It is standard practice to describe the Monaco Grand Prix as a lottery and it’s even more of a cliché this year, as there does not seem to be a clear favourite going into the weekend. Adding a further element of uncertainty was the rain, which was the dominant feature of the second free practice session: right from the opening moments, the conditions were never ideal, neither for the slicks, nor for the intermediate tyres. This meant that practically no one was able to work through the usual programme relating to tyre behaviour over a long run. In total, the two F2012s completed 85 laps, 45 with Fernando Alonso driving and 40 in the hands of Felipe Massa.

Fernando Alonso: “For we drivers, Thursday in Monaco provides the best opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with a very unique track. The more you go round, the more you gain confidence and the harder you can push to bring the lap time down. This morning, we were able to get through our planned programme without any trouble, but in the afternoon, the rain came to spoil our plans and those of the others too. We weren’t able to even fit the Supersoft and only Button was able to find the right window to make the most of the Option, which is how he set the fastest time. Now, we must see what the weather will be like on Saturday morning: if it turns out to be dry then maybe we will do more laps than usual, but even if it rains we will have to do work aimed at the race. In fact, it’s not as though we understood much more when on the Intermediates, given that the track was only damp in places and so it wasn’t very representative. We can’t control the weather, we can only adapt to it as it changes. As for the car, I would say the first impressions are quite positive: everything seems to respond as we would expect. We only made a few small modifications to the set-up, trying to improve it, but it’s obviously too early to draw any conclusions. Let’s say the weekend has got off on the right foot for us: now we must try and keep going down this path.”

Felipe Massa: “We weren’t able to do as much running as we would have liked because of the light rain that fell this afternoon, but all the same, I am happy with the way things went on this Monaco Thursday. The car seemed to me to be okay right from the start of the first session, with a good balance in all conditions and with slightly better traction than we had expected. Even when we ran the Intermediates in the final part of the second session, the feeling was still positive. As for the tyres, we didn’t even fit the Supersoft, therefore we can’t say anything about their behaviour, while the Softs worked well, also in terms of their degradation. Sure, there is still plenty of work to do to fine tune all the set-up details, but we have an extra day to think about what to do to improve in this area. It’s hard to make predictions about qualifying and, even more so for the race, but definitely we can say the first day of free practice can be considered a positive one.”

Pat Fry: “The rain upset our programme a bit in the second session, preventing us from getting through the usual FP2 work, centred on a comparison of the two types of tyre brought here by Pirelli. This morning, we worked mainly on the set-up of the car, which has no significant new parts apart from the usual adjustments typically required for this track. In the afternoon, we actually wanted to try both tyres over a short and a long run, but we didn’t even manage a single lap on the Supersoft. In the end, we used a set of Intermediates with both drivers but, even in this case, the track conditions were not exactly ideal for this tyre. The same applied to almost everyone, therefore relatively speaking, we are not at any disadvantage. Clearly, we have less data available with which to define the best strategy for Sunday’s race: a bit more improvisation will be called for and we will need to be even more ready to react to every eventuality. We have no had any problems of any sort on both cars, which is always positive on a track like this.”

First session
Second session

Driver
Pos.
Time
Laps
Pos.
Time
Laps
Chassis

F. Alonso
1st
1.16.265
22
4th
1.16.661
23
295

F. Massa
6th
1.16.843
19
3rd
1.16.602
21
294

Weather
First session: air 22/21 °C, track 28/30 °C. Sunny.
Second session: air 21/22 °C, track 31/27 °C. Covered skies, rain at times.

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Monaco, 24 May – Water is always a feature at the Monaco Grand Prix, with the Mediterranean sea framing one side of the track and the Swimming Pool chicane being one of its most famous corners, but today the water fell from the skies. The first free practice session this morning was run in the dry, although as usual on a street circuit the track surface was greasy and dusty, so not too many laps were completed by the 24 drivers. Then, in the afternoon, the traditional time for upping the pace, evaluating tyres and generally getting to terms with the unique challenges of racing centimetres from the barriers, a light shower put paid to everyone’s plans.

Nevertheless, the Scuderia Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were relatively satisfied with their day’s work and, with the usual proviso that free practice times don’t mean much, the two men were in the top six on the time sheet in both sessions. Fernando, quickest in the morning, when he rattled off 22 laps at the wheel of the F2012, then did a further 23 in the afternoon, ending the day fourth fastest. Felipe Massa settled for just 19 laps in FP1, going sixth fastest, but in the afternoon, he finished one place ahead of his team-mate, doing 21 laps. Pirelli has brought the Soft and Supersoft tyres here, the latter making its first appearance of the season, or not in the case of the two Ferrari men: normally the tyre comparison would have taken place in the afternoon, but the rain scotched those plans, as Softs and Intermediates were the only appropriate choice when Fernando and Felipe were on track. Jenson Button did manage to pop out on the Supersoft when track conditions were suitable and this contributed to the McLaren man setting the fastest time of the day, the only driver to go under the 1m 16s barrier. He was followed by the Lotus of Romain Grosjean, while behind Felipe and Fernando was the winner from two weeks ago in Spain, Pastor Maldonaldo, fifth in the Williams, with Nico Rosberg completing the top six for Mercedes.

