2006 Monte Carlo Grand Prix - Race 7/18

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Monaco: Practice notes - Toro Rosso

Tonio Liuzzi: I am happy with what we achieved today. We worked on set up and race preparation and the car was well balanced throughout both sessions. In the second session we saw our times improve, even if our V10 does not seem to have delivered the extra help that some people thought it would do at this track. A good day overall.

Scott Speed: Driving Monaco for the first time in a Formula 1 car was a very intense experience. Very tough. It's hard to say where we stand but I'd say we were struggling a bit today. I lost a bit of track time in the first session, so we had to play catch-up a little bit.

Neel Jani: I was on a completely different programme to the other two, running race simulation which is why my times looked slow, but I think I still got some useful data to help the team. Looking at my fuel load and the tyres I was on, I was running a very strong pace, so I'm happy.

 

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Monaco: Practice notes - Honda

The Honda Racing F1 Team's third driver Anthony Davidson ended both of today's free practice sessions in 2nd position, despite his second session being curtailed halfway through when he locked up his front left wheel and hit the tyre barrier at St Devote. Until that point Anthony had been demonstrating that the RA106 is working well here this weekend as he conducted the majority of the Honda team's running this morning and completed the most laps of all of the drivers.

This afternoon, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello took over the tyre comparison work to end the day as the 6th and 10th fastest race drivers, whilst also getting a taste of just how frenetic tomorrow's qualifying session is likely to prove as this tight and twisty street circuit gets its first taste of the new shoot-out system.

Anthony Davidson: "I'm obviously extremely disappointed to end the day like this after running so well to end both sessions in 2nd position. I made a small mistake when I locked up the inside front, hit the barrier at turn 1 and this unfortunately created a lot of damage to the left front of the car. Up until that point the day had gone very well and the car was feeling really good, so it was a shame that we were unable to complete the tyre comparison. I love driving here and I think both qualifying and the race will be very exciting."

Jenson Button: "It's been tough all day today and the lap time hasn't been there. On the last run we changed the set-up and it seemed to improve the car quite a bit. What you need at this circuit is confidence and I'm getting more and more confident with the set-up of the car here. We still need to work on our competitiveness for qualifying because we are not there yet."

Rubens Barrichello: "I think today has shown that it is going to be very hectic in qualifying this weekend with the traffic. Apart from that the car is running well. It's not fast enough at the moment; I'm lacking a lot of traction and we need to work on our race pace. I'm quite confident that the car is quick and we just need to make sure that it's fast enough for Sunday now."

Gil de Ferran, Sporting Director: "Anthony was quite fast over both a short and a long run, especially if you consider how early in the session he achieved his fastest lap. However, as a result of his accident we were unable to complete the whole programme that had been planned for him. Overall we still collected plenty of information to help make a decision on the tyres and to improve the race cars before Saturday. Today also gave us a taste of how hectic and exciting qualifying is going to be!"

Shuhei Nakamoto, Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering Director - Honda Racing Development: "It was a fairly normal Friday for us - if you can ever call Monaco normal! This is the second weekend for both race drivers' engines but despite that we have done a lot of laps and have generally been competitive. It was a shame for Anthony to miss out on the chance for Friday pole but he did a lot of laps and helped us to gain vital data."

 

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Monaco: Practice notes - Super Aguri

Super Aguri successfully completed its planned programme today despite red flag situations interrupting running during both Free Practice sessions.

Takuma Sato: "It was a good day for the team. My role in today's programme was to concentrate on the race set-up as the track conditions will change considerably before Saturday morning. We will be back to a low-grip
surface for the third free practice session as there is no running tomorrow and this is why today was our best chance to experiment with the different set-up options for the race. I am reasonably happy with the car balance and pace today, so I am looking forward to continuing our programme on Saturday."

Franck Montagny: "This morning we split the tyre choices between Taku and me. I had the easier option so that I could clock up some laps and get used to the circuit. They were very comfortable to drive but unfortunately they were only good for relatively few laps, so this afternoon we worked on another tyre option and I think that we found something that is more or less ok. The car is still a bit nervous and is quite heavy on the steering, but we had a productive day and I am finally happy with my lap time."

Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: "This is a very tough circuit for the drivers as well as for the cars. I am sure it must be hard to handle the SA05 here compared to other Grand Prix circuits and since it is such a challenging track, the drivers' skills are very important. After looking at the times from today's practice sessions both Super Aguri drivers are coping with the car very well. I think that we are making small but consistent steps forward and are on our way to finding a good set-up for the race."

 

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Monaco: Practice notes - Red Bull

David Coulthard: It's encouraging to get up to speed on the track today, evaluate the car and not touch the barriers. I had a little concern regarding the handling of the brakes at the start, but we'll get a hold on that by tonight.

Christian Klien: I had a problem with the power steering in the first session, so the car was pretty heavy to this morning. In the afternoon, I did some more runs to get used to the circuit. It's very challenging here and you can gain a lot of time by doing more and more laps. I still need to work on the car, as I'm struggling with the balance.

Robert Doornbos: It's great to be in Monaco and to drive an F1 car here. Every year I drive a car that's faster than the one the year before, so that's promising for 2007! I really enjoyed today. It was a shame about all the red flags, but you have to expect it in a place like this. It messed up our programme this afternoon and prevented us from pushing for the fastest time, but we're still up there so I'm happy.

 

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Monaco: Practice notes - McLaren

Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen finished today's second free practice in third and sixth positions respectively with fastest lap times of 1:16.138 and 1:16.707 on the street circuit of Monaco. At the end of the first practice when Kimi came out for his first lap of the week a heat shield on his car caught fire and damaged the wire looming which made the engine switch off. The team was able to repair the damage and Kimi could take part in the latter part of the second practice. Today's running also saw Kimi debuting a new helmet design created especially for the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix. He will wear this helmet for the duration of the weekend.

Juan Pablo Montoya: "A good start to the weekend for us. We seem to be quite competitive and have definitely made progress but its still early days and this is Monaco after all where anything can happen. I completed the planned programme, and the new parts we have introduced seem to have made a difference. The Michelin tyres are working well, so overall we are looking good. I love this track as it's such a challenge and I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the weekend."

Kimi Raikkonen: "A bit of excitement for me at the end of the first practice. I went out with less than one minute to go to complete an installation lap and a practice start. However there was a small fire which caused some damage – a bit more than necessary as the Fire Marshalls were hesitant until I took the fire extinguisher myself. The team did a great job in making the necessary repairs and I was able to get some running in half way through the second session. I'm pleased with what we have achieved so far and we look competitive, but there is still along way to go."

Ron Dennis: "An eventful first day of practice due to Kimi's problem. However the team worked really hard and efficiently to rectify the damage caused by the small fire. This place is unique and consequently it's too early to draw any conclusions but we seem to have made progress."

Norbert Haug: "The team did a great job today getting Kimi's car repaired after a small fire had damaged the wiring loom on the last lap of the first session. The guys managed to send Kimi out half way through the second session. So we could complete his planned programme without any further problems. As usual on Fridays Juan Pablo and Kimi focused on working on the race set up and their lap times looked OK."

 

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Monaco: Practice notes - Ferrari

Jean Todt: It's always exciting to find oneself back in a Monaco for the Grand Prix on a weekend when the city streets are given over to Formula 1 cars. The usual litany of the first day's press release offers one change based on the special timetable for this event, in that the first two free practice sessions take place on Thursday. As usual we worked on the comparison of the two Bridgestone tyres and on finding the best set-up for the car. Now, our engineers have this afternoon and all of tomorrow to make the best choices for qualifying and the race.

Michael Schumacher: Obviously, we cannot be too happy with what we have seen so far, although the results can be partly explained by the fact we used just one set of tyres, unlike many of the other drivers. But I'm not trying to hide the fact that the situation is not looking that good. At the moment we are too slow and we have to study the data to find out why. There is work to do, but we have enough experience to get out of this situation. The new race suit? It's just for fun, an idea that came to me at the Madonna di Campiglio event this winter. It brings a bit more colour!

Felipe Massa: It was not an easy day for us. We have a lot of work to do to be competitive in qualifying and the race. In the two hours of free practice we worked mainly on finding the right balance on the car, as well as assessing the two types of tyre available. We need a tyre that gives us speed in qualifying, but also consistency for the race. Now we will study the data to find the right compromise and this time, we have a whole extra day to look at it.

