FORMULA 1 - 2015

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MCLAREN PREVIEW THE MONACO GRAND PRIX

Monaco is unlike any other venue in Formula One. It’s the shortest and slowest circuit on the calendar, but it’s also one of the most challenging, owing to the narrowness of the Principality’s streets and the proximity of the barriers.

The 3.340km/2.075-mile layout has remained largely unchanged since it first hosted a world championship grand prix in 1950. There have been minor alterations over the years in the name of safety, such as the easing of Rascasse and the introduction of TecPro barriers, but the original challenge and character of the circuit remain intact.

Technically, the circuit is very demanding. There are many short bursts of acceleration from low speed, all of which put an emphasis on traction, and the bumps in the road force teams to run their cars with much softer suspension than at a conventional racetrack. The steering angle of the front wheels has to be increased as well, in order to make it round the Loews Hairpin.

Much of the track has been re-surfaced since last year, but the asphalt is expected to remain slippery. Grip levels will improve as more rubber gets laid down over the course of the weekend, but the teams will be chasing the mechanical grip provided by Pirelli’s two softest compounds, the Soft (Prime) and Supersoft (Option). Engine driveability will also have a large bearing on performance.

McLaren is the most successful constructor in the history of the Monaco Grand Prix, having won the race 15 times. Five of those victories came with the late, great Ayrton Senna; of the team’s current line-up, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have both previously won the race.

Monaco facts & stats: It’s all about: the race

Start time 1400 (local)/1300 (BST)

Race distance 78 laps (full world championship points awarded after 75 per cent distance/58 laps)

2014 winner Nico Rosberg

2014 pole position Nico Rosberg 1m15.989s 158.233km/h

2014 fastest lap Kimi Raikkonen 1m18.479s 153.213km/h

Chances of a Safety Car High. Statistically, there’s an 80 per cent chance of a Safety Car – largely due to the lack of run-off. There was one Safety Car period last year, following an accident involving Adrian Sutil

Don’t put the kettle on… Between laps 25-27. With it being so difficult to overtake around Monaco, track position is king. Last year’s race was won using a one-stop strategy, the top four cars starting on the Supersoft tyre and then switching to the Soft

Weather forecast It’s unpredictable in Monaco at this time of year. However, the guidebooks tell us that the Principality receives 300 days of sunshine per year, so there’s more chance of sun than rain

It’s all about: the track

First race 1950

Circuit length 3.340km/2.075 miles

Run to Turn One 210 metres

Longest straight 510km, on the approach to Turn One

Top speed 295km/h on the approach to the chicane

DRS zones One – on the approach to Turn One

Key corner Casino Square. The entry and the exit are both blind, requiring bravery and precision from the driver to get right

Pitlane length 301 metres

Major changes for 2015 Re-surfacing work

It’s all about: the car

Fuel consumption 1.5kg per lap, the lowest fuel consumption of the year

Full throttle 50 per cent

Brake wear Medium. There are 12 braking events, of which six are quite severe

Gear changes 48 per lap/3744 per race

Did you know?

The 1950 Monaco Grand Prix remains the slowest world championship race ever staged. Juan Manuel Fangio won it at an average speed of 61.329mph; by comparison, Nico Rosberg won last year’s race at an average of 88.74mph.

Technical words of wisdom

Matt Morris, director of engineering: “We put as much downforce on the car as possible at Monaco. There aren’t any long straights, so the extra drag that the car produces doesn’t penalise you as much as it would at other racetracks. There are a few tricks to Monaco that you need to factor in, such as running the suspension very soft and altering the steering angle of the car to get you around Loews Hairpin.

“This is also a track at which the driver can make a real difference. He needs confidence in his car and in the track, and you need to let him build that up during practice to ensure he’s ready for qualifying. With it being so difficult to overtake around Monaco, a lot of emphasis is placed on getting a good grid position.”

McLaren at the Monaco Grand Prix

Wins 15 (1984, ‘85, ‘86, ‘88, ‘89, ‘90, ‘91, ‘92, ‘93, ‘98, ‘00, ‘02, ‘05, ‘07, ‘08)

Poles 11 (1984, ‘86, ‘88, ‘89, ‘90, ‘91, ‘98, ‘99, ‘01, ‘05, ‘07)

Fastest laps 10 (1986, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’03, ’07)

Our most memorable Monaco Grand Prix: 1992

Nigel Mansell kicked off his 1992 campaign with five consecutive victories, and many people expected another win for the Williams driver in Monaco. It certainly looked that way after qualifying, when Mansell lined up on pole position – 1.2s faster than Ayrton Senna’s McLaren-Honda in third place.

Mansell converted pole position into a convincing lead during the early laps, but Senna lay second and started to apply some pressure on the leader during the middle of the race. His perseverance paid off when Mansell was forced to pit with a loose wheelnut on lap 71 of 78, giving Senna the lead.

For the last five laps of the race Senna and Mansell ran as one, but Mansell couldn’t find a way past the Brazilian. They crossed the line separated by just 0.2s, giving Senna the fifth of his six wins in the Principality.

Fernando Alonso: “Monaco is one of those circuits that’s in its own league. Although it’s almost impossible to overtake there, it still produces one of the most impressive and exciting shows on the Formula 1 calendar. As a circuit and as a place, it’s completely unique, and this is what makes it so special. There are three areas you have to focus on for this grand prix – qualifying, concentration, and strategy. Saturday is where you can increase your chances of getting a good result from the weekend, so this will be our first objective, and I’m hopeful we can continue to strengthen our qualifying performance and improve our starting position.

“On Sunday, the most important thing is concentration – the streets are so narrow and twisty that there is no margin for error – so if you can do this and also maximise your strategy, you have the best chance of moving up the order by the end of the race. My home race in Barcelona was obviously a frustrating weekend for the whole team; we were unlucky with how my race ended and we firmly believed we could’ve achieved a positive result there. Our fighting spirit is still strong though, and we’re determined to take that to Monaco and see how much progress we can make there. I’m hopeful our car will perform better there than in Spain, and we’ll be pushing again to get into the points.