This being Monaco, tomorrow is officially a “day off” for the Formula 1 circus. That name might have been true many years ago, but in the high pressure world of modern Grand Prix racing, the Scuderia and the other eleven teams will be on duty, with engineers and drivers studying all the data in an effort to compensate for today’s lack of track time, prior to a final hour of free practice and qualifying on Saturday.

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Monaco, 25 May – Luca di Montezemolo was on a flying visit to the Monaco Grand Prix today, making the most of the traditional day off from racing here. The Ferrari President came to the Principality for a series of high level meetings and of course, to meet up with the team, as it tackles the sixth round of the World Championship. Montezemolo spent a lot of time with Team Principal Stefano Domenicali to go over the current state of play. He also met the two drivers, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso before leaving the paddock around four in the afternoon.

Friday is usually an extremely busy day at a Grand Prix. There are briefings all day long from nine in the morning to nine at night, fitted in around three hours of free practice, as well as interview sessions and everything else going on. However, just once a year on the Formula 1 calendar, here in Monaco, on the Friday at a Grand Prix, the Formula 1 engines are silent. It’s not completely quiet as there are some support races such as GP2 and GP3 out on track, but the Formula 1 cars never leave the garage. However, there is still plenty of work going on, for the mechanics and engineers, although the pace is somewhat slower than usual.

Fernando and Felipe also had some tasks to attend to, starting with the autograph session that takes place at every Grand Prix. After that, they had some interviews and a meeting with the engineers to study the analysis of all the data gathered yesterday and to plan the programme for tomorrow afternoon’s qualifying. It’s the same as every year, only what a shame that this morning’s sunshine made way for a light drizzle, which made the Monegasque paddock look more like an English seaside resort in autumn than the pearl of the Mediterranean in springtime.

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Monaco, 25 May – On an overcast and damp day off from F1 track action in the Monaco paddock, the media were given some insights into the technical programme at Scuderia Ferrari, when journalists attended a press conference held by the team’s Technical Director, Pat Fry. First point on the agenda was the effect the F2012’s less than perfect levels of traction would affect car performance on the streets of the Principality. “The issues are a bit different here,” began the Englishman. “Our traction is not as good as we would like but here there is no real lateral loaded traction, as the track features the classic “point and squirt” corners, but in general it is an area we are still working to improve.”

Summing up recent progress on the development front, Fry was satisfied the work was going in the right direction. “We made a reasonable step forward in Barcelona, closing the gap a bit to the car ahead of us in performance terms, but we are still not the quickest and, until we are the quickest, we will not be happy,” he said. “We have a few little updates here and we will have some more for Canada, but our level is also dependent on what the others are doing. In some ways, it was easier for us to catch up in Spain, because we were starting from a position where we were not so good. But we did manage to improve our performance and we need to continue with that rate of development. We must work hard and get the parts on the car. Earlier in the year, there were clearly things that we had done wrong and since then, most of the updates we introduced have worked as we wanted, while a few are still not matching our expectations. In Monaco, you cannot really try changing parts on the car, as this place is all about keeping the car the same and letting the drivers get used to the track.”

Fernando Alonso has suggested that the current trend which has seen five different cars win five races will end soon, as the so called “top” teams establish this superiority. Fry is not sure if that will be the case. “There are three or four teams that have had the capacity to develop their car throughout the year and we have not had a season as close as this before: so far, some teams are updating their cars only every four races, while others like ourselves, McLaren and Red Bull are bringing updates as soon as we find something. We are in a state of constant evolution. I’m sure now most teams will adopt that strategy as it is so close. It is good for the sport to have five drivers from five different teams winning that number of races. It is so close and in Q2 in Spain for example, there was just 50 milliseconds separating fifth place from eleventh.”

Asked for a prediction relating to tomorrow’s qualifying, Fry was not going to make any rash statements. “We are always trying to fight for pole position and here it will again be very close, although this track is less about car efficiency and more about driver skill. I expect Lotus to be very strong tomorrow, and McLaren and there are plenty of other strong teams out there.” With all the talk about catching up, it can be hard to believe that a Ferrari man is joint leader of the Drivers’ Championship at the moment. “It is a fortunate position to be in after where we were in winter testing and in the early races,” admitted Fry. “Everyone has worked very hard; everyone in the whole company has knuckled down to get us where we are, including the drivers, especially Fernando who has driven some excellent races. But there is an element of luck that we are in this position, rather than it being by design. Looking back at the year, I can be pleased at how we have recovered so far from where we were at the start. I think by the end of the year we will be a lot stronger.”

