Monaco GP: Circuit Preview

MONACO GRAND PRIX 2018 - CIRCUIT PREVIEW

Name: Circuit de Monaco

Location: Monte Carlo, Monaco

Opened: 1929

Length: 2.074 Miles

Capacity: 37,000 

Runs: Clockwise

Turns: 19

Race Laps: 78

2017 RACE STATS

Pole Position: Kimi Raikkonen

1st Place: Sebastian Vettel

2nd Place: Kimi Raikkonen

3rd Place: Daniel Ricciardo

Retirements: Nico Hulkenberg (Gearbox), Pascal Wehrlein (Collision), Jenson Button (Collision Damage), Marcus Ericsson (Accident), Stoffel Vandoorne (Accident), Lance Stroll (Oil Pressure)* & Daniil Kvyat (Collision Damage)*

* - Notes both Stroll and Kvyat had completed at least 90% of the race distance and were qualified as finished, despite their retirements.

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

Preview Quotes - Manor-Marussia


Will Stevens - "Although a back to back race always presents a challenge for the team due to the quick turnaround, as a driver it is always amazing to be able to get back in the car so quickly. That's particularly the case after a good race for us in China. Now we're getting into a good rhythm, I'm really hungry for more so we can keep driving the team forward. Last season's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was my first taste of night racing and it was a fantastic experience, so I'm really excited about racing under the floodlights here and to the challenging conditions this track poses for the car and driver."

Roberto Merhi - "I'm very excited to be racing in Bahrain this weekend. The track looks amazing, particularly at night, and has a pretty interesting set of challenges for the car, due to the track conditions, the heat and the wind. It's good to be able to get back in the car so soon as we seem to have a good momentum building and it is important that we take advantage of that to keep driving our development programme forward. I can't wait to get started on Friday."

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk

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Quotes belong to Drivers

Canadian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Lotus

New quotes and these ones are from the Lotus F1 Team.

Romain Grosjean - “I have very good memories -of Montreal-from 2012 when I went from seventh on the grid to my first second place in Formula One. It was a really great day and it was really a strong team result as we used a one-stop strategy to get on the podium after a disappointing qualifying session the day before. Last year wasn’t so good and we struggled with the wet weather and conditions but the place itself? Montreal is a wonderful city to visit. There are obviously a lot of French speakers so it’s like another home race for me, and the fans are so welcoming and knowledgeable. There are also some very good restaurants in Montréal which is always a bonus. The track is in-between a normal circuit and a street circuit. The walls are very close in some places, while other parts are similar to a European circuit. It’s definitely unique and we normally bring a different downforce package for that reason, which adds another unknown factor to the weekend. The circuit is not used for the rest of the year so the grip will change a lot - something we’ll have to adapt to - and the weather can also be tricky. Hopefully it’ll be nice and sunny because it’s a race I really like - and it’s my favourite circuit to race on the Xbox. The last chicane is a notable feature and overall it’s a good track. I enjoy the sensation of being close to the walls. Montreal is different from Monaco as there are some long straights and some big braking moments. The track surface can also present challenges as we’ve seen in other seasons, so it will be interesting to see what the grip level is like this year and that will certainly be on your mind as you take to the track for the first time over the weekend.”

Pastor Maldonado - “Top speed and slow corners are probably the weakest points of our car now and unfortunately Canada has long straights followed by low-speed corners… It could be a difficult weekend for the team, for sure. We are not expecting to be at the top, simply because of the type of track and how we understand our car and its performance strengths and weaknesses. It’s not very aggressive on the tyres either, so we’ll see how it is when we head out to track. Anything can happen and our guys are all working very hard to adapt the car to find more traction in the slow corners and squeeze out some more top speed. Do I like the Montreal track? It’s amazing and I always enjoy being there. Canada is a great race not only because of the track but because of the people who come to support it. There is a great atmosphere all weekend and the city is quite close to the circuit which means there is a great vibe all round. There is also a lot of history to the Grand Prix as well and it has been around for a while - it is one of the great Grands Prix during the season.”

