Monaco and the parade of tax dodgers GP :) - Predictions

Race weekend is upon us! Practice 1 and 2 are on Thursday

Weather is nice but a 60% chance of rain on race day could make it interesting - https://weather.com/en-GB/weather/weekend/l/MNXX0002:1:MN

Red Bull for me could be the winner here. Mercedes will be strong but I sense much more weakness than last year. Ferrari might surprise us all and that would be welcome

SKY on the front page of their site have this as the lead item - How Lewis Hamilton lost the 2015 Monaco GP | F1 News

Q - Ricci
Max
LH

R - Ricci
Nico
Kimi

Rain could make this all very different. Have fun if you are going and take your sun lotion for protection

 

With Saturday being clear with a forecast maximum of 24°C, that is the opportunity to eliminate mistakes and qualy 1st.

Of course last minute "crashes" may shuffle the pack.

 

Yes I would not be surprised to see more than 1 crash.

 

Agreed, I think we will see a strong RBR. But MAMG shines so strongly in Q, much more than on race day.

Q -
Nico
Ric
Rai

R -
Nico
Ric
Rai

 

Everybody is talking about Red Bull. I think that Mercedes is going to beat their asses all around Montecarlo as usual. In the best case they´ll be ahead of Ferrari just because this is a "different" track, but they´re not so good as now everybody is saying: Ferrari crushed them in race pace at Spain and would have beaten them easily if that was not the crappy circuit it is where it´s impossible to overtake.

 

McLaren anyone?

 

In race pace Ferrari is faster...for now. Red Bull has superior chassis, on par aero and will come very close on power with the new upgrade, too.

Merc ''should'' grab pole, their sector 3 times is a little bit better than Red Bull in Barcelona (pre engine upgrade, which only 1 driver gets of course!).

 

They'll be quicker here than at any other track but I seriously doubt their claims that Ferrari won't even bother them. Sector 3 times in Barcelona they where close (And 'Nando even bettering both Ferrari's), but what Mclaren conveniently is forgetting is that there is of course an uphill straight, where extra power is very helpful, not to mention the straight in the tunnel, and the exit towards tabac again.

I think they'll have a strong fight with the Williams and at least Sainz, depending how quickly Kvyat gets up to speed.

They may even surprise us and finish ahead of Williams, but not Ferrari bar some bizarre problem or a very lucky safety car.

 

Paddy speaks - Lowe: Trio of possible winners at Monaco - PlanetF1 : PlanetF1

 

Nico to win, ricci and verstappen to fight the ferraris for second and third, Elton to blow it trying to recover from a poor start, possibly at the expense of one of the above as usual, carcrashians episode 6, season ten

 

If any non-Ferrari car is leading, i am hoping for a repeat Ayrton crash out, as in 1988.

 

I heard Mclarens will lap everybody, no? I trust Ron. No point in watching

 

Q
Ham
Vet
Ricci

R
Ves
Ricci
Vet

 

That would be a stunning result.

I think Merc. wont mess up again. Rosberg that is, he's on his home and one of his fav. tracks. Ham seems to have lost the plot.

Given Ricc. new engine, the RB chassis and the great driver he is, I predict he will have the edge over Ferrari on the slow Monaco track.

Q
1. Ros.
2. Ham.
3. Ricc.

R.
1. Ros.
2. Ricc.
3. Vet.

 

If it rains on Sunday, RBR have a huge advantage. That chassis is worlds above everyone else.

If it doesn't,

1-Ham
2-Nico
3-Ric
4-Vettel
5-Rai
6-Max

 

For our viewing pleasure

https://www.formula1.com/content/fom-website/en/latest/features/2016/5/f1-monaco-nine-best-overtakes.html

 

Q:
1 Ricciarco (new engine)
2 Rosberg
3 Elton
4 Verstappen
5 Vettel
6 Raikkonen
7 Alonso

Q (if Verstappen gets new engine)

1 Verstappen
2 Ricciardo
3 Rosberg
4 Elton
5 Vettel
6 Raikkonen
7 Alonso

Race:
1: Either Ricciardo or Verstappen, pending on engine
2: Same as above
3: Ferrari (don't care which one)
4: Alonso (providing engine lasts!)
5: Sainz
6: Button

Mercs to collect each other again

 

We can but dream! Fingers crossed!

 

If a certain person is stood on a corner at Monaco, I reckon Lewis might get too distracted to concentrate on his driving! Hahahaha

 

Wow way to go out on a limb there Paddy

 

I hope there is some rain (some!) on Sunday. Will make for an epic battle. Sitting here at Casino Square (Cafe de Paris), the usual supercar parade. Thoughts, the Mclarens have really grown on me, particularly the LT (not so much the painful brit banker from London who insists on revving the engine every time he goes by..., and that's coming from another Brit . The 488, have to say looks so much more modern than the 458. Particularly the front end, which I think gives much more character to the car. Saw one accelerate on the A8 motorway towards Nice....good grief!!! Not even an Enzo would have kept up with that. Pagani Hyuara went by, beautiful car. Too many F12's to count, mostly on German plates. The gold plated Enzo was, shall we say....interesting. Owned by a friend of a friend...owner of a Lebanese bank. His son (16) has a brand new F12....which every 16 year old needs ! Russian women, yup, there must be something in the water. Overall, the crowd seems a bit bigger than last year, looking forward to the coming days. Oh, interesting rumour: a certain LH got injured in a nightclub two nights ago....and may not make Sunday. Asking a few sources to corroborate.

 

Sky gives us a review of HAM at Monaco over the years: Lewis Hamilton's Monaco GP woes: Where has it gone wrong? | F1 News

 

^^ Cool!

Looking forward to more reports.

And, as always, 'pix or it didn't happen!'.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Fighting again I suspect, or was it handbags at dawn!

 

Wonderful, hopefully you can keep us updated with local rumour et all!