Monaco GP 2008

[donskar]

OK, dumb question: I think some F1 rules are so stupid that I ignore them, so I must ask:

Can the teams make ANY changes between qualifying and the race? I wonder, in particular, if they can change ride height (I think not)? How about wing settings?

In other words, can/how much can the teams modify their cars for wet weather after qualifying?

[Mr Alcatraz]

OK, dumb question: I think some F1 rules are so stupid that I ignore them, so I must ask:

Can the teams make ANY changes between qualifying and the race? I wonder, in particular, if they can change ride height (I think not)? How about wing settings?

In other words, can/how much can the teams modify their cars for wet weather after qualifying?

I'm not sure on this But If CW declares it a wet race, they can adjust ride height! No rear element adjustments however!

[johny]

That's not a big problem because here they run all downforce they can.

[Belatti]

I hope Nico surprises us all tomorrow!
Monaco shows who is who

[bhall]

OK, dumb question: I think some F1 rules are so stupid that I ignore them, so I must ask:

Can the teams make ANY changes between qualifying and the race? I wonder, in particular, if they can change ride height (I think not)? How about wing settings?

In other words, can/how much can the teams modify their cars for wet weather after qualifying?

I'm not sure on this But If CW declares it a wet race, they can adjust ride height! No rear element adjustments however!

Only the front wing can be adjusted while the car is in parc ferme; except if the FIA designates a CHANGE IN CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, and then the brake ducts may be altered. There are no changes at all allowed to the suspension, no matter what happens with the weather.

This is what makes setting up the car such a gamble when the weather's unpredictable. There's nothing you can do if you get it wrong except suffer the consequences.

[WhiteBlue]

Well, I guess THIS Ferrari handles OK at Monaco. ..

I have already thought that would be the case after sector three in Istanbul.

first post of this thread

From the top teams Ferrari had by far the best traction in the slow sector 3 at Istanbul. So they have to be favourite for pole and the race.

awefull situation for Nick. this could have been the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm afraid his dreams of a championship with BMW are over. the yellow flags from Couthard's accident didn't help but he was too slow all weekend. perhaps the weather will deal him better cards to help him back into points.

frightening to see DC loose control at that speed. it looked like something went wrong with the car. if it was driver error then it is probably time for him to call it a day. that isn't a place to loose it for a driver with his experience.

Nico thinks he has more fuel than Kubica. People have thought that more often but this time it could be true. the BMWs were not good around Monaco so far. I would love to see Nico collect a podium. The Williams seems to have a short wheel base and good traction as other people have remarked.

Piquet, well he will have his work cut out against Sato. Alonso will probably stay at Renault until kimi makes place for him at Ferrari.

Timo Glock was doing a fine job compared to Trulli, who is in love with the Armco this year and probably tried to avoid another shunt in quali.

[Miguel]

It's actually more surprising to see McLaren do so well. I mean, everybody was saying that Ferrari weren't going to win easily in Monaco, but McLaren has been struggling in slow sectors in the last two races (sector 3 in both Montmelo and Istambul Park). It may still be true though. Look at McLaren first sector. It's bloody fast.

[Ciro Pabón]

Nico thinks he has more fuel than Kubica. People have thought that more often but this time it could be true.

Is that or Rosberg forgot how to drive in the 3rd qualy...

8. Trulli Toyota 1:17.203 1:15.598 1.605
9. Webber Red Bull 1:17.343 1:15.795 1.548
6. Rosberg Williams 1:16.548 1:15.287 1.261
7. Alonso Renault 1:16.852 1:15.827 1.025
4. Kovalainen McLaren 1:16.165 1:15.389 0.776
5. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:16.171 1:15.483 0.688
1. Massa Ferrari 1:15.787 1:15.110 0.677
3. Hamilton McLaren 1:15.839 1:15.322 0.517
2. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:15.815 1:15.404 0.411

Mmmmm. I haven't posted the qualy statistics for a long time. Perhaps someone wants to help me here?

