There are 5 different winners for 5 races this season. Will there be the 6th?
Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix will be held on 24, 26, 27 May 2012 at Circuit De Monaco, the most demanding circuit in Formula 1 racing. The circuit is laid out in the narrow streets of Monaco, with tight corners, elevation changes and the famous tunnel section. It is considered the ultimate testing ground for F1 drivers. Nelson Piquet described racing in Monaco as “riding a bicycle around your living room”. Michael Schumacher also said that if it were not already an existing Grand Prix, it would not be permitted on the Formula 1 schedule due to safety reasons. The circuit is 3.340 km in length, drivers have to race for 78 laps which made up a total race distance of 260.52 km. It is the only Grand Prix that does not meet the FIA’s minimum race distance requirement of 305 km.
Similar to a typical street circuit, Circuit De Monaco is tight and twisty, besides being surrounded by many landmarks. Overtaking is also limited because of the narrow track. Race results tend to be decided by drivers’ skill, race strategy and grid positions rather than the performance of the F1 cars. Super-soft and soft tyres will be used in this circuit this year. With the new 2012 Pirelli tyres with heavier degradation, race strategy will once again play a more important role in this circuit. One of the famous section of the circuit is the Fairmont Hairpin which is the slowest, tightest corner in the season, taken at about 46 km/h. The steering systems and suspensions of the cars have to be redesigned to cope with the hairpin. Another popular section is the tunnel below the Fairmont Hotel. DRS is banned in this tunnel because the cars can lose 20–30% of downforce due to the aerodynamic properties of the tunnel. The tunnel is also difficult to cope with because the eyes cannot switch from light to dark and then to light quickly. Just after the tunnel is a tight left-right chicane, the only place where overtaking can be done. Sergio Pérez had involved in an accident here in 2011 which caused him to miss Monaco and Montreal Grand Prix. The third last corner (La Rascasse) is a tight 180 degree right hander which again requires full steering lock.
The setups for the cars is different in Monaco in comparison to other circuits. High downforce is required although the speed of the corners are relatively slow. It helps to keep the cars stable during acceleration and reduce braking durations. Another issue is keeping the brakes up to optimum temperature. The only heavy braking point is at the left-right chicane after the tunnel. Another concern is cooling the cars’ engines because F1 cars rely solely on moving air to remove the heat from radiators and the speed of the circuit is slow. Teams will also adopt gears with a closer ratio since there are less long straights so acceleration is the main priority.
There have been a lot of possibilities this season with 5 different winners for all 5 races. Last year, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso were tightly engaged in a battle for victory on different race strategies. All drivers agreed that the circuit is both physically and mentally demanding. Button is optimistic of getting on top of the balance issues that have affected him for the past two races. Hamilton believes consistency is the best way to tackle the world championship. Raikkonen will be focusing on qualifying since overtaking in Monaco is difficult. Schumacher is quite confident although he will lose 5 positions on the grid. Maldonado is full of high hopes of getting another strong result for the team. Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery is expecting the teams to have a wide variety of tactics to produce another interesting race.
Lap Record : 1:14.439 – Michael Schumacher (2004)
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