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Kopite Girl

Monaco Gp

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About free practice 1 & 2, impressed with Mercedes's call on the shorter wheelbase, though it inevitably entailed Schumi trailing Nico (in the 2nd one). Impressed with Kubica's showing as well. Ferrari, please take him soon, so he can stuff Alonso's a##. Seems Red Bull doesn't have that much of an advantage on this track. If my memory serves me right, this track has served Force India relatively well & indications this time are the same. Going by the times, Hamilton doesn't seem too hopeful of a victory, ergo his "will fight for podium". Tragi-comical to see HRT slower than GP2 cars.

Strangely enough, wheelbase doesn't really matter much these days (at Monaco). The cars make the tight turns mostly with diff settings, regardless of wheelbase. That being said, when looking at Mercedes you need to be thinking of the weight over the tyres more than the longer wheelbase (tho the latter does dictate the former). The car they ran is Spain would be just as good as the old layout from before; the only difference (as you've pointed out) is which driver will be ahead.

Merc have an interesting problem this season. Each driver wants a car that will adversely affect the other driver. I'm not sure the rules allow them to run two different chassis configurations at one race. If so, that's the obvious short-term solution. Give Nico the old car and give Mikey the new one. Of course that would double the work of the boys and girls in the factory because they'd be updating two cars instead of one, with each car requiring a different solution. I see Merc's problems being solved, ultimately, by replacing one of their drivers with someone who matches the driving style of the remaining driver. Trouble is, most teams think a driver is a driver and don't really analyze their styles.

Hamilton always professes his love of Monaco, but rarely does well here. He pushes too hard. I don't see this year, with Button clearly a challenge to him, the year in which we see Hamilton relax and drive this circuit like it should be driven. Monaco is a bit like sex. There are moments of soft caress and calculated slow pushing and there are moments of fast action. The wise will know when to apply each. Hamilton is still young and inexperienced.

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Hmm I don't know if you were exaggerating intentionally, however it is very possible to overtake in Monaco - if anything it's easier than in Barcelona. Takes balls though.

I was exaggerating intentionally, of course, just to make a point about meaningless practice times. I also said "if he is good enough at defensive driving".

Yes, of course you can overtake at Monaco, there are plenty of examples. But, like you said, you need balls, and you can't just go zig zagging and dribbling cars here and there. Recovering from a bad qualifying at Monaco is very, very difficult. And having a bad qualifying lap in these days is easier than in previous years...

In any case, it is a win-win situation for us spectators, unless it is Kubica who gets to start from the back in which case I will just say "Bah, nowadays F1 is all about politics" and stop watching it altogether. :D

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Indeed. Sainte Devote and the Nouvelle Chicane are two great placed for ballsy overtakes. Kimi and Hamilton are both masters at Sainte Devote. Also the run up to Beau Rivage could see some overtaking.

Uh oh, I think Schumi had a moment or two at Nouvelle Chicane in FP2. Perhaps something to do with an understeering car. Wait, understeering?

Strangely enough, wheelbase doesn't really matter much these days (at Monaco). The cars make the tight turns mostly with diff settings, regardless of wheelbase. That being said, when looking at Mercedes you need to be thinking of the weight over the tyres more than the longer wheelbase (tho the latter does dictate the former). The car they ran is Spain would be just as good as the old layout from before; the only difference (as you've pointed out) is which driver will be ahead.

Merc have an interesting problem this season. Each driver wants a car that will adversely affect the other driver. I'm not sure the rules allow them to run two different chassis configurations at one race. If so, that's the obvious short-term solution. Give Nico the old car and give Mikey the new one. Of course that would double the work of the boys and girls in the factory because they'd be updating two cars instead of one, with each car requiring a different solution. I see Merc's problems being solved, ultimately, by replacing one of their drivers with someone who matches the driving style of the remaining driver. Trouble is, most teams think a driver is a driver and don't really analyze their styles.

Hamilton always professes his love of Monaco, but rarely does well here. He pushes too hard. I don't see this year, with Button clearly a challenge to him, the year in which we see Hamilton relax and drive this circuit like it should be driven. Monaco is a bit like sex. There are moments of soft caress and calculated slow pushing and there are moments of fast action. The wise will know when to apply each. Hamilton is still young and inexperienced.

Your tech know-how is impressive, seriously.

If the rules don't allow for different cars, it's sad. Wish each guy would get his own car. Bummer. As for the solution of getting a new driver to fit one of the existing ones, it does make me squirm uncomfortably. If Schu stays on, he'll get slagged for 'going crying to papa 'cos Nico beat him up'. If Schu gets the heave, expect an avalanche of 'I told you he was past his prime'. Damned either way.

Hamilton & Monaco...ah well, isn't his helmet festooned with Steinmetz diamonds, as usual?

And, superb analogy.

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I was exaggerating intentionally, of course, just to make a point about meaningless practice times.

Saturday warm up times are quite useful, and even Friday - not the top times parroted by the press, but if you go find the FIA release that enumerates every single lap every driver did, and stint times - there is a lot that you can glean from that. Takes some effort that's all :)

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Strangely enough, wheelbase doesn't really matter much these days (at Monaco).