Ross Brawn: Track conditions evolved rapidly during these free practice sessions and the various red flags made the situation a bit more complicated. Honestly, today we did not get the performance we were expecting from the tyres, which suffered from a slight lack of grip. However, the aim is for the tyres to be at their best on Saturday and Sunday, not in free practice! Actually, I'm confident the situation will improve as the track gradually offers more grip and when there will be more rubber on the racing line. In these conditions, I think we will be stronger than we seemed to be today. The cars worked well and their balance is pretty good. I am optimistic about the rest of the weekend.

 

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Monaco: Practice notes - Midland

Tiago Monteiro: "We've been working on the same set of tyres all morning and adapting the car to those old ones, and then later, when we switched to a new set, we weren't sure what would happen. But I got a clear run at the track and the grip improved tremendously, which was a big surprise. In some places, there's still a lot more to come and I think we can squeeze some more speed out of those tyres. I'm really pleased with the job I've done with my engineers, because every time we had a problem we managed to sort it out and make good improvements. Now we have a day and a half to work on it. There's still more to gain, and the other teams are going to be working hard, as well, so we can't afford to sleep. We've got to work hard until Saturday morning to improve even more and get the race set-up right."

Christijan Albers: "We had a rough morning today, no question. We played around with the car set-up but just couldn't find the right combination. But this afternoon, when we switched to the new tyre, it was a completely different car, so obviously that was the way to go. Looking at Tiago's times this morning after he switched, we saw that he was much better everywhere, so we suspected that it was the tyres but we still wanted to carry out a full evaluation. It's a shame that I had a brake pedal issue that we couldn't solve during the session, but I'm sure my mechanics will be able to fix it overnight. The important thing is that we found a lot more grip in the afternoon and I'm sure we'll be ready to hit back on Saturday."

Giorgio Mondini: "The car was really, really good today. With a few more runs, I think I might even have been able to get the time down even more. The fact that both Tiago and I are on the pace means this performance was not an illusion; the car really has potential. If we keep working hard, I think we can drop our times even lower and be within 2 seconds of the pole time, which will hopefully put us into the second qualifying session for the first time this year. I don't want to speak too early, but this might end up being our best weekend of the year."

Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "We'll see what happens in qualifying, but we did some reasonable times today. The gap to the front was only 1.5 seconds, the smallest we've managed this season, so clearly we're improving. Christijan was having some issues with his brake pedal today, so he wasn't able to get the maximum out of the car. But I think all three drivers did a very good job today."

James Key, Technical Director: "As always, we never know what to expect in Monaco. The track condition was fairly poor this morning but consistently improved throughout the day. Giorgio did a very good job of comparing the tyres and general set-up work, and I think he's pretty much confirmed which tyre we'd like to go with on Saturday, but we'll have to see. Like I said, it's Monaco - who knows what could happen? Christijan struggled with tyres and a brake feel issue all day, although the two other cars were good, so we'll investigate it and replace parts before Saturday. Tiago did a very solid job, and had a good run at the end of the session. If we can just dial a bit more understeer out of the cars, we should be in good shape for qualifying on Saturday."

 

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BMW hindered by electronic failure

The BMW team are hopeful of a competitive weekend despite being hindered by an accident in practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Third driver Robert Kubica forced the second session to be red-flagged after he crashed at the exit of the Rascasse hairpin.

The accident, for which an electronic failure was to blame, made BMW decide to keep their cars in the garage in order to avoid further problems until the source of the failure was found.

"Robert's incident cannot be blamed on driver error, but an electronic failure. This was also why he stopped in the morning practice," said BMW motorsport boss Mario Theissen.

"Currently we are trying to figure out the reason for the failure and, as a precaution, we kept the cars in the garage. This meant we couldn't complete our programme, but we still collected enough data to make our tyre choice."

Canadian Jacques Villeneuve covered 13 laps in the afternoon on his way to the 20th fastest time, while teammate Nick Heidfeld was 22nd after only 10 rounds.

"The car is fairly competitive here, but due to the problem on Robert's car we had to stop early so we don't really know where we are yet. We have quite a lot of work to do," said Villeneuve.

 

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Mercedes hopeful of no engine change

Mercedes-Benz are hopeful that Kimi Raikkonen will not need his engine changed, despite his dramas in first practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Raikkonen's run in the car came to an early end when he was seen coming through the Monaco tunnel with smoke pouring out of the back of the car.

He stopped at the chicane after the Swimming pool and, after beckoning marshals over to try and help, he eventually grabbed a fire extinguisher himself and set it off all over the back of his McLaren.

