Monaco GP

Well folks, it's time for the most boring F1 race on the calendar (in my opinion). Despite the occasion and a quite spectacular location, the race is one I don't go out of my way to watch.

A Merc one two in quali and the race for me. With Rapper boy having signed his new 3 year deal, I expect him to dominate in quali and then in the race.

Quali -

1. Hamilton
2. Rosberg
3. Vettel

Race -

See above.

Don't forget, FP1 and FP2 are today.

Agree with your summary there. Ferrari could squeeze in between the Mercs, but on the whole, I doubt it.
Following the news that Ron "Man Manager" Dennis gave all the McLaren team a bollocking after Barcelona, I wonder if they will get any points this time around, probably despite his antics.
I have a slight feeling that there might be some shuntage over the weekend, given the driveability problems suffered by a lot of the midfield cars.

I'd read that 'Big Ron' had been in and done his motivational speech and kicked some bums. Sounds like Boullier will need to sit on a cushion this weekend.

Would be good to see Mclaren get a point, but if they fail to get into the top 10 shoot out in qualifying, it may prove difficult.

Hopefully there will be a safety car or 2 to spice the race up, not that I'll be watching....

Well i'm just sat waiting for my mate to pick me up, then we are road tripping it down to Monaco for the GP!

From reading online about our 'general admission' tickets and the predicted weather it looks like we're going to be hanging from the side of a cliff in the pouring rain all weekend!

Oh well, i'm sure our detour home via the Nurburgring will cheer us up!

I'm expecting a Mercedes one two, with Lewis on top!

+1.

Think I may try a rain dance in order to liven things up a bit!

I honestly believe f1 is fixed after what's just happened...

Well it certainly got my attention again for the end of the GP. As in the last race. It's scary what 2 or 3 seconds can do in a race. He certainly proved he can totally out drive Nico. So guess he do that in Canada.

Dull
Dull
Dull
Dull
Wtf, did Mercedes do to Lewis? I'd have put the car in the wall in the cool down lap in protest.

I'm gobsmacked

So was Lauda.

Verstappen is lucky not to be more seriously hurt; great drive from him until that point.
Just can't believe what Mercedes did! Lauda is so refreshingly candid.

Merc are very candid and, I think, mature. I think they've been a good influence on Hamilton.

I Agree with you, MRS.

Can't believe that Verstappen got a penalty for being brake tested by a struggling Grosjean!

I bet Lewis went straight to his apartment after the podium.
He must be totally livid.

Gutting for Lewis but he clearly has the measure of his teammate and I can't see anyone else beating him to the tile.

I agree about Merc being a good team for him. He's grown up a lot (notwithstanding the gold rope around his neck and diamond earrings) and he's a far cry from the "maybe it's because I'm black" Lewis of a few years ago

Like the late Michael Jackson, Lewis Hamilton seems to be lighter skinned these days although to a lesser degree.

Perhaps it's just my TV?

I read somewhere that Large John actually braked 5 metres later than the previous lap. But it's a shame MV got a penalty.

It's such a shame that Lewis lost this race. He was peerless and had it entirely wrapped up. Still, it makes the championship look a bit closer - if only on paper

I think it won't hurt Lewis in the long run. Nico will know he was gifted a win which will unlikely happen again with Lewis looking very focussed.

Yes - I think Lewis will actual take focus from it with his "new" state of mind

What Lewis needs to do now is to wipe the floor with Nico in Canada - no reason why he shouldn't, as its a decent circuit for the Merc and IIRC, Lewis handled his fuel usage better than Nico, despite going faster

Hamilton always seems to use very little fuel compared to the rest of the field - clear track and no 'dirty' air make is easier?

I was gutted when he dropped back to third. It would have been brilliant to see him get back infront but with hardly any laps left that seemed impossible. The annoying thing for me wasn't how long it took to fix the barrier, but the time it took to let back markers unlap themselves and then we lost another laps worth of racing.

The more I think about Sunday's Merc cock-up, the more I come to the inescapable conclusion that Monaco is nothing more than a demonstration race, which, more often than not, is won on the Saturday

Think about it - if Monaco wasn't on the calendar and submitted a proposal to Bernie, what would it sound like?

"Well, yes, its a bit narrow and twisty, which means the only way to overtake is in the pits. There's very little run-off areas, which means that any mistake is punished with a DNF at worst, or lost bodywork at best. Ah - its a bit short as well, but I guess that means the spectators will see the cars more often. Straight? - ah, yes - its not very straight and not very long...."

There must be a lot of money going Bernie's way, because the tradition side of the argument clearly doesn't hold much credence (several other "traditional" circuits have been dropped over the years)

For me though, if a car from the back of the grid can prevent a car from the front of the grid from getting past, its not a race, its a procession and if its not a race, its pointless as a competitive event. How many times have we seen a potentially exciting battle thwarted by a crafty driver placing his slow car very carefully ahead of a MUCH faster car

Somebody should start a petition to have the event dropped and replaced by an actual race

Rant over....

+1. Worst race in the season, and seeing a few big boats parked on the water doesn't make it any different. So spectacle my arse.

What I would like to see would be to maintain the race, but remove it from the championship and hold it in the form of a festival (a la Festival of Speed). You keep the glamour and the money; the drivers still get to test themselves on what (we are led to believe) they all see as the ultimate challenge, and the serious F1 fan can go and watch some proper motor racing somewhere instead of watching a very expensive traffic jam.
Sadly, this will never happen for any number of reasons.

Agreed Nigel - I've been saying for yonks its ridiculous to race there when the excuse for dropping Brands years ago was that it was because it was too narrow. The boats and bikinis' were lovely - I'm sure they will continue to love signing contracts there- but as a race - its rubbish. There no sympathy for the supposed 'History' at most of the other 'classic' circuits so why there.......I saw Senna's first win there in '87 which was terrific but its past its sell-by date nowadays.

Turns out that Merc originally told Hamilton to stay out, then changed their minds after he queried the decision.

D'Oh!

The team still made the decision but he may have precipitated it. Water under the bridge now.