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.

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Quotes made by Drivers.

Chinese GP: Free Practice 3 - Re-Cap & Results

Time for a Re-Cap of Free Practice #3 - It was wet and rainy during the session and there were some problems for the drivers. 

Lots of people still struggling with locking up and running off the track at certain turns. Some drivers even opted not to set a time, including: Rosberg, Hamilton, Alonso and Magnussen. Pastor Maldonado was told to stop his car during the session. When he asked what had happened, he got no quick response. 

Daniel Ricciardo climbed to take the top time of the session, with Massa and Grosjean also showing pace and shining during the hour. Force India also looked good and staed within the top 10 as did the Williams drivers. And with that said, here's the times!

TIMES:

1. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:53.958 / Redbull
2. Felipe Massa - 1:54.492 / Williams
3. Romain Grosjean - 1:54.514 / Lotus
4. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:55.032 / Force India
5. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:55.062 / Ferrari
6. Pastor Maldonado - 1:55.228 / Lotus
7. Daniil Kvyat - 1:55.235 / Toro Rosso
8. Valtteri Bottas - 1:55.381 / Williams
9. Jenson Button - 1:55.673 / McLaren
10. Sergio Perez - 1:56.019 / Force India
11. Sebastian Vettel - 1:56.233 / Redbull
12. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:56.380 / Toro Rosso
13. Adrian Sutil - 1:56.760 / Sauber
14. Max Chilton - 1:56.841 / Marussia
15. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:57.468 / Sauber
16. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:57.812 / Caterham
17. Jules Bianchi - 1:57.976 / Marussia
18. Marcus Ericsson - 1:59.507 / Caterham
19. Nico Rosberg - NO TIME SET / Mercedes
20. Kevin Magnussen - NO TIME SET / McLaren
21. Fernando Alonso - NO TIME SET / Ferrari
22. Lewis Hamilton - NO TIME SET / Mercedes

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Chinese GP: Free Practice 1 - Re-Cap & Results

We're about an hour away from Free Practice 2 at Shanghai International Circuit, so it's time for a Re-Cap of what happened earlier in Free Practice 1. As always, I'm doing LIVE COMMENTARY COVERAGE on my Twitter @F1Insider78 - So make sure to join in for FP2!

The session started out with a very cloudy and overcast appearance, along with cold temperatures. Cold temperatures make it hard to get heat into the tyres and we saw some drivers struggling with that in the Session. I must note that Giedo Van Der Garde took over for Adrian Sutil for the session while Felipe Nasr took over for Bottas. Although there wasn't any Red Flags, we did see quite a few drivers going off into the gravel and/or spinning the car. It started with Maldonado, who spun out, and while he was emerging back out onto the circuit, he spun again. Kvyat also spun into the gravel, but luckily recovered.

Kimi Raikkonen was one of the few who were unable to get out there during the session, with his Ferrari having more than 1 issue. Another driver who was out of the session for 40 minutes was Esteban Gutierrez, who had his Chassis replaced after Bahrain, but was now facing Clutch issues. He did however get to do a few laps at the end of the session. As for Sergio Perez, he was having problems with the rear brakes locking up, early in the session and by the end of it, he ended up with DRS and Technical issues, which had him heading back into the pits. The car should be ready by Free Practice 2. 

Lewis Hamilton also had an unlucky later half of the session, when he headed back into his garage and they covered it up. Supposedly they had the whole floor of the car off and are still working on it. His team-mate, was having troubles with his brakes locking up as well.

All-In-All, not a very action-packed session, but we'll probably see more laps being completed in FP2. Fastest of the Session was Fernando Alonso, while ironically, his team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen did not even set a time.