Although it was initially feared that Raikkonen's dramas would require an engine change, at a track where a 10-place grid penalty would hurt the most, Mercedes-Benz are confident that he will be able to continue using the same power-unit.

A spokesman for the German car manufacturer claimed the smoke was the result of a heat shield failure, and luckily the only damage to the car appeared to be to a wiring loom.

"As it looks now, we are changing the wiring loom and we hope it will be okay," a Mercedes-Benz spokesman said.

 

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Toyota duo reserve judgment on TF106B

Toyota drivers Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli are not yet sure about the performance of the revised TF106B car making its debut at the Monaco Grand Prix.

The heavily revised car, thoroughly tested at Paul Ricard before the Monte Carlo outing, did not take the Toyota drivers near the top of the times on Thursday, with Trulli finishing in 11th place and Schumacher down in 18th.

Both drivers played down the importance of today's times, however, and believe the full potential of the car is yet to be seen.

"That was a reasonable day of practice for us but finding grip was a struggle," said Schumacher. "We still have some work to do on set-up but that is always the case around Monaco because the track surface changes so much. On Thursday here the lap times are less relevant than most other days of the season.

"This is a narrow track and the challenge is to make it through the weekend without incident.

"So it is still too early to tell how the TF106B is performing. The new car is a mechanical evolution so it does not have a completely new aero package but it represents a step forward and should bring us results over the coming races."

Trulli, a Monaco winner in 2004, did not draw any conclusions either.

"It is difficult to draw too many conclusions after what was a typical Thursday of practice at Monaco," said Trulli. "The grip level was low and it did not improve much during the day. But we managed quite a lot of laps without too much trouble.

"Experience is especially important at this track because there is simply no margin for error. Qualifying is always crucial because it is so difficult to overtake but Saturday will be tough because there will be 22 cars out there all looking for a clear lap."

 

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Schumacher unhappy with performance

Michael Schumacher admitted that the first day of practice for the Monaco Grand Prix had not gone as well as he had hoped, even though his poor lap time was partly the result of him only using one set of tyres.

The Ferrari driver ended second practice 15th overall on the timesheets and, although there are some who believe the track will favour his Bridgestone tyres the more it gets rubbered in, the seven-time champion was pretty downbeat.

"Obviously, we cannot be too happy with what we have seen so far, although the results can be partly explained by the fact we used just one set of tyres, unlike many of the other drivers," he explained. "But I'm not trying to hide the fact that the situation is not looking that good.

"At the moment we are too slow and we have to study the data to find out why. There is work to do, but we have enough experience to get out of this situation."

Teammate Felipe Massa added: "It was not an easy day for us. We have a lot of work to do to be competitive in qualifying and the race. In the two hours of free practice we worked mainly on finding the right balance on the car, as well as assessing the two types of tyre available.

"We need a tyre that gives us speed in qualifying, but also consistency for the race. Now we will study the data to find the right compromise and this time, we have a whole extra day to look at it."

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn was more optimistic about the team's chances - and believes that the changing track would probably favour them more over the remainder of the weekend.

"Track conditions evolved rapidly during these free practice sessions and the various red flags made the situation a bit more complicated. Honestly, today we did not get the performance we were expecting from the tyres, which suffered from a slight lack of grip.

"However, the aim is for the tyres to be at their best on Saturday and Sunday, not in free practice! Actually, I'm confident the situation will improve as the track gradually offers more grip and when there will be more rubber on the racing line.

"In these conditions, I think we will be stronger than we seemed to be today. The cars worked well and their balance is pretty good. I am optimistic about the rest of the weekend."

 

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Brawn regrets Rossi's decision

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn has admitted that he is disappointed that MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi has decided against a switch to car racing and potentially driving for the team in Formula One.

Rossi announced yesterday that he wishes to concentrate on his motorcycle career despite impressing for Ferrari in private tests in Italy and at an open test at Valencia before the season began.

"We were very impressed with what he was able to do, but he has decided," said Brawn. "I think he feels he has his hands full with his motorcycle career.

"After several championships he was looking for a new challenge, and he's found a new challenge in his [current] career."

Brawn made it clear that he believes Rossi has the talent to make the switch from two to four wheels.