Hamilton always professes his love of Monaco, but rarely does well here. He pushes too hard. I don't see this year, with Button clearly a challenge to him, the year in which we see Hamilton relax and drive this circuit like it should be driven. Monaco is a bit like sex. There are moments of soft caress and calculated slow pushing and there are moments of fast action. The wise will know when to apply each. Hamilton is still young and inexperienced.

I don't think the inexperienced excuse is valid for Hamilton any more. He's a bit too wild for Monaco.

And I would think wheelbase would always matter in a place like Monaco.

And saying that the Mercedes car goes one way or the other, that changes for Schumacher hurt Rosberg is a very simplistic and ultimately wrong way of looking at the situation.

I'll go into this in detail later..

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Saturday warm up times are quite useful, and even Friday - not the top times parroted by the press, but if you go find the FIA release that enumerates every single lap every driver did, and stint times - there is a lot that you can glean from that. Takes some effort that's all :)

Yes, but I am too lazy so I rely on James Allen's analysis and save me some time (I find it embarrasing to become so Allen addicted lately, but he does a good job as a blogger, his years on TV were a waste). He usually does a good analysis of the lap by lap times and stints.

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I don't think the inexperienced excuse is valid for Hamilton any more. He's a bit too wild for Monaco

Indeed

And I would think wheelbase would always matter in a place like Monaco.

More indeed

And saying that the Mercedes car goes one way or the other, that changes for Schumacher hurt Rosberg is a very simplistic and ultimately wrong way of looking at the situation.

I'll go into this in detail later..

Even more indeed. Just to restore the natural balance of things, though, I will add that I still think you are a filthy vermin.

Ahh, that felt good! :D

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My darkhorse for the weekend is Kubica. I expect good things from him.

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My darkhorse for the weekend is Kubica. I expect good things from him.

My chartreuseblobfish for the weekend is Trulli. I expect him to be shite.

302963_0.jpg

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Strangely enough, wheelbase doesn't really matter much these days (at Monaco). The cars make the tight turns mostly with diff settings, regardless of wheelbase. That being said, when looking at Mercedes you need to be thinking of the weight over the tyres more than the longer wheelbase (tho the latter does dictate the former). The car they ran is Spain would be just as good as the old layout from before; the only difference (as you've pointed out) is which driver will be ahead.

Merc have an interesting problem this season. Each driver wants a car that will adversely affect the other driver. I'm not sure the rules allow them to run two different chassis configurations at one race. If so, that's the obvious short-term solution. Give Nico the old car and give Mikey the new one. Of course that would double the work of the boys and girls in the factory because they'd be updating two cars instead of one, with each car requiring a different solution. I see Merc's problems being solved, ultimately, by replacing one of their drivers with someone who matches the driving style of the remaining driver. Trouble is, most teams think a driver is a driver and don't really analyze their styles.

Hamilton always professes his love of Monaco, but rarely does well here. He pushes too hard. I don't see this year, with Button clearly a challenge to him, the year in which we see Hamilton relax and drive this circuit like it should be driven. Monaco is a bit like sex. There are moments of soft caress and calculated slow pushing and there are moments of fast action. The wise will know when to apply each. Hamilton is still young and inexperienced.

Great post, Mike - very intuitive. Having been to every race here since 1987, I deduced long ago that 'smoothing it' around these streets is the only way to go. Get too aggressive and you'll likely bin it, go too slow, like Senna did in '88, [albeit under team orders] and you lose concentration, hit the barriers and Goodnight. Merc's problem is certainly of their own making. Rosberg is their long-term hope - I believe he could be a double or triple WDC with the team moulded around him. There are all sorts of rumours in the paddock here, mostly concerning the Scuderia and Massa. Webber and Kubica are favourites to replace him but I heard last night that Rosberg may be RBR-bound with Sutil replacing him. Traditionally, this used to be the race were all the driver deal's were done but it's just a glamourous rumour mill nowadays. There was another rumour concerning Hispania, in that Charlie Whiting had thought it too dangerous for them to take part in Quali here as they were the best part of six seconds off the pace in P1 & 2. I find that hard to believe. He's already dismissed the driver's concerns about this in Barca last week. JB has called for everyone to 'keep their heads' today. A responsible move from the the current WDC - I wonder if Lewis heard him? Just bring back the 107% rule guys - it's that simple. For me, Chandok is a very impressive young man, in the car and out of it and would do a good job at Force India if either pilot moves on.

Of course, I would like to see Jens do well here but the Ferraris, Bulls and Kubica look very strong and as usual, it will be a matter of first come, first served. I can also tell you that I am writing this in the rooftop restaurant of the Fairmont, [formerly Loews] and the sky is a clear azure blue, the sun blazing. It's around 14C and I can see that over on the breakfast buffet, the nice Vietnamese lady chef is just finishing off my egg white and goats cheese omelette so, I'm going to sign off. The official forecast is for a dry race with a 15-20% chance of rain. A little of the latter is probably what we need but I reckon it's probably going to be a 'snoozer'. It's way past time to ditch all this aero crap and get back to racing. STOP PRESS: HRT are in serious financial trouble and it's Bernie to the rescue. Not unexpected but what level of 'due diligence' investigation are the FIA operating here?

