Tag: monaco gp

2019 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying

The Monaco harbor master is usually the one with the most frayed nerves during Grand Prix weekend. Until the fairy tale arrival of Charles LeClerc was shattered into an Italian tragedy, the scarlet blood-red Ferrari failed to qualify for the second session of competition. Was it incompetence? Was it…. No, it was incompetence. Perhaps harsh. Call it a passionate miscalculation. Regardless, LeClerc was OUT in Q1! It was not meant to be…. And fantasy Formula 1 leagues tumble on the disappointment which is motor racing!

The Rich Energy Haas F1 Team, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, were able to advance to Q2. Q3 is when tragedy struck a Haas car. This time the villain is Pierre Gasley in the Toro Rosso. He was driving slowly on the racing line and backed up Grosjean’s hot lap. Kevin Magnussen qualified 6th with what Martin Brumble called a “fully committed lap”. KMags was brilliant! Behind the scenes there is a bitter argument between two Frenchmen going on, Grosjean and Gasley… at the time of this writing we are aghast with Gasley, as are the stewards.

But as cars rolled onto the track for the third round of qualifying, Haas fans had one eye raised with measured optimism. Bottas immediately went to the top with a 1:10.252. Magnussen held P4 with a .999 gap to Bottas. But Magnussen quickly droped to 5th, behind Gasley, Vettel, Verstappen and Bottas. He dropped to 6th as Hamilton beat Verstappen for P2. But going into the final run for pole, KMags maintained that .999 second gap to the leader. This is by far the best qualifying run for any Haas car, ever. Imagine if Grosjean was able to make the final qualifying session? I suspect that Ricciardo’s Redbull would be easy pickings on this day for Grosjean.

With 2 minutes remaining in qualifying, the cars took to the track for their final run. Ricciardo was the first to strike and displace the Haas of Kevin Magnussen for 6th. Magnussen responds, to gap with the leader by .890, but not enough to take Ricciardo’s P6. With 12 seconds remaining, Lewis Hamilton jumps to the pole with a 1:10.166 , and the gap to Magnussen parts to 1.066.  But as Magnussen’s Ferrari powered Rich Energy Haas car crossed the line, he closed the gap to .943 seconds from Hamilton’s 1:11.109. In doing so, Magnussen finished 6th, ahead of Ricciardo’s Renault by .089 sec. Very sweet!

Following the qualifying sessions, Red Bull driver Pierre Gasley was summoned to the race control. His block of Grosjean’s qualifying run was not well-received by the race stewards. Gasley was given a three grid spot penalty and one point against his FIA super license. So Gasley’s penalty moved Kevin Magnussen up to the 5th starting position. That translates to row three, and next to Vettel. Anything can happen between the start of the race, and the end of turn 1. Without any Renault powered cars ahead, the likely hood of a mechanical failure at the front is reduced. Regardless, the podium is within sight of a Haas car… we’re getting somewhere!

2016 Monaco Grand Prix – Race Final

It was an amazing sight seeing an American Formula 1 team on the streets of Monaco. The resulting images were far more appealing and valuable than the race results. The team just missed points with Gutierrez and Grosjean finishing 12th and 15th respectively.

But the part of the finish which is easy to miss is the finish. Yet again, the Haas F1 Team brought both of their outfits hofe for a final race. they’ve notched yet another race on the reliability totem pole. We’ve been spoiled by their early points, and it’s easy to overlook what they are achieving. Reliability is a foundation that winning must be built on. Proving successful in the small things will bear fruit in the end. But for now, we can wallow in the self imposed pitty off no points!

Kimi Raikkonen seemed to end Grosjean’s chances for points when his spin put grosjean at the back of the pack. Once Grosjean got stuck behind the Manor car driven by Wehrlein he was done.  Esteban could not bring home that 10th position… he seems to be stuck at 11th.

Onward and upward… On to Canada! ah?

2016 Monaco Grand Prix – Race Preview

Red Bull is bringing their “A” game to the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix. They have developed a new engine, but only have one ready. Despite the amazing victory by Max Verstappen in Spain, the decision was a no brainer for the engine choice nod to go to Daniel Riccardo.