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Monaco, 26 May – Jules Bianchi will start the World Series by Renault race from third place on the grid, with the event taking place on the same card as the Monaco Grand Prix through the streets of the Principality. In one of the Tech 1 Racing cars, the Frenchman, on the books with Maranello’s Driver Academy fought all the way to the final run for pole, which in the end went to Sam Bird in a time of 1.22.163 in the ISR, even though he had a spectacular crash into the barriers at the Sainte Devote corner, with two minutes remaining. Here in Monaco, the qualifying is split into two groups and starting alongside the pole man will be Arden Caterham driver Alexander Rossi with a time of 1.22.863. Bianchi who lapped in 1.23.163, shares the second row with fourth placed Kevin Magnussen in the Carlin (1.22.875.)

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Monaco, 26 May – Quickest in the third free practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix was Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes, with a time of 1.15.159, ahead of Felipe Massa in the F2012 (1.15.197) and Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull (1.15.209.) In the other Ferrari, Fernando Alonso was fourth in 1.15.210 at the end of a session given over mainly to a comparison of the two dry tyres brought here by Pirelli, the Soft and Supersoft. An accident for Pastor Maldonaldo in the Williams in the closing minutes of the session brought out the red flag, which meant that none of the drivers was able to carry out the usual practice starts from the grid. Next on the agenda is this afternoon’s qualifying to decide the grid order for tomorrow’s race.

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Monaco, 26 May – The starting grid for the usually action-packed Monaco Grand Prix will feature a front row made up of Mark Webber (1.14.381) on pole in the Red Bull, with Nico Rosberg (1.14.448) alongside him in the Mercedes. The fastest time was actually set by the latter’s team-mate, Michael Schumacher in 1.14.301, but the German drops five places because of a penalty given out at the Spanish Grand Prix and will therefore start from sixth. He thus splits the two Ferrari’s with Fernando moving up to fifth having lapped in 1.14.948 and Felipe Massa staying seventh in the other F2012 in 1.15.049.

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This afternoon’s qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix was the best team performance of the season so far. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa ended the session setting the sixth and seventh fastest times respectively, but the Spaniard will actually start from fifth, because of the penalty imposed on pole-setter Schumacher after the Spanish Grand Prix. Both drivers ran identical tyre useage programmes: one set of Softs in Q1, two of Supersoft in Q2 and one further Supersoft in Q3.

Stefano Domenicali: “All in all, we can be pleased with the overall result of this qualifying, the first time this season that we have managed to get both our drivers through to Q3, I am particularly happy for Felipe who finally managed to show what he is capable of. As has more than ever been the case this year, all three parts that go to make up qualifying are very closely contested and it only takes the slightest thing to turn things on their head. Tomorrow’s race will have everything going for it, from the first to the last lap. We know just how much the many imponderables in this race can effect the outcome and this time, there’s the additional factor of tyre behaviour over a long run, given that no one was able to check on that during free practice. We must be ready to deal with any eventuality and react to every changing situation. Finally, I want to congratulate Michael Schumacher for his fantastic pole position: I think this result comes at the right time for him and on a track that has played a truly significant role in his career.”

Fernando Alonso: “In Italy there’s a saying, “he who goes slowly, goes well and goes far,” right? Well, that’s what we are doing: step by step we are getting closer. I am happy with this qualifying, the best as a team that we have seen this season. I have had a good feeling all weekend long. Maybe in Q3, we could have shaved a few hundredths off here and there, but I don’t think I’d have moved up any places, given that the driver in front of me is three tenths away. Usually here it falls to the top three on the grid to fight for the win, so I think that our realistic goal is a place on the podium, but we also know that surprises are the order of the day. We saw that again today, with Michael on pole: I was very pleased for him, even though he won’t be able to make the most of it because of the penalty. This afternoon and tomorrow morning I will have to work along with the team to decide on the best strategy. The Softs behave well, but we will start on the Supersofts, therefore we go into it a bit blind in terms of how long they will last: we will find out in the race how they perform. In terms of the championship, it’s a good grid, given that of the immediate rivals, only Hamilton starts ahead of us and Vettel is actually ninth. Michael alongside me on the grid? It’s been a while, so it will be nice to have him close by, but I’ll be concentrating on passing the four in front rather than thinking about the sixth placed man.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a good qualifying and I could definitely have done even better than this seventh place: fifth was within my reach, given what we saw in Q1 and Q2. Unfortunately, in Q3 I did not manage to get a perfectly clean lap because of traffic, but that’s an easy thing to find here. Having said that, I am very happy with how things have gone in this Grand Prix so far. Finally, I am having fun at the wheel of the F2012: clearly the set-up we have chosen here makes it much easier to make the most of its potential. It’s a point to keep in mind for the rest of the championship too. We still struggle a bit in the places where traction is crucial, which can easily be seen by comparing our car, corner by corner with the best ones, however in this area too we have made progress. Michael did a great lap and I congratulate him: a shame that he will then find himself very close to me on the grid tomorrow afternoon. Let’s hope we have a good race tomorrow and that a new championship can really get underway for me!”

