2013 Monaco Grand Prix

[Juzh]

VET
ROS
WEB
ALO
RAI
HAM

[GrizzleBoy]

I honestly don't know if Lewis actually knows how to drive the Merc as well as Rosberg.

I've said it many a time before, but under braking his downshifts during races and even quali sounds like a car on an in lap.

Its unbelievably slow. It could just be a stylistic difference, but he never used that style in the McLaren.

are you serious?

You think that Lewis doesn't know how to drive the Merc as well yet he has so far had better results and you think its down to gearshifts? And you think even if that was the case its something him and his engineers have missed yet you picked up on it?

Monaco GP: Lewis Hamilton struggling to drive Mercedes:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22667887

Hamilton qualified second for Sunday's Monaco GP, beaten by team-mate Nico Rosberg for the third race in a row.

"I've been struggling all year. Considering it is a new car I've done pretty well, but I definitely seem to have been struggling as we've got into the season," he said.

He said he has been lacking confidence in the car during braking.

Continue reading the main story
“It is really just the uncertainty of what the brakes are going to do”

Lewis Hamilton

"Winter testing wasn't too bad and when we changed something in China it felt good and I got pole, so the confidence came. But that is the only race I've had that confidence, I don't know why," said Hamilton, who joined Mercedes for 2013 after six years with McLaren.

"It is really just the uncertainty of what the brakes are going to do. I think I solved it later in qualifying so let's hope for a good race tomorrow."

Looks like I was correct.

He does not know how to drive the Mercedes as well as Nico does.

I've said it on numerous occasions on numerous race weekends but it seemed there was nobody else picking up on his large change in style when it came to braking zones.

[ringo]

Honeslty I don't think rosberg will win this one. Looking at the lotus, it is weaker where rosberg is strongest, the last sector.
Not sure if the tyres go quicker in that sector than the others. but could be a tyre preservation thing Hamilton is trying or the Lotuses.
I feel rosberg may not be too good on the tyres. I'm expecting lewis to beat him on sunday. Alonso for Podium. I dont know how, but he'll do it.
However i feel with the other races, Hamilton will have Nico in his pocket. He's not a fast learner as Nico. He's putting the pieces together right now, but as soon as he get's it and pirelli bring the new tyres, i think it will be back to business.

Webber bins it again bty, I think he had a pole sitting car today.

[Dyanxx]

Can't help but remember schumi out qualifying rosberg here (and lots of other places) last year. As brundle pointed out recently on Twitter, rosberg's form this year underlines how fast a 43 year-old Schumacher still was.

Why do people keep posting about Schumacher? every single time Rosberg beats Hamilton something about him gets posted, let it go move on, he is no longer in F1..

[Jonnycraig]

Webber bins it again bty, I think he had a pole sitting car today.

Vettel should've been on pole, so yes Webber likely had a car capable of pole, he's just been slower than Vettel today.

[SilverArrow10]

As much as I like to think of excuses for Hamilton being beat by Rosberg but the fact is he is being beat, in qualifying of all things Hamilton's main advantage over button. I think Rosberg will have the upper hand tomorrow unless Hamilton sticks one up the inside in the first corner, If that happens then Hamilton will have the biggest confidence boost he needs to fly off into the distance. Tires Tires Tires are the only thing stopping them. A Mercedes win would be good and it will be amazing if they pull it off, and if it does happen I don't think its going to be my favourite driver doing it. Its going to be the pole man. I just hope Kimi outscores Vettel and takes the lead of the championship, would spice things up good.

[godlameroso]

The most critical areas in this track are all the subtle trail braking that needs to be done, it's probably why the Mercedes isn't eating up it's tires. Barcelona demands that you get on the gas early through long winding corners often at speeds above 150kph. This is what destroys the tires, and in Monaco the only places where this happens is the left hander going into Casino square and Tabac. The section after the hairpin going into the tunnel is the one that punishes the rears the most. The rest is mostly dealt with the front, tire management will still play a role, and I think that the Mercedes drivers could win races with the car they have but they can't adapt to the conditions as easily as other drivers. It's not the cars it's the drivers and the team to a certain extent.

Tomorrow Mercedes has a chance to win if it's cloudy and it remains cold, the natural tendency of their drivers to push like crazy will actually play into their hands instead of being their undoing.

We've seen in testing and it's been mentioned a lot here in this forum. If the tires are nursed at the start when they're most grippy they gain consistency at the expense of a slow start, if you push you get great one lap pace and rapid degradation afterwards. I think the drivers that can manage great gentle pace at the start can ease the tires into their operating window and extract the most from them.

[Bomber_Pilot]

Honeslty I don't think rosberg will win this one. Looking at the lotus, it is weaker where rosberg is strongest, the last sector.
Not sure if the tyres go quicker in that sector than the others. but could be a tyre preservation thing Hamilton is trying or the Lotuses.
I feel rosberg may not be too good on the tyres. I'm expecting lewis to beat him on sunday. Alonso for Podium. I dont know how, but he'll do it.
However i feel with the other races, Hamilton will have Nico in his pocket. He's not a fast learner as Nico. He's putting the pieces together right now, but as soon as he get's it and pirelli bring the new tyres, i think it will be back to business.