“Monaco is a tough challenge, mentally, but that’s what makes it even more rewarding when you hook up a perfect lap. I’ve always enjoyed racing there and I’ve enjoyed victory there twice – in 2006 with Renault, and the year after with McLaren. Winning there is an unforgettable experience. It’s also a truly unforgiving circuit, so making mistakes comes at a high price. But Monaco is Monaco, one of the best races of the year, and the reason that the drivers love going back there each season.”

Jenson Button: “It’s true what they say – Monaco is the jewel in the crown of the Formula 1 calendar in every sense. It’s a real test of man and machine working in harmony to hook up the best lap, and maintain that consistency lap after lap. It’s very easy to make mistakes there, and you need complete confidence in the car and incredible control and accuracy to get the most out of a lap. Qualifying is so important because overtaking is famously tricky; we’ve been steadily improving our starting positions since the beginning of the season, so I’m hopeful we’ll see further progress on Saturday.

“Monaco is a low-speed circuit that doesn’t rely that much on aerodynamic performance, but you do need good balance and driveability. I’m hopeful we can sort out the balance issues we had on my car in the last race, so Monaco should see an improvement. After a disappointing race in Barcelona, naturally it’s easy to be frustrated when you step out of the car, especially when you feel you deserved more. I firmly believe that we’re making solid progress, which is why having a difficult race is hard to take. However, we’ve put that race behind us and I think we’ve a decent chance of continuing our upward trend in Monaco.

“I love Monaco; I won there in 2009 and the feeling you get driving there is absolutely mega. While nothing beats the feeling of racing at your home grand prix, Monaco has become an adopted home race for me, so driving around these famous streets so close to where I live makes it even more special. Racing at Monaco is an incredible challenge – being precise on turn-in, hitting the apex and balancing the throttle, while being as patient as possible to get the best exit, is a real art. The flow of corners in the middle sector – from Mirabeau, into the Hairpin and on to Portier – is particularly tricky, as it’s so easy to go a foot off the racing line and end up in the wall. Monaco always produces great drama, which just adds to its legendary status as one of the best grands prix on the calendar.”

Eric Boullier, Racing director, McLaren-Honda: “After the disappointment of Barcelona, the whole team is looking forward to Monaco, to put the last race behind us and keep working on improving our package. Barcelona is a gruelling track for a Formula 1 car, so our relative performance was encouraging until we discovered the problem with Fernando’s brake overheating. We were certainly unlucky, but we’re still able to take with us some positives and focus our attention on our next challenge – Monaco. It’s a tough, demanding street circuit that requires teams to take a totally different approach, but that’s what makes it even more special.

“The nature of Monaco’s narrow streets means there’s less focus on outright power and more on driveability and balance. On this circuit there are even more factors at play than elsewhere – traffic, Safety Cars, unusual strategies – so our first target is to maximise our performance on Saturday. Qualifying positions can often dictate the outcome of a race there as overtaking is so difficult, so it’s important we focus our efforts there first and foremost.

“The Monaco circuit evokes so many good memories for McLaren: 15 wins, 11 poles and 10 fastest laps. It’s a special place for us in every sense. The combination of legendary corners – Tabac, Rascasse, Casino Square, the Swimming Pool, and of course the Tunnel – and the unique challenge it presents, makes it the circuit every team wants to win at. We’ll approach the weekend in the same way we always do, with maximum effort and determination to progress.”

Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport: “Monaco has multiple low- to mid-speed turns, braking and acceleration, with a unique street circuit layout. The fine line between success and failure on this track will be the driveability of the car.

“Honda will do our utmost to fine-tune the driveability of the power unit to match each turn during all 78 laps of the race, the highest numbers of laps of the season.”

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Alain Prost: TO WIN MONACO TAKES TALENT, RACECRAFT AND LUCK

It takes talent, racecraft and a pinch of luck to win at Monaco. Few drivers can say the ingredients have come together on race day and yielded that elusive victory. Fewer still have grabbed a win more than once. Renault ambassador Alain Prost has won on four occasions, in 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988.

For Prost, winning on the streets of Monaco requires a little something extra from a driver, and for everything to come together.

“For me Monaco is really a special event. It’s the same for most of the drivers, but some don’t like it – they don’t like the track, they don’t like the fact that it’s so demanding…but for me, it was a place where you wanted to be, and you wanted to be good. There is something about the atmosphere that is unique to Monaco.”

“There is more of everything. There are more people, more demands in terms of appearances, more chances to lose concentration…it is tough. But on the other side the ‘more’ makes the ambiance. It’s just part of the event so you need to think about the race weekend in another way.”

“Your approach for this race has to be different and it really depends on the years. Sometimes you feel well, sometimes you want to push, to drive and you feel good. You need to do a more before you get in the car or work with the engineers. You also need to have time for yourself, a bit more organization.”

“For instance, when you walk from the paddock to the garage, there are the spectators. You have to consider that as an extra; it’s not extra work or a job, but it’s a game and you need to play it. You need to plan well.”

“The track is very particular and demanding for the driver. The set-up for the car is hard as the F1 cars are so big, so powerful. You need to think that there two separate things to build. There is the set-up of the car, to understand what you want to achieve for Saturday and qualifying.”

“Then what you want to achieve for Sunday and the race. At the same time you have to build your own confidence as a driver and with the car. That is the most difficult part.”

“You also have to consider that the track is going to improve from the Thursday to the Sunday. You have all the support races, and more and more rubber goes down. Once you have done Thursday you need to think and imagine what will happen on Saturday.

“That is really tough and, on the other side, there is absolutely no room for mistakes. Not even a small one as you can mess the whole weekend with just one mistake.”

“On race day itself, you have to manage your race depending on what is happening. Some things you cannot predict or know.’