"It would have been very exciting," he said. "It is difficult to predict what would have happened. But he was very impressive in all the running we did, otherwise we wouldn't have taken him so seriously."

When asked whether Rossi could still race in F1 in the future, Brawn said: "The longer you leave it, the harder it will become. But could he still do it? I guess he could, yes, in a couple of years."

Rossi's announcement fuelled speculation that Ferrari have already decided upon their 2007 driver line-up and that Kimi Raikkonen will be named as Michael Schumacher's teammate for next season.

But when asked whether Rossi knew of Raikkonen's and Schumacher's intentions for next year when he made his announcement, Brawn said: "No!"

"The decision does simplify Ferrari's options for next year. Obviously at the end of this year we have to put all the pieces in place, and that's one piece that has been put in place," said Brawn.

"But it would have been a nice challenge to have. It's a shame."

 

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Ferrari reject tyre favouritism claims

Renault boss Flavio Briatore should stop complaining that current Bridgestone teams will gain a significant advantage in 2007 when the Japanese company becomes the sole tyre supplier in Formula One, according to Ross Brawn.

Ferrari's technical director said on Thursday at Monaco that Briatore has only one company to blame if his team are disadvantaged next year - and that is Michelin.

"The situation we have coming in 2007 is because Michelin decided to withdraw from the sport," said the Englishman. "Those teams that are now unhappy about the situation should go and complain to Michelin.

"It's Michelin's fault that they decided to withdraw from the sport. Briatore should complain to Michelin rather than Ferrari, Bridgestone or the FIA."

Briatore said this month that he feared Ferrari, who have a close relationship with Japan's Bridgestone, will be favoured when his team's partners Michelin pull out at the end of the season.

"If we are all on Bridgestone next year, then if you use them already you will surely have an advantage," said Briatore. "I believe what the FIA and Bridgestone need to do is to change the compound and change the construction completely.

"I don't think it is fair to give an advantage to some teams - whoever those teams are. I don't care if it is just Ferrari. I believe we need to have equal possibility to do our job."

Brawn admitted that the current Bridgestone teams will have some advantage next year, even though the tyre company is likely to take "one or two steps back" in the specification of its rubber in 2007.

"There is no doubt that the teams that have built a relationship with Bridgestone will benefit from having done that," he said. "That's entirely fair and proper."

Formula One teams and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) have agreed formally to move to a single tyre supplier from 2008, with the governing body announcing a tender for that contract earlier in the week.

 

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McLaren's 40 years in 40 facts

On May 22nd 1966 Manfred Mann was top of the UK charts with "Pretty Flamingo", the Rolling Stones had the top album "Aftermath" and the Beach Boys had just released the legendary "Pet Sounds". On that same day Bruce McLaren debuted his M2B at the Monaco Grand Prix marking the beginning of one of the most successful teams in Formula 1 history.

In the 40 years since that day McLaren has:

1. Competed in 602 Formula 1 Grands Prix.

2. Won a total of 148 of the races they have competed in.

3. Won 11 Formula 1 Drivers' World Championships and been crowned Formula 1 Constructors' World Champions a total of eight times.

4. Won the Indianapolis 500 three times, the Can Am Championship on five occasions as well the 24 Heures du Mans.

5. Finished one-two on the podium on 40 occasions.

6. Started 122 races from pole position.

7. On 70 of these occasions gone on to win the race from pole position.

8. Started 255 Grand Prix from the front row.

9. On 51 occasions occupied both spots on the front row of the grid.

10. Set the fastest lap of the race 126 times.

11. Been on the podium a total of 387 times, this would be the equivalent of 1161 litres of champagne that could have been sprayed by the drivers.

12. Raced on six continents and in 28 countries, of which the team has won races in 25.

13. Been the only team to date to have won all but one race in a whole season when they finished 15 out of a possible 16 races on the top step of the podium in 1988 with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

14. Had 42 different drivers race for the team with 16 different nationalities.

15. Employed 10 World Champions over the 40 years. Of these six have won a total of 11 Drivers' World Championship between them whilst driving for McLaren.

16. Maintained the longest partnership in the sport, with HUGO BOSS supplying the team uniforms for the past 25 years.

17. Only had a total of three Title Partners throughout its 40 year history.

18. Built and moved into the award winning McLaren Technology Centre which was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen in May 2004.

