Buzzin F1 - Formula One Blog

Force India drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil, were fined €600 each yesterday for speeding in the pit lane.

Heikki Kovalainen in the McLaren was also fined for the same rule but as he was 3.5kph over the speed limit, it cost him €800.

Williams Toyota driver Nico Rosberg, really looked impressive on the streets of Monte Carlo on Thursday only beaten on pace by Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes McLaren during free practice.

Rosberg however, feels that he will not remain in second place and said to Motorsport Aktuell “I do not think it will be repeatable for qualifying.  I do think we can be among the fastest six though.  I am glad that we seem to be pretty good, but we must be careful.  To beat Ferrari in qualifying is going to be very, very difficult.  But I tend to think we might have a BMW behind us.”

There is a 90% chance of rain on race day raising fear of accidents on a wet track without the driver aids, such as traction control and engine braking.  On the other hand Lewis Hamilton thinks it will make for a more exciting race and is not worried about the safety implications.

Hamilton said “I think if it does rain it will be very tricky on the track especially without traction control and the aids we had last year that helped to reduce the rear wheels locking, but that is part of the game.”

“In the past years they have had races here in the wet and Monaco is the best track whether it is wet or dry.  For sure it will be a little more dangerous in the wet, but that is exciting for me.”

Jenson Button the Honda driver, said “It’s always exciting driving in the wet and difficult conditions, that’s what I enjoy because you can make differences with your driving.  But it is also pretty crazy here in the wet, and I’ve never driven in the wet here without traction control.  I’m sure we’ll get used to it, we’re all pretty good.”

One of the main problems on the streets of Monaco are the road markings in the wet which make it especially dangerous, Button said “We don’t have traction control, and with the white lines going up to the Casino, if you touch one then you’ve a big chance of putting your car in the wall.  That’s exactly what Nigel (Mansell) did back in the early 80’s.”

He added “If you are driving around a normal circuit and you lock up a front in the wet, you can run wide, but here there is no run-off area, so you are going to hit the wall.  And in the wet you take different lines.  You brake deeper into a corner and run on the outside, so if you get it a millimetre wrong then you are in the wall.  It’s going to be pretty crazy if it’s wet, but hopefully we’ll get some practice in on Saturday.”