“Unless you start on pole, you need to manage the race very differently depending on your track position, if you are fourth, fifth, sixth… you may be quicker than the guys in front, but you cannot overtake.”

“You may go into the race with a strategy but you have to manage based on what is happening in the race. This is one time when you cannot prepare anything before. You just have to have confidence in the engineers, with the pit wall and drive your own race.”

“I’ve won there four times but I think my best memory came in 1986. There are only two or three times it happens in your career, and this race I felt so good in the car and we dominated the race.”

“I had such a good feeling in the car that it felt like nothing could happen. For this to happen at Monaco was a pleasure. I could really enjoy it, and that’s why it’s so special.”

“Now, when I go to Monaco I still love the place. I think about the past, but I don’t want to do it again. That was a different time. But the ambiance is still there, that hasn’t changed. You can’t compare it to any other event.”

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MONACO FP2: HAMILTON STREETS AHEAD ON DAY ONE

After topping the time sheet in the first practice session in Monaco, Lewis Hamilton continued to set the pace with the quickest time of an afternoon session, which saw little running due to steady rain falling across the Principality.

In the morning Hamilton had been the busiest man on circuit, logging 49 laps of the Monaco circuit but in the afternoon the champion put in just 12 laps as the session was interrupted by both red flags and rain.

The session got underway in overcast conditions, with Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz setting the early pace with a lap of 1:18.772. Prior to the Spaniard’s lap, Pastor Maldonado was forced to use the escape road at Mirabeau after making a mistake and soon after Sainz’s lap; Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was forced to do the same.

Sainz’s time at the top of the timing screens was short-lived, however. Ten minutes into the session Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat took over in P1, his lap of 1:18.548s being tenth faster than Sainz.

Both Mercedes drivers were now getting into the groove however and Nico Rosberg soon established his team’s superiority with a lap of Rosberg flies to a 1m17.932, eclipsing Kvyat by six tenths of a second. Hamilton was just behind Rosberg on track, however and he quickly moved ahead with a time of 1:17.640. He improved again the next time round to set the lap of 1:17.192 that would remain the afternoon’s best.

Then, just before the quarter hour mark, Roberto Merhi lost control of his Manor on the exit of the tunnel. The Spaniard hit the barriers hard, losing the front wing of his car and came to rest in the run-off area of the Nouvelle Chicane.

That brought out the red flags and by the time the session was restarted at 20 past the hours rain was beginning to fall across the Principality.

Pastor Maldonado went out to test the conditions, on supersoft tyres, but after a handful of corners he radioed back that the conditions were too tricky and he returned to the pits.

And for the next hour that was it. With steady rain falling teams retreated to their garages for fear of shipping damage should something go wrong.

With ten minutes left in the session and conditions improving, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo went out for fact-finding missions on intermediate tyres, though they were lapping some 18 or more seconds off the dry pace.

They pair were eventually joined by a number of drivers including Rosberg and Force India’s Sergio Perez who both tried the full wet tyre before the chequered flag fell.

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HAMILTON REKINDLES ROSBERG’S MONACO QUALIFYING CONTROVERSY

Nico Rosberg furrowed his brow when told about teammate Lewis Hamilton’s strategy for the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

A year ago in the Principality, Hamilton accused his silver stablemate of deliberately ruining a qualifying lap and therefore the Briton’s shot at pole.

This time, Hamilton has reportedly declared that the decision has been made and sanctioned for him to run first in ‘Q3′ on Saturday.

“I do have the choice this year which is good,” the world champion confirmed on Wednesday. “I’m confident that last year’s episode will not re-occur and so I don’t feel pressured either way.”

But when told by Speed Week that Hamilton is in charge of the qualifying strategy, Rosberg furrowed his brow: “Really? That’s interesting. In light of what happened last year, I can understand the decision.”

But can Rosberg also understand Mercedes’ decision to reportedly pay Hamilton a figure for 2016 and beyond that dwarfs his own annual retainer?

“I’m very happy with my contract,” he insisted. “I have read the numbers that are in the media, but from personal experience I know that those numbers are very often far from the reality.”

Rosberg says he is also confident that, in light of Hamilton’s huge new deal, he will not now be slipped into number two status.

“The team will always treat us equally,” he said. “Otherwise it wouldn’t work. The team works very hard that we always get the same opportunities.”

Rosberg has won the last two Monaco grands prix, and is looking to make it a hat-trick of victories at the Principality along with back-to-back wins in the current championship campaign.

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RICCIARDO: OUR PROBLEMS ARE NOT ONLY ENGINE RELATED

Daniel Ricciardo says Red Bull can no longer complain only about its struggling power unit, and points to the entire 2015 package which has not delivered to expectations and at the required level..

Earlier this season, officials of the energy drink-owned team were pointing the finger angrily at Renault, bemoaning a lack of power, drive-ability and reliability.

But Australian Ricciardo, Red Bull’s lead driver, said on Wednesday it is now abundantly clear that the problem with the RB11 car is “not only the engine”.

“I think now everyone’s obviously aware of that and putting their hand up, saying ‘Yeah we know – it’s not where it should be’,” he said in Monaco.

Ricciardo, 25, said times have changed since Red Bull could boast about having clearly the most downforce in F1.

“Probably the last four or five years with Red Bull, one stand-out was the downforce. This year, we’re not better than anyone in high speed corners, and if anything I think we’re even slower than the top guys,” said Ricciardo.

At the end of last year, Adrian Newey – arguably the most renowned aerodynamicist in the sport’s history – took a step back from the sport.

Ricciardo said: “I don’t want to sound too critical but I don’t think there’s one outstanding excuse. For whatever reason, the puzzle hasn’t quite come together yet and therefore the car’s not working as well as it should be.”

“I’m not content with coming seventh or eighth but equally the team isn’t as well,” he added.

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MERCEDES: A SOLID START TO THE WEEKEND

Solid start for Mercedes AMG Petronas on day one of running at a rain affected Monaco Grand Prix circuit.

