The Official 2018 Monaco Grand Prix Thread **SPOILERS**

[suffolk009]

em177 said:

Vaud said:

em177 said:

Dr Z said:

FP2 Times

If that's a relatively representative set of times, it's going to be very tight at the bottom of Q1 & Q2

And proof if ever needed that regulation stability is good. Only 2.2 sec from front to back.

Someone should tell John Todt that

He wouldn't listen.

[Vocal Minority]

Apparently Hamilton and Bottas think the Hyper soft will only be good for 7-8 laps

[Dr Z]

Vocal Minority said:

Apparently Hamilton and Bottas think the Hyper soft will only be good for 7-8 laps

I missed that, Merc are in trouble if that's true. The RB was still putting in good laps on 20 lap old hypers. Pirelli even reckoned the cars can do the whole race on a set of those tyres!

Someone's got it terribly wrong.

Pirelli or Merc?

[Vocal Minority]

That was from Will Buxton's twitter

[anonymous-user]

Vocal Minority said:

Apparently Hamilton and Bottas think the Hyper soft will only be good for 7-8 laps

Very much like 2012.

I enjoyed that season when the tyres were pretty rubbish

[Kraken]

Vaud said:

And proof if ever needed that regulation stability is good. Only 2.2 sec from front to back.

2.2 seconds is an eternity in F1. Might as well be in a different race.

[Vaud]

Kraken said:

2.2 seconds is an eternity in F1. Might as well be in a different race.

Pick years at random for FP or quali. The gap is tight.

7-18 covered by 7/10ths sec?

[The Moose]

Vocal Minority said:

To be honest, there are 1000 brains in an F1 team all of whom have lots of experience.

If there was a way of making the car run 'effectively' in dirty air I am sure they'd have found it. The air is turbulent and difficult to use consistently - that's just its nature.

Wonder if the cars are designed to throw even more turbulent air to make it harder for following cars?

[Derek Smith]

The Moose said:

Vocal Minority said:

To be honest, there are 1000 brains in an F1 team all of whom have lots of experience.

If there was a way of making the car run 'effectively' in dirty air I am sure they'd have found it. The air is turbulent and difficult to use consistently - that's just its nature.

Wonder if the cars are designed to throw even more turbulent air to make it harder for following cars?

I seem to remember Newey saying something along the lines of it being one of the functions of the aero.

I reckon there should be a requirement for a certain level of stable air from behind the car. Take the average at the moment and make it 75% for the following season - 2020. The following season reduce by 25% and so on.

They'll find some way around it but that only means the regs need to be changed.

[anonymous-user]

I have to say I am very disappointed in McLaren.

They kept going on and on about Honda being the issue and that if they had a decent engine they would be winning races with the best chassis.

Red Bull have the same engine and are looking very good in Monaco while McLaren are at their normal level.

I was so hoping things would change but has it??

[Derek Smith]

Could this be an exciting Monaco GP, despite the good weather forecast?

The top six are all in with a shout. If the two RBs are on the front row then we might only have a top four, but still.

Timing of the pit stops will be critical. Does that mean that the Mercs, at least, will be shod in ultras for Q2 and struggling to get through?

The pace car will be out. Let's not name names as Grosjean and Verstappen have had enough criticism.

I had a work colleague who was at Tabac around the early 70s. He was Australian and supported Brabham. He and a couple of others went to Monaco, in those days this was unusual. One of the others said that on the final lap, when Jack came past, he jumped up screaming support and was rejoicing about the great win for his man. Brabham was passed on the final corner.

He hardly spoke for the whole return journey, which was by car.

EDITED TO ADD: It was 1970. Here's a video but it is in foreign.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiPZpJEGIBo

Edited by Derek Smith on Thursday 24th May 21:31

[suffolk009]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

I have to say I am very disappointed in McLaren.

They kept going on and on about Honda being the issue and that if they had a decent engine they would be winning races with the best chassis.

Red Bull have the same engine and are looking very good in Monaco while McLaren are at their normal level.

I was so hoping things would change but has it??

How many years have Red Bull been working with Renault? And then McLaren? It's not like just just doing a quick engine swap like Brawn did.

[StevenB]

If they took the front wing away, as per the FW08 maybe that would solve the following closely problem

[Derek Smith]

suffolk009 said:

ELUSIVEJIM said:

I have to say I am very disappointed in McLaren.

