Paul Henman formula1 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying

Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying

Dry and sunny in Monte Carlo
Can Ferrari maintain their pace from Practice?

Qualifying 1
Mercedes team still rebuilding NR’s car
JD waiting at pit exit; lights turn green
JD 1:23.192
VP 1:18.112
5mins gone = 15mins left of Q1
JB 1:17.059
LH 1:16.321
JB 1:15.969
LH 1:15.930
SV 1:15.606
JB 1:15.397
10mins gone, 10mins left of Q1
LH 1:15.207
JA taps the rear of KK(?)
Chequered flag ends Q1
Back of the grid will be: HK, JT, JA, TG, PD, NK, VL
Fastest was LH’s 1:15.207, so the 107% target is 1:20.4, which means everyone’s safely inside that except NK & VL who didn’t set lap times – their Practice 3 times were (just) inside that, so they will probably be allowed to race on Sunday

Qualifying 2
Rush of cars taking to the track as the lights turn green
SB 1:16.735
AS 1:16.465
MS 1:15.850
Apparently JA has been summoned by the stewards for an incident in Q1
MW 1:14.996
LH 1:14.275
FM misses the exit of the chicane and aborts his hot lap
5mins gone; 10mins left of Q2
SV 0.002sec slower than LH
FM cuts the chicane again
5mins left of Q2
3mins left; bottom 7 are PM, NH, SP, SB, AS, PD, KK
(PM P10, pushing RB into the cut zone)
(SP P8, so now VP P10)
Chequered flag
RB doesn’t improve his position
Middle of the grid will be VP, RB, KK, PD, AS, NH, SB

Qualifying 3
BBC report KK has also been summoned by the stewards
MS first on track; rumour is that LH is out of his car!?
MS 1:15.020
(FA P2)
(NR P2)
FM 1:14.889
JB 1:13.997
(MW P2)
SV 1:13.556
5mins left
LH frustrated by FM not moving out the way soon enough
(MS P5)
Red flags – SP is in the barriers
Terrible marshals again – not urgency to get to SP, who’s still in the car
Replay: SP was off-line in the tunnel, hit the barriers on the way out of the tunnel, and smacked side-on into the tyre wall
Finally rescue vehicles attending the incident – why didn’t they deploy as soon as the red flags were thrown? They could have protected the scene and the marshals could have been attending SP within a few seconds
They’ve extracted SP from the Sauber and they’re moving him to the ambulance
The car is lifted away from the tyre wall; the impact side appears to be intact
BBC report the SP is conscious and talking to the rescue team
Ambulance sets off for the medical centre
Marshals continue to clean up the accident scene and rebuild the tyre wall
There’s still 2:26 on the clock, which could mean one hot lap once Q3 restarts
LH waiting at the pit exit but there’s a minute before the restart
All 9 cars on track
(LH P7)
JB aborts his lap, as does everyone but PM & NR
Front of the grid: SV, JB, MW, FA, MS, FM, LH, NR, PM, SP (assuming he’s declared fit to race tomorrow)

Provisional grid: SV, JB, MW, FA, MS, FM, LH, NR, PM, SP (assuming he’s declared fit to race tomorrow), VP, RB, KK, PD, AS, NH, SB, HK, JT, JA, TG, PD, NK, VL.

Update: BBC reports “Sauber’s Sergio Perez will be kept in hospital overnight following a heavy crash in Monaco Grand Prix qualifying. Sauber said Perez had “concussion and a sprained thigh, but no broken bones and, following a scan, doctors could find no further injuries”.”

BBC also reports the LH “ended up in seventh but then had his time deleted for cutting the chicane. […] Hamilton also implicitly called for Felipe Massa to be penalised after he felt he was delayed behind the Ferrari driver on his sole flying lap, but stewards ignored his pleas.”

I’ve not seen any word on the outcome of JA and KK being summoned by the stewards.

So the revised (but still provisional) grid is: SV, JB, MW, FA, MS, FM, NR, PM, LH, VP, RB, KK, PD, AS, NH, SB, HK, JT, JA, TG, PD, NK, VL.

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