Rosberg fastest as Maldonado crashes in Monaco
2012 Monaco Grand Prix third practice
Nico Rosberg set the fastest time in final practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.
But the session came to a controversial end as the winner of the last race, Pastor Maldonado, appeared to cause a collision with Sergio Perez.
Moments later Maldonado crashed his Williams, bringing the session to an end.
Kimi Raikkonen had done little running on Thursday, so he was one of the first to take to the circuit as the final hour of practice began.
He was joined by Schumacher, the Mercedes driver troubled by a gearbox problem on his car. As was the case on Thursday, his engineer warned him he was overlapping the brake and throttle on his car at the chicane, as well as Sainte Devote.
Raikkonen headed the times to begin with before team mate Romain Grosjean took over in the other Lotus, setting a best of 1’15.811.
Sergio Perez was among the quickest runners on the soft tyres, but lost time after glancing the barriers, damaging his car.
One of the first drivers to switch to super-soft tyres was Nico Rosberg. He set a 1’15.159 with his second effort, saying the rear tyres only came in on the second lap.
The two Ferraris got closest to his effort and unusually it was Massa who led the pair, just 0.038s slower than the Mercedes, Alonso just 0.013s behind his team mate.
Vettel had languished in the middle of the times sheets before putting on the super-softs. He managed to split the two Ferraris, lapping just a thousandth of a second faster than Alonso.
The final moments brought drama. Paul di Resta hit trouble at the same spot as Perez’s crash the year before, spinning and clipping the barrier on the approach to the chicane.
Perez himself was then involved in a bizarre incident with Pastor Maldonado. The Spanish Grand Prix winner turned across the front of the Sauber at Portier, making contact between the two.
“Maldonado is so crazy, guys,” complained Perez on his radio afterwards. “I want to complain about Maldonado.”
Maldonado then crashed at Casino, clipping the barrier at the inside of the corner then sliding into the wall at the exit. That brought out the red flags, ending the session with three minutes to go.
Combined practice times
| Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Fri/Sat diff | Total laps |
| 1 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’17.261 | 1’17.021 | 1’15.159 | -1.862 | 58 |
| 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’16.843 | 1’16.602 | 1’15.197 | -1.405 | 61 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’17.222 | 1’17.303 | 1’15.209 | -2.013 | 55 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’16.265 | 1’16.661 | 1’15.210 | -1.055 | 65 |
| 5 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’16.630 | 1’16.138 | 1’15.445 | -0.693 | 54 |
| 6 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’17.190 | 1’15.746 | 1’15.471 | -0.275 | 49 |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’16.747 | 1’17.375 | 1’15.734 | -1.013 | 50 |
| 8 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1’17.413 | 1’17.293 | 1’15.893 | -1.4 | 48 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’16.711 | 1’18.251 | 1’16.110 | -0.601 | 57 |
| 10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’18.106 | 1’17.148 | 1’16.219 | -0.929 | 56 |
| 11 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’18.209 | 1’18.522 | 1’16.226 | -1.983 | 67 |
| 12 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus-Renault | 1’19.267 | 1’16.301 | -2.966 | 47 | |
| 13 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’17.038 | 1’17.153 | 1’16.311 | -0.727 | 62 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’18.252 | 1’18.808 | 1’16.479 | -1.773 | 74 |
| 15 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1’16.760 | 1’16.820 | 1’18.488 | +1.728 | 62 |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’17.631 | 1’17.800 | 1’17.027 | -0.604 | 63 |
| 17 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1’18.617 | 1’17.655 | 1’17.055 | -0.6 | 64 |
| 18 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1’19.039 | 1’20.029 | 1’17.276 | -1.763 | 58 |
| 19 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1’18.302 | 1’17.395 | 1’17.390 | -0.005 | 56 |
| 20 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1’19.341 | 1’18.440 | 1’17.404 | -1.036 | 63 |
| 21 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’21.638 | 1’19.309 | 1’18.259 | -1.05 | 56 |
