Felipe Massa - 5th: ”It’s hard to say if there’s been an improvement since Barcelona, but we are in amongst the other front runners, which is already a good sign. Everything went well from the start of the day, when we worked towards the race. From what we’ve seen today, our car seems to be quick and consistent in performance terms. In the past, I wasn’t particularly keen on this track, but more recently that has changed.

“Last year, I took pole and today I immediately felt comfortable, working on settings for the car, which we had never tried before. The softer tyres are definitely quicker, but after ten laps or so, you start to lose the back end a bit. However, we must bear in mind that the track conditions change a lot from today to Saturday, so today’s results are not that representative.”

Kimi Raikkonen - 8th: ”We worked our way through the usual programme for the first day of practice, based on evaluating the two different types of tyre that Bridgestone has brought here and on finding the best set up on the car. I would say the car is handling reasonably well: there are still a few areas where we can improve but I am pleased with what we achieved today.

“Driving here is always a challenge, even if Sunday’s race can then be rather boring, with overtaking practically impossible and if you end up behind slower cars there is nothing you can do but wait for the pit stop.”

Chris Dyer: ”It’s always important to start the Monaco weekend without any problems and so we can be happy with having managed that today. Time lost in free practice here can be more costly than elsewhere. As for the set-up, both drivers are reasonably happy with the handling of the F60, even if obviously, there is still a lot to do.

“Tyre choice for the race is particularly interesting here, given that the two types available are much closer to one another than at other races. Qualifying will be the key as usual at this Grand Prix. Usually at this track, the times are very close and this year they are even more so, given how closely matched everyone is. Therefore it will be even more important to be as well prepared as possible for all phases of qualifying.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Monaco in theory should be one of the most interesting race weekends of the season. Why you might be thinking, seeing as the race is often quite a procession. However in terms of closeness of qualifying and leveling out of car performance, its always something to look forward to.

It might be the best chance of a good result for a large percentage of the drivers and teams on the grid. Sadly the way things are going so far this season Ferrari and Kimi could be included in that percentage.

Raikkonen and his team mate spent the morning putting in the laps.  They continued this job in the afternoon, racking up the laps with Kimi setting a good long run with consistent lap times. The day seemed relatively trouble free for Ferrari although Massa did have a Kers issue in P2

Sadly the same couldn’t be said for Vettel who had an engine failure in P1 and Kubica who had the same fate in P2.  The only other incidents came from drivers such as Lewis, Button and Massa running wide at St Devote or taking a short cut across the chicane.

It was Brawn and Williams who topped the time sheets again in the first days action, with Rubens  fastest in P1 and Nico resuming his usual spot in P2 as fastest driver of the day. Its looking very close for qualifying though and Brawn might have to fight more than Redbull to get that pole this weekend.

