of the track, it is vital to get a good position on the starting grid.

While completing a lap, the driver’s vision at high-speed and their ability to react quickly to any changes in the environment is crucial. This is especially challenging at a track like Monaco, which is narrow and twisty, with blind corners and potential surprises around every one of its 19 corners (8 left-handers and 11 right-handers).

As the weekend progresses, the drivers are filtering through different reference points to pick the quickest lines, the latest braking points and progressively build confidence. This is particularly crucial in Monaco, knowing any accidents in the practice sessions could limit their running and even their chances to take part in Qualifying.

Intense super-short, super-quick lap
With limited overtaking opportunities in Monaco, single lap pace in qualifying is vital which puts pressure on the outlap to ensure the car crosses the start line in optimum shape to begin the timed run. The driver will adjust their brake balance continuously through the outlap while weaving, accelerating and braking to generate temperature in the brakes and tyres, while also charging the ERS system so they have maximum power to deploy on the timed lap.

In Monaco, the challenge and intensity are crammed into a super-short, super-quick lap that requires maximum precision and maximum concentration. There’s no relenting… one slip of focus, and the driver and team’s hard work will be wiped away.

Hamilton at the top
Lewis Hamilton continues to lead in the Drivers Championship, as does his team. His closest challenger is Max Verstappen who is 14 points behind and whose Red Bull Racing team is also second, 29 points behind the Mercedes-AMG team.

The most successful driver at Monaco has been the late Ayrton Senna, with 6 wins that started when he was with Lotus in 1987. Senna also contributed 5 wins to McLaren’s total of 15 wins, the most of any constructor.

Honda Clarity Fuel Cell does lap of honour at Monaco

During the recent race weekend, Prince Albert II of Monaco chose to drive a Honda Clarity Fuel Cell for the lap of honour for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, which served as the official opening of the prestigious race.

Prince Albert II, accompanied by Princess Charlene and a representative from the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), piloted the Clarity Fuel Cell around the 3.337km circuit.

It’s no surprise that this particular car was chosen for the opening ceremony. Prince Albert II has been an advocate for the environment and its sustainability. One of the key aims of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation is to limit the effects of climate change and promote renewable energies.

Though not popular in Asia, the Clarity Fuel Cell is a technological marvel. It features state of the art fuel cell technology that allow it to generate electricity to drive its motor, by combining hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike the harmful gases that are produced during combustion in a petrol engine, the only byproduct of a Fuel Cell reaction is water. In the Clarity Fuel Cell, the 103kW fuel cell stack is placed in the engine/motor bay instead of under the passenger seats like conventional electric cars. This allows for better cabin space and legroom for occupants.

The car looks and feels like any conventional Honda despite being anything but that. It is a Fuel Cell sedan that can seat five comfortably, and when fully filled with hydrogen, can cover a distance of 650km without needing to stop for a refill.

In the long term, cars like this will be a common sight in Honda dealerships because the automaker plans on offering some form of electrified powertrains in two thirds of its cars sold in Europe by 2025.

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