After watching the first two practice sessions the general consensus seems to be that Red bull is the likely candidate for pole, and Riccardo’s lead after P2 seems to support that. But rewind and contrast to the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix.  Vettel took his first victory in a Ferrari after only his second drive for the team. It was what would become the beginning of a culture of complaining being expressed by the Red Bull Team principal. The noise coming from the Red Bull camp seemed to simmer down once their motor contract issues were resolved late in the 2015 season. Max Verstappen’s win in Spain has solidified their belief that they can win with this car, and the Monaco circuit suites the Red Bull chassis well. The Planets are aligned and Christian Horner seems poised to have his revenge.

I know this is the Haas F1 Journal, but the discussion must begin with pole position. Passing on the Monaco circuit generally comes at the cost of a mistake by another driver. But the narrow  roads that twist up and down the steep grades of the mediterranean fishing village were too dangerous for racing in the 1950’s. I would place the odds of a yellow flag after turn 1 at over 50% in favor of a “coming together” if not worse. If the team can qualify well, not lose position or contention because of crashing, and the attrition rate in front of them is high, the Haas F1 Team can score points. There are a lot  “if’s” in that sentence, but the Haas Team is at even odds with the rest of the pack in that regard. The racecraft that Gene Haas brings to the F1 paddock could be the difference in a position or whether they score points. Attrition is generally  beyond the control of the team. But mistakes can be less forgiving at Monaco. A stuck wheel spinner during a pit stop could mean a position. So having the fastest car on pole should give you the best opportunity to clear turn 1 as the leader. The odds for trouble escalates as you work your way back through the first few rows of legitimate contenders. It is that next group of teams where Haas has demonstrated  good pace to compete, among the mid-pack teams.

Now this is a new team, but the learning curve is steep. There is a very real possibility for the Haas F1 Team to score points in Monaco. But can they put 2 cars in the money? It’s really difficult to objectively say. Esteban Gutierrez finished Practice 2 in 13th position and Romain Grosjean in 15th.  The Haas racecraft has proven effective up to this point. But is Monaco the “eye opener” the Haas detractors spoke of before the season started? Could be.

Like I said, the learning curve is steep and there is less room for mistakes at Monaco. The Haas drivers will be up to the task. I have complete confidence in Romain Grosjean and am modestly optimistic. In Spain Grosjean qualified in 13th position. Gutierrez anchored the last position from the Q2 qualifiers in 15th position.  That is about where we should realistically expect them to qualify for Monaco. Can they score points from that far back? The Ferrari power in the Haas car has demonstrated the ability to keep the mid pack at bey when their tires hold out. Perhaps tire strategy could come into play?

The Ultra Soft Pirelli’s seem to be a bit… “floaty” during practice. The side walls do not appear to be matching the design metrics or load balancing intent of the suspension. Commentators on NBC indicated that more rear wing down force is required to keep the back ends of the cars planted. But a sidewall performance issue can only be negated by the rear downforce, not corrected. If the side walls of the front tires are providing varied load transfer to the suspension then a suspension adjustment is required first. But vehicle dynamics can be more of an art than engineering. So the suspension has to be tuned to an estimated mid-point of the various sidewall stiffness on the various compounds. If the softness of the Ultrasofts are too far out of the range,  we could see excessive rear tire wear as the backs ends of the cars lose that balance between the front and rear tires and the load fails to transfer, causing an imbalance in dynamics and the rear to float. Hence excessive tire wear.

Who knows what will happen. The third practice has not happened yet, so I am working with what info I have through P2. But perhaps I’ve omitted the single factor which could have the biggest impact, the weather. The forecast for qualifying is for warm temps up to 75 degrees (24 celsius). The race is scheduled to start at 2:00 PM local time (8:00 AM East Coast US) On Sunday. Accu-Weather is predicting 51% chance of thunder showers at 1:00 PM in Monaco.

I’m sticking with my default prediction. Haas will have one car in points. Having both cars cross the finish line will be an important feat. The rain could be a mess, making for an exciting race. And the rain favors Grosjean. He seems to do well when tire treatment comes into play. This is where racecraft, good driving and a bit of luck at turn 1 could play to the favor of the Haas Team.

I’d be remiss if I did not mention the pride which will be felt by Americans around the world as the Haas F1 cars line up on the starting grid of the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix. The excitement for the Haas F1 Team is growing across the US. And when a car wearing the American flag competes, it also competes for 300 Million other Americans. This is Memorial Day weekend in the United States. On Monday May 30th we will not only be enjoying an extended weekend holiday but remembering the fallen Americans from all wars.  The flag on the Haas car races for them, and 300 Million Americans are along for the ride!

Qualifying is tomorrow… BRING IT ON!!!      Go Haas F1 Team!!!