• Lewis topped the times in both sessions, with Nico finishing the morning in P9 and the afternoon in P2
• The opening session allowed the team to review one-lap pace, as well as looking at longer runs
• The second session was affected by rain which restricted running for the majority, but the fastest time was still 1.29s faster than in FP2 last year
• Both drivers used the prime (soft) tyres throughout each session, with the exception of the start of the first and end of the second session when inters/wet tyres were used on the damp circuit.

Lewis Hamilton:”I had a great first day here. Every year, it stuns me how fast we have to think out there, with so much information coming at you, and you have to be more reactive and agile than anywhere else. The target is always to get on the pace as quick as you can and to be very specific and precise in the set-up changes you make, so you don’t go down the wrong path. The balance today was not far off, so we have been tuning that with our programme, and there are still some areas to improve on. When it rained, we didn’t need to take any risks so stayed in the garage, but the lap I did at the end showed that the black paint covering the white lines is even more slippery than the lines themselves! Now we need to work well tomorrow, make the right steps forward with the car, and pick up on Saturday where we left off today.”

Nico Rosberg: “It’s great to be back at this legendary circuit, the car felt great. Monaco is the highlight of the year for me. We are very quick here again, so I’m quite confident for this weekend. I didn’t get it all together today, I had a lot traffic, so the next practice session on Saturday morning will be very important.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “It was a pretty satisfying first day here in Monaco, in unusually cool and then wet conditions. Lewis settled into his rhythm quickly and looked really confident out there today, topping both sessions. Nico had a good day too, running a little ahead of everybody else in FP1 and brushing the wall, which put him down the timesheets as the track improved – and then setting competitive times in FP2. The car is working well but there are still areas for us to improve before Saturday. There is a day’s break in running but it will be busy tomorrow as we complete our preparations for the business end of the weekend. It will be an intense battle between both drivers and with our rivals. We’re looking forward to it.”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): “It was a fairly trouble-free day and a solid start to the weekend. The rain for the majority of the second session reduced our planned running but nevertheless we covered all we needed to do today apart from running the Super Soft tyre. The conditions were a bit cooler than we expect over the weekend and this made it extremely hard to get the harder Prime tyre to work. Nico was slightly affected by a small brush with the barrier at Tabac which caused some slight damage to the rear right wheel. We made some precautionary changes to the front suspension between the sessions but fortunately everything looked fine with the car. Overall, we’re happy with the pace of the car so far, but the changeable conditions today mean we still have a lot of work to do in the final practice session on Saturday to perfect the setup for qualifying.”

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FERRARI: WE DID THE MOST WE COULD IN THE CONDITIONS

There wasn’t much track action in the second free practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix. Just 15 minutes in, the red flags came out and later the rain arrived.

The cars all had to pit following Roberto Mehri’s accident in the Manor, at the exit to the tunnel and after that, the cars returned to the track in the final minutes of the session, with the weather barely better.

Both Ferrari men started out on Softs, setting the third and fourth fastest times, which would still be the case after the long break, after which they went out on intermediates.

Sebastian Vettel lapped in 1.18.295, to sit behind the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton (1.17.192) and Nico Rosberg (1.17.932.) In the other SF15-T, Kimi Raikkonen posted a 1.18.543.

Kimi Raikkonen: “The feeling with the car today was pretty ok, obviously there are some small issues but they are more related to the tyres: it’s difficult to make them warm up, especially the front tyres, but overall it’s not too bad. In order to get the tyres working, it would have been nice to see how the Supersofts work, anyway I think they are much easier. Due to the rain we couldn’t learn as much I wanted, but it was the same for everybody. We did the most that we could in these conditions. For Saturday we have to see how the weather will be, we still have some work to do on the car and make sure the tyres work well, then we’ll go from there and do the best in qualifying and in the race.”

Sebastian Vettel: “When it rains it’s the same for everyone, you don’t tend to run. Today the car felt ok, we wanted to test a couple more things but time went out. We have to wait and see until Saturday to understand more and we’ll only find out on Sunday how close we are to Mercedes. I think we can’t take Monaco as a reference, it’s for the nature of the track that everybody is a bit closer, but for sure I hope to reduce the gap even more. This is why everybody went out in the end of the session. There was no reason to do more laps, we don’t have unlimited tires and if the rain comes again we need them, even if the forecast looks dry. It‘s a shame we could not get an idea on the Supersoft tires but I think we will see on Saturday.”

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RED BULL: WE ARE HEADING IN A GOOD DIRECTION

Red Bull drivers report from day one of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

Daniel Riciardo

• First Practice Session: Position: 3, Best Time: 1:19.086, Laps: 27
• Second Practice Session: Position: 16, Best Time: 1:19.639, Laps: 13

“The car felt good today, I think we’re more or less where we need to be and on the right track. With each passing race, we are managing issues better and if we put a good lap in for quali, we’ll hopefully be in a good position. I think some teams are catching up to Ferrari but it will still require a big effort to get in front of them. But hopefully we can get ahead of the Williams. We’ll see how we go on Saturday.”

Daniil Kvyat

• First Practice Session: Position: 7, Best Time: 1:19.520, Laps: 33
• Second Practice Session: Position: 5, Best Time: 1:18.548, Laps: 16

“The car felt alright today and we are heading in a good direction I think; I did a couple of good times. Monaco is a unique track, a bit unusual and I think the package we have is working well so far. We had a limited run in second practice because of the rain, but we were able to get enough laps in the wet to get a feel for how the car handles. The re-surfacing has made the track slightly smoother and changes to the swimming pool entry are good. We have the day off tomorrow here and we’ll start again on Saturday with better weather hopefully.”

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LOTUS: WE’RE SATISFIED WITH HOW THE CARS ARE GOING

Lotus F1 Team experienced a strong first day of running for the Monaco Grand Prix with Pastor Maldonado setting the sixth fastest time in the morning session and Romain Grosjean tenth fastest in the afternoon. The day started damp before FP1, then rain visited the second session.

