Formula One 2012

Summers · May 27, 2012

don't cut corners, cause crashes.

MJB · May 27, 2012

So how come Grosjean crashed from 4th/5th place and yet only about two went through the pit exit whereas everyone else, apart from Kobayashi made it through the first corner in one piece?

LUKIE · May 28, 2012

I am starting to think you didn't even see the crash. Three cars cut the corner straight away, because they literally had NOWHERE to go, except INTO Grosjean.

There was no way they should have been penalised. Worse case scenario for them is they should have been told to drop back behind such and such car, but there was noway to do that so quickly after the accident, from race control.

MJB · May 28, 2012

I watched the whole race and have seen several replays, so that's not an issue.

My argument is that they gained an advantage by cutting the first corner and they should not have kept that advantage.

Lineker · May 28, 2012

Mark Webber kept a five-car train at bay in tricky conditions to secure the second Monaco Grand Prix victory of his career and become the sixth winner in as many races in the 2012 Formula 1 season.

That statistic is unprecedented in F1 history, but Webber's win did make Red Bull the first team to notch up a repeat win this year.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was second, while Fernando Alonso completed the podium for Ferrari and now leads the world championship. Sebastian Vettel in the second Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton's McLaren and Alonso's team-mate Felipe Massa rounded out a very close top six.

Pole position starter Webber held off Rosberg's Mercedes away from the grid, then remained ahead through the sole pitstop sequence, despite Rosberg going for fresh tyres earlier.

Vettel brought himself into contention by getting up to sixth at the start, then stayed out until lap 45 before switching from softs to the super softs that everyone else had started the race on. Lapping 1.5s faster than anyone else for a spell while leading, Vettel was able to emerge from his stop in fourth ahead of Hamilton, who had lost out to Alonso in the pits.

Rain had threatened all afternoon, and became slightly heavier going into the final eight laps, just as the leaders' tyres began to fade. That brought the top six even closer together, with Rosberg, Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton and Massa - in his strongest drive of the year so far - suddenly right on Webber's tail. But as the drizzle eased again, the pace increased and Webber was able to wrap up his first win of 2012.

A start crash eliminated another podium contender. Lotus's Romain Grosjean made a slow start then tangled with Michael Schumacher's Mercedes, breaking the Lotus's suspension and sending it spinning across the pack at Sainte Devote. Amazingly none of the frontrunners hit it, but it did clip Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber, which became airborne and later retired with suspension damage. Further back, Barcelona winner Pastor Maldonado (Williams) ran into Pedro de la Rosa's HRT.

Schumacher was able to continue and ran seventh until fuel pressure problems forced him to retire.

Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) then picked up that position - a very early pitstop on lap 18 having given him chance to run in clean air and vault up the order. But a decision to pit for intermediates in the late shower proved misguided and dropped him out of the points.

Force India scored with both cars as Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg finished seventh and eighth, followed by Kimi Raikkonen in the remaining Lotus. The Finn lost time when his tyres dramatically faded in the first stint and he then spent a while trapped behind Charles Pic's Marussia following his stop. Bruno Senna completed the scorers for Williams.

Jenson Button failed to make any progress in the second McLaren. After taking to the escape road to avoid the first-corner crash, he spent most of the afternoon trying to pass Heikki Kovalainen's Caterham, eventually spinning at the second part of the Swimming Pool in his efforts, and retiring soon after.

Kovalainen had been on course for 11th, but had to pit with front wing damage amid a fraught battle with Sauber's Sergio Perez, so fell to 13th behind Vergne.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Monaco Grand Prix
Monte Carlo, Monaco;
78 laps; 260.520km;
Weather: Cloudy.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1h46:06.557
2. Rosberg Mercedes + 0.643
3. Alonso Ferrari + 0.947
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 1.343
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 4.101
6. Massa Ferrari + 6.195
7. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 41.537
8. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 42.562
9. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 44.036
10. Senna Williams-Renault + 44.516
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
14. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

Fastest lap: Perez, 1:17.298

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap
Button McLaren-Mercedes 71
Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 66
Pic Marussia-Cosworth 65
Schumacher Mercedes 64
Petrov Caterham-Renault 16
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 6
De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1
Maldonado Williams-Renault 1
Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1

World Championship standings, round 6:

Drivers: Constructors:
1. Alonso 76 1. Red Bull-Renault 146
2. Vettel 73 2. McLaren-Mercedes 108
3. Webber 73 3. Ferrari 86
4. Hamilton 63 4. Lotus-Renault 86
5. Rosberg 59 5. Mercedes 61
6. Raikkonen 51 6. Williams-Renault 44
7. Button 45 7. Sauber-Ferrari 41
8. Grosjean 35 8. Force India-Mercedes 28
9. Maldonado 29 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6
10. Perez 22
11. Di Resta 21
12. Kobayashi 19
13. Senna 15
14. Massa 10
15. Hulkenberg 7
16. Vergne 4
17. Schumacher 2
18. Ricciardo 2

All timing unofficial[/code]

Monaco Grand Prix winner Mark Webber said surviving the additional challenges of changing weather and tyre strategies made his second Monte Carlo victory an 'incredible' experience.