| 22 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’20.895 | 1’20.240 | 1’19.099 | -1.141 | 56 |
| 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1’20.838 | 1’20.886 | 1’19.147 | -1.691 | 55 |
| 24 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1’22.423 | 1’20.631 | 1’19.151 | -1.48 | 46 |
2012 Monaco Grand Prix
- Webber wins close Monaco Driver of the Weekend vote
- Monaco GP receives lowest rating of 2012 so far
- Williams were capable of top five in Monaco, says Gillan
- Top ten pictures from the Monaco Grand Prix
- Vote for your 2012 Monaco GP driver of the weekend
Image © Daimler/Hoch Zwei
Pamphlet (@pamphlet) said on 26th May 2012, 11:10
Felipe looking awfully strong this weekend. Pretty sure he was the fastest on softs today as well.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 26th May 2012, 11:14
not sure if the fastest, but he was really on it top of it today.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii) said on 26th May 2012, 11:15
Seems to me that Felipe loves the Super-softs, most notably last season, putting in great qualifying laps to match & out-qualify Fernando in tracks such as Canada & Hungary respectively, where the Softer compounds were used. Hopefully this new found confidence will carry through to qualifying later. Going to be absolutely emphatic & i don’t think we’ve seen the true potential of the likes of Webber & the McLarens, who didn’t get clean final runs on the Super-softs
Mayank jain (@mjf1fan) said on 26th May 2012, 11:15
good to see the old Felipe Back.. :)
Eggry (@eggry) said on 26th May 2012, 11:17
surely he would get into Q3 easily. perhaps top 5 as well.
Zubair (@zubair380) said on 26th May 2012, 11:49
Yes would love to see Felipe being successful at Monaco, the guy needs this big confidence boost.
Fingers crossed for the win, yes, I’m daring
PT (@pt) said on 26th May 2012, 12:43
Narain is looking stronger than Pedro so far…But that could change in qualifying.
Zecks (@zecks) said on 26th May 2012, 11:10
Romain looked very very impressive. Also hats off to Massa for finally getting up to speed
Eggry (@eggry) said on 26th May 2012, 11:16
Massa should maintain this pace on the quali and the race and forthcoming races as well. Still it’s good sign.
ShaneB457 (@shaneb12345678910) said on 26th May 2012, 11:10
Best practice session I have ever seen.. it had absolutely everything..
Cant wait for quali :)
BasCB (@bascb) said on 26th May 2012, 11:13
Button looked like he should still have a little bit in reserve, haven’t seen much of Hamiltons fastest lap though. Will it be enough though?
Vettel should not be discounted, Lotus looks to be quick again, as does Rosberg. Ferrari will have a shot at pole as well, I would love it if Massa could really pull it off, but I would rather put my money on Alsono to do it!
Solo (@solo) said on 26th May 2012, 12:05
I’m wondering about what going on with Mclaren and especially Hamilton. He seems to have been rather invisible in all the practice session just rolling around in the middle of the table.
Is the car really not fit for Monaco?
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 11:13
Maldonado should not be taking part in Quali. Or the race. Or any others this year
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 26th May 2012, 11:14
@jleigh I’d like to see what might have happened in the lead-up to the incident. But in the light of his driving at Spa last year I think the stewards should take it very seriously.
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 11:19
@keithcollantine Yes it will be interesting to see what led to it. I suspect Maldonado feels he was held up through Mirabeau and Loews, but no matter what happened, there’s no excuse for what he did.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 26th May 2012, 11:19
Fully agree with that Keith, I want to see more of that too, but it did look to be quite similar to Spa last year
Jeanrien (@jeanrien) said on 26th May 2012, 11:24
And this time nothing can be reproach to Perez, he is leaving space on the side and on the front for the turn … Not like if Maldonado was squeezed
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 26th May 2012, 11:15
Why? Because Sergio Perez thinks he was hard done-by?
Pamphlet (@pamphlet) said on 26th May 2012, 11:15
Does the Spa incident between Maldonado and Hamilton ring any bells? Looked intentional to me. Should at least get a penalty.
Eggry (@eggry) said on 26th May 2012, 11:19
Spa was between Kobayashi and Hamilton. It’s Monaco where Maldonado and Hamilton tangled.
