The 2008 Monaco GP Preview

Regularly lauded as the circuit where the driver makes more difference in the package than at any other, Monaco is regarded as a great leveller.

The street circuit always starts very green, so speeds usually increase considerably as the weekend wears on, and teams have to anticipate how the improving grip will impact their cars as the race progresses.

With a tight, twisty nature, excellent balance is the primary concern, as the drivers have to be totally confident in the package to be sufficiently precise to literally brush the barriers as they seek perfect laps.

Besides that, solid traction out of low speed corners and smooth power delivery improves acceleration and is well rewarded. Most teams have special parts - not only for the tightest corner of the year at the hairpin, but also to strengthen suspension components that are likely to see unusual stresses from barrier contact.

Traditionally, teams have looked for every scrap of downforce at Monaco, but the current engines are not the most powerful in the history of the sport, meaning that top speeds from the section heading through the tunnel to the chicane are now a factor in determining lap times, which can be compromised if there is too much downforce. That said, most teams will still run at absolute maximum!

Overtaking here is remarkably difficult, so the teams place considerable premium on qualifying well and making a good start: especially given there is a chance of rain, some of the top ten qualifiers will compromise their ideal race fuel load in order to gain a couple of grid spots. Showers are predicted for the weekend, and as usual, if it rains, there could be some surprises - even on the podium.

Flashback

Fernando Alonso leads McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton © LAT

In 2007, qualifying was, as usual, complicated by traffic on the tight streets, and David Coulthard was disallowed from Q3 for blocking. Kimi Raikkonen set no time in Q2 after breaking his suspension by brushing a barrier on his first hot lap of the session.

In the end, Fernando Alonso beat Lewis Hamilton to pole (the team's first of the year), with Felipe Massa following up in third. Giancarlo Fisichella showed his usual Monaco form in the Renault for fourth, followed by Nico Rosberg's Williams and Mark Webber's Red Bull.

On race day the McLaren pairing pulled immediately into the lead, with some untidy work in the front corner letting Nick Heidfeld work up to fifth; Rubens Barrichello slipped his Honda in to seventh too. Coulthard ran in to Tonio Liuzzi, leading to the latter coming adrift from the resulting puncture, whilst the former struggled with understeer for the race.

Anthony Davidson ran his Super Aguri into Heikki Kovalainen's Renault, though neither suffered from the contact.

At the front, McLaren showed a three second per lap advantage, with Alonso slowly pulling out ahead of Hamilton; traffic made that gap vary through the race, but the initially shorter-fuelled Alonso seemed to have no problem maintaining control.

After that first round of stops, they took the edge off both drivers in order to conserve brakes, and so the race for the first to podium places was decided.

Behind, Massa initially seemed able to keep relatively close to the McLaren pair, but clearly never had the pace to threaten them; a gamble on the order to use their tyres did not pay off, but he continued to tour for a comfortable third.

Fisichella pulled ahead of the heavy-fuelled Heidfeld with ease and never looked back from fourth, whilst the lightly-fuelled Williams of Rosberg paid the price of being stuck behind Heidfeld's BMW Sauber, as his first stop put him back in the middle of single-stoppers.

Robert Kubica made only one stop, passing his team-mate in the process, despite being stuck behind slower cars at the start.

Pos  Driver      Team                 Time
 1.  Alonso      McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1h40:29.329
 2.  Hamilton    McLaren-Mercedes (B) +     4.095
 3.  Massa       Ferrari          (B) +  1:09.114
 4.  Fisichella  Renault          (B) +     1 lap
 5.  Kubica      BMW Sauber       (B) +     1 lap
 6.  Heidfeld    BMW Sauber       (B) +     1 lap
 7.  Wurz        Williams-Toyota  (B) +     1 lap
 8.  Raikkonen   Ferrari          (B) +     1 lap

Fastest race lap: Alonso, 1:15.284

Qualifying best: Alonso, Q2, 1:15.431

Weather

With a 60 percent expectation for showers on both Saturday and Sunday, there is every chance that this will be a mixed wet/dry race - teams that can best predict the actual fall of rain and set up their strategy accordingly will gain a significant advantage.