In 1995 Mercedes-Benz joined McLaren and since then:

19. The McLaren Mercedes Partnership has claimed 44 victories, 43 pole positions, 58 fastest laps, 134 podiums, 224 point finishes, 14 one-two finishes, in a total of 192 starts.

Since McLaren's Formula 1 debut in Monaco, the team has been dominant on the streets of Monte Carlo.

20. In 1966 the Monaco Grand Prix consisted of 100 laps at 3.130km each, the qualifying lap was 1m29.9 seconds with the top speed reaching 126.080km/h. In 2005 there were 78 laps of 3.340km in length. The pole position set by Kimi Raikkonen was 1m13.644 and the top average speed 158.540km/h.

21. The livery of the original car was white with a green stripe. The reason for this was due to the film Grand Prix. The car featured heavily in the John Frankenheimer movie as McLaren had offered to assist the filmmakers in order to fund their first season in Formula 1. The three hour long film won three Academy Awards.

22. There were a total of four employees that assisted Bruce at the Monaco Grand Prix in 1966. In contrast Team McLaren Mercedes will be sending 137 people to Monte Carlo this year; this figure includes drivers, engineers, mechanics, support crew, marketing personnel and hospitality.

23. Of the original workforce in 1966, two are still currently working within McLaren Racing. Tyler Alexander travels with the team as a systems engineer and Ray Rowe works as a gearbox mechanic.

24. Following their debut it only took 24 races before McLaren won their first ever Grand Prix at the 1968 Belgium Grand Prix with Bruce at the wheel.

25. McLaren first won on the streets of the principality with Alain Prost securing the first victory in Monaco in 1984.

26. Since this win, McLaren have gone on to win the Monaco Grand Prix a total of 13 times. This is more than any other team in the history of the sport. In addition since the 1998 Monaco Grand Prix, McLaren Mercedes has taken victory in the Principality on four occasions.

27. Two years later in 1986 McLaren scored the first of 40 one-two finishes for the team in Monaco with Alain Prost crossing the line in front of team-mate Keke Rosberg.

28. Past McLaren World Champion Ayrton Senna also holds the record for most wins at this track with a total of six, five of which he scored whilst driving a McLaren.

29. McLaren have started the Monaco Grand Prix from pole position on 10 occasions.

30. Last year Team McLaren Mercedes drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya raced at Monaco with the most precious helmets ever worn by a Formula 1 driver. Both helmets were adorned with a total of 600 Steinmetz diamonds.

31. With Kimi Raikkonen winning the Monaco Grand Prix in 2005 and Juan Pablo Montoya winning in 2003 for Williams, Team McLaren Mercedes will be the only team on the grid competing with two past winners this year.

As we are celebrating our first race 40 years ago, it is a good time to look back on some of the firsts McLaren have introduced to Formula 1 in the last 40 years:

32. In 1981 McLaren raced the first carbon fibre composite chassis, the MP4/1.

33. The 1993 challenger, MP4/8, was the first car to feature bargeboards.

34. Another feature of today's cars, the mid-wing, was originally seen on the MP4/10 in 1995.

35. An important cooling feature on the car, the chimney, was first introduced on the MP4-15 in 2000.

36. McLaren were the first constructor to win in Formula 1, Can Am, Indy 500 and Le Mans.

37. In 1998 Team McLaren Mercedes introduced the first two-seater Formula 1 car the MP4-98T, which has taken 151 passengers for the ride of their life, including His Majesty King Juan Carlos, Jim Corr, Murray Walker, Vanessa Mae and the Russian cosmonaut Vasili Tsieliyev.

38. Over the years McLaren has pioneered in the arena of trackside hospitality, being the first team to introduce double-decker motorhomes and more recently the innovative Team Communications Centre in 2002.

39. McLaren, in conjunction with Corporate Partner HUGO BOSS, were the first to introduce bespoke clothing for the team to wear whilst travelling to and from Formula 1 grand prix and tests.

40. McLaren were the first team to produce their own in-house monthly magazine. Racing Line will publish its 100th edition this June.

 

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I'm amazed KR can motivate himself to get into that car, the bloke must be at the end of his tether. I guess the pay helps a bit but the 10-place punishment (frequently for him!) would depress me!!

Eeeeeeerrrrrr...

What 10 place penalty? His engine didn't go 'foom' just a wiring loom caught fire.

Looking forward to qualifying - should be frantic

Simon/~Flibster

 

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Not much news today....bit of a surprise that.

