Monaco Grand Prix 2015, Monte Carlo: Preview and Weekend Times

Opening hours

Thursday 21th May

Free Practice 1: 10pm-00pm (Sky Sport F11 HD – RaiSport 30)

Free Practice 2: 14pm-00pm (Sky Sport F15 HD – RaiSport 30)

Saturday May 23

Free Practice 3: 11pm-00pm (Sky Sport F12 HD – RaiSport 00)

Qualifying: 14pm (Sky Sport F00 HD – Rai 1)

Sunday May 24

Race: 14pm ̶ 00 laps ̶ 78 km (Sky Sport F260,520 HD – Rai 1)

Previous race

“Finally in Spain we have witnessed the return of the old German lion that is Nico Rosberg. Lewis Hamilton could only watch his teammate's winning ride, and, stuck behind Vettel's Ferrari for half the race, he was unable to recover in any way and attack the German for the victory. Speaking of Ferrari, the Maranello team is already on five podiums this season, already doubling their 2014 performance, although it seems that Williams has gained something in terms of performance, at least having fully rediscovered Valtteri Bottas. Redbull, on the other hand, always remains in mid-table, making an increasingly poor impression in not knowing how to lose. One day he threatens to leave Formula 1, the next he accuses Renault and so on. The Saubers and Force Indias are increasingly dispersed at the back, as is the McLaren which, if it weren't for Alonso, would be traveling just ahead of the Manors. Only the Spanish driver manages to remain in a decent position before his car collapses due to some mechanical problems: for Button the Mp4-30 is a car to forget. Will Monaco be able to keep fans from sleeping in front of the television?” MB

Prediction

“With the potential shown in Barcelona, ​​Mercedes is the most likely to win: Nico Rosberg is favored over Lewis Hamilton both for what he showed after the last GP and because he has won here in the last two years, showing his speed skills on such a technically difficult track. The challenge behind it is interesting, because the Ferraris will certainly not stand by and watch but in our opinion the Williams will be the most formidable opponents, Bottas in particular. Finally, the "weather" factor should not be ignored, which could vary from clear to rainy over the weekend." AV

Circuit

Name: Monte Carlo Circuit.

Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Construction: this is the city circuit par excellence, obtained by joining the narrow streets of the port of Monte Carlo. The track was used for sports competitions for the first time in 1929. Over the years it has been extensively modified without however modifying the original design, passing, however, from a layout with almost no chicanes to the course full of curves and tortuous that we know today. Nearly all of the changes evolved at the same time as changes to the principality's road network, while others were applied in the name of safety. The last substantial change dates back to 2004, when the pit lane was completely reconfigured. The previous year, however, the Rascasse chicane had been modified, widening the entrance road. Small changes were also made to the escape routes in 2011 after Sergio Perez's accident when braking at the exit of the tunnel.

Distance per lap: 3,340km.

Number of curves: 19, 10 on the right, 9 on the left.

Direction of travel: hours.

Best Parts: Casino climb and Casino curve: the cars, under full acceleration, wind up the climb that leads to the Casino curve, until they reach 280km/h, to then brake violently for 60 meters and turn left between two scary walls that don't forgive even the slightest mistake, ask people like Alonso or Webber. Grand Hotel hairpin: unique in the world championship, the slowest corner of the entire twenty races. Almost 360°. Simply characteristic, it also offers decent overtaking possibilities. Tunnel: another part of the track that is unique in the world championship: the cars pass under a long tunnel which tends to bend to the right after the treacherous Portier curve. The shift in light is very particular at the exit, with the sun hitting the pilots when they re-emerge into the darkness. But this is not the only pitfall, in fact the surface of the track is very irregular at the exit of this tunnel and can cause unexpected reactions from the car when the Rascasse suddenly brakes. Swimming pools variant: after leaving the Tabacchaio - also a scary bend - the swimming pools variant bends to the left and then to the right. It is tackled under full acceleration at 200km/h in sixth gear. The car bounces on the curbs and the drivers have to act noticeably on the steering wheel to maintain control.

Mechanical Stress: during the race the highest number of gear changes of the entire championship is recorded. The gearbox is perhaps the most stressed mechanical part of the car on this track together with the braking system. Montecarlo is in fact a Hard category circuit for brakes. During the lap the drivers tend to control the car with the brake pedal, negatively influencing the temperature of the discs. Furthermore, here there are 13 braking points along the entire circuit, certainly not as violent as on other tracks, in fact here speeds above 290km/h are never reached, however there is no moment of respite for the brakes.