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director – Technical programme notes

• Reasonably straightforward programmes in both sessions
• The second session was interrupted by a red flag, followed by a significant period of rain
• Pastor’s lap times in the second session reflect the fact that he did not get a clear lap
• Pirelli’s intermediate (green) and soft (yellow) compound tyres were used in both session

What we learned: The E23 Hybrid looks to have strong potential for the unique challenge that is the Monaco Grand Prix.

Romain Grosjean:

• Free practice 1: P13, 1:20.274, 34 laps
• Free practice 2: P10, 1:19.266, 13 laps

“We had a good day. Pastor was happy this morning, I was more happy with the car this afternoon. It’s a track where you really need to drive to find the best set up and we made some good progress today so I’m happy with that. Of course the rain in the afternoon wasn’t ideal to evaluate the super soft tyres but we’re going to do that on Saturday morning. Preparing for qualifying tends to be the focus at this race; no one did a long run today but I don’t think it’s very important to do one here. Saturday morning will be about prepping qualifying again and having two sets of super softs will be good!”

Pastor Maldonado:

• Free practice 1: P6, 1:19.454, 35 laps
• Free practice 2: P14, 1:19.577, 13 laps

“The car didn’t go badly today, maybe even better than we expected. Of course, the track improves a lot lap by lap so it’s difficult to determine where you are exactly, but it was a good day even if we were interrupted by the rain in the afternoon. This meant we didn’t get time to run with the super softs, but I think we should have time on Saturday morning and it will be interesting to see how the car reacts to the softer compound. Of course, qualifying in Monaco is always very important so we’ll do our best to get the car where we want it for then.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director: “We had quite a good first session with Pastor going sixth quickest. He was happy with the car this morning, whereas Romain wasn’t quite content with the grip and balance of the car. There were some changes made over the break and Romain was happier in FP2 as a result. Pastor never really got a good lap in the second session due to traffic and so didn’t show his speed. We’re satisfied with how the cars are going and I think come Saturday with some decent runs, they should get nicely up the timesheets for qualifying.”

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FORCE INDIA: BOTH DRIVERS ARE QUITE HAPPY

Sahara Force India had a productive day to start the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, despite the weather conditions reducing running in the afternoon session.

Nico Hülkenberg, VJM08-01

• FP1: 1:20.784 (P15) 34 laps
• FP2: 1:19.151 (P9) 13 laps

“I think the morning session was pretty straightforward and the one from which we can draw the most positives. I could only manage one run in the afternoon before the rain came and it would have made little sense to run given that the rest of the weekend will have very different conditions. It’s a logical decision for the team, but it’s a shame for the fans as they didn’t get to see much running in FP2. We still managed to go through most of our preparation work that we would normally do on a Friday: there is room for improvement with our set-up, but we still have time ahead of qualifying.”

Sergio Perez, VJM08-02

• FP1: 1:20.619 (P14) 35 laps
• FP2: 1:19.300 (P11) 13 laps

“We achieved even more than we expected this morning and managed to include some long runs in our programme. We did some experimentation with our tyres and, although the track conditions were not ideal, we decided to try some higher fuel runs. We learnt a lot this morning and we were quite optimistic about the afternoon session, but unfortunately the rain cut the amount of running we could do. We couldn’t do all of the tyre testing we hoped for, but we should be able to do that in FP3 and have enough time to study the data ahead of qualifying. What matters is that the car is giving me the confidence to push it hard, which is really important around a place like Monaco.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: “Rain always affects proceedings, but even more so when the forecast for the race is dry: it would have made little sense to go out and risk damage in order to get data of little significance. Both drivers are quite happy with the initial balance of the car and we were able to plan our session to give them as much track time as possible, which is crucial to build their confidence around this track. Given the reduced amount of running in the afternoon session, the bulk of our work was done in the morning: we managed to complete our planned programme with no interruptions, getting some good mileage and information. We knew of the likelihood of rain disrupting FP2, so we included a few runs on high fuel in the morning session, which was a decision that paid off.”

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TORO ROSSO: WE’RE REALLY PLEASED WITH CARLOS AND MAX

Toro Rosso team and drivers report from day one of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

Max Verstappen:

• First Practice Session Best lap: 1:18.899, pos. 2nd, 42 laps
• Second Practice Session Best lap 1:18.782, pos. 7th, 12 laps

“It was a good day today. I built it up slowly in the first practice because it was all new for me, but I felt really good in the car immediately. This gave me a lot of confidence and to finish the morning session in P2 made me feel great! In the afternoon it was a bit of a shame that it rained, as we couldn’t complete as many laps as we wanted, but to still finish in P7 is not bad, I can be happy with my first day driving here in Monaco.”

Carlos Sainz:

• First Practice Session Best lap: 1:19.245, pos. 5th, 40 laps
• Second Practice Session Best lap: 1:18.659, pos. 6th, 14 laps

“I enjoyed it today and had a lot of fun out there! The first time driving a Formula 1 car in Monaco is always special and something I had been dreaming for many years. In terms of performance, we were not too bad and maybe even better than where I expected to be on my first day here. But it’s still early days and we don’t really know what the others have done. It was a shame that we couldn’t do more laps in FP2 due to the rain, because this is very important for a rookie driver like me but, all in all, the car feels good and I feel confident.”

Phil Charles (Chief Race Engineer): “A pretty good first day for us here in Monaco, we can be satisfied. Both drivers settled in here really well. We can’t forget that neither of them had driven a Formula 1 car here before and this is a super difficult circuit to come to for a first time and do well straight away! We’re really pleased with both Carlos and Max, they took the right approach, starting off with a little margin and building themselves up through the sessions. We can definitely say that today’s been very positive for us, the car seems to be working okay and as usual we will do our homework and build on all the positives. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to do our long runs in FP2 because of the rain so it will be a bit of a tricky Sunday without that information, but we will work on this tonight and make sure we are well-prepared for the rest of the weekend ahead.”