Pat Fry: “I don’t think we could have done better in terms of performance. As I said yesterday, we have got closer to the quickest but not to the extent that we can fight for pole position. We still have work to do to close the gap. However, it’s very positive to have finally managed to get both our drivers into Q3. Tomorrow, it will be very important to interpret the race strategy as well as possible because the number of variables in play is greater than usual, given that there is not enough data on tyre behaviour. I think we could witness quite a variety of strategies and we must do a good job of reacting to any eventuality: the Safety Car often plays a role at this track. On top of that, there is always a question mark as to the weather: at the moment it is not forecast to rain, but you never know what can happen here!”

Qualifying session

Q1
MAS
9th
1.15.983
7
ALO
14th
1.16.153
10

Q2
MAS
1st
1.14.911
7
ALO
6th
1.15.128
9

Q3
ALO
6th
1.14.948
3
MAS
7th
1.15.049
5

Weather: air 24/23 °C, track 39 °C; clear skies. Chassis: Alonso 295, Massa 294

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Monaco, 26 May – Monaco has always been synonymous with high society and glamour and among the many VIPs attending the most famous Grand Prix on the calendar were stars from the world of film, including the director, screenwriter and producer, George Lucas, famous for such films as the “Star Wars” saga and “Indiana Jones”, Ron Howard, who made his name playing the part of Ritchie Cunningham in the TV series “Happy Days”, before becoming a well respected director with films such as “Cocoon”, “A Beautiful Mind” and the “Da Vinci Code”, currently working on a film that tells the story of the great battle for the ’76 World Championship between Niki Lauda and James Hunt – and Cuba Gooding Jr, from both the small and the big screen. At the end of qualifying, the three of them were in the Scuderia Ferrari garage where they met Team Principal Stefano Domenicali as well as the drivers, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

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Monaco, 26 May – Fernando Alonso qualified second for the last round of the championship in Barcelona, so today’s sixth fastest time is not his best performance of the season, but with team-mate Felipe Massa making it through to the final Top Ten shoot-out for the first time in 2012, posting the seventh time of the afternoon, it was overall the best team performance for Scuderia Ferrari so far this year. And what better place to achieve this upturn in form, than at the famous Monegasque street circuit where overtaking is always difficult, whatever the strategy choices and whatever the tyre performance. Given that one of the strengths of the F2012 is its speed off the starting line when the lights go out, there is cause for optimism this afternoon in the Prancing Horse camp.

The Monegasque event always throws up the unexpected and it’s fair to say that not many people in the paddock had considered Michael Schumacher as a favourite contender for pole position. But sure enough, come the end of Q3, the most successful driver in the history of the sport and a five times winner here, had set the fastest time. However, even as he punched the air with delight, the Mercedes driver knew he would be starting tomorrow’s race from sixth place, because of a penalty given him after the last round of the championship in Spain. There is no room for sentimentality in sport and even though Team Principal Stefano Domenicali congratulated the German, the team will be happy that Fernando thus moves up one place to fifth and more importantly, goes across to the clean side of the track, straight ahead of Felipe.

So with the oldest man on the grid demoted to sixth, it leaves Mark Webber starting from pole position for Red Bull, with the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg alongside him. The second row sees Lewis Hamilton in third place for McLaren and Romain Grosjean fourth in the Lotus. Then we have Alonso and Schumacher sharing the third row, while Felipe finds himself on the inside of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Lotus on row 4. 78 laps of this 3.34 kilometre track always throws up something unexpected. Tomorrow will it come from the tyres, as Thursday’s rain means there is not much data for all the teams to work on relating to the durability of the Soft and Supersoft Pirellis, or will it come from the weather, given the Principality’s microclimate can often confuse the forecasters, or will the Monegasque roulette wheel stop in the Safety Car slot to add yet another possibility to the mix? The answers will start to come through after the lights go out above the grid shortly after 2 in the afternoon tomorrow. With both F2012s starting high up the grid, the Scuderia will be hoping to bring home a good points haul and possibly see a driver on the unique “Royal” podium alongside the start-finish line.

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