Symonds denies Ferrari rumour

Pat Symonds has renewed his denial that he is looking to change teams.

It was reported earlier this week that Renault's highly-respected executive director of engineering, after being courted by Honda and McLaren, may now be the keen target of Ferrari.

But the long-serving Briton insisted at Monaco: ''I see zero reasons to leave my super team.'' While that is about as clear a denial as will ever be found in a grand prix paddock, Symonds' boss, Flavio Briatore, dodged the question about whether he would be renewing his own Renault contract. ''That is not relevant for me at the moment,'' the Italian said.

Briatore added: ''Whatever I do in the future, I need to be doing the best thing now for Renault. That is the priority.''

 

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McLaren in the hunt, says Alonso

Championship leader Fernando Alonso thinks a new rival has joined the battle for victory in Monte Carlo -- McLaren.

Renault's Spaniard, quickest on Thursday morning in the Principality, was outpaced by a silver clad driver, Juan Pablo Montoya, in the afternoon. ''I believe McLaren are looking stronger here than they have recently,'' the 24-year-old, to switch to the Woking based squad in 2007, said.

Alonso told reporters: ''Ferrari and McLaren seem to be on good form. I think Ferrari will fight for pole, even if they were not up the front (on Thursday).''

The reigning world champion, however, is less certain about how his own Michelin tyres will behave over a quick lap. Like many rivals, he used only a single set of tyres in Thursday practice.

 

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Kimi roasts hesitant marshals

Kimi Raikkonen has criticised dawdling track marshals for nearly putting his Monaco grand prix up in smoke.

The Finn pulled over in Thursday practice with a smoking McLaren, which some had assumed might be an engine problem. It was only a broken heat shield, in fact, which triggered a fire in a wiring loom, but the damage might have been worse had 26-year-old 'iceman' Raikkonen not grabbed a fire extinguisher and put the errant flames out himself.

Indeed, the time it took to put out the fire has been linked with an hydraulic problem that also had to be fixed by mechanics.

''Marshals didn't want to do anything,'' Kimi charged. ''That is why the problem was much worse.''

Mercifully for Raikkonen, though - who is wearing a special helmet design for the glamorous event that he won a year ago - his engine itself emerged unscathed.

 

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Pirelli 'seriously considering' F1 bid

Italian tyre company Pirelli have admitted in public for the first time that they are considering a return to Formula One in 2008.

With the FIA having released earlier this week details of the tender for F1's control tyre after next season, there had been fresh speculation that Pirelli could go up against Bridgestone and possibly Michelin to try and gain the contract.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport director, confirmed this week that the company are evaluating the possibility of making an F1 comeback.

Pirelli were last involved in the sport from 1989 to 1991, with their last victory coming at the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix.

"We are seriously considering a bid to enter Formula One when the control tyre comes," said Hembery. "As well as that, we are looking at Le Mans prototypes and rally raids as well.

"There's no timescale on any of this, we are considering all of our options. I don't mind what we do, all I have to do is make sure that whichever way we go, we do a good job."

Bridgestone are thought certain to apply for the tender, while Michelin are still undecided about whether to go for it.

Nick Shorrock, Michelin's head of F1 operations, said: "Our position remains the same: we will look at the call to tender and consider our options.

"At the moment we have technical regulations for 2006, but what happens in 2008 is not clear."

 

[Flibster]

Berger expects STR to fall behind V8 rivals

Gerhard Berger expects his 'Toro Rosso' team to drop further behind as the 2006 season drags on.

The Austrian, who bought fifty per cent of the former Minardi squad from Red Bull magnate Dietrich Mateschitz, reckons the performance-limited V10 Cosworth engine will be a hindrance rather than a help compared to its V8 rivals.

''We want to maintain our current level in the second half of the year,'' Berger, a grand prix veteran of the 80s and 90s, told the 'apa' agency. He said complaints about the team's alleged performance advantage has been all about 'envy' and 'politics'.

Berger insisted: ''We do not expect to make big progress because the other teams' V8 engines, unlike our V10, will be further developed. ''The gap could become bigger.''

Berger said he expected his drivers to qualify between eighteenth and twentieth here on Saturday. ''At present we cannot expect much more,'' he added. ''But anything can happen here and the chaos in Monaco qualifying could be a positive point for us.''