Whether or not it rains, the teams can look forward to temperatures in the high-teens, moderate winds and relatively high humidity. Cloud cover should keep track temperatures from getting much higher than the air temperature.

Strategy

The normal route to winning here is a two-stop strategy for the front runners, whilst those behind run longer, typically single-stopping, in the search to make up places. Should the team be anticipating rain, things get a little more complicated ...

If rain is expected after a third of the race is completed, or if the team cannot decide when rain will fall, then they will put more fuel into the car, looking to ensure maximum flexibility. If they are expected a wet start and first half to the race, then again, a heavy load is more important than qualifying.

However, if conditions are expected to change during the first third or half, then qualifying position again becomes more important, and fuel loads will come down.

Of course, different teams are quite likely to have different opinions about whether, let alone when, rain might fall, so it would be no surprise to see some very different approaches.

Conclusions

Most of the teams went to Paul Ricard in order to test for both Monaco and the following Canadian Grand Prix; the rain-affected sessions produced a few unexpected results, but it was difficult to discern any change to the overall pecking order.

Clearly, McLaren is looking to show the form from last year, but it seems that this time around, it is Ferrari that has the best handle on maximising its tyres, and is also showing some edge on performance through low speed corners.

Accordingly, even though the Woking outfit has clearly made progress, Ferrari remains favourites for the weekend ahead. Expect one or both McLaren drivers to feature on the podium, however, and they will certainly be waiting to capitalise on any mistakes by their rivals in the search for another win.

BMW Sauber has not quite matched the development pace of the leading duo so far, and perhaps will find itself vulnerable to the pack behind if it is not careful.

Renault in particular might throw a spanner in the works here, and produce an outstanding weekend.

Behind these, Red Bull and Williams should be expected to be in the hunt for the final points, with Toyota and Honda looking to get involved, though these outfits are going to be needing some luck if they are to have a chance of making the points.

A lap of Monaco with Alex Wurz

"Driving a Formula One car around Monaco is a crazy experience because it's so narrow, but it's also a fantastic challenge. You have to decide everything on the corner entries and there's no space for error if you get it wrong. As a result, you need to build up your rhythm because you need to learn how much you can slide the car.

"To take you around the lap: there's a surprising amount of grip away from the start line, given that it's a temporary racetrack. There's then a very short run down to Sainte Devote, where the trick is not to out-brake yourself and to let the car roll in, touching the inside kerb a little bit.

"You then accelerate up the hill towards the Casino. The car gets very light over the hill at Massanet and just as it lands, you start to brake. To be quick through here, you don't want to destabilise the car by being too harsh with the brakes; you want to let it glide in, which takes a lot of confidence.

"The right-hander through the Casino is third gear and it will be tough getting back on the power without traction control. Mirabeau comes next and the track drops away in the braking area, so you have to be patient. The front end goes very light initially, then when it grips, you can floor the throttle.

"The Fairmont Hairpin is very tight, but you can get through it with one turn of the wheel. As you accelerate out, you quickly select second gear to limit wheelspin before turning into the next right-hander. This leads into Portier, from where it's very important to make a good exit because you carry that speed through the tunnel.

"The tunnel isn't that challenging with the V8 engines, but it's still very fast. The cars are doing about 300kph at the exit, which feels pretty quick, and you only brake for the harbour chicane at the 100-metre board. The braking area is downhill and a bit bumpy, so it's easy to lock up a wheel.

"Next is the left-hander at Tabac, which is a pretty amazing corner. You can enter faster than you think and the apex is a barrier, so you have to be inch-perfect with your line to ensure you don't clip it. There's a lot of grip at the exit, so you can enter very fast and wait for the front tyres to grip.

"There is only a short straight before the Swimming Pool, which is taken almost flat-out. The car bounces over the kerbs and you get a bit of oversteer on entry, which makes it pretty exhilarating. The next chicane is fairly routine, but there are still walls to hit if you get it wrong.