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SAUBER: NEITHER OF THE TWO PRACTICE SESSIONS WERE SATISFACTORY

Neither of today’s two practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix were satisfactory for the Sauber F1 Team. In FP1 the team worked on a shortened programme in order to focus on the afternoon session. At the beginning of FP2 there was an ERS problem on Marcus Ericsson’s car, which forced him to stay in the garage for the whole session. Felipe Nasr was able to run a few laps before the rain started.

Marcus Ericsson (car number 9) Sauber C34-Ferrari:

1st practice: 18th / 1:21.219 min (25 laps) / 2nd practice: No timed lap

“In the morning session the concern was on the set-up side. We were not able to complete as many laps as I would have liked. But the kilometers that we drove took us forward from run to run with regard to the speed and confidence in the Sauber C34-Ferrari. At the beginning of the afternoon session an ERS problem occurred and, therefore, the second free practice session was over for me. That’s a shame, but the disadvantage is very limited due to the rain – anyway not many laps would have been possible. I am still looking forward to the weekend.”

Felipe Nasr (car number 12):

1st practice: 16th / 1:20.857 min (24 laps) / 2nd practice: 17th / 1:20.263 min (10 laps)

“It was not an easy day for us. In the morning it was difficult to get the front tyres to work properly. This was influenced by cooler temperatrues and also a lack of downforce. In FP2 we did a couple of laps before the rain started. We identified that our main limitation at the moment is not a lot of traction. We need to improve that for Saturday.”

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MARUSSIA: ALWAYS DESTINED TO BE A DIFFICULT DAY

The Manor Marussia F1 Team got their Monaco Grand Prix weekend underway today with the first of the free practice sessions for Sunday’s 78 lap race at the Circuit de Monaco. Roberto Merhi ended the day in 18th position, ahead of his team-mate Will Stevens in 19th, despite an abbreviated afternoon session following an off at the tunnel exit.

Will Stevens #28: “Not a bad start to our weekend here in Monaco. The day began reasonably well this morning but this afternoon’s rain hampered everybody’s progress. There is plenty of room for improvement with the car set-up and then I think the day has reminded everyone that a lot can happen here, which in turn creates opportunities, so we’ll be ready to take advantage of whatever surprises spring our way.”

Roberto Merhi #98: “I had a really good start to the day this morning and was quite happy with the car. I love racing here and I think the combination showed in possibly my best session of the season so far. Early in this afternoon’s session I lost the car under braking out of the tunnel, where it was quite slippery. It’s a shame but as things turned out, the rain meant that we would not have been able to achieve any meaningful running, so I’m looking forward to picking up where we left off on Saturday.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “This was always destined to be a difficult day due to the poor weather forecast. This morning we were making good progress, with both drivers running well. This afternoon, track time was significantly compromised due to the rain and our progress was further hampered when Roberto lost control under braking on the exit of the tunnel, causing quite a bit of damage to the front of the car. Fortunately we have an extra day tomorrow to prepare for FP3 and qualifying.”

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WILLIAMS: WE’VE MISSED OUT ON VALUABLE TIME

Williams team and drivers report from day one of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend.

• Objectives: aero evaluations, set-up and tyre work.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was a bit of a truncated session because of the rain so we’ve missed out on valuable time to learn about the track and our set-up, but this is the same for everyone and is something you just have to get on with and adapt to. Hopefully FP3 will allow us to complete our set-up work. We managed to work through some of the things we wanted from a technical perspective, but practice in Monaco is normally about getting the drivers on the circuit and feeling comfortable. We have a bit of work to do to understand the balance of the car and how to manage the tyres, and we now have an extra day before we are next on track to work on these areas.”

Felipe Massa: “It hasn’t been as productive a day as we would have liked as the rain restricted our running. Our focus is on Saturday and the forecast says no rain, so there was nothing for us to learn running in the wet. We had a good first session running on the soft tyre and will take the data we have from that. Free practice on Saturday morning will be important to get the car set-up correctly.”

Valtteri Bottas: “We struggled to get the soft tyre working at its optimum and missed the chance to try the supersoft due to the weather, but that is the same for everyone. We have a lot of work to do to make sure tyre temperatures are correct but have little data to go from. It was a tough day with the weather but it’s the same situation for everyone in the pitlane.”

[MIKA27]

HAMILTON AND TOP F1 DRIVERS DESERVE MILLIONS SAYS LAUDA

According to F1 legend Niki Lauda, double world champion Lewis Hamilton deserves what he will earn under the terms of his new Mercedes contract.

Lauda, who lured Hamilton to Mercedes from McLaren three years ago, was closely involved in the long negotiations that finally ended on Wednesday with news of a new three-year deal.

Respected media sources say the deal will earn 30-year-old Hamilton at least $120 million, plus more as he has negotiated clauses whereby he can manipulate his own image.

Jenson Button on Wednesday described the figures doing the rounds as amazing.

But F1 legend Lauda told Auto Motor und Sport: “The world champions like Vettel, Alonso and Lewis all deserve roughly the same.”

He said the deal took so long to finalise because Hamilton handled the talks himself, “The main contract was not the problem. More difficult were the details about PR appearances, sponsor events, whether he can keep his car at the end of the year.”

Hamilton on Wednesday insisted he did not celebrate with “champagne”, but the New York Post says the Briton has been looking into buying a $30 million penthouse in Lower Manhattan.

And he arrived in Monaco wearing a gold watch and sunglasses, “I’m not going to go out screaming and yelling like I just got a jump shot from the halfway line. I’ve got no fear about justifying the new deal.”

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PIRELLI NOT SURE TYRE WAR IS WHAT F1 NEEDS

Pirelli is not sure a tyre war is the solution to Formula 1’s problems.