Eggry (@eggry) said on 26th May 2012, 11:20
sorry I forgot quali incident between Maldo and Ham.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii) said on 26th May 2012, 11:25
He’s referring to the incident in Spa qualifying, not the race.
bosyber (@bosyber) said on 26th May 2012, 11:58
And it is indeed that quali incident that seems to match what happened here: intentionally cutting across a car that you just passed, while not working on a quali lap.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 26th May 2012, 11:21
Well, I can’t comment as I haven’t seen the incident – yet – but based on Keith’s description, I’m guessing Perez was in Maldonado’s blind spot. After all, the drivers wear the HANS device to prevent their necks twisting (and snapping) in the event of an accident, so they don’t get a whole lot of movement in their necks. And with safety being paramount, the cars have high, reinforced sides to their cockpits, which further limit a driver’s peripheral vision. It’s entirely conceivable that Maldonado could not see Perez, and had to guess where the Sauber was.
Furthermore, I cannot think of a single reason why someone would deliberately crash into another driver in FP3. Maldonado would have nothing to gain from it.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 26th May 2012, 11:26
@prisoner-monkeys If you haven’t even seen the incident then you’re in no position to question other people’s assessment of it.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 26th May 2012, 11:35
@keithcollantine – I have now seen a video of the incident (admittedly a very grainy one; it appears to have been shot with a mobile phone camera aimed at a television screen), and I stand by my above assessment. I think Perez being in Maldonado’s blind spot to be an equally-plausible explanation of the incident, and I can see no reason why Maldonado would have done it deliberately.
Victor. (@victor) said on 26th May 2012, 11:45
:)
I think Maldonado got annoyed by Hulkenberg, then Perez blocked him for a while which Maldonado didn’t take too well, and then lost it at Casino. Plus remember he won the last race – I can see it having bloated his ego.
Dave (@dworsley) said on 26th May 2012, 12:01
lol at PM’s ‘Bill Shorten’ing
rambler said on 26th May 2012, 12:11
LOL at random internet monkey embarrasing himself.
west (@west) said on 26th May 2012, 11:27
Ban and ban him simple
Prof Kirk (@prof-kirk) said on 26th May 2012, 11:38
@keithcollantine or any others, can you share a link to some footage? Thanks in advance.
Dizzy-A (@david-a) said on 26th May 2012, 12:13
@prof-kirk From pamphlet’s link on this comments section
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr4ei0_pastor-maldonado-drives-into-sergio-perez-2012-monaco-gp-fp3_auto
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 11:16
because he deliberately crashed into another driver for the second time in a year! The first time should have led to a ban on its own.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 26th May 2012, 11:22
@jleigh – Prove that he did it deliberately first.
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 11:30
@prisoner-monkeys Well MAL is the one holding the steering wheel. He also has eyes, and knew exactly where Perez was, as Perez had moved to the side and slowed down massively to let let him through. Perez had hardly moved from the point MAL passed him to the point he crashed into him. MAL also knows the normal racing line through Portier, and in order to turn in sooo early, intention is definately required. I suggest you have a look at the incident. It may be on youtube somewhere.
Pamphlet (@pamphlet) said on 26th May 2012, 11:31
Here’s the incident. Make of it what you will.
N said on 26th May 2012, 11:36
PM, watch the footage before posting. Perez was way off line, Maldonado [/b]drove into him[/b]
This is beyond a joke, he needs banning atleast from this race, at very least.
He deserved to be punished after Spa but wasnt, the stewards didnt act, and this is the result, he does it again..
SORT IT OUT STEWARDS.
Funkyf1 (@funkyf1) said on 26th May 2012, 11:37
@prisoner monkeys I suggest waiting until you see the incident before you make any further comments.
Dizzy-A (@david-a) said on 26th May 2012, 11:39
Well, I was willing to give Maldonado the benefit of the doubt when I saw it quickly on the practice show, but looking at @pamphlet ‘s video several times shows Maldonado moving to the right rather early and suddenly, despite having plenty of room on his left.