Webber held the lead for most of the race, fending off a five-car train of pursuers amid drizzle on slick tyres in the final laps.

The Australian said wondering when it might rain made all pit strategies a gamble, but he was able to fend off main rival Nico Rosberg despite the Mercedes pitting for fresh tyres earlier.

"I'm feeling incredible. It was a very interesting race," said Webber. "It was reasonably straightforward at the start, getting the gap on the super softs and just managing with Nico. We had a bit of a gap over the rest so both of us were getting away and trying to get into a reasonable gap.

"The weather was threatening around that pitstop window - we didn't know whether to go a bit longer and put on a set of inters. Nico went for the undercut so a few people had to react to his chess move."

Webber's team-mate Sebastian Vettel then became a threat for victory as he ran long on soft tyres and pulled away while the erstwhile leaders struggled for tyre temperature on the new softs they had just taken on at their stops. Ultimately Webber got up to speed and Vettel could only get fourth place.

"The next stage of the race was very strange as it was hard to get the soft tyre warmed up," said Webber. "Seb had his [tyres] in and it wasn't really wearing down that much and he was coming back into the picture with his strategy.

"I thought it was getting interesting and didn't want Seb to get the magic 20 seconds so he could do the stop and get the victory, that wasn't part of the plan."

The rain finally came with eight laps to go, and Webber had to hang on with Rosberg, Fernando Alonso, Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa right behind him as they coped with both a slippery surface and traffic.

"Fernando said in the car coming across here that there were times when he was praying for rain, then when it started he was like 'no, no, no'," Webber joked.

"I think it was like that for all of us except me because for the first guy there it is always tricky."

Mark Webber's victory in the Monaco Grand Prix was unchallenged on Sunday night, despite speculation over a potential protest from rival teams about the legality of his car.

It is understood that Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes are unhappy that holes in the floor in front of the rear wheels of the RB8 do not comply with the regulations.

Other teams that are running such 'holes' have been forced to include slots that run out to the edge of the floor to ensure that they are openings - and not fully enclosed.

There was talk after the race that either McLaren or Ferrari were going to protest the result, but in the end neither team elected to take such action.

The official results were duly published at 6.45pm confirming Mark Webber's victory, and there was no subsequent challenge from any competitor about it.

However, both McLaren and Ferrari said afterwards that they were keen to get clarification on the matter before the next race in Canada.

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "I heard about that [the hole issue] in terms of discussion about this type of thing, and for sure we need a clarification on this point. That is all I can say tonight."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said he was happy to follow the FIA's lead on the matter.

"It is not for me to comment on someone else's car, it is for the FIA to make that decision," he explained.

When asked if he expected the matter to be sorted out before the next race, he said: "Yes. I think it will be sorted out shortly."

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner insisted that his team had had full approval from the FIA on its design being legal.

"I would be disappointed if there would be a protest, it would not be particularly sporting," he said.

"We are totally happy that our car fully complies with the regulations. We have obviously consulted with the FIA over it - we have had their opinion in writing confirming the interpretation, so it would be disappointing if there was a protest. But we are entirely happy that the car completely complies."

Lewis Hamilton ended the Monaco Grand Prix frustrated with both his start and his pitstop after his third place on the grid became only a fifth position finish.

The McLaren driver could not keep up with leaders Mark Webber (Red Bull) and Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) in the first stint, was jumped by Fernando Alonso's Ferrari when both pitted early on, and then found Sebastian Vettel rejoining ahead of him as Red Bull executed an alternative strategy for the world champion.

"It wasn't the best result. But this is motor racing. I really dislike going backwards," said Hamilton.

"But we still came away with some points and there are many, many more races ahead of us so we just have to keep our heads up and keep pushing."

He warned that McLaren, which has not had a podium finish since China in April, had to react fast.

"I think the team have definitely got some work to do because we are falling behind race by race," said Hamilton. "The others are picking up some serious pace. If we're not lucky then it will fall away from us."

Hamilton was particularly disgruntled about his start. Although he did not lose any positions, he felt a chance to gain ground had been missed.

"My start was one of the worst starts I've had in a long time," he said. "I just don't understand why it happened when the two guys next to me and the guy behind me got perfect starts. I was very, very fortunate not to get caught up in the crash.

"We do thousands and thousands of starts through the year so it should not be a problem."

The Briton was also keen to understand how he had lost ground during the pit sequences.

"I don't know how long my pitstop was but I lost quite a lot of time," said Hamilton.

"I just wasn't able to really keep up with Alonso, and Sebastian got me through his pitstop, and then it didn't seem possible to overtake."