"Then you're into Rascasse, which isn't as extreme as it used to be, and then you have to be careful not to enter the last corner too quickly because you need a clean exit from which to accelerate onto the start-finish straight."

Team by team

Ferrari

Monaco 2007: Far from the best showing by the team last year, Massa looked third best all weekend - except when out-paced by his team-mate in practice - and duly delivered third on the grid and the last spot on the podium.

Raikkonen damaged his car in qualifying, effectively ending any chance of a podium finish, though his dogged race at least brought home a point (one that proved critical at the other end of the season ...)

Last outing, Turkey: Another superb, dominant pole-to-flag win by Massa must have made the weekend seem long for Raikkonen as the Finn struggles to get completely happy with his car. Nevertheless, after a tangle at the start dropped him back from fourth, he cracked on with delivering a decent race that brought him another podium finish.

Anticipating a strong showing for the weekend, the team is aiming for trouble-free practice sessions in order to maximise time on the track for its drivers.

Difficulty getting the car dialled in has hurt Raikkonen in particular a couple of times this year. Should the drivers fail to complete all their planned running, then it is likely to compromise at least the race day pace, if not qualifying.

1. Kimi Raikkonen: Traditionally pretty handy at Monaco, Raikkonen is not really a Monaco specialist, and despite winning in 2005 has as regularly failed to impress - last year being a prime example.

On the other hand, his raw speed is very evident, and in a car as dominant as the Ferrari has been recently, he is probably anticipating a race against his team-mate, but worrying more about being on the podium to extend his points haul.

2. Felipe Massa: There is no doubt that Massa is pretty quick at Monaco, and even though he regularly suffers bad luck, he has a tendency to bring the car home well. Considering the outstanding package that he is racing this season, he has to be looking to beat his team-mate and take an inaugural win at the Principality.

Objectives: Win the race.

Robert Kubica testing at Paul Ricard © LAT

BMW Sauber

Monaco 2007: After showing great speed in practice, the team loaded the cars with fuel for the race, then finished fifth and sixth. The points were useful, but the strategy ensured there was no real chance of taking the battle to Fisichella for fourth.

Last outing, Turkey: It was a respectable showing for BMW, but it seemed to lose a little ground to the leading duo. Kubica again out-qualified his team-mate, then raced to fourth. Heidfeld overcame a poor qualifying session, putting in a decent race to finish fifth. The result confirmed that the team is still sat between the front runners and the chasing pack ...

Both drivers have shown impressive pace in the Principality, and each is capable of having an excellent race. Each is also quite prepared to upset any frontrunner who makes a mistake, and the team is prepared to gamble points in search of their first win.

If it rains, it would be no surprise to see them on mixed but aggressive strategies and a driver on the podium.

3. Nick Heidfeld: Quick and consistent in Monaco, Heidfeld usually finishes in the points and will be expecting nothing less this year. He lost out to his team-mate a year ago and is struggling to contain him this year, so his strategy may be geared to staying in front of the young Pole ...

4. Robert Kubica: In a motivated race last year, Kubica recovered from being baulked by slower cars to pass his team-mate through the stops.

Bearing in mind his complaints that a two-stop strategy might have yielded a podium finish, this more aggressive strategy should be expected this year. Having run last year's race without traction control should do no harm this year, either!

Objectives: A car on the podium.

Renault

Monaco 2007: Fisichella drove a fine race to fourth, despite finishing a lap down. Rookie Kovalainen had a difficult weekend, qualifying badly then damaging a tyre in the race. By now there was no doubt that the team was off the pace of the leading outfits, so this was a good result.

Last outing, Turkey: With Alonso finishing right behind the Sauber duo, there is no doubt that the team has effectively moved to the front of the chasing midfield pack, narrow though the performance margin might be.

Having made another incremental improvement to the performance of the package, even before including the special Monaco package, the team is confident that it has taken another bite out of the advantage of the frontrunners.