In the past days and weeks, the fact the driving ‘heroes’ are often doing little more than keep their tyres alive at GP2-like pace has been a big topic of conversation.

Indeed, the Strategy Group declared last week that a package of changes for the future must be introduced to slash up to 6 seconds from current laptimes.

But Fernando Alonso thinks bringing another tyre supplier, such as Michelin, back into F1 is another good idea.

“In 2006 the tyres from Bridgestone and Michelin were amazing because they pushed each other to the limits,” said the Spaniard.

But when the ‘tyre war’ era ended, tyre manufacturers in F1 could “relax”, Alonso said.

When the idea of going into competition with Michelin was raised with Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s F1 chief sounded unconvinced.

“We should look very carefully at the rules,” he told El Confidencial. “But it seems that no one is looking forward to a tyre war, due to the current economic situation.”

“In the end, formula one is a championship for teams and drivers. And as a manufacturer of tyres, when there was competition it is difficult to know how much the contribution to winning was really recognised.”

“So there would have to be a very strong case to reopen the tyre war in F1,” he added.

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Nico not focusing on hat-trick

Nico Rosberg insists he's doing all he can to make sure he has the perfect build-up to qualifying in Monaco with a potential hat-trick of wins not in his immediate thoughts.

Having won the Monaco Grand Prix for the past two seasons, Rosberg heads into this weekend's race looking to emulate the likes of Graham Hill, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, who have won it three times in a row.

"I'm not thinking about [the hat-trick] too much, I'm just thinking about taking the win in general but, for sure, it's Monaco and you have to build up to it through Thursday, Saturday and then nail it in qualifying, he said.

"We're pretty confident [the tyre will last] because it did last year and nothing's different. It's more about just getting down to it and doing that great qualifying lap."

The German, though, was second best behind his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in FP2 on Thursday with the weather limiting running in the afternoon.

"It just wasn't the perfect day today, especially because of the weather I guess," he said. "Nobody really foresaw the weather coming otherwise everyone would have put on the supersoft tyres immediately in P2. It just came as a complete surprise and caught everyone out, but it's the same for everybody. The good thing from today is our car is definitely very quick."

However, he was his own worst enemy in FP1 as he had a brush with the Armco barriers and could only manage the ninth fastest time.

"It was a new line I was trying, but the team said to me that it was not sustainable because the car wouldn't make it through the race, so unfortunately I will have to back away from it a bit," he said.

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Vettel hopes to reduce gap further

Sebastian Vettel admits not much should be read into Thursday's times in Monaco, but he hopes Ferrari can be a bit closer to Mercedes.

Mercedes appeared to have opened a bigger gap on the rest of the field in Spain, but second-placed Ferrari have vowed to haul them back in at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton from Merc, though, topped the timesheets in both sessions, but Vettel is still hopeful that his team will be closer on the narrow Monte Carlo street circuit.

"We have to wait and see until Saturday to understand more and we’ll only find out on Sunday how close we are to Mercedes," he said. "I think we can’t take Monaco as a reference, it’s for the nature of the track that everybody is a bit closer, but for sure I hope to reduce the gap even more."

Much of the second practice session was lost due to rain, but the German is pleased with how the SF15-T performed.

"When it rains it’s the same for everyone, you don’t tend to run. Today the car felt ok, we wanted to test a couple more things but time went out," he said.

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Kimi content after wet Monaco start

The Monaco Grand Prix race weekend didn't get off the best of starts for teams as rain curtailed running in FP2, but Kimi Raikkonen felt they made the best of the situation.

Raikkonen managed to complete 31 laps in the first Free Practice session around the streets of Monte Carlo on Thursday morning but he, like most of the other drivers, could only manage 16 in the afternoon due to rain.

The Finn had admitted that he expects Ferrari to "be as good as we’ve been this year at least and then obviously whatever happens over the weekends we will see" and he feels they made a solid start to their weekend despite the rain.

"Obviously we have to see how the weather is and work on the car a little bit and make sure the tyres work well and go from there and do the best that we can in qualifying and in the race," he told Crash.net.

"[We didn't learn] as much as we wanted but it's the same for everybody and we did the most that we could in these conditions. It's still a bit difficult to get the tyres working but apart from that it seems to be pretty okay."

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Ricciardo out to split the Ferraris

Daniel Ricciardo is hoping to challenge the Ferraris in Monaco this weekend, but he concedes it will take "quite an effort" to get in front.

While Mercedes have been the clear pacesetters this year, Ferrari have generally been second fastest and Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen again played second fiddle to the Mercs in FP2 in Monte Carlo on Thursday.

However, the Red Bull car has showed plenty of improvement in both practice sessions and Ricciardo will be pushing hard to split the two Ferraris.

"I think it was decent," he said. "We started off, I think we are on the right foot. There is nothing massively with the car that feels out of shape. So, I think we are more or less there where we need to be. Besides Mercedes it is pretty closer. I think Ferrari obviously still have the edge but with a perfect qualifying, we can maybe try to split them.

"Don't get me wrong, to get in front of Ferrari will still be quite an effort but anything can happen around here, it is not impossible. We should be ahead of the Williams at least. Toro Rosso look quick again, but we should be alright."

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Bianchi's recovery now 'stagnant' admits father

Jules Bianchi's father, Philippe, is praying for a miracle after admitting his son's recovery is now stagnant, leading the family to consider the worst-case scenario.

This weekend represents the one year anniversary of the Frenchman's first and only points scoring race - a feat he achieved for the Marussia F1 team - when he finished eighth in Monaco, but was later demoted to ninth to score two points.

Bianchi remains hospitalised near his home in Nice, where he has been for almost six months now, on top of the two months he spent at a hospital near the scene of his accident in Suzuka, Japan.

Whilst he is no longer in an induced coma, he remains unconscious with very little sign of progress according to his father during an interview with Canal+.

"The first thing is Jules is alive, that's the most important thing for us," he said. "He's fighting with the weapons he has, but in neurological terms I'm not sure he is able to do much now.