Here is the full list of times:

TIMES:

1. Fernando Alonso - 1:39.783 / Ferrari
2. Nico Rosberg - 1:40.181 / Mercedes
3. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:40.772 / Redbull
4. Jenson Button - 1:40.970 / McLaren
5. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:41.175 / Force India
6. Kevin Magnussen - 1:41.366 / McLaren
7. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:41.505 / Toro Rosso
8. Lewis Hamilton - 1:41.560 / Mercedes
9. Sebastian Vettel - 1:41.629 / Redbull
10. Felipe Massa - 1:41.699 / Williams
11. Daniil Kvyat - 1:41.977 / Toro Rosso
12. Romain Grosjean - 1:42.090 / Lotus
13. Felipe Nasr - 1:42.265 / Williams
14. Giedo Van Der Garde - 1:42.615 / Sauber
15. Sergio Perez - 1:42.733 / Force India 
16. Pastor Maldonado - 1:43.731 / Lotus
17. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:44.038 / Caterham
18. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:44.162 / Sauber
19. Jules Bianchi - 1:44.270 / Marussia
20. Max Chilton - 1:44.782 / Marussia
21. Marcus Ericssson - 1:44.836 / Caterham
22. Kimi Raikkonen - NO TIME SET / Ferrari

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Toro Rosso

Next quotes come from Toro Rosso.

Jean-Eric Vergne - "A very interesting circuit with a wide variety of corners and a really long straight that provides great opportunities for overtaking. Doing a qualifying lap here is great fun, dealing with challenges like turn 1, which you approach flat, before the corner just goes on and on. It means it is also demanding on tyres and from a driver’s point of view, it is one of the better ones to drive. However, it’s a shame the circuit is so far away from the city, because we never really get any time to visit what is a fascinating place. So it’s a case of just getting to the track, doing the race and going home."

Daniil Kvyat - "I’ve never been to China, so I am interested to discover something about this country and also the circuit. I’ve watched lots of Shanghai Formula One races on TV to get an idea of the track and after Bahrain I was also able to drive it on the simulator. I was disappointed to finish just outside the points at the last race and, after learning a lot about the car at the post-Bahrain test, I hope we can aim for another top ten finish this weekend, on what looks like a really challenging track. Away from the circuit, I’ve heard the Chinese fans are very welcoming. I will be interested to try Chinese food too!"

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Quotes made by Drivers. 

Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

Next preview quotes for the Chinese GP are from Sahara Force India!

Nico Hulkenberg - "We’ve shown we have a good package and we have the hunger to keep fighting at the front. We’ve performed well at all the tracks so far and they all had very different characteristics. So we can feel positive that the car will perform quite well in China. We are going there after the test in Bahrain and hopefully we can bring some more performance too. So I think we can aim for another competitive weekend and come away with some more points."

Sergio Perez - "To get the podium in Bahrain was great - it’s a great result for this team and a big boost of confidence for me. The target is to move on, keep improving and target more podiums. Bahrain was the first real opportunity I had to develop the car through the weekend without any issues so it felt like my season really started there. Now we need to think about how we can do better in China. At the same time we must not get carried away because we know how competitive Formula One is and how things can change very quickly."

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Quotes made by Drivers. 

Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Sauber

These quotes come from the drivers of the Sauber F1 Team! Good to hear Esteban is recovered and will be racing in China!

Adrian Sutil - "I am positive about the next race in China. The Shanghai International Circuit is interesting. It is not my favourite track, but I still like driving there. The layout is special in comparison to the other ones. It consists of some fast corners, which get tighter towards the end of the corner. Besides that, the track has a long straight which is the longest on the race calendar. On this track a good balance for the car and a lot of grip on the front axle is needed. I believe the layout should be a good fit for the C33. I am positive about the weekend. We have to look forward, and every future race will move us furthermore up to the front. Shanghai is an interesting city, which is very modern and growing all the time. The city has a lot to offer, such as restaurants and also some spectacular buildings. I would like to visit the Great Wall of China, but so far I have not had the time.

