F1 Fanatic

I will be there, and probably disconnected :(

I completely disagree. Last year’s Monaco race was epic. Started off with a three way scrap between iamsa8, Monsoon and myself and ended with a Senna/Mansell-esque race to the line between Monsoon and I. One of the most intense online races I’ve ever been a part of.

The race tonight will probably have some intense action (read: crashes, lag, anger) so if at all possible, try to record the race and we’ll be able to laugh about it later. And remember to be careful into turn 1. Brake earlier rather than later. Remember your normal marker (bearing in mind the car will be heavier than in qualifying, which means brake a bit earlier!) and don’t be distracted too much or you’ll miss it. Unless you thought the first corner at Korea was hilarious.

Can’t do much of a report really. Quali was okay. Didn’t expect everyone to be that much quicker. Started 4th because of Oli’s penalty.

The game decided to switch me back to cockpit mode again, so I had to switch at the start, I’m sorry if it effected anyone’s start.
Got hit in the first corner despite this, and carried on from last. Worked my way up to 4th, despite being hit a few times, and then got disconnected from the game. First time it has happened to me on 2012 and it’s a horrible feeling. My Championship lead looks like it will be diminished in this one race, with Damon looking set for a podium.

Bradley..+100 seconds..cor.

Quali: Started Quali 2nd, 7 tenths behind Monsoon. Had to slow down to avoid catching a Sauber and in turn got caught by the guys behind. Then iamsa and Ollie put in stormers to go top, with the top three separated by .076, but with Ollie’s penalty, I was third.

Race: Passed Monsoon at the start, iamsa lagged into the wall at La Source but from my perspective I didn’t hit him (which was a recurring theme), so I was now in the lead but Monsoon was on my tail the whole time. Settled into a pace of running away whilst trying not to crash whilst everybody else around hit walls and we had a couple of disconnects, most notably Jamie.

A period of small amounts of passing and re passing occurred here, including me hitting the wall at La Source and allowing Monsoon through, him sliding through Tabac and allowing me back through, me once again bashing the wall at La Source with Monsoon being a bit more aggressive in his pass this time, and the 3rd most prominent incident with me trying at pass at Rascasse and Noghes but instead punting him into the wall.

Eventually Ollie caught up, having started 11th with his penalty, and at one point tried to pass me in the tunnel, but we collided and I collected a 10 second penalty. I had originally planned a one stop on lap 19 but that obviously wasn’t happening and so on lap 12 I pitted, wanting Options but the team were nice enough to put me on a good strategy that involved Primes.

Me and Monsoon re emerged, not as close as before, and so I started admiring the rear ends of a lot of Lotuses and Saubers. Monsoon would occasionally close the gap but I’d turn up the fuel and create a gap, which wasn’t helped with the number of cars we were lapping. I planned to pit around lap 27, and I was just behind my team mate Sato when he pitted, so I aborted and went for another lap, with Monsoon also pitting on lap 28 for Options. I emerged just ahead of Sato, with him no doubt doing his best to hold Monsoon up, and Ollie pitted a bit later.

The third stint largely went as the second, with Monsoon never really getting close enough, until I outbraked myself at the swimming pool and gave him DRS. Of course, the logical thing to happen was that he would hit me, go flying through the air and land right at La Source, putting him a few seconds down. Things went well until around lap 35 when I decided to go flat out through Tabac, and I spun, also allowing Ollie through. Luckily for me, Ollie had 20 seconds, but it was good to also pass him on track after an incident with Bradley. 2nd place.

Set the fastest lap at the time, but Ollie bettered it by a second the same lap which was demoralising. Apparently we lapped Spud 3 or 4 times.

I agree with Mag. Last years event at Monaco remains one of my favourite ever races! It was unbelievable to watch!

This years race was a cracker too though, and in the “Battle Of The Internet Connections”, I was happy enough to get 9th. Woop!

Unfortunately there is no 40% option.

Makes me even more sad that I disconnected when I did. I may not have had the pace of the top 3 (4, if you count Iamsa8), but a 1 stop strategy was more than feasible for me. I was able to look after the tyres a little better than at previous iterations of Monaco.