Nico Rosberg believes he had the best car during the Monaco Grand Prix, but conceded he could do nothing to overtake Mark Webber.

Rosberg started from second position behind Webber, who made a good start from pole to keep his lead.

The Australian managed to keep his Mercedes rival at bay despite intense pressure, Rosberg crossing the finish line 0.6 seconds behind Webber's Red Bull.

Rosberg was very happy with the result despite not managing to pass Webber for the lead.

"My engineer and my team gave me a great start, I got away really well," said Rosberg. "We were miles ahead of everyone else but I was not able to get him. After that, Mark drove a great race, very controlled.

"In general it has been a good weekend for me and team. I think I had the best car, that is my feeling. That is really cool and let's hope there is a lot more to come in the next few races."

Rosberg, who scored his maiden Formula 1 win earlier this year in China, said being on the podium in Monte Carlo was very special for him.

"It is very special to be up here, and it is great the way to the podium was my way to school, so I am very happy," he said.

Despite the nature of the circuit, Rosberg admitted he was hopeful he would be able to pass Webber, but said his tyres were gone by the end of the race.

"I was hoping I would get the chance but my tyres were really struggling too. I had Fernando [Alonso] behind me. At times it was very difficult. The tyres lost temperature, and they then picked up towards the end."

Fernando Alonso reckons third place means he achieved his target from the Monaco Grand Prix, which was to finish ahead of his closest championship rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

The Ferrari driver is now in the sole lead of the world championship, with 76 points, ahead Vettel and Monaco winner Mark Webber, who are both on 73.

And while a second Monaco victory escaped Alonso by less than a second, the Spaniard said he was satisfied from his weekend's haul.

"Our target was to finish in front of Sebastian and Lewis - they were with us in the world championship and if you go race-by-race you concentrate on different drivers," he said afterwards. "The next one will be Mark, who is now second in the championship.

"It will be interesting this season with the see constant development of the car and the constant surprises that we are having every race. You never know which one is for pole or race win."

Alonso admitted that he was lucky to emerge unscathed from the fracas at the start which eliminated Lotus driver Romain Grosjean and mixed up the order behind, bringing Vettel, who started ninth into contention.

"I had a fantastic start, so in the first ten metres I was side by side with Romain and I was passing Lewis [Hamilton] as well who was third," he said. "They went close to each other and I put the car in the middle and I think I touched with Romain with my rear left and his right front.

"After that touch he spun, so were lucky that nothing was damaged in the car. After that spin of Romain I think the positions mixed a little bit because I saw Vettel like position five or six – so people were helped and some people gained advantage.

"Everything went smooth after the start – at that point I thought maybe the car was damaged or something – but it was fine," he added. "I felt good, I felt competitive, but obviously in Monaco it is difficult to manage the traffic.

"We overtook Hamilton at the stop with perfect time and perfect stop again, so thanks to team we are in a privileged position."

Jenson Button felt Heikki Kovalainen 'got the balance wrong' as the Caterham driver held off Button's McLaren for most of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Kovalainen got up to 13th amid the startline crash, while Button had to go wide to avoid Kamui Kobayashi's flying Sauber and found himself behind the Caterham.

Although Button ran eight laps longer before his pitstop, he still rejoined behind Kovalainen again.

As their battle became more fraught late on - and was joined by Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso and Sergio Perez's Sauber - Button spun at the second part of the Swimming Pool, caught Kovalainen again, then retired after sustaining a puncture in another passing attempt.

"Heikki was so slow, but he's very good at placing his car, and if you place your car in the right place, you can't overtake," said Button.

"I think he was looking in his mirrors more than looking forward, but that's his choice and it makes my life very difficult."

Button also said Kovalainen repeatedly cut the chicane while holding him off.

"It is [frustrating] when he doesn't get a penalty for it and it just slows us all down," said the Briton.

"When I did get down the outside of him at the chicane he just kept moving across and it was like 'OK, I'm up against the wall now and we're touching wheels...'

"There has to be a balance when you're fighting for 12th place and I don't think he had it right, but there you go, that's racing."

Despite his frustration at Kovalainen, Button openly admitted that his main issue had been qualifying only 13th.

"It all comes from a bad qualifying and then being unlucky at the start," he said. "But if you're in the middle of the pack you're more prone to incidents."

Button said that as his race had been so bad, having to retire was no loss.

"At least I didn't have to do the last eight laps and feel pain for even longer, that's one way of looking at it," he said.

Heikki Kovalainen's strong Monaco Grand Prix run has left the Caterham team more optimistic than ever about its Formula 1 potential, according to boss Tony Fernandes.

Kovalainen was running 12th place in Monte Carlo, having made good progress through the first-corner crash, then held Jenson Button's McLaren at bay - remaining ahead even after Button had eight additional laps to try and build a gap before their pitstops.

Button ultimately retired following an incident with Kovalainen, who later had to pit for repairs to wing damage sustained in a clash with Sauber's Sergio Perez, although he got back out to take 13th position.

