2006 Monaco Grand Prix

[Jack_Bauer]

First qualifying session over, and the guys to drop out are Albers, Monteiro, Speed, Sato, Montagny and Massa. Of course the big story is Massa who lost the backend in the Casino Square complex and went nose first into the barrier, bringing out the red flag. It was a strange incident (the kind of silly crash which has dogged Massa's whole career to date), possibly down to the fact that Ferrari have had to choose the harder, less grippy Bridgestone compound due to wear problems in Friday's testing.

[Jack_Bauer]

Second session over, and the big story is David Coulthard going FOURTH fastest in the Red Bull! Don't think anyone saw that one coming. Those to lose out in this session are Ralf S, Klien, Liuzzi, Button and the BMWs of Villeneuve and Heidfeld. Ralf will be fuming to have missed out on the pole shoot out by a tenth of a second to his teammate after being held up by Button. Button was the big disappointment of the session, a man expected to do well here but has struggled with understeer all weekend and was some way behind teammate Barrichello.

[Vaigra]

What are your opinions on MS's last minute car trouble?
I really really doubt he'd go that far to ensure he had pole.

[Jack_Bauer]

Originally Posted by Vaigra

I really really doubt he'd go that far to ensure he had pole.

Well it certainly wouldn't be the first time Schumi has sunk to lowest of the low to get a result. Even before his much publicised incidents in Adelaide '94 and Jerez '97 he was found guilty of deliberatley trying to stop and get redflagged a race back in F3. I'm trying to dig up some info on the incident but old F3 info on the net is pretty hard to Google.

I seem to remember hearing that he was leading a race (possibly at Monaco actually), lost control and would've thrown away the race. He then basically parked his car across the track blocking anyone getting through and claimed his car was un driveable. He did this knowing that the race would either be restarted or the result would be counted back to the previous lap and he would get the victory. In scrutineering it turned out there was nothing wrong with the car and he could've moved it, and was heavily fined and stripped of his result.

I'm not saying that means he cheated this time, but he does have a history of VERY dodgy, unsporting behaviour, so it wouldn't come as a great suprise if he did it deliberately. All Ferrari back row tomorrow anybody??

[Zytek_Fan]

Originally Posted by Jack_Bauer

I'm not saying that means he cheated this time, but he does have a history of VERY dodgy, unsporting behaviour, so it wouldn't come as a great suprise if he did it deliberately. All Ferrari back row tomorrow anybody??

I agree with the all Ferrari back row
Surely the incident will be investigated by the marshalls
Maybe a little Ferrari favouritism by the FIA....

[Jack_Bauer]

Originally Posted by Zytek_Fan

I agree with the all Ferrari back row
Surely the incident would have been investigated by the marshalls, but apparently it hasn't
Maybe a little Ferrari favouritism by the FIA....

The incident is still under investigation by the stewards. It's been a long while now so there is obviously some fierce discussion going on. Usually they announce if anybody's being penalised on the Saturday afternoon (see Fisichella), but technically the official starting grid is not published until first thing Sunday morning. Maybe we'll have to wait til tomorrow to find out what's gonna happen.

Whatever way the decision goes it'll cause huge uproar. If they find in favour of Schumacher then all other teams will kick up a stink, and if they punish Schumi there will no doubt be fierce prostestations from Ferrari. As ever when Schumi's involved, the off-track drama is as eventful as the ontrack stuff!

[Wouter Melissen]

Schumacher is a great actor.

[Jack_Bauer]

Final session is over, and Michael Schumacher is on pole. He got the position just 0.064 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso. In a bizarre end to the session Schumi lost control of his Ferrari in la Rascasse and ended up parked in the barriers on the outside. He already had his pole lap in the bag but the yellow flags flying certainly hindered the other drivers trying to set flying laps at that time, not least World Champ Fernando Alonso who was the last driver to complete a flying lap. He almost certainly lost a fraction negotiating the stricken Ferrari, and indeed he ended up losing out on the pole by just the merest fraction of a second. I'm sure there will be more to hear on this issue, a lot of unhappy people no doubt in the paddock this evening.

The other big story of the session was Mark Webber's stunning performance to put his Williams Cosworth in 3rd spot. They certainly seem to have made a huge leap forward this weekend, moving way ahead of the Hondas and Toyotas and now challenging the McLarens. McLaren too seem to have closed the gap on the frontrunners so it will no doubt be a very tight and competitive race tomorrow.

1. M Schumacher
2. F Alonso
3. Webber
4. Raikkonen
5. Fisichella
6. Montoya
7. Barichello
8. Trulli
9. Coulthard
10. Rosberg
11. R Schumacher
12. C. Klien
13. Liuzzi
14. Button
15. Villeneuve
16. Heidfeld
17. Albers
18. Monteiro
19. Speed
20. Sato
21. Montagny
22. Massa

[magracer]

I initially thought his bad track position would have been as a consequence of getting oversteer on the previous corner (which he got), but his answer regarding the incident in the press conference was just lame, he argued he didn't know why he was in such a wrong position, which is simply unacceptable.

Renault will certainly file a claim, but unfortunately being Ferrari and MSC the subject, they'll just get a wrist slap....

Originally Posted by Jack_Bauer

All Ferrari back row tomorrow anybody??

I wish, at least it would make the race interesting.

[Matra et Alpine]

Yep, I think Schui did it deliberately.
As ITV said , his body language in the post-quali interview seemed a little embarrassed.

Watching it you can see him turn in once, then a second time AND THEN STRAIGHTEN before turning the third time to "park" at the wall.
YES I think he did it deliberate and hope the stewards penalise him with a drop of 10 places !!

[Wouter Melissen]

He should at least have been more modest, if it was an honest mistake.

[fpv_gtho]

Im a happy camper, Webber up in 3rd, its been a while since hes sat down at a press release, let alone a qualy press release.

I dont really know what to make of the MS situation. I didnt see it myself, and will probably have to wait for the prerace qualy footage to see it for myself, but what ive read on itv.com certainly points to some shifty behaviour. Im sure to piss off a few people if i said what i really thought though...

[Jack_Bauer]

Video clip of the Schumacher incident now online at Youtube so those that haven't seen it can make up their minds...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb0tyPCGWKY

[magracer]

It looks dodgier and dodgier every time I watch it... what's with the driving straight across the track after the "apex" (it wasn't understeer).

[fpv_gtho]

That clip is at real speed right? not slow motion?

Thats unbelievable really...