A shame to do this one race after boosting his reputation.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 26th May 2012, 11:39
See, I read this, and the first thing I think is “You’re not judging Maldonado crashing into Perez – you’re judging Maldonado crashing into Hamilton”.
caci99 (@caci99) said on 26th May 2012, 11:41
@pamphlet Thank you for the link, that looks deliberate, and dangerous. There was a piece of the car flying in front of Perez.
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 11:48
if you pause @pamphlet ‘s video just as they reach the shadow of the bridge, it’s pretty damning for MAL. Then continue playing the video, keeping in mind MAL position and direction when you paused it. When you then see where the apex for Portier is, It’s pretty clear MAL was not just turning in a little early, and that he had the intention of hitting Perez.
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 11:56
also, watch Hamilton behind and the line he is taking compared to MAL
BBT (@bbt) said on 26th May 2012, 12:10
Wow that is totally crazy, I didn’t realise it was that bad at the time. Both are well inside the racing line, Perez is well out of the way and Maldonado seems to take an unusual line to purposely crash into Perez, I just can’t understand why he would do that apart from being hot headed, whatever happen before the is not excuse for that.
I like to see him at the sharp end of the grid during the race but if that doesn’t deserve bring sent to the back nothing does. Hope no one picked him for pole this week ;-)
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii) said on 26th May 2012, 11:20
I’m not sure what the stewards are going to make of the incident, but looking at a few shots, Maldonado’s turning point doesnt look like anywhere near the normal racing line into Portier.
Solo (@solo) said on 26th May 2012, 11:58
As it was in spa and as it was in Monaco with Hamilton also despite some not acknowledging it because the stewards made a mess of it. The guy seems to be getting easily ****** and turning early on people.
Solo (@solo) said on 26th May 2012, 12:00
As it was in spa and as it was in Monaco with Hamilton also despite some not acknowledging it because the stewards made a mess of it. The guy seems to be getting easily pιssed and turning early on people.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien) said on 26th May 2012, 11:18
The penalty will probably be the same as the Barrichello / Schumacher incident (whit the push against the wall) and result in a 10 places penalty on the grid for Maldonado … It’s what seem the most likely to me and quite deserved.
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag) said on 26th May 2012, 11:31
There was room on the outside.
he saw Perez pull into the inside, to give him space on the outside, and he turned into the corner making no allowances for the other car. Even if you can’t see where the other car is, you know. it’s learned from karting; you can instinctively know when someone is very close to you, and you can also tell where the other driver is in relation to yourself. Therefore, the blind spot argument cannot hold up
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 11:36
he didn’t even turn into the corner. That has never been the turn in point for Portier. It’s about two car lengths later, from two car widths to the outside.
Eddie (@wackyracer) said on 26th May 2012, 11:36
what happend? can someone explain? or any video maybe?
Thanks
bosyber (@bosyber) said on 26th May 2012, 12:03
See the post by @pamphlet above, linking to this video of the incident in FP3 where MAL cuts across Perez, totally forgoing the turn-in to Portier to do so
Mustalainen (@mustalainen) said on 26th May 2012, 11:46
Armchair judge @jleigh hands out a lifetime race ban for Maldonado
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 11:53
@mustalainen This is a blog with a comments section. I’m pretty sure Keith set up the comments section for people to leave their opinions on all things F1. That’s what I’m doing. If you disagree with my opinion, may I suggest making an argument against it rather than making a pointless comment that adds absolutely nothing?
Mustalainen (@mustalainen) said on 26th May 2012, 12:03
@jleigh My argument was, you are making swift arguments without knowing too much of the incident beforehand and writing unnecessary comments! (e.g. “Hamiltons fault”)
BBT (@bbt) said on 26th May 2012, 12:13
It irrelevant what happened before as is your comment.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien) said on 26th May 2012, 11:59
I wonder … If Maldonado is banned, will Botas be allowed to take part to quali and race ?
I suspect the penalty is applied to the driver and not the team …
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31) said on 26th May 2012, 12:32
I don’t see Maldonado’s actions intentional – no driver would crach into another car during practice intentionaly. Maldonado’s actions were reckles. In tort law people are liable for their actions even without being intention, so I think Maldonado should get penalty, though not too harsh.