"That was one of the most tense but most exciting races we have had since we came into the sport just two and a half years ago, and to be not only racing Jenson's McLaren, but to be keeping him behind us and to be able to resist his attacks is a huge achievement for a team that is still young, still growing and hungrier than ever to succeed," said Fernandes.

"In fact, when Heikki passed Jenson out of the pits that was definitely the most exciting moment in my Formula 1 career and something that I will remember forever."

He added: "I am an optimist and our pitwall is full of people who would call themselves realists - I would probably say they are pessimists - but after today I have never seen so many pessimists so optimistic about the future. A great day for sure."

Kovalainen is confident his Monaco performance will not be a one-off.

"This type of track was always going to give us the chance to fight, I'd said that before the race, and it was really good fighting with Jenson for as long as I did, keeping him behind me and really pushing," he said.

"We have more to come from this car throughout the season, so I think we have more races like this to look forward to, and results like today make all the hard work the whole team put in worth it."

Caterham's technical director Mark Smith was confident that Kovalainen would have been able to hold on ahead of his rivals and take what would have been 11th place but for the clashes.

"When the rain started falling we saw Heikki's brake temperatures starting to drop and he was telling us the car was harder to control, but had Perez not hit him and caused his front wing failure I am sure he would have retained that place - he was clearly in a very determined mood and driving to the level everyone knows he can," Smith said.

Jean-Eric Vergne said he was forced to pit for new tyres near the end of the Monaco Grand Prix because the Pirellis he was using were simply too worn out, rather than because Toro Rosso was gambling on rain.

The Frenchman was running strongly in seventh position in his first Formula 1 race in Monaco when he pitted for intermediate tyres with just six laps to go.

The move did not pay off, however, as there was insufficient rain to make his tyres work, and the Toro Rosso driver dropped down to 12th position.

"I ran at a very good pace, which I am happy about and I was as high as seventh," said Vergne. "I was lapping quickly and consistently. But with around 14 laps to the end, my tyres were completely gone and I had to come in for the intermediates, but the rain was not strong enough.

"It's a real shame about the laps I lost in traffic at the start because without that I could have been comfortably in the points today.

"I am looking forward to Canada, as it's a track I particularly like even if I have not been there and I will go there really hungry to get a good result."

Team boss Franz Tost said the squad had no choice but to make Vergne stop for new tyres when he did.

"As he had very little grip on the worn tyres, we brought him to fit the intermediates on lap 71, but the rain which would have helped him fight for tenth place did not come soon enough," he said.

Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg were full of praise for their Force India team after converting midfield starting positions into seventh and eighth place finishes in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Di Resta came through from 14th on the grid to seventh as he made a long first stint strategy work very effectively.

"We went aggressive with the strategy and I have to say the team really optimised it," he said.

"The secret was managing the tyres and trying to find clean air when we could.

"The car felt really good, much stronger than yesterday, and that allowed me to push when we needed to."

Hulkenberg had started three places ahead of di Resta but was on the opposite strategy and lost too much time stuck behind Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus.

"For the first few laps I was running with Michael [schumacher] and we were stuck behind Kimi who was struggling on the super softs, but it was difficult to get by," said Hulkenberg.

"Unfortunately Kimi stopped on the same lap as me so I remained behind him and we came out in a lot of traffic, which is when Paul jumped ahead of me.

"The rest of the race was quite uneventful and I just focused on looking after the tyres. It's a great result for the team and we should be happy with the result."

Kimi Raikkonen believes Lotus has no reason to worry about its form despite a disappointing Monaco Grand Prix.

The Finn, who had finished on the podium in the last two races, could only be ninth around the streets of the principality.

The Lotus driver finished over 44 seconds off race winner Mark Webber.

Despite the poor showing in Monte Carlo, however, Raikkonen feelsthere is no reason to be worried, as the street circuit does not show the real picture.

"Ninth was the best we could do today," said Raikkonen. "I didn't start in a great position and I had some difficulties during the race so it's not been the easiest weekend, but at least we got a couple of points. It's better than nothing but not exactly what we wanted.

"One race doesn't change the fact that we have been pretty strong everywhere - even here at the beginning of the weekend. This circuit is completely different from any other and I don't think we should worry too much about the fact that it wasn't our best weekend.

"It is what it is - sometimes it doesn't go the way you expected and now we should look to Canada for a better result."

Team-mate Romain Grosjean couldn't manage a single lap after he crashed out of the race at the start.

"We struggled to get off the line and it looked like Lewis [Hamilton] in front didn't have the best start either," he said. "Fernando [Alonso] pulled alongside him so I was then on the outside of both cars, and unfortunately Michael [schumacher] was on the outside of me as well.

"There just wasn't enough room and next thing I'm facing all the traffic after just one hundred metres which wasn't a nice feeling. It's a disappointing end to the week after some positive early signs, but that's racing and now we look forward to Canada and a chance to bounce back."