They kept going on and on about Honda being the issue and that if they had a decent engine they would be winning races with the best chassis.

Red Bull have the same engine and are looking very good in Monaco while McLaren are at their normal level.

I was so hoping things would change but has it??

How many years have Red Bull been working with Renault? And then McLaren? It's not like just just doing a quick engine swap like Brawn did.

Don't make excuses for them. They are, after all, behind the factory Renault team in the table. Only by one point I agree, and only the big three are in front of them, but still, is that any better than they were with the Honda?

And where's Alonso in the WDC table? Way, way down in 7th. Fair enough the six drivers in front of him are all in the better funded teams, but still, that's no reason to suggest they've made any great strides with the new engine.

[DanielSan]

Derek Smith said:

Don't make excuses for them. They are, after all, behind the factory Renault team in the table. Only by one point I agree, and only the big three are in front of them, but still, is that any better than they were with the Honda?

And where's Alonso in the WDC table? Way, way down in 7th. Fair enough the six drivers in front of him are all in the better funded teams, but still, that's no reason to suggest they've made any great strides with the new engine.

Relative pace to the lead 3 teams would suggest they’re only a few tenths better than last season at best.

All we heard was best chassis, Honda is the problem over and over. There’s nowhere to hide now, the car has too much drag on the aero side, the chassis has issues in the low speed stuff as today has shown and all this with an engine that’s won a race this year... the problems at Mclaren are the same they have been for the last few years. Staff related.

[davepoth]

Mclaren have had a few years of being at sea, unable to make a quick car. Even if it had been the best chassis on the grid it would have been slow, and to add to the woes they couldn't even compare themselves to other teams with the same motor.

Now they have a competitive engine they can see exactly where they are in comparison with Red Bull and Renault - and they can see that they have issues with the aero.

IMO problems around Monaco are Monaco problems - Mercedes struggle too with a long wheelbase but they calculate that there are more points in having a car that's good at going really fast.

I think this was always going to be a frustrating year for them but hopefully they'll now know which way to go with the 2019 car.

[DanielSan]

If they were just miles off the pace in Monaco that would be one thing but it’s consistently way behind the lead teams regardless of circuit. They’ve known for the last couple of seasons at least the car has too much drag it it seems not to have been addressed given the complaints are the same now.

While the Honda engine was a pile why has the aero side at least not been fixed? New engine placement only goes so far as an excuse. They’re far from the only team to have changed supplier in the past.

[ghost83]

1.5 seconds from pole is a huge amount especially over a low speed circuit like monaco

I'm disappointed with them if I'm honest!

when you look at the team their budgets their facilities they're a complete shambles

boullier is half the problem he couldn't manage lotus and he's not very good at mclaren

whitmarsh was spotted in spain at mclaren and lets be honest they were more succuesful during his tenure


i really can't see alonso staying and putting up with it any longer but no one wants him, maybe he will go to renault or leave f1

he's another strange one because he's one of the best yet no team seem to want him!

vandoorne also is nowhere near good enough to be in the mclaren seat neither god knows why ron dennis treat jenson button so bad to get vandoorne in

[HTP99]

ghost83 said:

1.5 seconds from pole is a huge amount especially over a low speed circuit like monaco

I'm disappointed with them if I'm honest!

when you look at the team their budgets their facilities they're a complete shambles

boullier is half the problem he couldn't manage lotus and he's not very good at mclaren

whitmarsh was spotted in spain at mclaren and lets be honest they were more succuesful during his tenure


i really can't see alonso staying and putting up with it any longer but no one wants him, maybe he will go to renault or leave f1

he's another strange one because he's one of the best yet no team seem to want him!

vandoorne also is nowhere near good enough to be in the mclaren seat neither god knows why ron dennis treat jenson button so bad to get vandoorne in

I don't think he's needed anywhere; Mercedes have Hamilton, Ferrari have Vettel, Redbull have Ricciardo and Verstappen, so those teams don't need him, everyone else can't afford him, with probably the exception of Renault but will he bring a great deal to them and what of the future as he is getting on a bit now?!

He also has a reputation for being difficult and bringing trouble.

[suffolk009]

McLaren have just hired Gil de Ferran as a motorsport advisor. I think an Indycar team is on the cards. Alonso to drive would seem to make sense. As I suggested elsewhere (maybe the silly season thread), if Alonso wins LeMans this year then I reckon he'll be off to Indycar full time.