Monaco GP - A first for 2012 -Two Ferraris in the top ten on the grid
Monaco, 26 May
Fernando Alonso qualified second for the last round of the championship in Barcelona, so today’s sixth fastest time is not his best performance of the season, but with team-mate Felipe Massa making it through to the final Top Ten shoot-out for the first time in 2012, posting the seventh time of the afternoon, it was overall the best team performance for Scuderia Ferrari so far this year. And what better place to achieve this upturn in form, than at the famous Monegasque street circuit where overtaking is always difficult, whatever the strategy choices and whatever the tyre performance. Given that one of the strengths of the F2012 is its speed off the starting line when the lights go out, there is cause for optimism this afternoon in the Prancing Horse camp.
The Monegasque event always throws up the unexpected and it’s fair to say that not many people in the paddock had considered Michael Schumacher as a favourite contender for pole position. But sure enough, come the end of Q3, the most successful driver in the history of the sport and a five times winner here, had set the fastest time. However, even as he punched the air with delight, the Mercedes driver knew he would be starting tomorrow’s race from sixth place, because of a penalty given him after the last round of the championship in Spain. There is no room for sentimentality in sport and even though Team Principal Stefano Domenicali congratulated the German, the team will be happy that Fernando thus moves up one place to fifth and more importantly, goes across to the clean side of the track, straight ahead of Felipe.
So with the oldest man on the grid demoted to sixth, it leaves Mark Webber starting from pole position for Red Bull, with the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg alongside him. The second row sees Lewis Hamilton in third place for McLaren and Romain Grosjean fourth in the Lotus. Then we have Alonso and Schumacher sharing the third row, while Felipe finds himself on the inside of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Lotus on row 4. 78 laps of this 3.34 kilometre track always throws up something unexpected. Tomorrow will it come from the tyres, as Thursday’s rain means there is not much data for all the teams to work on relating to the durability of the Soft and Supersoft Pirellis, or will it come from the weather, given the Principality’s microclimate can often confuse the forecasters, or will the Monegasque roulette wheel stop in the Safety Car slot to add yet another possibility to the mix? The answers will start to come through after the lights go out above the grid shortly after 2 in the afternoon tomorrow. With both F2012s starting high up the grid, the Scuderia will be hoping to bring home a good points haul and possibly see a driver on the unique “Royal” podium alongside the start-finish line.
Fernando Alonso qualified second for the last round of the championship in Barcelona, so today’s sixth fastest time is not his best performance of the season, but with team-mate Felipe Massa making it through to the final Top Ten shoot-out for the first time in 2012, posting the seventh time of the afternoon, it was overall the best team performance for Scuderia Ferrari so far this year. And what better place to achieve this upturn in form, than at the famous Monegasque street circuit where overtaking is always difficult, whatever the strategy choices and whatever the tyre performance. Given that one of the strengths of the F2012 is its speed off the starting line when the lights go out, there is cause for optimism this afternoon in the Prancing Horse camp.
The Monegasque event always throws up the unexpected and it’s fair to say that not many people in the paddock had considered Michael Schumacher as a favourite contender for pole position. But sure enough, come the end of Q3, the most successful driver in the history of the sport and a five times winner here, had set the fastest time. However, even as he punched the air with delight, the Mercedes driver knew he would be starting tomorrow’s race from sixth place, because of a penalty given him after the last round of the championship in Spain. There is no room for sentimentality in sport and even though Team Principal Stefano Domenicali congratulated the German, the team will be happy that Fernando thus moves up one place to fifth and more importantly, goes across to the clean side of the track, straight ahead of Felipe.
So with the oldest man on the grid demoted to sixth, it leaves Mark Webber starting from pole position for Red Bull, with the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg alongside him. The second row sees Lewis Hamilton in third place for McLaren and Romain Grosjean fourth in the Lotus. Then we have Alonso and Schumacher sharing the third row, while Felipe finds himself on the inside of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Lotus on row 4. 78 laps of this 3.34 kilometre track always throws up something unexpected. Tomorrow will it come from the tyres, as Thursday’s rain means there is not much data for all the teams to work on relating to the durability of the Soft and Supersoft Pirellis, or will it come from the weather, given the Principality’s microclimate can often confuse the forecasters, or will the Monegasque roulette wheel stop in the Safety Car slot to add yet another possibility to the mix? The answers will start to come through after the lights go out above the grid shortly after 2 in the afternoon tomorrow. With both F2012s starting high up the grid, the Scuderia will be hoping to bring home a good points haul and possibly see a driver on the unique “Royal” podium alongside the start-finish line.
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