2013 Monaco Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg is absolutely killing it... haha, Lewis Hamilton, this one is going to be a lot tougher than you expected.

Sergio Perez outmaneuvered the American driver. 🙂

There was a time when Jarno Trulli was the one getting left in the dust, but mark my words—tomorrow it’ll be either a Mercedes-Benz or Nico Rosberg being left in the rearview mirror 🤣

Raymond Anderson4 said:Sebastian Vettel is taking the championship under these conditions.
It's more obvious than back in 2011, when he was clinching titles left and right.

Obviously. 😁

Mercedes-Benz on pole at a track where tire degradation is practically non-existent.
If they don't win tomorrow, they never will.
And Ross Brawn? He's an opportunist. He could just as easily sacrifice one driver for the sake of the win.

If there’s any actual brains left in that Mercedes-Benz garage, they’ll tell Lewis Hamilton to just hold up the pack and block everyone else, because if Nico Rosberg manages to pull away, he basically owes them big time for what happened in Malaysia

It’s all good, Sebastian Vettel. Just try not to tear up. 😂

graniteharbor502 said:1:13:... if you ask me. Or, well, assuming the weather holds out and we don't get rained out.

🙂

If Lewis Hamilton keeps this up, he might actually have a decent season to build some character.

He’ll either emerge from this mess like Luke Skywalker after training under that green gremlin, or he's just going to crack.

swiftstag66 said:If he keeps this up, Lewis Hamilton might actually find himself having a decent season to build some much-needed character.

He could emerge from all this trials and tribulations like Luke Skywalker after his training under that little green gremlin, or he might simply break under the pressure.

Indeed, I just finished listening to his interview over on Sky, and he’s making quite a point about being the fastest through sectors two and three. It is becoming increasingly apparent that it’s starting to get under his skin, seeing how Nico Rosberg is just absolutely running circles around him during qualifying.

Jason Campbell70 said:It's pretty clear. 😁

With Mercedes-Benz sitting on pole at a track where tire degradation is almost non-existent, they have everything going for them.
If they don't pull off a win tomorrow, they might never get another chance like this.
And let's be honest, Ross Brawn is an opportunist; he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice one driver to secure the result.

😁
Given how things were playing out back then...
I actually wrote another post about this here:

😁

Jason Campbell70 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBoqn_pwapI

It was likely some kind of brake issue.

Dammit, 😲 they haven't even released an official statement explaining what actually went wrong?

Douglas Parker61 said:Did they actually run more laps in these qualifying sessions than in any other qualifying session so far?

Well, they had to dry out the track—that’s why there were so many laps—and nobody wanted to take the risk of getting stuck deep in the gravel, especially since there isn't a race tomorrow.

jadeseal7 said:There was a time when Jarno Trulli was essentially a rolling roadblock—just a train that everyone had to deal with—but give it a day or two and either Mercedes-Benz will be the one pulling the freight, or Nico Rosberg is going to turn someone else into a total sitting duck. 🤣

It’s going to be quite the spectacle once those Mercedes-Benz drivers start shredding through their tires after just a few laps—mark my words. 🤣

I’m betting on at least two Safety Cars tomorrow.

darkmarlin16 said:Back when Olivier Panis took the win.

I think only four cars actually completed all the laps.

I still remember that race like it was this morning. I've actually got it recorded on VHS. Blažičko’s commentary was top-tier—especially that part where Max Irvin in the Ferrari refused to let the speeding Olivier Panis pass even under blue flags. He just kept crowding him for a few laps before forcing him into, I think Loevs, causing a collision. He had to pit, his engine died, and after two failed restarts, he finally rolled back onto the track a lap down—right in front of Olivier Panis, believe it or not.

If I recall correctly, Panis, David Coulthard, and Johnny Herbert finished all the laps, while Heinz-elke Frentzen pitted an extra lap early while sitting in P4 since nobody was there to overtake him.

Today's highlight has to be Grosjean's aggressive dive into Q2 🙏 absolute legend 🙏🙏

I have a feeling things are going to get pretty lively during Turn 1 tomorrow.
Lewis is going to come charging at Nico Rosberg right out of the gate ( 😢 ), and Sebastian Vettel has been showing some serious aggression in the opening turns this season.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso will likely just sit back, watch the chaos unfold, and pounce on whatever opportunity presents itself.
I honestly can't figure out where Fernando Alonso lost his pace.
He was hitting a 19.5 in Sector 1 on Thursday, but today he's down to a 19.7.
His performance in the second sector is looking just as sluggish.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I have a feeling things are going to get lively in Turn 1 tomorrow.
Lewis is going to go straight for Nice( 😢 ), and Sebastian Vettel has been incredibly aggressive in the opening turns this season.
Fernando will likely just sit back, watch the chaos unfold, and capitalize on whatever opportunity presents itself.
I honestly don't get where Fernando's pace went.
On Thursday he was hitting 19.5 in Sector 1, today it’s 19.7.
Sector 2 looks just as sluggish.

Lower track temperatures... does that mean more laps needed to get the tires up to temperature?

Jason Campbell70 said:A cooler track surface, which implies we might need even more laps to get those tires up to the optimal operating window?

With the forecast calling for a mere 64 degrees Fahrenheit tomorrow, shouldn't we anticipate seeing the maestro slip further down the order?🤣

To be perfectly honest, despite the persistent struggles with tire warm-up in these colder conditions, I fully expected Fernando Alonso to secure a spot in the top three...

I find myself quite disappointed, truth be told... ☕

Anything could happen tomorrow. That first corner is bound to be chaotic; one can only hope it doesn't mirror that GP2 disaster where half the field washed out in the opening turn, triggering an immediate red flag.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Nico is absolutely killing him... haha—Lewis, this might be tougher than you anticipated.

Look at it this way—Rosberg has been in the Mercedes-Benz for several seasons now and knows every single bolt—whereas Lewis is only six races into this new car. Even he admitted during the press conference today that he’s still struggling to find the right feel with the machine. Once everything clicks, I truly believe Lewis will be eating Rosberg for breakfast. Things should settle down soon enough.

analogpilot16 said:Look—Nico Rosberg has been in the Mercedes-Benz for a few seasons now and knows every single bolt on that car—whereas Lewis Hamilton is only six races into this new setup. He even admitted at the press conference today that he’s still struggling to find the rhythm with the car. Once everything clicks, Lewis is gonna eat Rosberg for breakfast. It'll all fall into place soon enough.

So what happened to that whole argument about how Hamilton is the "real" driver who doesn't need special settings and can just drive basically anything faster than anyone else?

Jason Campbell70 said:Now, let us examine the final practice session:
1. Nico Rosberg
2. Romain Grosjean +0.661
3. Sebastian Vettel +0.883
4. Fernando Alonso +0.908
5. Lewis Hamilton +0.933

If you set Rosberg aside, the rest of the field is incredibly tight.
Consequently, I would certainly not write off Fernando Alonso based on a gap of merely nine-tenths of a second.

Regrettably... that 0.9-second gap seems to be the realistic deficit for Ferrari against Mercedes-Benz... the top three are within a single tenth, but after that, we see an entirely different tier of drivers.