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Sad about Alonso's crash in FP3. Couldn't he have crashed in quali or race?

Kubica continues to impress. Hope he wins here. And seems Macca has revved up the game after being somewhat listless in earlier FPs. Looks like Schu's getting more & more comfy with the car. Toro Rosso 8th?? Wow, and more surprising it wasn't Mena Suvari! Hope TR also does well.

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Alonso Dumbass of the Season so far.

Mr. Mistakes, Australia, China and Monaco. Where he was ready for a good weekend.

The mistake today is not even a rookie's mistake.

Shame on you, Alonso!!!!

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I think there's only one thing Alonso can do tomorrow as he is going to start from the pit-lane. A quick pit-stop in the first lap of the race and then pray for SC's, rain, earthquakes... I hope Ferrai agrees on that with me. mad.gif

[EDIT]

Marc Gené said the Ferrari is very very gentle with the tyres so I would expect they think the harder compound could last nearly the whole race.

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Nice one Webs! Lets make it two in a row!!!

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Uh oh, a spat between Schumi & Rosie? Schumi said Rosie blocked him in his flying lap, and apparently Rosie had conceded (indirectly) the same beforehand, saying he had made lots of mistakes and was superslow in his flying lap. Still, Schumi is only 0.046 off, much better than the earlier races. Hope Schumi makes short work of the ladyboy at the start. The odd-numbered cars on the grid have the clean side, I hope?

Good show by Marko, again! And bravo, Kubi! Pleasant surprise to see Massa at 4th. Poor one by Button.

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He was filling in for a crash test dummy in FP3.

It seems Ferrari are jinxed.... ever since that domino man has taken over....:thbdn:

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It seems Ferrari are jinxed.... ever since that domino man has taken over....thbdn.gif

Alonso's jinxed himself. He's Mister Mistakes 2010 so far and we're talking about 3 rookie's mistakes: Australia, China and Monaco. After 6 races he's made 3 totally unnecessary mistakes. Let's see what he can achieve tomorrow.

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My bad, Jenson didn't do poorly. Says he was held up by Massa.

When Jenson starts making excuses, I cringe. Massa didn't see him and that's unforgivable at this level but when he can't get heat in his tyres, his head goes down. I don't want to see that - that was yesterday. He's been in a positive frame of mind for most of this season and he needs to whine at the team and not his colleagues. The MP-25 is not good enough compared to the Bulls and McLaren need to act - fast.

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Alonso's jinxed himself. He's Mister Mistakes 2010 so far and we're talking about 3 rookie's mistakes: Australia, China and Monaco. After 6 races he's made 3 totally unnecessary mistakes. Let's see what he can achieve tomorrow.

Well its a Gandalf Track... he wont go anywhere from the Pitlane start. Except it rains or some rookie makes mistake and there is an accident....

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When Jenson starts making excuses, I cringe. Massa didn't see him and that's unforgivable at this level but when he can't get heat in his tyres, his head goes down. I don't want to see that - that was yesterday. He's been in a positive frame of mind for most of this season and he needs to whine at the team and not his colleagues. The MP-25 is not good enough compared to the Bulls and McLaren need to act - fast.

he is learning the whining tricks from his team mate...

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Well, well...first I am glad I just got my Internet back (darn Cable operator decided to cut my internet and cable signal due to an administrative mistake...I still got no cable, but at least internet is back) I had to go to my mother's house to watch Qualy (wouldn't miss it for the world!)

Amazing to see Nando losing so many valuable points. This time there are no excuses, it was his own doing and he admitted so. Australia was bad. China was clever. Monaco is unforgivable. The good thing is that I will not have to see Ferrari winning at Monaco...sorry, Felipinho, I know you did well today but I lost some confidence on your skills. Even with all my admiration for Alonso's changes in his personality these past two years, I still think it is very possible that he will eventually crash during the race losing his patience behind some car fighting for 12th place or so. Unless...Flavio is there...and Massa is under pressure because of his contract...mmmh...I think Anthony Nogues is a perfect place for a crash and SC... :the_finger:

But, thankfully, Kubica was perfect! :D And Petrov was doing an excellent job so far until he crashed. Good for Webbo too...the wunderkid is being given a run for his money from the guy everybody wanted to see retired years ago! (ahem...that doesn't jeopardize my job as a moderator at the debate, right?) :unsure:

Fingers crossed for a Reno at the podium!! One of my boys starting from first row and the other from the last one. Monaco, I hate you because I can't help but love you.

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FFS Red Bull again on pole!!! Renault making a leap forward, top 3 cars are powered by em! Well done Kubica! Schumi 7th, shocking :P ! Vettel unhappy with car but still 3rd, poor Nando!

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