Esteban Gutierrez -"I have nice memories of Shanghai from last year. It was probably one of the best race starts in my Formula 1 career. I had a tough qualifying, but after the start and during the opening laps, I was able to overtake a lot of cars. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish the race. Regarding the track, I really like it, especially the entry into Turn 1. Looking back to the last three races, my performance will help me to get the maximum out of the car, in both, qualifying and the race. With the updates on the car, I hope we can increase our level of competition so we can achieve better results. Talking about China, it is an interesting place to visit. I will travel to Shanghai early to adapt to the time difference and climate, and I will use this time to learn about the Chinese culture."

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Quotes made by Drivers.

Chinese GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Caterham

First preview quotes for the Chinese GP come from the Caterham drivers!

Kamui Kobayashi - "The last of the four early season flyaway races is Shanghai, a track I’ve always had good support on and one that’s a really good challenge technically. The last time I raced there in 2012 I qualified fourth, the highest qualifying position of my career and my team at that point. I actually started third after Lewis had an issue but then the car had a problem with the launch and I lost a lot of places off the line. While I know we won’t be starting that high this year, it would still be good to have a better race in 2014, and the whole team is working as hard as possible to help us do that. The main set up focus is how you balance the need for downforce in the high speed turns against the low drag you want for one of the longest straights of the year. We saw in Malaysia that we have good straight line speed so we’ll have to make sure that works in our favour, and with Renault we’ll be working on energy management so we can maximise the advantage we have in those parts of the track. It’s also a circuit where windspeed and direction can have a big influence on how the car handles, so that’ll be another area for us to focus on in the three practice sessions. We obviously want to head back to Europe in a good position so everyone’s working flat out to help us do that. I We have a couple of new parts coming in China before the bigger package everyone brings to Spain, but we also have to make sure we play to our strengths - we have a small advantage in pure pace over our direct rivals which put us in a strong position for most of the Bahrain race, right up until the final stint which ended with a disappointing result. We have to use that performance on Sunday to help us get back to where we want to be, and to build on that at every race."

Marcus Ericsson - "China’s another new track for me, so obviously what will really help is having another good Friday and Saturday, like we had in Bahrain. Step by step, with each race I’m learning more about how to manage a full race weekend and, apart from Canada, China’s the last track before we get to Europe that I haven’t raced on so it’s even more important to have maximum mileage in FP1 and FP2 so we can really work on optimising the settings. Something I will be working on is tyre management, especially over the long runs - for rookies in F1 tyre management is one of the key areas you have to work on and improving that area of performance will definitely help make me stronger over the full race distance. It might be my first visit to Shanghai but I raced in Macau in 2008 and 2009 so I have raced in China before. I was on pole there in 2009 and finished fourth, so I have good memories of racing in China, and I also spent the week between Australia and Malaysia this year in Macau because my trainer Alex was living there and working as an FMX rider in Macau before he joined me in F1. It’s an amazing country and it’ll be a privilege to race there as an F1 driver - hopefully we can repeat the sort of performance we had in Malaysia and finish these flyaways positively." 

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Quotes made by Drivers.

Chinese GP: Schedule

We're only about a week away from the first Practice Session at Shanghai International Circuit in China! I have the full weekend schedule for you all. Please do comment below and tell me if you're attending the GP! It usually does draw in a very large crowd and it's very energetic and exciting.

Please Note: The times on the Schedule are for Standard Time in China. If you would like the times converted to your nearest/local city, please leave a comment!