Free Practice 1

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

 1.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:17.189            25

 2.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:17.499  + 0.310   31

 3.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:17.578  + 0.389   25

 4.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:17.686  + 0.497   29

 5.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:17.839  + 0.650   30

 6.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:18.000  + 0.811   29

 7.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:18.024  + 0.835   27

 8.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:18.080  + 0.891   27

 9.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:18.283  + 1.094   30

10.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:18.348  + 1.159   22

11.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:18.695  + 1.506   36

12.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:19.204  + 2.015   36

13.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:19.233  + 2.044   16

14.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:19.255  + 2.066   30

15.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:19.534  + 2.345   27

16.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:19.560  + 2.371   20

17.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:19.579  + 2.390   22

18.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:19.600  + 2.411   23

19.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:19.698  + 2.509   23

20.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:19.831  + 2.642   28

Free Practice 2

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

 1.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:15.243            45

 2.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:15.445  + 0.202   34

 3.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:15.590  + 0.347   40

 4.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:15.774  + 0.531   35

 5.  Massa        Ferrari               (B)  1:15.832  + 0.589   41

 6.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:15.847  + 0.604   33

 7.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:15.984  + 0.741   44

 8.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:15.985  + 0.742   42

 9.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:16.260  + 1.017   42

10.  Piquet       Renault               (B)  1:16.286  + 1.043   42

11.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:16.552  + 1.309   38

12.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:16.579  + 1.336   27

13.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:16.675  + 1.432   37

14.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:16.915  + 1.672   42

15.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:16.983  + 1.740   47

16.  Bourdais     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:17.052  + 1.809   47

17.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:17.109  + 1.866   39

18.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:17.207  + 1.964   44

19.  Fisichella   Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:17.504  + 2.261   44

20.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  No time              2

All Timing Unofficial

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Bridgestone makes an exception to its 2009 race tyre allocation philosophy of leaving a gap between 

compounds by bringing the soft and super soft tyres to the most slippery race of the year, the Monaco 

Grand Prix.

Despite its relatively short length, the 3.34km Monte Carlo track has a seemingly endless supply of 

corners with barely a straight to mention, all bordered by unyielding Armco barriers. To make matters 

more difficult, the track surface is polished smooth by constant road traffic through the year, meaning 

that finding grip is a big challenge. 

Both the soft and the super soft compounds are from the lower temperature operating range of 

Bridgestone’s F1 tyres, meaning quicker warm-up.

Also of note, Bridgestone will debut a new softer compound intermediate tyre at Monaco. This tyre has 

been designed to deliver more grip in the wet and will be used for the remainder of this season. Last 

season Lewis Hamilton won an eventful Monaco Grand Prix after using Bridgestone’s wet (now 

intermediate) and soft dry grooved tyres. 

Hirohide Hamashima -Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, said: 

What are the challenges of Monaco? 

“Finding grip will be the main challenge on the streets of Monte Carlo. This is a very interesting circuit, 

and one where the track is made of many different types of surface as well as there being public road 

markings on the track. Also notable is that F1does not run on Friday, so the track conditions can change 

quite a lot between Thursday and Saturday. When there is no racing taking place, public vehicles and 

also people use the track. This makes it difficult for rubber to build up and the surface can become dirty 

again, which does not help the track surface develop well for racing.” 

How different is the new intermediate tyre? 

“The new intermediate tyre gives more grip through having a softer compound than the old one, but 

driving the latest specification F1 cars in the wet will always be a challenge, no matter what tyres are 

used. The latest cars have less downforce so less aerodynamic grip than before, and this is true in wet 

or dry conditions. In the dry, less downforce is not as much of a problem as the slick tyres have more 

grip than the previous grooved tyres, so there is more mechanical grip to counter the loss of 

aerodynamic grip.  In the wet, even with our new intermediate tyres, there is only slightly more grip than 

before. In the wet we still need the drainage channels in the tread to prevent aquaplaning, so the only 

grip improvement must come from new compound developments.” 

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Since the championship started in 1950, the Scuderia cannot consider the trip to Monte Carlo a truly profitable one, as the last victory for a Prancing Horse car dates back to Michael Schumacher’s win in 2001, the final one of five times that the German won here. In fact, after a victory for Gilles Villeneuve in 1981, Ferrari had to wait until Michael was first past the flag in 1997 to record another Monegasque win. When Niki Lauda took victory in an incident packed 1975 race, it was the first time the Scuderia had won since the 1955 win from Maurice Trintignant, in a race more famous for Alberto Ascari’s dive into the harbour.