Felipe Massa believes his improved pace in Monaco can act as a springboard to an upturn that might be enough to save his Ferrari career.

The Brazilian is widely expected to be dropped at the end of 2012 after seven seasons with Ferrari, having struggled to match team-mate Fernando Alonso and following a poor start to this year's Formula 1 season.

In Monaco, Massa reached Q3 for the first time in 2012 and took only his second points finish of the year. But the Brazilian was mainly satisfied with how close he had been to the leaders, as he was part of a six-car train battling for victory.

Asked by AUTOSPORT if he thought he could still keep his Ferrari seat if he kept his Monte Carlo form up, Massa replied: "I think so. The race was very good, and the result at the end, I'm not very happy with because you always want more, but it was a good start for now until the end."

Massa said the Monaco weekend had given him a very big confidence boost.

"For sure I'm very confident," he said. "I was very confident during the whole weekend and I think the result helps a lot to push a bit harder and to get even better results from now to the end of the year.

"The championship up to now was not like I expected, but the championship is still very long, so I hope we can completely change what's happened up to now and go in a different direction from now to the end."

Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn has pledged to resolve the issues that have plagued Michael Schumacher's 2012 Formula 1 season after the seven-time champion had another troubled race in Monte Carlo.

Schumacher was fastest in Monaco qualifying on Saturday but started only sixth due a penalty for taking Bruno Senna out of the Spanish Grand Prix.

His race was marred by a first-corner clash with Romain Grosjean's Lotus, and he was only running seventh when a fuel pick-up problem forced him to retire.

Schumacher's latest issue follows a gearbox failure in Australia, a loose wheel in China and a DRS problem in Bahrain qualifying.

Combined with incidents in Malaysia and Spain, those dramas have meant Schumacher has only scored two points so far this season, while his team-mate Nico Rosberg is fifth in the championship on 59 points, having won in China and finished a close second in Monaco.

Brawn admitted that Schumacher deserved better.

"It was very disappointing because he put in a great performance this weekend and he was still on course to score useful points," said Brawn.

"We need to make sure we eliminate the problems for him, starting in Canada."

Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug said Monaco had at least proved that Schumacher was quick enough to win again when his luck turns.

"It was a pity for Michael: he clearly demonstrated this weekend that he has the speed to win races but his time will come again, like yesterday when he posted the pole position time," said Haug.

Schumacher agreed that the Monaco weekend was a confidence boost despite its disappointing end.

"What can I say? It was simply a pity to end the race in this way," he said.

"In any case, the fuel pressure problem had nothing to do with the incident at the start. But it made it doubly disappointing because I had secretly been hoping for a podium finish today.

"I will take the boost from the high points of this weekend with me to Canada. The track should suit us and I'm hoping to have a normal, clean race."

Pastor Maldonado says his terrible Monaco Grand Prix weekend has not dented his confidence even though it was such a contrast to his Spanish GP victory.

After giving Williams its first Formula 1 win for nearly eight years at Barcelona, Maldonado was tipped to star in Monte Carlo, where he had excelled throughout his career.

But he ended up on the back row of the grid after being penalised for both crashing into Sergio Perez's Sauber in final practice and changing his gearbox. Maldonado's race then ended in a first-lap collision with Pedro de la Rosa's HRT amid the mayhem caused by Romain Grosjean's incident at the front.

"I'm really disappointed with the weekend. It's been difficult after FP3 yesterday, but this is racing, sometimes it's good and sometimes not," Maldonado told AUTOSPORT. "I think we need to turn the page and look forward to the next race.

"I've just been talking to the engineers about the next race and trying to not do the same mistakes we made here, especially with the car and trying to improve on the technical side.

"I think we are getting more competitive, we will still be near the top, and I think there is a great confidence with the car and with my people now, and I'm looking forward to being strong again in Canada."

Maldonado added that he was now very secure in his belief in both his ability and the Williams's pace, so would not let one bad race shake him.

"I think the best thing now is that I'm very confident. I'm very confident with the car and very confident with the team, and I've gained this just by working," he said.

"I've been working so hard to become strong and now we are so close. We are not the best at the moment, we don't have the best car, but we are not that far. We are very close.

"We need to keep pushing with some particular parts of the car, and our people are pushing to improve. We have all the tools to keep improving."

Sebastian Vettel reckons his Monaco Grand Prix strategy would have worked out better if Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus had not held up the midfield pack in the first part of the race.

World champion Vettel used a very long first stint on soft tyres to come from ninth on the grid to finish fourth. The German led for a while and was briefly by far the fastest man on track.

But he admitted he was counting on the leaders getting delayed in traffic had Raikkonen's slow pace not created a gap into which they could emerge after their comparatively early stops.

"We were hoping some of the leaders would be forced to do two stops, but unfortunately Kimi made quite a big gap behind me, so the leaders had clean air after their first stop," said Vettel.

