The 2009 Monaco Grand Prix Thread

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Driver of the day ?

Jenson Button
7
50%
Rubens Barrichello
0
No votes
Kimi Raikkonen
3
21%
Felipe Massa
2
14%
Mark Webber
1
7%
Nico Rosberg
0
No votes
Fernando Alonso
0
No votes
Sebastien Bourdais
1
7%
 
Total votes: 14

mlittle
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The 2009 Monaco Grand Prix Thread

Post by mlittle » Thu May 21, 2009 2:00 pm

In every major international motorsports series, there is one signature event, a crown jewel that becomes as important to win as the series championship itself..........
~~~In North America, it is the Indianapolis 500............
~~~For sports cars, it is, respectively, the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of LeMans...........
~~~In Australia's V8 Supercar series, it is the Bathurst 1000.......


In Formula 1, that honor goes to a street circuit in the Principality of Monte Carlo............the Grand Prix of Monaco. Considered a part of the "Triple Crown of Motorsports"(which includes Indy and LeMans), it has seen some of grand prix's legends win on its' tight, windy course, including Graham Hill, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. Win here, and you join some of racing's greatest drivers on one of racing's grand venues.


~~~EVENT SCHEDULE................
Practice Session 1, 10-11:30am, 21 May 2009
Practice Session 2, 2-3:30 pm, 21 May 2009
Practice Session 3, 11am-12pm, 23 May 2009
Qualifying Session, 2pm, 23 May 2009
Grand Prix of Monaco, 2pm, 24 May 2009
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Post by mlittle » Thu May 21, 2009 2:05 pm

MONACO FAST FACTS.......................
(some interesting statistics going into the event weekend.............)


~~~WINS
(1)Britain's Jenson Button has won four of the first five races of the season for the Brawn GP team. No driver has ever done this and not gone on to become champion.
(2)Only 13 times since 1950 has a driver won four of the first five races.
(3)Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso has 21 grand prix wins to his credit, more than any other current driver.
(4)Ferrari's 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen has 17 and Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa 11. McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton has nine.
(5)Brawn's four Formula One wins have already eclipsed the three that Honda, the team's predecessors, took in their eight seasons between 1964 and 2008.

~~~POINTS
(1)Force India have yet to score a point in Formula One, a run of 23 races.
(2)Brawn's Button and Rubens Barrichello are the only drivers to have scored points in every race so far this season.

~~~MONACO
(1)Ferrari have not won in Monaco since Michael Schumacher in 2001. However Ferrari have set the fastest lap in four of the last five races there.
(2)Only three times in the last 10 years has Monaco been won by the team taking the constructors' title at the end of the season.
(3)The driver starting on pole position has won only four times in the last 10 years.
(4)McLaren have won five of the last nine Monaco Grands Prix, including the last two. Over the last 25 years, McLaren have won 15 times to Ferrari's three.

~~~LAST FIVE RACES
(1)2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
........Hamilton won to take the championship lead despite starting third and having to make an unscheduled pitstop after hitting the barriers on lap six. The race ended two laps early after the two-hour mark was reached.
(2)2007 - Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
..........Alonso won for the second year in a row, with team-mate Hamilton completing a dominant McLaren one-two. Alonso started on pole and set the fastest lap, but Hamilton was unhappy and suggested he had been forced by his team into a supporting role.
(3)2006 - Alonso (Renault)
...........Alonso won but Ferrari's Michael Schumacher provided the main talking point after qualifying. The German was branded a cheat by some and sent from pole to last for deliberately obstructing rivals. He finished fifth. There was no champagne sprayed on the podium as a mark of respect to tyre boss Edouard Michelin, who died on the Friday before the race.
(4)2005 - Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren)
.............Raikkonen's second win in a row, and second from pole position, lifted him to second in the championship. Alonso limped home fourth with his tyres almost gone.
(5)2004 - Jarno Trulli (Renault)
.............Trulli's first and only grand prix win, from pole position, ending Ferrari's run of eight in a row and Schumacher's hopes of a sixth in succession. Schumacher retired after colliding with Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams in the tunnel behind the safety car. Button was second for BAR.
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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 2:40 pm

Grand Prix Preview (courtesy: The FIA) - For team previews visit the 2009 F1 Team Reports Forum

The sixth event of the Formula One calendar takes place at the Circuit de Monaco which is laid out on the city streets of Monte Carlo around the harbour of the principality of Monaco and is probably the ultimate test of driver skill in Formula One.

Today’s street circuit features many elevation shifts, tight corners and is generally a narrow course. It is demanding, requires maximum downforce and features twists and turns that will test the concentration and consistency of both drivers and team members alike.

The inaugural Monaco Grand Prix was held in 1929. Since then the event has kept many of its traditions, including its unique timetable, where the race weekend starts on Wednesday, takes a break on Friday, and then resumes on Saturday.


Image

CHANGES TO THE CIRCUIT SINCE 2008

• The guardrail on the left after turn 18 has been extended.
• A number of higher and more robust debris fences have been installed.
• The road between Monte Carlo avenue and Madone avenue, between Portier’s bend and the ‘Bureau de tabac’ bend as well as the escape lane at the Mirabeau bend have been resurfaced.
• Parts of the tyre protection system have been replaced by the TECPRO system.

CIRCUIT DE MONACO – INTERESTING FACTS

• The construction of the circuit takes up to six weeks and a further three weeks are required to dismantle it.
• 1100 tons of grandstands, 33 km of safety rails, 20.000 m2 of wire netting and 5000 protection tyres are used.

Circuit data

Length of lap: 3.340km
Offset: 0.000km
Total number of race laps: 78
Total race distance: 206.520km
Speed limits in the pit lane: 60km/h during practice sessions; 100km/h during race

Formula One time table

Thursday

Practice Session 1 - 10.00 – 11.30 hrs
Practice Session 2 - 14.00 – 15.30 hrs

Saturday

Practice Session 3 - 11.00 – 12.00 hrs
Qualifying - 14.00 – 15.00 hrs

Sunday

Race - 14.00 hrs

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 5:56 pm

First Thursday practice from Monaco about to start. It is sunny with air temperature at 24 degrees and track temperature at 30 degrees

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:00 pm

Session underway and the Force India's are the first cars out on the track for their installation lap

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:02 pm

Vettel stay out for a second lap

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:03 pm

Button stays out as well

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:04 pm

Vettel pits

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:04 pm

So does Button.

Raikkonen and Barrichello yet to go out

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:05 pm

Massa stays out for a second lap as Barrichello goes out for the first time

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:07 pm

Massa pits as Barrichello starts a second lap!

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:08 pm

Barrichello pits and it is quiet now!

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:09 pm

Kimi Raikkonen is on the track

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:14 pm

Raikkonen pits after his installation lap.

Heidfeld back on the track

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Post by Ed » Thu May 21, 2009 6:17 pm

Heidfeld pits without setting a time

Sebastien Buemi on track

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