Monaco approaches...
Discussion
Gilles won in Monaco was a trifle lucky as Jones retired form a huge lead, but to get that car up there was staggering.
And in Jarama he won by driving very cleverly in huge heat and using that car which had decent skirt grip to his advantage on the straights.
He blasted past about 3 of them on the straight to lead then held about 6 cars off for the rest of the race! Bit like when Boutsen won in Hungary
And in Jarama he won by driving very cleverly in huge heat and using that car which had decent skirt grip to his advantage on the straights.
He blasted past about 3 of them on the straight to lead then held about 6 cars off for the rest of the race! Bit like when Boutsen won in Hungary
paulguitar said:
At Monaco though, you can be miles off the pace and if you are ahead nobody can pass. Wasn't Ricciardo down to the tune of a couple of hundred horsepower last year? They are lapping 7-8 seconds off the potential pace there, it is a farce.
I think we all already know that overtaking at Monaco is difficult, bordering on lunacy.Yet so many of us look forward to it. I don't think looking forward to a sporting even makes it farcical. Overtaking is compromised, but the sheer skill required of the drivers to simply maintain pace, and thus the order, is extremely impressive. The tiniest of errors will result in a huge change of the order - generally downwards for the one making the error, along with any victims of that error.
When it comes to 'sport' the challenge in Monaco is not to climb up, but to not mess up and fall down. That's a pretty reasonable challenge of any sportsman I think, given how awkward the circuit is in a modern car.
And anyway, in quali they all have the same opportunity to hit the track and show pace. If it's true that P1/2 will win no matter what, then it also has to be true that the race is won in quali, so just transfer your passion to outright driving abilty/pace to quali and enjoy the win on Saturday. Either way, the fastest chap wins, by your theory. They still have to go out there and earn it.
And quite apart from all of the above, in terms of drama, something will happen at some point. It always does. There will be at least on unfortunate driver - probably before Sunday.
On Saturday, I agree. It's a great spectacle and a unique challenge.
In the race though, they are so far off the potential pace of the car that it is really not impressive at all. The race last year summed it up, with Ricciardo tooling around in a ruined car and still able to win. Hardly a great sporting challenge!
In the race though, they are so far off the potential pace of the car that it is really not impressive at all. The race last year summed it up, with Ricciardo tooling around in a ruined car and still able to win. Hardly a great sporting challenge!
paulguitar said:
On Saturday, I agree. It's a great spectacle and a unique challenge.
In the race though, they are so far off the potential pace of the car that it is really not impressive at all. The race last year summed it up, with Ricciardo tooling around in a ruined car and still able to win. Hardly a great sporting challenge!
The way I see it, in theory it's won on a Saturday, or at least reduced to an early race dash between two drivers. In reality though, there is an ever present chance of something weird occurring on Sunday, and turning it all on it's head.In the race though, they are so far off the potential pace of the car that it is really not impressive at all. The race last year summed it up, with Ricciardo tooling around in a ruined car and still able to win. Hardly a great sporting challenge!
I think Monaco falls down only when compared to other 'normal' circuits. In it's own right, the challenge remains, it's just a bit... weird. But that's OK. It's also steeped in history, it's a cathedral of our sport and quite often, stuff that's worth talking about occurs. If we're going to be F1 fans, then once a year it seems reasonable to head back to Monaco, even if it's mostly an odd F1 pilgrimage. Let's face it, it's nowhere near the dullest race in a season, and it never will be. Hence... Monaco remains.
paua said:
Eric Mc said:
I remember 1980 for this -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjKGGU2hSLU
And 1982, the race nobody wanted to win -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tea-fDaMVDk
And '81 for Giles managing to keep a pig of a red car in front ( where it shouldn't have been ) . He withstood a lot of pressure.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjKGGU2hSLU
And 1982, the race nobody wanted to win -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tea-fDaMVDk
paulguitar said:
At Monaco though, you can be miles off the pace and if you are ahead nobody can pass. Wasn't Ricciardo down to the tune of a couple of hundred horsepower last year? They are lapping 7-8 seconds off the potential pace there, it is a farce.
Around 135 horsepower, enough to power a family saloon along quite nicely (from what I've hear Brundle say about 3,000 times).Worst race to watch on telly, best to watch live..... from what I've read, anyway! If I was going to go see a grand prix live, that would be my first choice.
Only place that gives spectators a good perspective on how fast the cars are actually going.
Also, most of the teams might not like it, especially in the earlier days when access between garage and stores was a big pain for the mechanics, but a lot of the drivers love the place. It's such a unique challenge and many drivers from the modern era back to the '60s really enjoy the very particular approach it requires. I know Piquet Sr famously described driving a Formula 1 car around Monaco as being like riding a bicycle around your living room, but there are many others with the opposite opinion. It's unique and has its lovers and its haters.
Malcolm Folley's book "Monaco" has some really interesting interviews with drivers, team members and managers, and all sorts of other people involved with the Monaco Grand Prix through the years. Lots of great insight in that book for anyone interested in understanding what fascinates so many people about racing there.
Only place that gives spectators a good perspective on how fast the cars are actually going.
Also, most of the teams might not like it, especially in the earlier days when access between garage and stores was a big pain for the mechanics, but a lot of the drivers love the place. It's such a unique challenge and many drivers from the modern era back to the '60s really enjoy the very particular approach it requires. I know Piquet Sr famously described driving a Formula 1 car around Monaco as being like riding a bicycle around your living room, but there are many others with the opposite opinion. It's unique and has its lovers and its haters.
Malcolm Folley's book "Monaco" has some really interesting interviews with drivers, team members and managers, and all sorts of other people involved with the Monaco Grand Prix through the years. Lots of great insight in that book for anyone interested in understanding what fascinates so many people about racing there.
Edited by kiseca on Friday 17th May 13:49
Edited by kiseca on Friday 17th May 13:49
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