"That helped them and it made it more difficult for us, but we started ninth and considering it's hard to pass here, then to gain five places was a good day."

Vettel's Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber won the race, and the German was confident he was quick enough to at least get on the podium had his tactics worked out better.

"It would have been nice to have been on the podium today," said Vettel.

"I think the speed was there, but in the end we had the same strategy as the leaders, just the other way round.

"It was quite difficult as we were on older tyres, but we had some good laps and we gained roughly around eight seconds, so that was strong.

"After that I was in traffic and it's difficult to pass in Monaco, as I showed last year and Mark showed this year."

The Monaco result meant Vettel is now three points behind new leader Fernando Alonso in the championship race.

Post-race press conference:

[spoiler]TV UNILATERAL

Q. Mark, your second Monaco win, you won't have a closer one than that, how are you feeling?

Mark WEBBER: Yeah, I'm feeling incredible mate. It was a very interesting race. Reasonably straightforward at the start: getting the gap on the Supersofts, just managing it with Nico. Obviously we had a bit of a gap over the rest as well, so both of us were getting away, and it was just a matter then of trying to get back into a reasonable gap. Also, the weather was threatening around that pit stop window as well and we weren't sure if we should go a bit longer there and put a set of inters on if it rained or whatever. But Nico went for it, went early with the undercut, so obviously a few people had to react to his first chess move, and then the next phase of the race was very strange. It was very hard to get the Soft tyre warmed up, the harder tyres in terms of Prime tyre, and Seb, obviously, had his in and it wasn't wearing down that much. So he was then coming back into the picture with his strategy. We were all trying to get temperature and at the start of the stint I had very, very low front grip and I had to manage that and move the brake balance around and things like that trying to get everything organised, and [i was] managing Nico and everyone else. But also, Seb's going 'Hmmm, this is interesting', so I didn't want him to get the magic 21 seconds, to make sure he couldn't do the stop and get the victory - that wasn't part of the plan. I managed to sort that out and I could concentrate on Nico again and then get the car to the end. But the rain – as Fernando said coming across in the car, there were times when he was praying for rain, saying 'good, come on, rain, rain', and then when it started he was saying, 'no, no, I don't want it to rain'. I think it was like that for everybody, except for me, because the first guy there is always tricky. So, amazing day for the team and myself. Yeah, so I'm really, really happy to have won here again. A great memory for me. Fantastic.

Q. Nico, so close at the end – 0.6 seconds behind Mark. You tried a number of different things and you probably hoped for the rain as well but in the end I guess it wasn't to be.

Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, in general. At the beginning it was pretty straightforward. I was hoping for a good start, I had a good start, but Mark had a pretty good start too. That was it then. And then, it was just a matter of tyre management and everything and I must say I was a bit surprised by how strong we were not only in qualifying but also in the race. I think, at the end of day, for the weekend, we probably had the fastest car out there, in qualifying and the race, which is great to see, because we're just making progress all the time, so that's fantastic. Unfortunately, it didn't come together perfectly, so P2, it could have been P1 I think this weekend but there we are. No, I'm very happy with second place of course. It got a bit difficult there in the end, with the rain and the warm-up of the harder tyres but I'm very pleased.

Q. Fernando, fifth on the grid, third at the finish, you now have sole control of the World Championship lead. Does this feel like a win to you?

Fernando ALONSO: Well, our target obviously was to try to finish in front of Sebastian, in front of Lewis – they were with us in the World Championship. And if you go race by race you concentrate on different drivers. The next one will be Mark, now he's second in the championship. So, it will be interesting also this season with constant development of the car and the constant surprises we are having every race – you never know which one will be on pole or take the race win. Everything went smooth after the start, but I had a contact with Grosjean. At that point I thought maybe the car was damaged or something but the car was perfectly fine so I keep running. I felt good, I felt competitive but in Monaco it's difficult with the traffic, to manage the traffic. We overtook Hamilton at the stop, with a perfect time, a perfect pit stop again. Thanks to the team I think we are in a privileged position and well done to all of them.

Q. Mark, back to you. The start, obviously, was decisive and as you say, you got a good one. It's not always been your strength. Tell us about today's.

MW: Yeah, it went well. The first initial getaway was very good and control after that was good, but I knew straight away it was enough to get to turn one in good shape, so that was important. The next thing was the pit stop. When Nico went two laps short – aggressive underneath me in terms of pit stop, I thought 'I hope he can't get the tyres in'. But I was happy. Obviously I have full trust in the guys doing the strategy that he wasn't doing much more than me or in traffic or whatever. So that was the next key phase and then obviously down to the driver in terms of concentration to the maximum.

Q. Nico, tell us about how the strategies here this afternoon, because the way this race unfolded wasn't really the way it was predicted. There were expectations of two stops. Tell us how things changed during the race.

