F-1 Monaco Q3 today- Spoiler!!!!!!

[Chris]

Guys, I awoke this morning just as Sergio Perez had his massive off coming out of the Tunnel this morning and I had to address it with the man upstairs as I had instant flashbacks of Senna's fatal accident.. Ironic that Sauber came up with current style Cockpit Padding and Protection that the FIA wisely made mandatory, and it literally saved Perez' life.... He is fine and may still race tomorrow, even qualified 8th in the end, but most important He is OK.. I Love Monaco despite the lack of passsing, the history there is Magical!!! Chris

[Deleted]

Hi Chris, I agree about Monaco, To my mind there are only three truly classic races left, the Indy 500, Monaco, and Le Mans. (Sorry NASCAR fans Daytona is just too late and funky to rate classic status in my book.) I was musing this morning about how amazing it would have been to have the present day video coverage back in the 60s!

When I turned on Speed this morning I came in on the post qualifying interviews about half an hour later than they should have been and I knew that something was amiss. Fortunately I taped the qualifying coverage... Unfortunately only one and a half hours of it, so although I did find out what happened I didn't get to see the remainder of Q3. I am glad that Sergio Perez will be ok and hopefully get to race tomorrow.

Also Go MSC, 5th on the grid, but then Monaco is a technician’s course and Michael is a master of Monaco.

This year it seems that the bumps coming out of the tunnel are treacherous this year. Maybe they need to provide a clear runoff area with a tire wall splitter that would funnel cars down the right inside street if they over shot the chicane.


Tomorrow is stacking up to AWSOME!

John

[Chris]

UPDATE---- Unfortunately Sergio will stay in the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco overnight suffering from a severe concussion and sprained thigh and will not be cleared to race tomorrow. I wonder if the designated third(Friday) driver could jump in the car for the race tomorrow? and if the car is qualified or the driver? That would be an interesting twist!!! Well I hope he gets well quickly and as a rookie is probably sick that he is missing this race in his first year in F1. I understand he had won the race in the GP2 series in the past so he might have been a contender in the race. Again Thanks to Modern technology for preventing this from being a Tragedy.
Having a background in Automobile Aerodynamics the thought had occurred to me that the rear downforce may have been severely compromised in the Tunnel as the downforce created by the rear wing actually forms some 15 to 20 feet above the car at speed ? So with a ceiling there may be diminished pressure, I noticed they had dis-allowed the DRS wing function inside the Tunnel and assumed it was because of this factor!! Watching the cars exit the Tunnel they seem to be very lose and I am sure the transition and bump doesnt help.... Chris

[Chris]

John I think you will have to add F1 at Spa to your list of Top Races. That is another truely Magical race that always keeps me on the edge of my seat race long...Chris

[2whl]

I would be really surprised if the crew is able to repair that car for the race. It looked pretty mangled.

[Chris]

UPDATE--- Sergio Perez was released from the hospital this morning after staying an xtra night due to the possible severity of his concussion. He is well on the road to recovery and the concussion was not as bad as first believed. His team mate Kobiashi finished an impressive 5th in the race Sunday. Sauber continues its march up the leader board in F1..

[Deleted]

Hi Chris, Yeah, I love Spa as well, the rolling hills and forest and that clasic run down to the start/finish line and then up the hill, I just wish it was still run on the original course.

The race was pretty exciting this year, who but Michael coud make the Station Hairpin pass work! (it will always be the station hairpin in my mind). I was saddened to see Petrov crash. Maybe it is just a sign of the times but I don't recall that many crashes in the past that required such lengthy recoverys. Of course that crash lead to the extended repair session under red and turned the last 7 laps into a sprint with all new tires. Vettle and his redbull car is pretty amazing so far this year.

The Perez crash made me think about the possibility of putting an arresting net up at that corner to catch the cars at that corner.

Speaking of original courses I would have considered Daytona if the still rand down Hwy. A1A and back up the beach! Now THAT would be worthy of the name Classic.

[Chris]

I agree with the Director of Pirelli Motorsports, We got Robbed!!! The FIA should NOT let the teams touch the cars during a Red Light!!! Here is the way I see it... Vettle put on tires on lap 14 and was going with a One stop strategy, Ferrari and McLaren both did 2 and 3 stop strategies , right before the red Alonzo, Hamilton and Button were catching up to Vettle by 1.5 seconds per lap and Vettle would have either had to fight to stay in the lead with his tires going off or pit and drop to 3rd.... I dont think he could have held off Alonzo or Hamilton but we will never know!!Vettle had some 48 laps on his tires and the others about 20. Instead he got FREE tires and walked away with what was considered a shootout by some. The FIA gave that win to Vettle, their new Golden boy, who in my opinion is a spoiled brat with a car that is way ahead of the others..not that talented... yet but good enough to follow orders and wins consistently.. too consistently.. I love the Red Bull car for its technological designs and construction that the others just cant seem to figure out but come on Vettle wouldnt have won if they had not given him tires. What other racing series do they allow anyone to even touch the car during a Red? They should have gone Green and then if anyone wanted tires then Go for It!!! Just my 2 cents...Chris

[Deleted]

Point well taken Chris, and let's not forget that Louis's wing was about ready to fall off which would have totally put him out of the points if not a couple of laps down. As to whether Alonzo could have passed Vettle with only 7 laps to go and not taken them both out in trying to do so is all accademic. So the race should probably have gone to Alonzo. As much as I dislike his ethics, oops that implies that he has some. Ferrari has done a great job of coming back with compettitive cars this year.

Thanks Chris, your two cents is worth a buck & a-half.

John