1446 replies to this topic

[TomNokoe]

Race day in Monaco! Race start 2pm BST / 3pm CEST (2 hours 45 minutes from this post)

 

It's a Leclerc-Max front row! But will Charles' gearbox survive the night? Bottas-Sainz share the second row, both believed they were destined for pole, are they destined for victory?

 

Can anyone outside the first two rows get involved in the podium scrap? How far (if at all) will Hamilton climb?

 

Even if it's the fastest procession in racing, I wouldn't miss it for the world!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by TomNokoe, 23 May 2021 - 10:19.

[ConsiderAndGo]

Cannot wait. Likely Ferrari’s only opportunity to win this year.

[Marklar]

Ferrari just confirmed that Leclerc will start from pole btw

[Unicast]

Cannot wait. Likely Ferrari’s only opportunity to win this year.

If we will be competitive here, I see no reason why we should not also compete in Hungary & Singapore.

[TomNokoe]

It could be a great weekend for Italy with a Eurovision-Monaco double!

[Unicast]

Ferrari just confirmed that Leclerc will start from pole btw

Though race ahead for ferrari & leclerc. It will be interesting to watch, how Ferrari will navigate this complicated race.

[ANF]

Ferrari just confirmed that Leclerc will start from pole btw

On which lap will they discover the gearbox damage?

[Unicast]

On which lap will they discover the gearbox damage?

It would be stupid to risk it and also put the driver in jeopardy... Ferrari would not be so stupid to do that... There are things which are too important to ignore.

Edited by Unicast, 23 May 2021 - 10:25.

[Heyli]

Ferrari just confirmed that Leclerc will start from pole btw

I see an historical stuck in 1st gear win incoming!

 

I wouldnt mind if the starting order is also the finishing order. Ferrari has been punished enough for 2019, and I like their driver lineup, so a LeClerc win in Monaco would be nice. If it makes the championship standing a bit closer agian, that's a nice result.

[SophieB]

Ferrari just confirmed that Leclerc will start from pole btw

Thanks, Marklar.

[cheekybru]

Don't mind me, doing Lewis a rain dance

[Cliff]

It would be stupid to risk it and also put the driver in jeopardy... Ferrari would not be so stupid to do that... There are things which are too important to ignore.

I don’t know, say if there’s a 65% chance it survives the race and it’s realistically your only chance to win a race this year, I know what I would do...

[Heyli]

Don't mind me, doing Lewis a rain dance

Only works if you upload it on youtube and share the link here.

[geralt]

Ferrari is in a very strong position to dictate the strategy today with 2 cars at the front. I assume Leclerc will control the pace at the front so that Verstappen won't be able to undercut him. They could also have Sainz pit early to force Max/Bottas to react or even pit Leclerc first and going long with Sainz. Will be interesting what they do in that regard

[Marklar]

I don’t know, say if there’s a 65% chance it survives the race and it’s realistically your only chance to win a race this year, I know what I would do...

especially in Monaco where you can win with a handicap if you have track position. From Ferrari's perspective every risk is worth it imo

[SophieB]

especially in Monaco where you can win with a handicap if you have track position. From Ferrari's perspective every risk is worth it imo

Yeah, Ricciardo still won with like, half the engine no longer working.

[KWSN - DSM]

Any even remote chance of precipitation?

[ARTGP]

Ferrari is in a very strong position to dictate the strategy today with 2 cars at the front. I assume Leclerc will control the pace at the front so that Verstappen won't be able to undercut him. They could also have Sainz pit early to force Max/Bottas to react or even pit Leclerc first and going long with Sainz. Will be interesting what they do in that regard

But Red Bull know that as long as they stay glued to the gearbox of Charles, Ferrari is not going to put Sainz in front of Leclerc at his home race. Leclerc won’t have Singapore happen to him twice. Feels like Sainz is in a bit of an awkward spot. Ferrari won’t want to have him undercut Leclerc.

Edited by ARTGP, 23 May 2021 - 10:36.

[SagemX]

Any even remote chance of precipitation?

Nope, shame the race isn't tomorrow, forecast has it raining all morning into the afternoon

[ARTGP]

especially in Monaco where you can win with a handicap if you have track position. From Ferrari's perspective every risk is worth it imo

Agree, but gearboxes tend to have a different kind of “handicap” when they go bad. Lol. Nevertheless, I’d still rather risk retirement than the grid drop.

Edited by ARTGP, 23 May 2021 - 10:40.

[Ultraviolet]

Any even remote chance of precipitation?

Doesn't look like it.

 

I think it could get a bit tasty at the front. Max and Leclerc have both had significant crashes here. I definitely don't see them both making the finish, and would not be surprised if neither does. Apart from anything else, it would be on a par with the way Lewis's luck goes, that he has a terrible weekend and still walks away with an increased championship lead.

