Monaco GP - A busy “day off” in prospect
Monaco, 24 May
Water is always a feature at the Monaco Grand Prix, with the Mediterranean sea framing one side of the track and the Swimming Pool chicane being one of its most famous corners, but today the water fell from the skies. The first free practice session this morning was run in the dry, although as usual on a street circuit the track surface was greasy and dusty, so not too many laps were completed by the 24 drivers. Then, in the afternoon, the traditional time for upping the pace, evaluating tyres and generally getting to terms with the unique challenges of racing centimetres from the barriers, a light shower put paid to everyone’s plans.
Nevertheless, the Scuderia Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were relatively satisfied with their day’s work and, with the usual proviso that free practice times don’t mean much, the two men were in the top six on the time sheet in both sessions. Fernando, quickest in the morning, when he rattled off 22 laps at the wheel of the F2012, then did a further 23 in the afternoon, ending the day fourth fastest. Felipe Massa settled for just 19 laps in FP1, going sixth fastest, but in the afternoon, he finished one place ahead of his team-mate, doing 21 laps. Pirelli has brought the Soft and Supersoft tyres here, the latter making its first appearance of the season, or not in the case of the two Ferrari men: normally the tyre comparison would have taken place in the afternoon, but the rain scotched those plans, as Softs and Intermediates were the only appropriate choice when Fernando and Felipe were on track. Jenson Button did manage to pop out on the Supersoft when track conditions were suitable and this contributed to the McLaren man setting the fastest time of the day, the only driver to go under the 1m 16s barrier. He was followed by the Lotus of Romain Grosjean, while behind Felipe and Fernando was the winner from two weeks ago in Spain, Pastor Maldonaldo, fifth in the Williams, with Nico Rosberg completing the top six for Mercedes.
This being Monaco, tomorrow is officially a “day off” for the Formula 1 circus. That name might have been true many years ago, but in the high pressure world of modern Grand Prix racing, the Scuderia and the other eleven teams will be on duty, with engineers and drivers studying all the data in an effort to compensate for today’s lack of track time, prior to a final hour of free practice and qualifying on Saturday.
Water is always a feature at the Monaco Grand Prix, with the Mediterranean sea framing one side of the track and the Swimming Pool chicane being one of its most famous corners, but today the water fell from the skies. The first free practice session this morning was run in the dry, although as usual on a street circuit the track surface was greasy and dusty, so not too many laps were completed by the 24 drivers. Then, in the afternoon, the traditional time for upping the pace, evaluating tyres and generally getting to terms with the unique challenges of racing centimetres from the barriers, a light shower put paid to everyone’s plans.
Nevertheless, the Scuderia Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were relatively satisfied with their day’s work and, with the usual proviso that free practice times don’t mean much, the two men were in the top six on the time sheet in both sessions. Fernando, quickest in the morning, when he rattled off 22 laps at the wheel of the F2012, then did a further 23 in the afternoon, ending the day fourth fastest. Felipe Massa settled for just 19 laps in FP1, going sixth fastest, but in the afternoon, he finished one place ahead of his team-mate, doing 21 laps. Pirelli has brought the Soft and Supersoft tyres here, the latter making its first appearance of the season, or not in the case of the two Ferrari men: normally the tyre comparison would have taken place in the afternoon, but the rain scotched those plans, as Softs and Intermediates were the only appropriate choice when Fernando and Felipe were on track. Jenson Button did manage to pop out on the Supersoft when track conditions were suitable and this contributed to the McLaren man setting the fastest time of the day, the only driver to go under the 1m 16s barrier. He was followed by the Lotus of Romain Grosjean, while behind Felipe and Fernando was the winner from two weeks ago in Spain, Pastor Maldonaldo, fifth in the Williams, with Nico Rosberg completing the top six for Mercedes.
This being Monaco, tomorrow is officially a “day off” for the Formula 1 circus. That name might have been true many years ago, but in the high pressure world of modern Grand Prix racing, the Scuderia and the other eleven teams will be on duty, with engineers and drivers studying all the data in an effort to compensate for today’s lack of track time, prior to a final hour of free practice and qualifying on Saturday.
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