Monaco Grand Prix 2010, Monte Carlo - Race 6/19

[Glaucus]

TV times:
Monte Carlo, 13-16 May

Thursday 13 May
Practice one: 0855-1035, BBC Red Button/online
Practice two: 1255-1435, BBC Red Button/online

Saturday 15 May
Practice three: 0955-1105, BBC Red Button/online
Qualifying: 1210-1430, BBC One/online and BBC Radio 5 live sport extra/online

Sunday 16 May
Race: 1210-1530, BBC One/online and BBC Radio 5 live/online


Standings:

Track:


The Monaco F1 circuit
The Monte Carlo Grand Prix is a tight street circuit and a massive challenge for the drivers. Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber takes us around the famous Formula One track in Monaco.

Track Diagram

Circuit information
Length: 3.34km
Race distance: 78 laps / 260.520km

Full throttle: 42%
Top speed: 286kph
Longest flat-out section: 8s / 510km
Right/left-hand turns: 12/7

Tyre wear: Medium
Brake wear: High
Downforce level: Very high
Gear changes per lap: 54

Tyres

2010 tyre compounds: medium (prime, no marking), super-soft (option, green markings)
2009 tyre compounds: soft (prime, no marking), super-soft (option, green markings)
2008 tyre compounds: soft (prime, no marking), super-soft (option, white markings)

Fuel use per lap: 1.723kg (source: Williams)
Pit lane time loss: 17.8s


Monaco preview quotes - Virgin, Cosworth, Williams & more
Of all the races on the Formula One calendar, Monaco can surely claim the most historic and glamorous reputation. Here the drivers and senior team personnel explain what makes the Monte Carlo event so special and reveal how they think they may fare over the coming weekend…

Monaco - Team Preview
Bridgestone
Cosworth

McLaren
Sauber
Mercedes
Ferrari Not uploaded yet
Red Bull Not uploaded yet
Williams
Renault Not uploaded yet
Force India
Toro Rosso Not uploaded yet
Lotus Not uploaded yet
HRT Not uploaded yet
Virgin


Classic F1

Classic F1 - Monaco Grand Prix 1980
Watch short highlights from the 1980 Monaco Grand Prix as Carlos Reutemann masters the wet conditions to win on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Classic F1 - Monaco Grand Prix 1984
Watch short highlights from the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix as McLaren's Alain Prost wins an eventful rain-shortened race ahead of Ayrton Senna in a Toleman.

Classic F1 - Monaco Grand Prix 1988
Watch short highlights from the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix as McLaren's Ayrton Senna throws away victory and hands an easy win to title rival and team-mate Alain Prost.

Classic F1 - Monaco Grand Prix 2004
Watch short highlights from the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix as Renault's Jarno Trulli holds off the challenge of BAR's Jenson Button to claim his only F1 victory.

Classic F1 - Jenson Button wins 2009 Monaco Grand Prix
Jenson Button grabs his fifth win of 2009 ahead of Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello at the Monaco GP.

Technical Changes - Spanish Grand Prix

Weather Forecast

There’s rain in the air ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix but exactly when it will fall and whether it will hit the track is hard to say at the moment.

The rainfall radar for Europe shows several rain clouds in the area on Thursday, meaning the first two practice sessions could well be hit by rain. Some weather services predict thunderstorms.

By Saturday the rain is moving out of the area and it looks like it could avoid the track for final practice and qualifying. Sunday also looks like staying dry at the moment, but this forecast could change in the days running up to the Grand Prix.

Meteo France, who provide weather forecasts for the F1 teams, say temperatures will be in the high teens to 20C throughout the race weekend.

If you’re in Monaco for the race please let us know what the weather’s doing and what local forecasters are saying.

Keep an eye on the weather in the area using the radar below:


News

• Formula 1 qualifying unchanged in Monaco
  The qualifying system at next weekend's Monaco Grand Prix will remain unchanged despite safety fears, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has revealed.
• Jenson Button expects an unpredictable race in Monaco
  Championship leader Jenson Button says it is impossible to name a favourite for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix despite Red Bull's dominance in Spain.
  McLaren encouraged by race pace
  Martin Whitmarsh took encouragement from McLaren’s race pace relative to Red Bull in the Spanish Grand Prix amid the disappointment of seeing Lewis Hamilton drop out of second on the penultimate lap.
• McLaren investigating Hamilton failure
  McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton could almost taste the champagne of a second consecutive podium position at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on Sunday when two laps from home his left front tyre deflated and sent him careering towards the tyre wall at Turn Three.
• Diamonds to be placed on McLaren steering wheels
  Once again, the McLaren steering wheels will be encrusted with diamonds for the Monaco Grand Prix, courtesy of a partnership between the Woking team and Steinmetz. Lewis Hamilton will also be running with a modified helmet design, which includes two red dice on its reverse side.
• Ferrari aim to end nine-year Monaco drought (Monaco Grand Prix preview)Can Ferrari win their first Monaco Grand Prix since 2001 this weekend?
  With the teams using softer tyres for the race – the same compounds used in Bahrain, where Ferrari won – this could be their best opportunity.
  But with a chance of rain and hectic qualifying session in prospect, we could be in for some unpredictable racing this weekend.
• Ferrari not using F-duct in Monaco
  Ferrari has confirmed it won’t use its F-duct (which it calls a blown rear wing) in this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
• Alonso puts faith in development push
  Fernando Alonso believes Ferrari will have the package to keep him in the title hunt over the remainder of the season – and says the team is “very optimistic” about the potential of its “very aggressive” programme of forthcoming upgrades.
• Ferrari vows to resolve Massa problems
  Stefano Domenicali says Ferrari will investigate the reasons for Felipe Massa’s lack of pace and aim to provide him with a car he feels more confident driving for Monaco, after the Brazilian’s recent struggles continued at Barcelona.
• Webber not taking superiority for granted
  Spanish Grand Prix winner Mark Webber says Red Bull must remain wary of the challenge from its rivals and can not assume its RB6 will continue to dominate at all types of track.
• Rosberg hopes Spain misery a one-off
  Nico Rosberg hopes his messy Spanish Grand Prix was just a combination of poor circumstances and not the sign of a downward trend.
• Schumi enjoys winning Button tussle
  Michael Schumacher was pleased to emerge on top in his near 50-lap battle with Jenson Button after claiming the best result of his comeback year so far with fourth place in the Spanish Grand Prix.
• Sutil: Force India maintaining momentum
  Adrian Sutil believes it was important Force India managed to maintain its points-scoring momentum after he finished seventh in Spain despite having missed out on Q3 on Saturday.

The track and TV coverage starts

Technical changes Monaco

Inside F1 - Spain GP preview Not uploaded yet

FIA Thursday press conference - Monaco
Team principals: John Booth (Virgin), Tony Fernandes (Lotus), Christian Horner (Red Bull), Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren).

Practice 1

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso fastest in Monaco practice
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso laid down an early marker in Monaco by setting the fastest time during Thursday's first practice session.

Practice 2

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso fastest in Monaco practice
Fernando Alonso topped the timesheets in both of Thursday's sessions as Ferrari took the fight to Red Bull in practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Highlights - Monaco GP first practice
Highlights of the the first practice session from Monte Carlo where Fernando Alonso sets the top pace ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica.

Highlights - Monaco Grand Prix second practice
Highlights of the second practice session from Monte Carlo where Fernando Alonso tops the timecharts ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.

Button 'reasonably happy' after practice
Jenson Button declares himself pleased with how things went during the two free practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday.

Lewis Hamilton doubts chances of podium finish at Monaco
Lewis Hamilton describes what it feels like to drive around Monaco and plays down his chances of a top three finish in Sunday's race in Monte Carlo. (UK users only)

Michael Schumacher back into rhythm of Monaco
Mercedes GP's Michael Schumacher is confident of a good weekend on his return to Monte Carlo while team-mate Nico Rosberg is not too worried after overcoming a technical problem.


Practice 3

Qaulifying

Highlights - Monaco GP qualifying
Red Bull's Mark Webber produces a superb display to snatch pole position from Renault's Robert Kubica on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Watch Mark Webber's pole lap
Watch Red Bull's Mark Webber produce a superb time of one minute 13.826 seconds in qualifying to snatch pole position in Monaco.

Race

Monaco Grand Prix in 90 seconds
Watch short highlights from the Monaco Grand Prix as Mark Webber claims his second win in a week with a superb display on the streets of Monte Carlo.

Highlights - Monaco Grand Prix
Watch Mark Webber produce a scintillating drive to claim victory for Red Bull ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel in an incident-packed Monaco Grand Prix.

Monaco GP - Top three drivers
Red Bull driver Mark Webber describes his win at the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix as "absolutely incredible", team-mate Sebastian Vettel was second and Renault's Robert Kubica third.

Mark Webber's pool party after Monaco win
After winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Red Bull's Mark Webber somersaults into the team pool and celebrates with team mate Sebastian Vettel and the trophy.

Mercedes's Michael Schumacher did not expect penalty
Michael Schumacher insists his last corner overtake on Ferrari's Fernando Alonso should not be punished by the stewards.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton relieved tyres held out
McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton says his fifth place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix was "boring" but he was happy that his tyres lasted.

Standings

 

[Duke]

Monaco, rain, 6 very slow cars in qually and the race.. this is going to be awesome.

 

[Xinn]

I really hope it rains or it will be another snooze fest like last week.

 

[englishpremier]

Even if there wasn't a single overtaking manoeuvre in the whole race, i'd still love monaco its great to see the cars changing direction, and sliding just millimetres away from the barriers.

I was in Monaco last year and rode the GP circuit for a few laps on my ZX7, was great racing around with Ferraris and Prosches.

Got a Friend in Menton at the moment so will try to get timely weather updates.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Always a great race to watch, although no doubt the usual nay-sayers will be in saying that all the races are dull now, and F1 is dead...

