Monaco Qualifying: Rookies Warned of Dangers

[RazaBlade]

Rookies warned of Monaco 'hell'

Formula One's younger drivers have been warned to beware the dangerous conditions expected in qualifying at next week's Monaco Grand Prix.

Monaco is the slowest Grand Prix, but crashes can easily happen when drivers are unsighted on the twisty streets.

Williams' Mark Webber added: "Monaco is just so bad - you can't see where the cars are on the track."

"People must be sensible enough not to have huge speed differences - that's the bit that worries."

This season's qualifying promises to be hectic, with drivers running together on the track to a knockout format.

It is a major change from the last three seasons, when drivers had just one lap to set their time but they ran alone on the track.

BMW Sauber's Jacques Villeneuve, who was involved in a crash during practice at the track last year, said: "Monaco will be hell."

Webber added: "At Monaco you actually have nowhere to go if you back off in certain areas, and you don't want to be learning about that in qualifying.

"The experienced guys know the score but every so often you get caught out."

McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya was sent to the back of the grid last year when he dropped his speed from 278kph on the previous lap to a mere 86kph on the fast approach to Casino Square.

Rivals accused him of doing it deliberately to get his own back at being impeded on a previous lap, something Montoya denied, but the consequences were nearly catastrophic.

Villeneuve, coming up behind in his Sauber, was unsighted and ploughed into the back of David Coulthard's Red Bull.

Most exciting qualifying

Webber's team-mate Nico Rosberg will be one of the new faces on the starting-grid.

And the experienced Australian said: "We have told a few rookies that if you do back off at all, you have to look in your mirror after every corner because a car can be on top of you that quickly."

Honda team boss Nick Fry said: "Monaco is probably going to be the most exciting qualifying of the year.

"It really is going to be a matter of who avoids the incidents and who manages to not get baulked."

By the sounds of it, I hope they take plenty of spare parts with them!

[man 430gt]

I can't wait Ade to get on

[ZeTurbo]

I can't wait Ade to get on

You probably meant Ide, right? And he is going to be very far from the track at monaco, he has lost his superlicense.

It will be an interestic test. Here we will see which of the rookies has the balls to be a word champion one day.

[Zytek_Fan]

Remember Red Bull Racing's mechanics last year at the Monaco GP?

[MrKipling]

Yeah, Coulthard looked well pleased about it didn't he?!