 

If I am right about that, all bets are off as to what happens behind them, but I have a sneaking suspicion Norris could slip through the mess and claim his maiden win. I'd love to see it.

[Goron3]

Lewis just needs to run super long, right? Gamble on a safety car and pick up the pace once Gasly and Norris box?

[KWSN - DSM]

If Leclerc and Verstappen makes it through the first corner without tangling - and I do not expect them to tangle - Then whoever is in front going up the hill, and no car issues will win the race.

[Anja]

If I am right about that, all bets are off as to what happens behind them, but I have a sneaking suspicion Norris could slip through the mess and claim his maiden win. I'd love to see it.

 

I'm thinking the same about Sainz. 

[Dutchrudder]

Lewis just needs to run super long, right? Gamble on a safety car and pick up the pace once Gasly and Norris box?

Yep, plus, he’ll have eyes on the big picture for the championship, a 5th place finish here, for instance, could be the difference between him and Max come the end of the year vs binning it and getting nothing.

Also up front, LeClerc has never finished a race in Monaco in any category, Max has had his mishaps here too.

Can’t see Lewis jeopardising points with any banzai moves here.

[RC127]

Yes please for a Norris win, I would collect a very tidy sum if that happened!!!

[sportyskells]

So far today we seen 2 red flags in the support races

[Gambelli]

Lewis just needs to run super long, right? Gamble on a safety car and pick up the pace once Gasly and Norris box?

 

I just hope the Sky commentators don't spend the race obsessed with hypothesising what Lewis needs to do to leapfrog the competitors around him, like they are there for the Lewis Hamilton show.  They have done it before, but I have to admit they have toned it down considerably over the last couple of years.

 

They'll turn it back up a notch today because it has championship implications, which is fine and makes sense, but they have to tread the fine line of not disrespecting the race of his competitors in the process, after all, all they are thinking about themselves and how to outmanoeuvre their competitors, not about how it might be nice to let Lewis past to get on with things.

[Donkey]

Yep, plus, he’ll have eyes on the big picture for the championship, a 5th place finish here, for instance, could be the difference between him and Max come the end of the year vs binning it and getting nothing.

Also up front, LeClerc has never finished a race in Monaco in any category, Max has had his mishaps here too.

Can’t see Lewis jeopardising points with any banzai moves here.

Yeah Lewis has a wise head these days. He knows the Merc does not have the pace for whatever reason.

 

TBH I doubt Mercedes will try to do anything weird with the pitstop. I am sure Ham will pit +/-1 lap of the guys around him. Could make up a place in the pitstop if he is lucky but other than that 5th place is the best he can hope for barring retirements/crashes.

 

Perez might feel pressured to try and make something happen and he has form for doing silly things at Monaco which could result in tears.

Edited by Donkey, 23 May 2021 - 11:01.

[TomNokoe]

To be honest, I don't know how long Lewis will be able to run. The Softs do look more durable this year, but I'm sure once we get to the pit stops they'll be very second hand.

His best bet is a unique traffic situation where Norris and Gasly are stuck, meaning he has the pit window for P5 locked, and then runs ridiculously long to the point where he's leading the train of the top 5 having not pit, waiting for a red flag.

Although if this does happen, I'm sure race control's trigger finger for red flags in recent years will suddenly disappear.

[Gambelli]

Race day in Monaco! Race start 2pm BST / 3pm CEST (2 hours 45 minutes from this post)

 

It's a Leclerc-Max front row! But will Charles' gearbox survive the night? Bottas-Sainz share the second row, both believed they were destined for pole, are they destined for victory?

 

Can anyone outside the first two rows get involved in the podium scrap? How far (if at all) will Hamilton climb?

 

Even if it's the fastest procession in racing, I wouldn't miss it for the world!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Melbourne?  **** Melbourne!

 

Put Sydney on the map!

[Gambelli]

Yeah Lewis has a wise head these days. He knows the Merc does not have the pace for whatever reason.

 

TBH I doubt Mercedes will try to do anything weird with the pitstop. I am sure Ham will pit +/-1 lap of the guys around him. Could make up a place in the pitstop if he is lucky but other than that 5th place is the best he can hope for barring retirements/crashes.

 

Perez might feel pressured to try and make something happen and he has form for doing silly things at Monaco which could result in tears.

 

Redbull need to use Perez to pull Hamilton into an earlier pitstop, that will be Perez's job surely, to trigger early stops for those at the mid pack of the top 10.  He could go the opposite way and run right to the extent of the tyres, but I'm not sure that works for anything where his job will solely bev to put Hamilton off plan.

[krapmeister]

Melbourne?  **** Melbourne!

 

Put Sydney on the map!