NR: Well, it was pretty straightforward. You know, there's two way to beat Mark. One is to go really long and hope that I'm that much faster in the end, which is even more difficult. The better chance was to go short and hope that I could put in some really good lap times straight away out the pits. But with the one lap it was just difficult and that's why I couldn't go fast enough to beat him on the track.

Q. Fernando, you mentioned avoiding the spinning Romain Grosjean in the Lotus. Just tell us in a bit more detail what it was like to see that car go through 90 degrees and work out what to do next.

FA: Well, I had a fantastic start and in the first 10 metres I was side by side with Romain and I was passing Lewis as well but it was fair. They went close to each other and I put the car in the middle I think I touched Romain with my rear left and his right front and after that touch he spun. We were lucky that nothing was damaged on the car. After that spin of Romain, positions mixed a little bit. I think I saw Vettel like position five or six after the start. So some people were hurt and some people gained some advantage.

Q. Back to you Mark, you're the sixth different winner in the first six grands prix of the season – never happened before in Formula One. What's it like to be part of this amazing season?

MW: Pretty good. I think we're a little bit... like Fernando said, it's up and down quali and the races are hard to predict so even for us, how we judge how the grand prix is going to unfold is not particularly straightforward. That is sometimes frustrating for us, because we'd like to push the limit and get the most out of everything we have, but we have to leave margin in not only strategy but also in driving and all that sort of stuff. So it's different to how it was in the past. So maybe we'll have seven different winners after Montreal, you never know. But hopefully we can get a bit of routine now. I think we got the maximum; we absolutely got the maximum out of this weekend. We were very, very fortunate to get pole. I was very, very happy with my lap. Then we knew that he race was our, not to lose, but it was a very, very special victory for us today. So, more to come hopefully.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q. Well done Mark. Was it any easier the second time? I don't suppose it was.

MW: This one was harder. Obviously the strategy was very different but we knew that from the start of the race that it was going to be different to the 2010 victory if I managed to try to win here. The start of the grand prix was reasonably going to plan on the supersoft. Pretty happy with how long that tyre went but we still couldn't quite get the gaps that we were after in terms of the mid-pack. Obviously Nico went for it, a bit shorter, and I was a little surprised that he went then because the tyres were still going not too bad – but it was worth a go. And then the race started to take a little bit of a different phase because then we had… going to the prime tyre – the soft – wasn't our ideal. We had to run it, obviously, but it was a very tricky tyre to get started. Obviously Seb was in the groove and underway and he was doing some very quick lap times in that part of the grand prix. And it was hard for us to get going, so I had to keep an eye on the Sebastian gap but also manage the… we needed to finish the grand prix on those tyres. So when Seb pitted, then I could revert my concentration back to Nico. It was pretty good after that. I must say that there were a lot of marbles on the track. Marbles are tricky, especially at Turn Three, the track was incredibly narrow there, it was just one car width wide, and then the rain. And it's always tricky when you're the first guy arriving into corners when it's sprinkling. So, again, on other tracks and in different conditions, a little bit of rain like that, you wouldn't really have to back off so much for it but all of a sudden the car is wheel spinning, the front's not biting, and around this place that's not very encouraging. Particularly when you're in the lead with only ten minutes to go in the race. So it required me then to really, really control the race and get the car home. The start was key, the pitstop was key, both of them went well. I did a little bit of work in between and we got an incredible victory that I'm very, very happy with. It's great memories for me to win here twice, fair and square off the pole positions. So I'm happy. Nico kept me honest. I had him under control but he drove well as well, and after that I didn't see what else happened – but yeah, it was good grand prix.

Q. Nico, at the start was there anything you could have done any better?

NR: No! My engineer and my team gave me a great start – but the problem was Mark had a great start too. I got away really well but he did too. We were miles clear of everybody else but not enough to get him. And from then on Mark drove a really, really good race, very controlled and at all times in control of what he was doing and in control of me also. So there was not much I could do. But in general it's been a really good weekend for me, for the team and I have to say that I think I had the best car out there today, that was my feeling, so that's really cool and lets me home for a lot more in the next few races. It's really nice to see how we're progressing so quickly.

Q. You got a lot closer in the rain, in the wet conditions, did you have any plans how you were going to get past?

NR: No – I was hoping I might get a chance or something but my tyres were really struggling too and also I had Fernando behind me and at times it was very difficult, just front and rear warm up, tyres lost temperature and then they picked up again towards the end. So it was a little bit easier in the end but very much on the limit.

Q. What does it mean to be standing here on the podium here in your home town, as it were, your home country?

NR: It's very special, having grown up here. It's great. The way through the tunnel is my way to school, so it was fantastic and I'm very happy. Fernando, I guess the crucial thing was jumping Hamilton at the pit stop?