"Seeing him fighting gives a lot of hope to his loved ones, and it's important for us. While there is life, there is hope, even though after a while you are hoping for a miracle. Every day is difficult.

"The situation is stagnant. Jules' neurological progress is not what we would like it to be."

Philippe says that's led the family to begin considering the worst-case scenario, but they also remain hopeful as anything can happen.

"When we get up every morning we think of Jules' life, we think also of his death," he added. "We have to think about death because we are in a situation where we know a lot of things can happen. It's terrible.

"I think we all stopped living that day, the fifth of October. It's something you can never expect.

"It's not what Jules wants, being in a hospital bed. It's not his life, it's not what we want either. But we have to keep hope."

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Team bosses call for Strategy Group to be scrapped

Formula 1 teams shoudn't be in charge of making the rules and deciding on the future direction of the sport according to three team bosses.

At present, representatives from Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams and the next best team - this year Force India - can suggest and vote on rule changes along with FIA president Jean Todt and FOM boss Bernie Ecclestone.

But Red Bull's Christian Horner, Force India's Bob Fernley and Toro Rosso's Franz Tost believe the group isn't fit for purpose and should be scrapped, with Todt and Ecclestone given the sole power of exploring future rules.

"We have had 18 months to two years of Strategy Group work with nothing coming out of it," commented Fernley.

"We need to look at a [new] system in better way. In days gone by, with Bernie and [former FIA president] Max [Mosley] in charge, we knew exactly where we were.

"I don't think you should have teams making decisions on where Formula 1 is going. The teams should be told where Formula 1 is going."

Horner agrees, adding that teams only have self interest at heart and they will therefore vote for rules which favour them, rather than those which are for the good of the sport.

"The sport is governed by the FIA and promoted by FOM and its those guys who need to get together and say: 'What do we want F1 to be?'

"Bernie and Jean need to get together and say this is what we want the product to be and how it is to be governed and then give us the engine and see if we want to enter.

"Every team has its own agenda and it's going to fight its own corner," he added. "If you leave it the teams to try and agree a set of regulations, you'll never get everyone on the same bit of paper."

Tost concurred: "We are discussing too many things. We have too many useless meetings," said the Austrian.

"It should be Bernie and Jean together who decide. They should not ask the teams because the teams will not come to an agreement."

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Horner not convinced refuelling will help the spectacle

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has hinted that he didn't vote in favour of refuelling's return in 2017, after admitting it did nothing to make races more exciting.

The Briton, who has a seat on the Strategy Group which agrees new rules, questioned whether refuelling is the right step, despite almost unanimous support amongst the drivers.

"I tend not to agree with it," he told Sky Sports F1. "We got rid of refuelling for a reason, it didn't make the races interesting.

"If you cast your mind back to races where there was refuelling, they weren't that exciting – you just timed the pitstop, you either went shorter or longer [in the stint], and that dictated your strategy," he said, adding: "So I think that's still open to debate."

Horner however was more supportive of the other changes, aimed at making the cars faster and harder to driver, which were agreed upon in an unusually eventful meeting.

"The strategy is to agree on as little as we possibly can and have some nice sandwiches," he joked, before admitting the latest meeting had been "fairly productive" with the agreement on a multitude of new rules.

"To make the cars harder to drive, to make them more exciting and to go five and six seconds quicker [is the aim]," he explained.

"To get some more downforce on the cars and differentiate them more than GP2 cars, that are only three or four seconds slower than us at the moment, and make life harder for the drivers.

"You'll see a bigger difference in driver input because the cars are pretty easy to drive at the moment. The power unit was discussed and they've agreed to increase the fuel flow a bit and increase the noise, although whether that fundamentally addressed the issues at the moment is open to debate. But certainly on the chassis side some positive discussions."

[MIKA27]

Button dissatisfied with revised Tabac corner

Jenson Button is not fond of the changes made to the Tabac corner for this year’s Monaco Grand Prix.

The circuit now runs closer to the harbour front, making Tabac a slightly tighter left-hand bend, and shortening the total track length by three metres.

“Looking at the re-profiling they’ve done ahead of this year’s race, I don’t like Tabac as much as before,” said Button after driving the revised circuit for the first time today. “They’ve made it tighter now, whereas it used to have a nice flow to it.”

“Mind you, I’ve been taking that particular corner for 15 years, so the change catches you unawares a little bit,” he added.

The revised layout has also altered the approach to the fast Swimming Pool chicane. “The first part of the Swimming Pool is a bit faster and it helps to stop you drifting wide into the exit barrier on the left,” said Button.

Above: Tabac in 2015; below: Tabac in 2014.

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Missing FP1 makes weekend ‘much harder’ – Grosjean

Romain Grosjean says it is “much harder” for him to select the right set-up for his car when he keeps having to sit out the first practice session during race weekends.

Grosjean had to give up his car to test driver Jolyon Palmer during first practice for the last three races and confirmed during a press conference in Monaco today he will have to do so seven more times this year.

He did not offer an explanation why he, and not team mate Pastor Maldonado, will have to surrender his seat time, but the backing Maldonado and Palmer bring to the team is believed to be the reason.

“It does affect you quite a lot in terms of preparation for the weekend,” said Grosjean when asked about the disadvantage of not running on first practice.

“FP1 is normally where you test new aero parts and you can do back-to-back. You normally do three runs of five, six timed laps and you assess what’s the best parts for the weekend and you get the first idea for where the car is and you can do a set-up change for P2, prepare your diff map, your brake map, and then go in P2.”

“When you only start in FP2 you’ve got five timed lap on prime, three timed lap on option, and then you’ve got to begin your long runs. So it’s much harder to choose what’s the right set-up.”

“You can do some changes overnight but again the Saturday morning is not the same fuel load, is not the same track condition. Yeah it does affect you.”

“I believe that’s why not every team is doing it and more time is spent in the car the better it is, especially when you have very little testing in the year.”