Webber bins it again bty, I think he had a pole sitting car today.

I think Alonso and Kimi have a chance for a podium tomorrow, but only if they stop once, while the guys in front would have to stop twice. But there is a lot of things that would have to go their way for that to happen. They would have to stay relatively close to RBs and Mercs till the first stops, while keeping their tires a bit more fresh and pit later. The temps will be a bit higher than today so that should help them a bit. If Rosberg starts strugling with the rears and holds up the guys behind him, even better. And it will be a lot about finding free air. If you get stuck behind someone once you get out of pits, you're screwed, because you have to be massively quicker, or the quy in front has to make a mistake for you to be able to overtake.

[iotar__]

Honeslty I don't think rosberg will win this one. Looking at the lotus, it is weaker where rosberg is strongest, the last sector.
Not sure if the tyres go quicker in that sector than the others. but could be a tyre preservation thing Hamilton is trying or the Lotuses.
I feel rosberg may not be too good on the tyres. I'm expecting lewis to beat him on sunday. Alonso for Podium. I dont know how, but he'll do it.
However i feel with the other races, Hamilton will have Nico in his pocket. He's not a fast learner as Nico. He's putting the pieces together right now, but as soon as he get's it and pirelli bring the new tyres, i think it will be back to business.

Webber bins it again bty, I think he had a pole sitting car today.

It's like we're watching different seasons. Seriously, what a bizarre explanation for Rosberg being, again, faster than Hamilton. He was faster in the last race, faster all weekend over one lap, his long stints pace was better. Based on all that Rosberg should be a favourite, if he leads after first corner, and only against another Merc. How can you turn it into some last sector, tyre saving "thing", is it really necessary? Hamilton is right up there, slightly behind but not far. As expected Rosberg is very quick over one lap, and more confident recently.

And LewHam not a fast leaner? Since when? I thought he was the one that could drive through all car's deficiencies, not minding set up like other mortal drivers. Maybe McLaren wasn't that bad for him after all.

What happened to Grosjean? He was fast the moment he came out of the box, so how did he lost out in Q2?

A shame it rained. If it didn't, the track record wouid have been broken.

Lotus sent him into traffic, so Raikkonen could continue to practice his race pace in Q3 without comparison and claim another questionable "100% extraction from the car". Even usually cheerleading team report doesn't sound convinced. At least RG's first lap in Q1 was pretty cool.

Van der Garde - the new Monaco specialist , Ferrari lost some pace, Red Bull gained some, without some bigger drama only RB can beat Merc if they fall apart. From the entertainment point of view I'm hoping for early Mercedes train

Edit: Q1 not Q2

[NathanOlder]

Horrible S3 cost Vettel pole.

I don't think that's the case. Vettel only lost 0.078 to Rosberg in the final sector. He lost out on pole position by 0.104.
Turns out it wasn't a horrible sector, and even if he matched Rosbergs sector time he still would have missed pole.

[Jonnycraig]

Horrible S3 cost Vettel pole.

I don't think that's the case. Vettel only lost 0.078 to Rosberg in the final sector. He lost out on pole position by 0.104.
Turns out it wasn't a horrible sector, and even if he matched Rosbergs sector time he still would have missed pole.

He was pounding in consistent 20.0's in FP3 as did Hamilton in Q3.

[f1316]

Can't help but remember schumi out qualifying rosberg here (and lots of other places) last year. As brundle pointed out recently on Twitter, rosberg's form this year underlines how fast a 43 year-old Schumacher still was.

Why do people keep posting about Schumacher? every single time Rosberg beats Hamilton something about him gets posted, let it go move on, he is no longer in F1..

Because for three years we heard that not being able to conclusively beat rosberg was a sign of not being that fast, and that Hamilton is the yardstick of out and out fastest etc.

But more importantly, in this specific moment, it's not unusual to remember the pole from last year's race - especially when set by the same car.

[NathanOlder]

Horrible S3 cost Vettel pole.

I don't think that's the case. Vettel only lost 0.078 to Rosberg in the final sector. He lost out on pole position by 0.104.
Turns out it wasn't a horrible sector, and even if he matched Rosbergs sector time he still would have missed pole.

He was pounding in consistent 20.0's in FP3 as did Hamilton in Q3.

Vettel's best in FP3 was a 20.402

Edit: Infact no one went below a 20.2 in FP3

[sAx]

Looks like I was correct.

He does not know how to drive the Mercedes as well as Nico does.

I've said it on numerous occasions on numerous race weekends but it seemed there was nobody else picking up on his large change in style when it came to braking zones.

His future look bright then if he can learn to drive the 0.091 seconds difference!

[Mika1]

Mercedes will win this race. Tyre deg isn't that bad here.