The system is used for 21% of the lap and the most demanding braking is that of the Rascasse variant. The average braking force per lap is not high, it is 2,84G, and a car during the entire race develops a braking power of 156kWh

Tire choice:

DRS area: main straight, between turn 19 and turn 1 with detection point before turn 17.

Previous Editions

Last 3 Editions:

2012 edition: in the first two sessions on Thursday the fastest were Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) in FP1 and Jenson Button (McLaren – Mercedes) in FP2, with Romain Grosjean (Lotus – Renault) second in both. In FP3 on Saturday morning Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) was the fastest ahead of Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Sebastian Vettel (RBR – Renault). Qualifying: in Q1 Pérez (Sauber) immediately hits the wall and is forced to retire. Many drivers including Vettel and Räikkönen were forced to immediately mount supersoft tires to avoid elimination, with Nico Hülkenberg setting the best time. At the end of Q2, however, the two Force India drivers (including Hülkenberg himself), the two Toro Rosso drivers, Kobayashi, Bruno Senna and Jenson Button, did not qualify: all the drivers had mounted super-soft compound tyres. In Q3, Michael Schumacher surprisingly took pole, beating Mark Webber and teammate Rosberg on the last lap. However, the multiple German champion was relegated by five positions following the events that occurred during the previous Spanish GP in which he hit Bruno Senna's car. Race: All drivers, except Vettel and Button, are on supersoft tyres. At the start the cars got away well with Webber leading the group, while behind Grosjean attempted to attack Massa but hit Schumacher, ending up in a spin and having to retire. Other drivers are also involved in the accident including Pastor Maldonado and Pedro de la Rosa: it is decided to bring in the Safety Car. After four laps it returns and the race can resume with all positions unchanged while rain is announced in the pits towards the final laps. This leads everyone to delay the tire change as much as possible with Nico Rosberg returning first and fitting soft tyres, followed a little later by Webber and Hamilton, who loses one position to Alonso. Webber thus went on to win for the eighth time in his career ahead of Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso.

2013 edition: during the Monegasque weekend, Honda announces its return to the top series as an engine supplier for the McLaren team only starting from the 2015 season. The climate also heats up when the teams become aware of tests, judged legal by Pirelli and FIA, held between the Italian tire manufacturer and Mercedes. The German company has in fact used the current season's single-seater to test experimental tires which have sparked the indignation of teams such as Ferrari and Red Bull; however, everything will be classified by the FIA ​​as regulatory. In free practice on Thursday the fastest was Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) in both sessions. The same for FP3 on Saturday morning. Qualifying: impossible for Massa to take part in the qualifying round as his car is still being repaired after an accident on Saturday morning. The drivers took to the track on wet asphalt and at the end of Q3 Nico Rosberg won pole ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, the Red Bull duo, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso. Race: regular start with Rosberg in front of everyone. There are no overtakings in the top ten until the 26th lap when Webber returns to the pits for the first tire change. Three laps later Massa was once again involved in an accident which forced the stewards to bring the Safety Car onto the track, remaining there for eleven laps. At the restart, Vettel is in the lead ahead of Webber and Rosberg after changing tires in SC, while Hamilton is fourth. Red flag on lap 44 to reposition the barriers after an accident between Chilton and Maldonado, on the restart Alonso had to give up sixth place to Pérez. On lap 62 the SC exits again following a collision between Grosjean and Ricciardo. In the meantime, Adrian Sutil is fifth, author of an excellent comeback. Not even time to restart before Maylander with his SLS AMG is out again after a contact between Kimi and Pérez, he returns a few laps from the end and the situation sees, after a new tire change, Rosberg ahead of Vettel and Webber.

2014 edition: in free practice on Friday, first Lewis Hamilton won with Mercedes, then Fernando Alonso with Ferrari. On Saturday morning, Hamilton again set the fastest lap, while the qualifying sessions belonged to his teammate, Nico Rosberg, who obtained the sixth pole of his career, but not without leaving consequences: after the fastest lap the commissioners had to display the yellow flag due to his off-track exit, effectively canceling out Hamilton's. The second row is occupied by the two Red Bulls of Ricciardo and Vettel, the third by the two Ferraris of Alonso and Rӓikkӧnen. Race: Rosberg replaces the clutch shortly before the start but does not incur any penalties. At the start he maintains the lead ahead of Hamilton, Vettel and Rӓikkӧnen, author of an excellent start. It happens at Mirabeu a contact between Pérez (Force India – Mercedes) and Button (McLaren – Mercedes), which forces the safety car to come in. On the seventh lap Vettel retired due to a loss of power in the engine, four laps later Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat also returned due to a technical problem. At the 25th lap there was the second safety car after Adrian Sutil (Sauber – Ferrari) went off the track. However, during the split, Max Chilton (Marussia – Ferrari) slashed a tire on Rӓikkӧnen's Ferrari, forced to return and lose the lead while occupying third place (he would only finish 12th). They retire in order: Vergne (STR – Renault) on lap 50 due to an exhaust problem, Bottas (Williams – Mercedes) due to a technical failure and Esteban Gutiérrez (Sauber – Ferrari) due to an accident. After 78 laps Nico Rosberg wins for the second time in a row on the Monegasque circuit ahead of Lewis Hamilton, slowed down by a helmet problem that blocked part of his vision, and Daniel Ricciardo, who comes very close to the Englishman without however managing to overtake him. Jules Bianchi accomplished a heroic feat for the small Marussia team, finishing ninth and scoring his first two points in his career, as well as the team's.

