Comments on: 2008 Monaco GP preview: qualifying

By: James

James — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:00:21 +0000

I’ve been waiting for the Williams to come alive all year. The car would appear to possess excellent mechanical grip and low-speed handling properties; it is also very slippery (always top 5 through the speed trap at other events) so I suspect high-speed balance has been the issue with it. No problem at Monte Carlo. The fact that Nico has stated he has more in his pocket would suggest that a front row may be possible even without rain. Race win? Hmm. I’d love to dream such a thing!

By: theRoswellite

theRoswellite — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:34:10 +0000

One last thing concerning qualifying, let’s go for the gusto here…….

Serious precip……

Some major mistakes in Q1 and Q2 reduce the normal top runners, resulting in a front row of Rosberg & Kubica, from which Nico drives to victory.

Sound impossible…..?

By: theRoswellite

theRoswellite — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:42:46 +0000

@ George

Aerodynamics inside the tunnel. Now there is a fresh area of discussion for a weekend race that can often be a tad bit overly dissected.

Thoughts….it would seem like the changing visual cues might be more challenging than anything else.

……a psychological element, the unconscious vision of one’s car bouncing around inside a stone tube, might retard speed a bit.

….any temperature drop would add to air density
thus increasing downforce & grip.

….a decrease in standing water during rainy periods should increase speed a bit.

….would the increased sound have any effect on the driver’s senses?

….considering the size of the rear wing, and the height of the tunnel, it seems unlikely that any compression effects could be felt by a car which were induced by that car, especially considering the already disrupted nature of the air if the car was in traffic.

However, having no degree in aerodynamics, and only the relatively specific training surrounding aviation training, I defer to any comments by my betters…..

By: Sally

Sally — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:54:29 +0000

@ George – That wouldn’t surprise me either considering that both practice sessions so far have been disrupted by crashes.

By: Wesley

Wesley — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:32:53 +0000

@ Chaz

We have video previews and reviews of every race here too.

By: Toncho

Toncho — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:45:39 +0000

Monaco will be the premiere of the super soft tyres. How do you think that can change the status quo? Will LH be able to use them or obliged to use the soft ones??.

By: George

George — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:26:52 +0000

Yes, I agree with James – I have memories of Adrian Newey once commenting on another oddity of Monaco, the tunnel, and saying that although a curve of that radius should be easily flat, because of the roof you get a downwash from the rear wing that upsets the balance, so that whilst the tunnel is flat, it’s not easily so. It’s quirks like this that make Monaco totally unique. Oh, and I agree with one other thing James said – Let’s start the rain dance now

By: James

James — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:23:38 +0000

I like the event in spite of itself. The race – if it is good weather – is usually pedestrian. Qualifying however, is a different matter. I love the saturday, watching drivers fling the cars around.

I think Monaco is one place where the drivers can make a real difference, because it just doesn’t play to an F1 car’s strengths. It’s bumpy, overly tight (Adrian Newey commented about how Monaco uniquely causes relatively hot brake calipers due to repeated, light applications) and the cars just look awkward there.

A sprinkling of rain – just a bit – would make a good Sunday!

By: George

George — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:17:48 +0000

One more thing that is REALLY striking on the live feed of practice is that you really hear the absence of traction control. I’d be amazed if someone doesn’t bin it under pressure at some point on Saturday or Sunday.

By: George

George — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:14:56 +0000

A pretty definitive and thorough analysis of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso’s relative speeds at Monaco has been carried out by Mark Hughes on the ITV F1 website. It makes for very interesting reading. Hughes shows that Lewis was the quicker of the two drivers over the course of the weekend – though, of course, as Niki Lauda showed Prost over the course of 1984, that doesn’t guarantee victory. Alonso, despite being the slower of the two (though not by much), still managed to conjure a victory in the principality. I can’t wait for qualifying on Saturday – one of the highlights of the F1 year.

Second practice still on the track right now, but I thought that the times from this morning made interesting reading.