McLaren were the favourites but Massa takes the pole in a Ferrari front row lock-out

[MikeLane]

Monaco Grand Prix

Monaco Grand Prix
Street Circuit, Monte Carlo
Round 6
May 24, 2008

By: Mike Lane, F1 Correspondent

This is the most famous and glamorous date on the calendar. It is also a great test of driver and car setup.

The circuit twists around the narrow streets of Monaco and a lap is 3.340 km (2.06 mls) long.

The lap record is held by Michael Schumacher (2004) at 1min14.439 secs.

In the final practice this morning, the McLarens looked very strong and Nico Rosberg was particularly outstanding for Williams.




QUALIFYING



With Ferrari appearing to be on the back foot and Felipe Massa suggesting this was a circuit, which was not amongst his favourites, we started the first qualifying session.

Without traction control this year, driver precision was going to be at a premium as well as drivability of the cars.

First car out to set a time was the Red Bull of David Coultard in 1min 18.539secs but he stayed out for a second lap and went better in 1min 17.734secs. This was a pattern repeated by other cars and clearly after the rain in the morning the track was getting faster as rubber was laid down by the cars.

With less than 9 minutes to go Lewis Hamilton had his first try and put in a 1min 15.582secs but this was bettered by his team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen in 1min 15.295secs.

As the first qualifying session came to an end it was Felipe Massa who went fastest on a 1min 15.190secs, whilst Nelsinho Piquet kissed the barrier at the entrance to the tunnel. The car did not appear to be damaged and he was able to continue.

The first drivers to be eliminated in this session were Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso), Nelsinho Piquet (Renault), Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso), Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India).

Toro Rosso came to this weekend with a new car but it was a risk that did not pay off in qualifying.

As the second qualifying session began it was Fernando Alonso who was first to set a time but this was more than a second slower than Massa in the first part of qualifying.

When Massa took the track for his first attempt in this session he immediately improved his time to 1min 15.110secs. Kimi Raikkonen was second quickest and then Hamilton third some 3/10ths slower than Massa.

With less than two minutes to go in this session Hamilton improved his time but Rosberg put in a stunning lap of 1min 15.287secs to go second. The early promise in the practice sessions seemed to be confirmed but by contrast his team-mate, Kazuki Nakajima, was in the drop-zone at 15th place.

As the session ended and those cars still on a hot lap made their final attempt, Coultard hit the barrier on the right hand side as he exited the tunnel at about 180mph. The back end of the car seemed to suddenly step out and launched him into the barrier as he approached the chicane by the harbour. The Red Bull ran a long way down the run-off road before coming to a halt. Thankfully Coultard was uninjured but would take no further part in qualifying.

The drivers eliminated in this session were Timo Glock (Toyota), Jenson Button (Honda), Nick Heidfeld (BMW), Nakajima (Williams) and Rubens Barrichello (Honda).

Finally the third session commenced with nine cars contesting pole, Coultard being unable to take part.

Expectations were on Hamilton to put in a special lap and he appeared to be massively quick in the first and third sectors.

As the session reached it’s climax Hamilton seemed to be losing time in the second sector but everywhere else he was flying.

Into the last minute and the final attempt Raikkonen led the times and once again Hamilton lost out in that second sector to finish behind him. But it was Massa who was to emerge victorious with a 1min 15.787secs lap to give him pole position for tomorrow’s race.

The result could not have been closer with 5/100ths of a second separating the first three places but here at Monaco pole position is essential and Ferrari have the front row controlled.

Tomorrow’s top ten grid order will be:-

Felipe Massa (Ferrari)…………1min15.787secs
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)……..1min 15.815secs
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)…...1min 15.839secs
Hekki Kovalainen (McLaren….1min 16.165secs
Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber)..1min 16.171secs
Nico Rosberg (Williams)……...1min 16.548secs
Fernando Alonso (Renault)……1min 16.852secs
Jarno Trulli (Toyota)…………..1min 17.203secs
Mark Webber (Red Bull)………1min 17.343secs
David Coultard (Red Bull)…….No Time


So now we have McLaren on the back foot for tomorrow’s race with the front row of the grid dominated by Ferrari. This was a great pole by Massa considering this is not one of his favourite tracks and with overtaking at Monaco being notoriously difficult it will be an uphill struggle for McLaren now.

This was a great day for Rosberg with his 6th place especially when you see his team-mate was 14th.

The other surprise was Heidfeld in a lowly 13th place compared to team-mate, Kubica in 5th. I wonder if he had a problem with the car.

This is a very special venue for a grand prix and I look forward to tomorrow’s race.

Mike Lane

F1 Correspondent

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Ferrari came to Monte Carlo hoping for a much better showing than they managed in 2007, when the McLarens ran rings round them, and with Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen sitting on the front row, they got off to a great start in qualifying on Saturday.

Massa lapped in 1m 15.787s to snatch pole from Raikkonen (1m 15.815s) in the dying seconds, and if he wins on Sunday he will be the first Ferrari driver to do so from pole here since Jody Scheckter in 1979. The South African, it should perhaps be noted, also went on to win that year’s title.

Lewis Hamilton looked set for second place on the grid with 1m 15.839s for McLaren, until Massa’s late run. He shares the second row with team mate Heikki Kovalainen, who lapped in 1m 16.165s and is likely to be running a little bit more fuel.

Robert Kubica was his customary fifth with 1m 16.171s for BMW Sauber, while Nico Rosberg carried his excellent practice form into qualifying with sixth on the grid for Williams in 1m 16.548s.

Fernando Alonso lined his Renault up in seventh place with 1m 16.852s, while Red Bull’s Mark Webber and David Coulthard were eighth and 10th. But where the Australian lapped his RB4 in 1m 17.343s, the Scot did not actually participate in Q3 after crashing heavily at the end of Q2 as he exited the tunnel. Whether the cause was car or driver has yet to be established, but thankfully the Scot was unharmed, and starts 10th on the strength of his lap of 1m 15.839s from Q2.

Between them sits Jarno Trulli, who recovered his momentum after his various problems this weekend to fractionally outqualify Toyota team mate Timo Glock. The Italian lapped in 1m 17.203s. The German is right behind him on 1m 15.907s as the 11th fastest man in Q2. Jenson Button was Honda’s leader on 1m 16.101s, chased by an unhappy Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber (1m 16.455s), Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima (1m 16.479s) and Honda’s Rubens Barrichello (1m 16.537s).

Q1 had earlier accounted for the Toro Rossos, the Force Indias and the unfortunate Nelson Piquet in the second Renault. Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais just missed out after a lap of 1m 16.806s left him adrift of Nakajima’s 1m 16.756s, then came Piquet (1m 16.933s) and Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel (1m 16.955s), who will drop five places on the grid on account of the new gearbox in his STR3.

Force India’s Adrian Sutil (1m 17.225s) and Giancarlo Fisichella (1m 17.823s) completed the order, with the latter looking set to start his 200th Grand Prix from last place after receiving a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change on his VJM01.