Eggry (@eggry) said on 26th May 2012, 11:14
I really don’t know who will be the pole. Nico looked good in flying lap but worse in long run than Ferrari and Lotus. Whoever the pole, I think it would be great race for Ferrari and Lotus, or some suprise as well. I voted on Alonso for the pole just because I want it.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31) said on 26th May 2012, 11:15
Massa was faster than Alonso in the second practice session in a row! Could it be his revival or just one-off? And I have no idea who is going to claim pole. Actually it would be foolish to guess, because there are probably at least 10 contenders for pole.
Tommo N7 (@tommothfc) said on 26th May 2012, 11:17
Only seen the Maldonado/Perez incident from one angle, but it didn’t look malicious to me. Just looked like a stupid mistake which was easily avoidable. Wouldn’t mind seeing it from the T-Cam though.
Slr (@slr) said on 26th May 2012, 11:24
Maldonado turning in too early was my initial reaction too, I love to see an onboard of the incident from Maldonado’s perspective.
Mayank jain (@mjf1fan) said on 26th May 2012, 11:18
read Schumi have some gearbox problem. SO another miserable weekend for him. Bad luck continues to follow the champ. :(
BasCB (@bascb) said on 26th May 2012, 11:20
On another note, HRT is less than 4 seconds off the fastest lap. That must give them some satisfaction.
Zecks (@zecks) said on 26th May 2012, 11:25
well monaco has a very short lap so they were still 106%! I confidently predict that if they do qualify the race, they will ruin for someone :-(
Rahim.RG (@rahim-rg) said on 26th May 2012, 11:22
I think Grosjean is gonna be the 1st one among the 2 lotus drivers to win…
Its gonna be tight…
Jeanrien (@jeanrien) said on 26th May 2012, 12:02
@rahim-rg he has look very well in every of the 2 (non rain) practice sessions and quite consistant with his lap time … I also expect a strong quali and race from him, probably the one most likely to be on the podium to me, will see on which step ^^
bosyber (@bosyber) said on 26th May 2012, 12:07
I’m not sure on a win @rahim-rg, but he does look on it for first pole for the team to me.
sumedh said on 26th May 2012, 11:24
If Felipe is doing so well, the Ferrari must be seriously awesome around the streets.
west (@west) said on 26th May 2012, 11:24
Maldonado ???? whats the matter with head ? this is the second time doing the same thing, hope they send him at the back of the grid.Now the question is will they be able to repair that car before qali?
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 26th May 2012, 11:29
Where is the proof that Maldonado deliberately crashed into Perez?
A lot of people are pointing to Spa last year as a precedent for this kind of unruly behavior, but based on the way the stewards reprimanded Hamilton and only gave Maldonado a grid penalty, it’s pretty obvious that they thought Maldonado was provoked by Hamilton pushing him off the dry line at the Bus Stop. That, to me, says that while Maldonado does have a reputation for attacking other drivers on-track, he’s not cold and calculating about it. Based on that behavior at Spa, he doesn’t attack without a reason. And as near as I can tell, Sergio Perez didn’t do anything to raise his ire.
caci99 (@caci99) said on 26th May 2012, 11:29
I don’t understand “overlapping the brake and throttle”, what does that mean?
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 11:38
@caci99 it means he would not be fully off the accelerator before he stamps on the breaks. It’s a simple thing really that a driver in Karts wouldn’t do, never mind someone of Schumi’s caliber.
caci99 (@caci99) said on 26th May 2012, 11:46
@jleigh Thank you, I got it now
bosyber (@bosyber) said on 26th May 2012, 12:08
But wasn’t that part of how MSC always used to be fast from his Benneton days on (I seem to recall a feature comparing him and teammate – Herbert I think?) @jleigh? I do understand that it isn’t currently the best way to drive the car, but I can then see why MSC is finding it hard to not do it :)
Jake (@jleigh) said on 26th May 2012, 12:13
i remember the feature, but not exactly what it showed, sorry. You might be right though. @boysber
Funkyf1 (@funkyf1) said on 26th May 2012, 11:42
engaging both at the same time if I’m not mistaken. E.g Not fully off throttle while braking and/or applying throttle while still on brake. Something you get warned about when karting.