Given its performance for the last couple of races, it is clear it is anticipating points - and looking to punish any mistakes by those in front.

5. Fernando Alonso: Having won in Monaco last year, Alonso is looking to upset the apple cart again, though climbing to the top of the podium would be a tall order. Do not be surprised to see an abnormal fuel load in qualifying as he looks for any opportunity to take the race to the frontrunners.

6. Nelson Piquet Jr: Really not showing the pace of his team leader so far, Piquet has shown speed on occasion but not a tremendous amount of consistency.

Now he is officially under fire by the team for his results to date, so he will have even more pressure on his young shoulders as he threads the car through Monaco's unforgiving barriers ...

Objectives: At least one car in Q3 and the points.

Nico Rosberg testing at Paul Ricard © LAT

Williams

Monaco 2007: Rosberg flattered Williams with fifth in qualifying, but got stuck in traffic on race day and finished twelfth. Alex Wurz by contrast qualified eleventh, but ran a fine single-stop strategy to finish seventh, holding off the Ferrari of Raikkonen.

Last outing, Turkey: Rosberg was disappointed to qualify 11th, but still brought the car home with a point after making a fine start. His Kazuki Nakajima over-drove in qualifying, resulting in 16th place, and putting him in a prime spot for Fisichella to run him off the track at the opening corner.

Williams has been working hard on improving their package - and now also sports a dorsal fin on its engine cover - but that is far from the only improvement being adding to the package.

Traditionally, the team has been very fast at Monaco and is anticipating nothing different this year. Accordingly, it can be expected to take an aggressive approach and target another points finish.

7. Nico Rosberg: With only two visits to Monaco, and a disappointing race last year where he failed to execute a two-stop strategy effectively, the jury is still out on Rosberg at this rather unique circuit.

Whilst there is no doubting his ability to get the absolute most out of the car on a normal weekend, it will be very interesting to see what he can do this time out.

8. Kazuki Nakajima: Despite showing some impressive speed on occasion, the Japanese driver is simply failing to get it all together when it matters. He is also prone to a spin or two when finding the limit, so has to be considered a prime candidate for ending his race in the barriers this weekend ...

Objectives: At least one car in Q3, then a points finish.

Red Bull Racing

Monaco 2007: Both cars made it to Q3, but Coulthard was excluded after being adjudged to have blocked Kovalainen. Webber was looking good in sixth but started slowly then retired with mechanical problems.

Last outing, Turkey: Another fine qualifying performance by Webber puts him sixth on the grid. He could not quite contain Alonso, let alone the BMWs, so finished seventh. Coulthard actually made it to Q3, but decided to run a heavy fuel load and only made up a single place in the race, ending in ninth.

The team is bringing on a raft of changes to the package. Some are aimed at addressing a weakness in traction, which is particularly important for the next two races, whilst others are specifically for Monaco.

9. David Coulthard: A long history at the Principality includes two wins, and a podium for Red Bull in 2006, so it is clear that the Scot is capable of a fine performance.

However, on the evidence of this year, if he cannot qualify well towards the front, then there seems to be the very real prospect of another opening lap incident and compromised race. Should he avoid that trap, he has the experience to finish in the points, if he makes it to Q3.

10. Mark Webber: Despite a podium in 2005 with Williams, it is apparent that the Australian has terrible luck in Monaco, where he has only finished two of his six races - though each exit was from equipment failure.

Given the much-improved reliability of the 2008 car, and his particular ability to qualify well, there might well be a different story this year, and he is clearly a candidate for a points finish.

Objectives: Score points.

Timo Glock testing at Paul Ricard © LAT

Toyota

Monaco 2007: The race was a disaster for Toyota, which basically qualified and raced with Super Aguri and Spyker. The team simply could not get to grips with the car, and suffered the consequences.

Last outing, Turkey: Despite another top ten qualifying session from Trulli, it is clear that Toyota is losing ground against its immediate midfield rivals, and so it proved when Trulli spent much of the race chasing Coulthard. Glock suffered a wheel failure in Q2, which compromised qualifying and ensured his race was always going to be difficult.