 

It's always Melbourne - I assume because it hosts the Australian GP

[ANF]

Drivers' parade coming up!

 

[Anderis]

If we will be competitive here, I see no reason why we should not also compete in Hungary & Singapore.

Honestly I didn't pay that much attention in the last few years but I remember from around 2008 that the idea that cars that were competitive around Monaco should also be competitive around Hungary proved to be complete bollocks. There seemed to be very little corelation between who was competitive on those 2 circuits.

[Dratini]

But Red Bull know that as long as they stay glued to the gearbox of Charles, Ferrari is not going to put Sainz in front of Leclerc at his home race. Leclerc won’t have Singapore happen to him twice. Feels like Sainz is in a bit of an awkward spot. Ferrari won’t want to have him undercut Leclerc.

If Ferrari are more concerned about who wins than that they win, then they deserve to lose.
 

[Misk]

Honestly I didn't pay that much attention in the last few years but I remember from around 2008 that the idea that cars that were competitive around Monaco should also be competitive around Hungary proved to be complete bollocks. There seemed to be very little corelation between who was competitive on those 2 circuits.

I think it all comes from the infamous Murray Walker comment that Hungary is "Monaco without the houses". There are a few occasions where there's been a correspondance such as 2017, where Ferrari scored their only 1-2s of the season at Monaco and Hungary, and 2007 where McLaren were utterly domminant at the two tracks, but on the whole there seems to be little correlation otherwise I agree.

[Marklar]

with the amount of people saying that Lewis will be careful for the WDC I now fully expect him to crash lol

(let it be Norris for the obligatory twitch rant in a few days)

Edited by Marklar, 23 May 2021 - 11:20.

[ARTGP]

If Ferrari are more concerned about who wins than that they win, then they deserve to lose.
 

 

I get it, the obvious play is pit Sainz, then use Leclerc to back everybody up so Sainz gets a massive undercut.  But you know Leclerc will never go for that...So Ferrari might as well get on board with trying to make sure Leclerc wins. 

Edited by ARTGP, 23 May 2021 - 11:24.

[TauriJ]

Lewis just needs to run super long, right? Gamble on a safety car and pick up the pace once Gasly and Norris box?

But he has no pace...

[CSF]

Can Alonso beat the Haas'?

[Donkey]

Honestly I didn't pay that much attention in the last few years but I remember from around 2008 that the idea that cars that were competitive around Monaco should also be competitive around Hungary proved to be complete bollocks. There seemed to be very little corelation between who was competitive on those 2 circuits.

There has actually been a fair bit of overtaking at Hungary in recent years compared to the old days where it was always a procession. Seems to be one of the tracks where DRS has helped out quite a lot and has made the whole of sector 1 + T4 a place where they can battle wheel to wheel.

[Tiakumosan]

I thought the track was not so large but the truck going around it is changing my mind.

[ANF]

Pit stop time loss, anyone?

[ANF]

I thought the track was not so large but the truck going around it is changing my mind.

I want helicopter shots from the hairpin!

[jjcale]

If Lewis wins or even gets on the podium due to some kind of freak luck coming his way .... it will be proof that he's made a pact with the devil.

 

As a fan, I'm expecting no better than 6th ... 5th tops. 

 

But as I revealed after FP3 .... I am rooting for CL this weekend (because I noticed how well Ferrari went in sector 3 at Barcelona so I figured after the last race that he's on for at least a podium here) ... so its going well for me, this weekend.

[Tiakumosan]

And the truck is doing the hairpin. Guess the current cars are really big.

Edited by Tiakumosan, 23 May 2021 - 11:35.

[ANF]

Didn't even touch the kerbs.

[ConsiderAndGo]

4 votes for Norris.

Odd.

[Anderis]

I think it all comes from the infamous Murray Walker comment that Hungary is "Monaco without the houses". There are a few occasions where there's been a correspondance such as 2017, where Ferrari scored their only 1-2s of the season at Monaco and Hungary, and 2007 where McLaren were utterly domminant at the two tracks, but on the whole there seems to be little correlation otherwise I agree.

I think they used to be 2 slowest tracks on the calendar and thus compared to each other often but now a couple of tracks that have been introduced past 2007 sit in between. But despite similarities in average lap time, the corners in Monaco and Hungary are quite different to each other and provide different challenges.

 

Yeah, there have been examples of teams doing well on both tracks but such isolated examples prove nothing because you would find them taking any 2 random tracks. Even your McLaren example might be a sheer coincidence as Ferrari had been sabotaged by Stepney with polluted fuel during Monaco GP in 2007 thus McLaren had to look better in comparison.

I just remember Williams being very competitive around Monaco in 2008 and then utterly useless in Hungary.

Edited by Anderis, 23 May 2021 - 11:39.