Best Edition For Authors:

1996 edition: a truly "disastrous" race like few others. In free practice on Thursday the fastest was Mika Häkkinen (McLaren – Mercedes) ahead of Damon Hill (Williams – Renault) and teammate David Coulthard. Pole position on Saturday was instead conquered by Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari with a time of 1'20''356 after a good battle with Hill with fast laps. He was not then sanctioned for having obstructed Berger: the Austrian was in fact attempting a final fast lap while the German had finished his lap and was waving to the cheering crowd and did not see Berger arriving, effectively canceling his time. On Sunday, over 130.000 spectators gathered along the route, many of them Italians and Germans galvanized by the Schumacher-Ferrari duo. Sunday: in the morning warm-up the fastest was surprisingly Olivier Panis (Ligier – Mugen Honda), who lapped three tenths faster than Häkkinen. At the start of the Grand Prix, everything happened: after less than one lap Lamy and Fisichella, both Minardi drivers, retired; Verstappen (Footwork), Barrichello (Jordan) and poleman Schumacher, who after a bad start ended up on a curb, losing grip and crashing into the barriers. On lap 18 Berger retired due to gearbox problems while Frentzen hit Irvine in an overtaking attempt and had to return to the pits for a wing change. Towards the 30th lap the track begins to dry out with Hill still in the lead while behind Irvine, third thanks to an excellent strategy, is flanked by Panis and forced to "kiss" the barriers; he manages to return to the pits but loses a lot of time, ending up in the rear. On lap 40 Hill retired due to engine failure and had to give up the lead to Alesi on Benetton, who in turn retired due to suspension failure on the sixtieth lap. Panis thus took the lead and maintained the lead of the race with Coulthard a few seconds behind. Irvine, Villeneuve, Häkkinen and Salo retired with a few laps to go following an accident. Olivier Panis won his only Formula One race in Monaco ahead of Coulthard and Johnny Herbert, Frentzen came fourth. There were no other cars at the finish line.

Best Edition For Readers:

1984 edition: A violent storm hit the Monegasque circuit in the morning. Departure delayed by almost an hour while improvements are awaited. At the start Prost (McLaren – TAG Porsche), poleman the previous day, maintains the lead followed by Mansell and Arnoux, at St. Devote Warwick collides with Arnoux and ends up against the barriers, behind Tambay collides with De Cesaris and crashes against his teammate's Renault. Warwick limps out of his car while Tambay is taken away on a stretcher by the stewards; Prost leads the race followed by Mansell, Arnoux, Alboreto, Lauda and Rosberg. On the fourth lap Lauda overtook Alboreto and two laps later managed to overtake the other Ferrari of Arnoux. On the ninth lap Teo Fabi remains stationary on the track: a commissioner tries to push him but Prost doesn't see him and hits him lightly on the leg. Meanwhile, from the rear, a young driver with a green-gold helmet is gaining the attention of the public and commentators and is lapping with impressive times with his Michelin-tyred Toleman – Hart: it is Ayrton Senna, in his first season in Formula One. On lap 15 Mansell, leading the race after overtaking Prost, lost control of his Lotus and crashed into the guardrail, attempted to restart but stopped shortly afterwards. In the meantime, Senna freed himself first from Rosberg and then from Arnoux and attacked Lauda, ​​managing to overtake him at the beginning of the 19th lap along the finishing straight, moving into second position. Meanwhile, Stefan Bellof (Tyrrell) is also very fast and, like Senna, he makes a series of impressive overtaking moves. Meanwhile, on lap 24 Lauda ends up spinning at the Casino curve, breaking a suspension. We see two very heated battles: the one at a distance between Prost and Senna, with the Brazilian gaining ground lap after lap, and the one between Arnoux and Bellof, with the young German managing to overtake the Frenchman on lap 27. Two laps later Prost waves his hand along the straight asking for the race to be suspended, which happens on lap 32 and gives half the points to the first six drivers to reach the finish line as 75% of the race was not covered as expected by regulation. Behind Prost come a great, albeit dissatisfied, Senna and an equally sensational Stefan Bellof, who will later be disqualified for irregularities on his car.