The team was disappointed in Turkey, and doesn't seem to believe that it accurately reflected its position in the midfield - though it seems difficult to argue that Renault have not moved ahead in the pecking order since Spain.

Quite how well it bounces back is going to have implications for the rest of the season, but clearly a good weekend in Monaco is going to be important to prevent team morale from dropping. Having the experience and qualifying potential of Trulli on board should certainly not hurt its chances for the weekend ahead.

11. Jarno Trulli: Despite winning in 2004, this has not really been a great circuit for Trulli, who typically qualifies well then goes backwards on race day. Clearly, getting in to Q3 has to be a target, and from there points, but delivering on Sunday is going to be key.

12. Timo Glock: Although not entirely a novice at Monaco (he was the Friday driver for Jordan in 2004), it is likely that Glock is going to have a difficult weekend at this circuit, which rewards experience.

His outright speed has often been impressive, but at a circuit this unforgiving, he must not succumb to pressure and overdrive! That said, if he can be consistent, this is the best chance to drive around problems with the package that the season will offer.

Objectives: Get at least one car in to Q3 and then score points.

Toro Rosso

Monaco 2007: Liuzzi put on a great show in qualifying to get up to 12th, but his race was cut short after Coulthard made contact, causing a puncture that put him in to the barrier.

Scott Speed did not fare so well on Saturday, qualifying 18th, but an aggressive start and good race pace let him work up to ninth on race day.

Last outing, Turkey: After turning up to the fifth race of the season in a car that was a year old, it is little surprise that the team had little to be happy about, though Sebastian Vettel did manage to qualify 14th. On race day, Vettel saw any hope of a decent outing ruined by a puncture, then a fuel rig problem, which led to two extra stops.

Sebastien Bourdais might have been quicker, but mechanical failure saw him exit on lap 25.

Having finally brought out its new car for the 2008 season, the team has been testing the STR3 and both drivers officially pronounced it a good step forward.

They have few new parts available and limited knowledge of how to set it up, but there is absolutely no doubt that it makes more sense to get it in to action than continue using the older car.

Accordingly, expectations are limited: even if the car is better than its predecessor, finding the 'right' setup may well not impossible in the limited running time available on Thursday and Saturday, or there may be reliability issues.

But the main thing is that a race weekend, complete with the full race distance, gives the team a chance to develop understanding and be prepared for the forthcoming events, so getting the cars through the weekend without crashing them is the order of the day.

14. Sebastien Bourdais: Having already demonstrated a rugged and determined pace in races, it will be particularly intriguing to see what Bourdais makes of Monaco - there is every chance that the Frenchman will prove to be a surprise.

15. Sebastian Vettel: With a five place penalty looming in qualifying for a gearbox change (the new car uses a different gearbox to the old), there is no doubt that Vettel's chances for the race have been compromised.

It is possible he will stuff the car full of fuel and see what can be made up, but it is more likely the team will use this as a chance to continue testing the new car.

Objectives: Put miles on the new car, without breaking it!

Aerodynamic detail on the Honda © LAT

Honda

Monaco 2007: Both cars made it in to Q3 (once Coulthard was penalised) then settled themselves in for a long race on heavy fuel; in the end, surprise second stops cost them any opportunity of finishing in the points.

Last outing, Turkey: There was little to write home about for Honda, which was the slowest team in a straight line as both drivers struggled with the cars. Neither really threatened to make it to Q3 and they ran anonymously in the race.

The team has tested an aerodynamic solution for Monaco - and some general improvements that have been developed since the Spanish Grand Prix - and appears to be ready for the weekend ahead. At other circuits, Honda has often been relatively slow on the main straights, implying that the drivers are looking for more downforce (hence the extra drag) as they struggle to balance the car.

That should prove less of a penalty here where top speeds are significantly lower, but they are going to have to find a balance that really works if either driver is going to deliver points on race day.