Although there are no points handed out for a race fastest lap, it does say something about one’s real pace and in 2002, ’04, ’05, 06 and ’08, a Prancing Horse car did set the quickest lap in Monaco, which is an encouraging statistic to have on one’s side. In 2008, it was an all-red Ferrari front row, but still the Scuderia failed to win. In fact, in the past, it has often been the case that the dominant team of the year has failed to secure victory in the most famous race on the calendar, with a less fancied runner taking top honours. Could it be that, in 2009, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro fits that designation? This year will be the first time that the F1 teams arrive in the Principality without the benefit of having tested on a track configured to reproduce the demands of the slowest, twistiest circuit of the year. For Ferrari that used to mean running at its own Fiorano facility and in more recent years, using the slowest of the several layouts available at Le Castellet in the south of France. The ban on in-season testing has had an effect on the Ferrari team, as much of its work method was based on track activity and the Scuderia is still working to adapt its philosophy to the new world of Formula 1. The major step forward in performance seen in Barcelona a fortnight ago is the result of the team adapting well to the new methods of bringing innovations to the track without the benefit of pre event testing. Felipe Massa expresses a mix of optimism and caution when it comes to this weekend’s Grand Prix. “For the last two years, I’ve made it to the podium in Monaco and it would be great to go for a hat-trick this time,” says the Brazilian. “It will be very tough, but we’ll give it our best shot. Thanks to the aerodynamic updates we introduced in Spain, the F60 is much improved, which is why I should have been in the fight for third place at the Catalunya Circuit right up to the end, if a refuelling problem hadn’t meant I had to back off for the final part of the race. In terms of performance, we have made significant steps forward, while there is still much to do on the reliability front.”

Monaco provides the exception to the rule in so many cases in Formula 1, from its “Friday holiday” to the need for scuba divers on standby, to the thrill of racing through a tunnel and this year sees an additional exception when it comes to tyres. Bridgestone is required by the regulations to bring tyres with distinctly different characteristics to each race, in an attempt to improve the show: for example, the “super-soft” can be brought with the “medium” and the “soft” with the “hard.” However, here at Monaco, which is much more tyre dependent in terms of lap times and race pace, Bridgestone will be bringing its “soft” and “super-soft.” This should suit Ferrari, as it has been evident this year that the F60 has tended to struggle on the harder tyres, while working better on the softer side.

Much has been written about the value or otherwise of running KERS in Monte Carlo and currently the F60s are due to be fitted with the power boosting device. Admittedly, its use will be more limited than at more flowing circuits, but given that the F60 was designed around carrying KERS and this is factored into its weight and distribution of its weight, it is logical to run it, no matter how minimal the benefit, given how much closer the grids have been this season. Furthermore, given that close grids have always been a feature of the Monaco Grand Prix, then the slightest advantage has to be worth having.

On top of that, it was clear that all the work of the past few weeks has produced a car package clearly superior to the one that tackled the opening four races of the season. The F60 now has far more grip and downforce and these two qualities are in much demand around the streets of the Principality. For all the pieces to finally fall into place at Monaco would be a fantastic boost for the team, which is still working towards the goal of winning races again, whatever the scores in the championships. As Kimi Raikkonen said, “the situation in the championship is very difficult, given that both me and Felipe have only managed to score three points each. But we won’t be giving up and we continue to work hard to get back on top and, only at the end, will it be worth adding up the points. The car has improved since the earlier races and so it should mean we are more competitive, although it’s best to wait until Thursday’s free practice to get a clearer picture.”

Monaco is without a doubt the biggest draw for spectators, TV viewers and those with a commercial interest in the sport, however, it is no longer truly unique because, as of last year, we have another street race in the shape of Singapore, with the added factor of it being a night race. However, while it might be the most exciting race for the fans who can almost feel part of the action, for the team personnel, Monaco is possibly the toughest on the calendar. Since the pit garages and a new pit lane were created a few years ago, the situation has improved, but the lack of space, the complicated garage layout, the pit signalling area at the back rather than the front of the pits and the need to fight through the crowds all makes for a stressful time and the longer weekend simply adds to the pressure. As to the weather, Monaco’s unique coastal setting, alongside the Mediterranean might make for a picturesque backdrop, but in meteorological terms it can be more of a headache. Currently, the forecast for the weekend is good, but trapped between the sea and the mountains, Monte Carlo can produce its own micro-climate, which can change in a matter of hours, adding to what is always something of a Sunday afternoon lottery.

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