I promess (I never fulfill my promesses ) to post something about the difference between 2nd and 3rd qualies and the laps they stop during the race, but I think this is a clue for everybody.

[tahadar]

Rosberg seemed to be thrilled about his Q3 lap, so i get the feeling it isnt the latter. Would be great if he can jump kubica and give the top 4 something else to worry about!

[mx_tifoso]

Good GP so far, with the performance of the Ferrari´s much better this year than last, and one of the most outstanding performances is that of Piquet Jr., which is outstanding in a negative way. IIRC, he has qualified 17th! My personal opinion is that he is too green still, and further preparation would have been a blessing for him and his Formula One entry.

Hopefully Massa can continue with his pole win ways. Although Raikkonen needs a win to keep the current gap between him and Massa/Hamilton.

And a number of shunts today, which is always interesting to see! But Coulthard´s was probably the worst, I guess his reflexes aren´t as sharp as they used to be...

Here is a good pic of how part of the Scuderia works, Nicholas T. and Michael S. watching over their boy Felipinho...


And here is another picture of the new winglet on the F2008´s nosecone, as pointed out by ´Saribro´ IIRC.

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And it´s good to be ´back´ as I have been here in Mexico for a week now and have not had the time to be active and participate as I am/do when back home. And I have a more profound apreciation for ´student day´, my girlfriends university had TWO parties in one day on thursday! The celebration started at around 4pm and ended at around 2am-ish, when a bar-fight got underway at the local bar/club!

[donskar]

PlanetF1.com interprets some statements from Ron Dennis as implying that the McLarens are running more fuel than Ferrari . . . .

[Ciro Pabón]

Dennis word is not always to be trusted.

Anyway, if that's true, how do you explain that the differences between the 2nd qualy and the 3rd qualy are almost the same for McLaren and Ferrari?

[JamesS]

Dennis word is not always to be trusted.

Anyway, if that's true, how do you explain that the differences between the 2nd qualy and the 3rd qualy are almost the same for McLaren and Ferrari?

Yeah, it is quite astonishing how close the top three are.

0.050sec between them.

We shouldn't be surprised with Ferrari's pace, they are having a very strong season thus far. McLaren have struggled with their new car.

[Ciro Pabón]

Welcome, JamesS, sorry I did not see your previous posts.

Just in case, what I think is that you can estimate the amount of fuel on board looking at the difference in lap times between the 2nd qualy, that I presume is ran with empty tanks, and the 3rd qualy, that I'm sure has to be ran with race fuel. I repost the numbers, with the proper headings.

Grid	Name	Team	3rd Q	2nd Q	Diff.
8	Trulli	Toyota	01:17.2	01:15.6	1.605
9	Webber	RedBull	01:17.3	01:15.8	1.548
6	Rosberg	Will.	01:16.5	01:15.3	1.261
7	Alonso	Renault	01:16.9	01:15.8	1.025
4	Koval.	McLaren	01:16.2	01:15.4	0.776
5	Kubica	BMW	01:16.2	01:15.5	0.688
1	Massa	Ferrari	01:15.8	01:15.1	0.677
3	Hamilt.	McLaren	01:15.8	01:15.3	0.517
2	Räikk.	Ferrari	01:15.8	01:15.4	0.411

I assume that the amount of fuel corresponds roughly with the order of the list, or the difference in time between both qualies.

That is, Trulli has a lot of fuel, Räikkönnen has the least.

Am I wrong about the idea that they fill the cars in the 3rd qualy?

I have too much work to make some statistics about pit laps and qualy differences. It would be interesting to deduce any correlation, if it exists at all.

Has anyone thought about this? And if what I'm saying is true, why not? It only dawned on me when I saw a post by grunf77 at Grand Prix.

[Scotracer]

My guess is that Massa is very light, Kimi has a one or two laps more and Hamilton is significantly heavier than the Ferraris. I also suspect that Kubica has similar fuel loads to Kimi but he was compromised on his final run so couldn't make full use of it.