16. Jenson Button: Often surprisingly quick at Monaco, which has historically been well-suited to the smooth Honda driver, there is a sense that the Briton is overdue a return to form. As one of the few courses that let a driver make the difference, he is going to have high expectations for the weekend ahead.

17. Rubens Barrichello: Always quick in Monaco, Barrichello should prove a good foil for his team-mate, as he looks to extend his eight-consecutive finishes in the Principality. Never a winner, he has finished on the podium four times, once in a Stewart/Ford, and cannot be discounted as a likely points scorer.

Objectives: get both cars to Q3 and fight for points.

Force India

Monaco 2007: Sutil looked stunning in wet practice, but a dry race did him no favours. Both drivers remained in Q1 and neither finished the race.

Last outing, Turkey: Fisichella was quicker than his team-mate in qualifying, but lost three places (putting him last) for a pit-lane infringement during Friday practice. He then collected Nakajima at the first corner and retires. Sutil also had a first corner coming-together, but made the most of the safety car period to replace the wing, before racing to 16th.

The Force India team has been hitting the news more with its off-track activities than on-track testing over the last two weeks, as it appears to be near a solution to the customer car issue that was going on with Super Aguri and Toro Rosso.

Now that the Japanese outfit is no longer in the picture, it has become considerably less complicated (ie, the TV money will go to both teams) and the rhetoric has calmed down.

On track, the team seems to have another evolution available for the car, and it is possible that it will close the gap to those ahead.

20. Adrian Sutil: A crash late in the race did little to help Sutil last year, but his form in the wet practice suggested that there is plenty more to come from him, should he ever have the conditions to show it. If he can stay with - or even beat - his experienced team-mate here, then his reputation will be deservedly enhanced.

21. Giancarlo Fisichella: Always exceptional in Monaco, this is perhaps the only decent opportunity Fisichella will have this season to really make a difference.

The car is outclassed, but he has the personal potential to raise the game. Points would still require misfortune for others, but that is known to happen here more than anywhere else ...

Objectives: Get a car in to Q2 and aim for a point!

Lewis Hamilton testing at Paul Ricard © LAT

McLaren Mercedes

Monaco 2007:The McLaren team dominated, locking out the front row of the grid and comfortably controlling the race. This race also marked the first public show of friction between the team-mates, as Hamilton appeared to accuse the team of preventing him from taking on Alonso to win the race ...

Last outing, Turkey: It was a bit of a mixed weekend for McLaren, which suffered misfortune when Kovalainen was robbed of the slight chance of a win, whilst Hamilton out-performed expectations for a compromised strategy, claiming a solid second place.

McLaren has completed its preparations for the Monaco weekend with its usual understated approach, and as usual has not talked about its developments. If it is running true to its usual form however, then the car will have specially beefed-up suspension targeting the handling of cambers rather than kerbs, and the team will be using a Monaco-specific high-downforce aerodynamic package.

Judging by its testing times, the team has been working on improving its performance through low speed corners - attacking the specific area where it is showing a weakness compared to Ferrari.

In recent years, the team has gone particularly well at Monaco, so the fact that it is approaching the weekend with some confidence implies that it anticipates closing the gap to Ferrari. Should it be able to get the cars properly set up, then both could well end the race on the podium.

22. Lewis Hamilton: After a fine showing last year, when Hamilton was slightly outclassed by Alonso but still undoubtedly a contender, and following his outstanding effort in Turkey, the youngster has to be particularly optimistic for the weekend ahead. If there is going to be a place where driver talent can overcome a slight mechanical disadvantage, then this is probably his best shot at an opportunistic upset.

23. Heikki Kovalainen: This was not a good race for Kovalainen last year, as he struggled in both qualifying and then the race. Since then, he has shown a massive improvement in consistency, and perhaps had an opportunity to win in Turkey, had fortune smiled more kindly on him. Although Hamilton seems to be rejuvenated, it would be foolish to overlook Kovalainen for a potential upset this weekend.

Objectives: Win the race.