SCHEDULE:

April 17th - Thursday

15:00 - Press Conference (Location unconfirmed at this time)
16:00 - 17:15 - Autograph Session. (Drivers)

April 18th - Friday

10:00 -11:30 - Free Practice #1
12:35 - 13:30 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
14:00 - 15:30 - Free Practice #2
16:00 - 17:00 - Press Conference (Located In The Press Room)

April 19th - Saturday

09:30 - 10:30 - Team Pit Stop Practice
09:30 - 10:45 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
11:00 - 12:00 - Free Practice #3
13:00 - 13:45 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
14:00 - Qualifying

April 20th - Sunday

11:00 - 12:15 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
13:15 - 14:00 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk
13:30 - Drivers Track Parade
13:45 - 14:15 - Starting Grid Presentation
14:46 - National Anthem
15:00 - Race

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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In-Season Test #1 - Bahrain / Day 2 Line-Up

Day 2 of In-Season Testing at Bahrain International Circuit is underway and here is the line-up. I apologize for the mistake yesterday when I said that Vergne was driving, Kvyat actually drove yesterday and Vergne is driving today

LINE-UP:

Redbull: Daniel Ricciardo
Force India: Sergio Perez
Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton
Lotus: Romain Grosjean
Ferrari: Fernando Alonso
McLaren: Kevin Magnussen
Sauber: Giedo Van Der Garde
Toro Rosso: Jean-Eric Vergne
Williams: Felipe Nasr
Caterham: Marcus Ericsson
Marussia: Jules Bianchi

I'll be doing live-updates throughout the session for today on my twitter @F1Insider78

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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Malaysian GP: Free Practice 1 - Re-Cap & Results

Free Practice 1 just finished up about an hour and a half ago and I have all the times from the session. We had a few cars stopping and/or smoking out on track including Kevin Magnnussen, who lost power and Pastor Maldonado who had to be taken back to the pits when his car started smoking. Romain Grosjean was out for most of the session and neither Lotus ended up setting a time. Another driver to not set a time was Force India's, Sergio Perez, who was having a Fuel issue.

Here are the times:

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:40.691 / Mercedes
2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:40.843 / Ferrari
3. Nico Rosberg - 1:41.028 / Mercedes
4. Jenson Button - 1:41.111 / McLaren
5. Kevin Magnussen - 1:41.274 / McLaren
6. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:41.402 / Toro Rosso
7. Sebastian Vettel - 1:41.523 / Redbull
8. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:41.642 / Force India
9. Felipe Massa - 1:41.686 / Williams
10. Valtteri Bottas - 1:41.80 / Williams
11. Fernando Alonso - 1:41.923 / Ferrari
12. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:42.117 / Redbull
13. Adrian Sutil - 1:42.365 / Sauber
14. Daniil Kvyat - 1:42.869 / Toro Rosso
15. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:42.902 / Sauber
16. Jules Bianchi - 1:43.825 / Marussia
17. Marcus Ericsson - 1:45.775 / Caterham
18. Max Chilton - 1:46.911 / Marussia
19. Kamui Kobayashi - 1:51.180 / Caterham
20. Sergio Perez / No Time Set / Force India
21. Pastor Maldonado / No Time Set / Lotus
22. Romain Grosjean / No Time Set / Lotus

Stay tuned for Session 2, takng place in about 40 minutes, and I will be doing live-commentary as always on my twitter @F1Insider78 - Come join and send in your Questions & Comments!

Article Written By: Amy Hawk.
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F1Insider Special: P1 & P2 After Quotes.

"What we've seen today is that most teams are getting the hang of things and getting better at taking care of the problems that occur with the cars. There's no promise that certain cars will finish or not finish the race on Sunday. It's touch and go at the moment.

   Force India looks strong and I'm happy about that, being a part of the Force India family, we're not overly nervous, but we don't want to be overly confident. Like Checo said, there are areas that need to be improved. We'll see how things go tomorrow. I'm a huge supporter in that team and I want things to work out well.

   Mercedes and Ferrari are also looking well-shaped so far and it is nice to see Redbull not having as much trouble as they had in testing. Williams could really be back this year and it would be sweet relief for Massa to get a win. As for the others, there's things that need to be sorted out.. I'm sure things will fall into place after a few races. Everything is important right now and everything needs to work properly. Hopefully enough cars finish Sunday to fill up the top 10 points positions."

Quote by Amy Hawk (This quote is available for use by owners permission. Please contact.)