RECORD

Test lap: 1:13.532 – K Raikkonen – McLaren – 2006
Race lap: 1:14.439 – M Schumacher – Ferrari – 2004
Distance: 1h40:29.329 – F Alonso – McLaren – 2007
Driver victories: 6 – At Senna
Team victories: 15 – McLaren
Driver pole: 5 – To Senna
Pole team: 11 – McLaren
Best driver laps: 5 – M Schumacher
Best team laps: 16 – Ferrari
Driver podiums: 8 – In Senna
Team podiums: 47 – Ferrari

Hall of Fame

1. 1929 W Grover – Bugatti
2. 1930 R Dreyfus – Bugatti
3. 1931 L Chiron – Bugatti
4. 1932 T Nuvolari – Alfa Romeo
5. 1933 In Varzi – Bugatti
6. 1934 G Moll – Alfa Romeo
7. 1935 L Fagioli – Mercedes
8. 1936 R Caracciola – Mercedes
9. 1937 M Brauchitsch – Mercedes
10. 1948 G Farina – Maserati
11. 1950 J Fangio – Alfa Romeo
12. 1952 V Marzotto – Ferrari
13. 1955 M Trintignant – Ferrari
14. 1956 S Moss – Maserati
15. 1957 J Fangio – Maserati
16. 1958 M Trintignant – Cooper Climax
17. 1959 J Brabham – Cooper Climax
18. 1960 S Moss – Lotus Climax
19. 1961 S Moss – Lotus Climax
20. 1962 B McLaren – Cooper Climax
21. 1963 G Hill – BRM
22. 1964 G Hill – BRM
23. 1965 G Hill – BRM
24. 1966 J Stewart – BRM
25. 1967 D Hulme – Brabham Repco
26. 1968 G Hill – Lotus Ford
27. 1969 G Hill – Lotus Ford
28. 1970 J Rindt – Lotus Ford
29. 1971 J Stewart – Tyrrell Ford
30. 1972 J Beltoise – BRM
31. 1973 J Stewart – Tyrrell Ford
32. 1974 R Peterson – Lotus Ford
33. 1975 N Lauda – Ferrari
34. 1976 N Lauda – Ferrari
35. 1977 J Scheckter – Wolf Ford
36. 1978 P Depailler – Tyrrell Ford
37. 1979 J Scheckter – Ferrari
38. 1980 C Reutermann – Williams Ford
39. 1981 G Villeneuve – Ferrari
40. 1982 R Patrese – Brabham Ford
41. 1983 K Rosberg – Williams Ford
42. 1984 A Prost – McLaren TAG
43. 1985 A Prost – McLaren TAG
44. 1986 A Prost – McLaren TAG
45. 1987 A Senna – Lotus Honda
46. 1988 A Prost – McLaren Honda
47. 1989 At Senna – McLaren Honda
48. 1990 At Senna – McLaren Honda
49. 1991 At Senna – McLaren Honda
50. 1992 At Senna – McLaren Honda
51. 1993 At Senna – McLaren Ford
52. 1994 M Schumacher – Benetton Ford
53. 1995 M Schumacher – Benetton Renault
54. 1996 O Panis – Ligier Mugen Honda
55. 1997 M Schumacher – Ferrari
56. 1998 M Hakkinen – McLaren Mercedes
57. 1999 M Schumacher – Ferrari
58. 2000 D Coulthard – McLaren Mercedes
59. 2001 M Schumacher – Ferrari
60. 2002 D Coulthard – McLaren Mercedes
61. 2003 J Montoya – Williams BMW
62. 2004 J Trulli – Renault
63. 2005 K Raikkonen – McLaren Mercedes
64. 2006 F Alonso – Renault
65. 2007 F Alonso – McLaren Mercedes
66. 2008 L Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes
67. 2009 J Button – Brawn GP Mercedes
68. 2010 M Webber – Red Bull Renault
69. 2011 S Vettel – Red Bull Renault
70. 2012 M Webber – Red Bull Renault
71. 2013 N Rosberg – Mercedes
72. 2014 N Rosberg – Mercedes

Andrea Villa, Matteo Bramati.

Sources: Brembo, Pirelli.