The prospect of rain affected qualifying could leave the grid in chaos, which will be fun to see. A topsy turvey grid at Monaco could make things very unpredictable, even more so if it rains, or stops raining mid-way through the race itself!

 

[Westyfield2]

Ah ****.

A few years ago I promised the (now 'its complicated') that we'd go to Monaco for the F1. She reminded me of this in Dec 2009.....

Guess who forgot once again!


Though on the plus side, it would have been ****ing expensive so that's money saved .

 

[Setroc]

Most people hate monaco, but I must say that I really like it despite the lack of overtaking.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Even if there wasn't a single overtaking manoeuvre in the whole race, i'd still love monaco its great to see the cars changing direction, and sliding just millimetres away from the barriers.

Same here, its great to watch despite the lack of actual *racing*
Looks like the weather could make it very interesting!

 

[el_dazza]

Grr, why did they have to move it from the 23rd?! That's my birthday and I'm off that weekend, working this one! Sods!

Hope it does rain though, that'd make it awesome. I'd hate to be a back-marker around here, you'd be lucky to get a lap in as you'd be constantly bricking it with faster cars racing up behind you, trying to get out their way!

 

[NightSt@lk3r]

The red bulls wont be running away with this, the back markers are going to play a big role in the outcome of this race.

 

[Guerrilla]

Monaco, rain, 6 very slow cars in qually and the race.. this is going to be awesome.

I do hope you're right!

 

[Mr Jack]

The big question for Monaco: Who will take out Sutil this year?

 

[JRS]

Monaco, rain, Button. Fan-fappin'-tastic

For the sake of the championship, I'm hoping RBR have a shocker....Also hoping that Schumacher continues to improve. I can still vividly remember him destroying the field here in the rain in '97 after the Williams cars started on slicks and dry weather setups in an interesting if somewhat bizarre move.

 

[hiroofheroes]

With the driver playing a much bigger role in this race than the car (does it matter if your cars 1 sec/lap faster if you put it into the side ), it could throw up an odd result - especially if qualifying is wet or teams aren't able to set representative times either with traffic or errors.

Probably the best chance Mercedes have of a victory until the next round of upgrades around silverstone/hockenheim, and both McLaren drivers have done well here in the past - but I'm guessing in a race free of 'complications' it'll be Ferarri versus Red Bull - with the Red Bull's faster, but more likely to crash out.

Personally I'm hoping for a more 'complicated' race

 

[englishpremier]

Ah ****.

A few years ago I promised the (now 'its complicated') that we'd go to Monaco for the F1. She reminded me of this in Dec 2009.....

Guess who forgot once again!


Though on the plus side, it would have been ****ing expensive so that's money saved .

You can go to Monaco and just soak up the atmosphere..Monaco isn't that expensive in the grand scheme of things, its cheaper than Cannes. Its easy to get to. Leave Thursday night and you can drive down in time for qualiy.

I probably wouldn't try to watch the GP but go to take in the atmosphere. I'd catch the GP on TV in a bar.

You stay in Antibes, Menton or Eze all are pretty close.

 

[Sparky]

Monaco, rain, Button. Fan-fappin'-tastic

For the sake of the championship, I'm hoping RBR have a shocker....Also hoping that Schumacher continues to improve. I can still vividly remember him destroying the field here in the rain in '97 after the Williams cars started on slicks and dry weather setups in an interesting if somewhat bizarre move.

Funny my noteable Monaco memory is of him being a complete ****** and parking a perfectly good car on the track.

 

[Sparky]

You can go to Monaco and just soak up the atmosphere..Monaco isn't that expensive in the grand scheme of things, its cheaper than Cannes. Its easy to get to. Leave Thursday night and you can drive down in time for qualiy.

I probably wouldn't try to watch the GP but go to take in the atmosphere. I'd catch the GP on TV in a bar.

You stay in Antibes, Menton or Eze all are pretty close.

At £15 a pint in most hotels i would say its pretty expensive

 

[Duke]

At £15 a pint in most hotels i would say its pretty expensive

 

[Westyfield2]

You can go to Monaco and just soak up the atmosphere..Monaco isn't that expensive in the grand scheme of things, its cheaper than Cannes. Its easy to get to. Leave Thursday night and you can drive down in time for qualiy.

I probably wouldn't try to watch the GP but go to take in the atmosphere. I'd catch the GP on TV in a bar.

You stay in Antibes, Menton or Eze all are pretty close.

Hmm, I probably will do it one year TBH. Though being a student next year might be an issue with the costs of it!

Funny my noteable Monaco memory is of him being a complete ****** and parking a perfectly good car on the track.

That is one of the defining points in MSC's career tbh! Describes him in one move.

 

[dannyjo22]

The red bulls wont be running away with this, the back markers are going to play a big role in the outcome of this race.

Why, I don't get why you think that. They will move aside as quickly as they normally do with waved flags and once they have passed the chasing car still has to do the same.

The only thing that might keep them close is safety cars. I expect a few.