FA: Yes. I think the start was the first point where we had the opportunity to gain some places, we did a great start again. We had to lift off because there was no space between Lewis and Grosjean, if not we could also overtake Lewis at the start and maybe the race was different. It was good being fourth in the first corner and then Lewis had quite big degradation because he was so slow and before the pit stop we get close and then with one extra lap it was enough to jump him at the stop. I think the tyres were surprisingly good, surprisingly consistent, so with the warm-up problems and the pace that we had after the pit stop, I think if we run longer with that tyre maybe there was the chance to win even more positions, as Sebastian tried to do. So, that was close but it is always difficult to predict. I think it was surprisingly good, the supersoft, and maybe surprisingly difficult to warm up the softs. You never know – only after the race.

Q. Did you have any plans at the end? You were all so close…

FA: If rain, then yes. I think at 20 laps to the end they said 'maybe rain is coming'. And I said, if rain is coming we have to attack. We would put on intermediate tyres and there is always a better chance to overtake in the wet than in the dry. We were out there ready to risk, because victory in Monaco means a lot. So, we were optimistic on that, but then five or six laps to the end with the drops of rain that we had, I think we were all praying 'no more rain' because it was so difficult. As Mark explained, the difficulty of being the first two or three cars, you don't know how the next corner will be. You have a little snap, a little bit of front problem in the corner before, you see all the drops on the visor on the straight and when you approach the next corner at 250kph, how wet will be that corner? You never know. At that point, five laps to the end, we all, I think, want to keep positions and finish the race as we were.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q. (Frederic Ferret – L'Equipe) Mark, were your settings very different from Seb's? And is it one of the keys to your victory today?

MW: I think, in general, qualifying has gone very well for me this year. Seb got me once in Bahrain, the rest have gone for well for me. Set-up-wise, we've always been pretty close, we always work very well as a team, to get the most out of both cars. He made some changes before qualifying, which – it looks in hindsight he wasn't particularly happy with. That's how it is sometimes for us drivers. Obviously we get it wrong and we get it right. Round here, if you haven't got the confidence, then you're not quick, which happened with Seb. He didn't have the confidence in qualifying and he couldn't produce the times, so that can happen at any venue. If you want to look at the battle between us then it was key that obviously qualifying went well for me but then I had my own battle with these guys, so if I just relaxed and tried to bed in by one tenth, I would have qualified eighth, so I need to keep my finger out and keep going.

Q. (Dan Knutson – Honorary) Mark, you and Seb are tied three points behind Fernando. You've said before that wins are what you really need for a championship; you got 25 points today. How much does that boost your championship bid?

MW: It's timely off the back of a difficult weekend for us in Barcelona, through a few small things that we got wrong, and ultimately we paid for that with no points in Barcelona. Up until then, generally, we've got the maximum out of most weekends, and that was the case this weekend. So that's all we can keep doing, Dan, is getting the most out of each weekend. In Shanghai, Nico was untouchable, Barcelona the Williams was quick. So we need to be scoring all the time and then when days like this come along you just cannot let them go at all. You have to grab them with both hands and feet and hang on to them like hell. That was the plan today but consistency is nice, but wins are what wins championships – well, DNFs can shag championships as well, but you need to win and then keep consistent.

Q. (Jaime Rodriguez –El Mundo) Fernando, you seemed extremely happy on the podium. What does it mean for you to be leading the championship, and what is the secret of this change in the team?

FA: I was happy all weekend. Yesterday there was some disappointment in the atmosphere around the result in qualifying, because we had been strong in free practice and then maybe people expected us to be fighting for better positions in qualifying, but inside the team we were extremely happy. We were fifth and seventh for the first time in 2012, both in Q3 after fighting to get through in some of the races one month ago, so this was definitely a very strong weekend with a good qualifying position and I think a good race position as well. In fact we overtook some other teams in the Constructors' Championship today with some good points, finally, so I was happy for that, happy for the direction or happy for the momentum that we seemed to have kept from the Mugello test so that we brought some updates for the car. Everything seems to work, not as at the start of the championship when some of the updates were negative and we were a little bit lost, so now we are happy not for the result, not for the pace which we understand that we need to improve - we are not Page 6 of 6 the fastest out there - but happy for the direction that it seems we are in. Everything that we put on the car seems positive, so the next couple of weeks will be important.

Q. (Vincent Marre – Sports Zeitung) Mark, at what stage did you think you had the race won?

MW: Lap 78, out of turn 19. That's Monaco. I watched the 1983 or '82 Monaco Grand Prix. Prost was leading with two laps to go and he crashed. So you never get ahead of yourself around here, because you'll get bitten in the arse really hard. So after the last corner was when I thought I was going to win.

Q. (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Fernando, the lap before your pit stop, you had two purple sectors. Was the set of tyres good enough to do again the next but one lap and could you have possibly jumped Nico or even Mark?

FA: Yeah, definitely I think so, but as I explained before, nobody predicted the problems with the soft tyre warm-up today. The temperature, the track conditions, whatever it was, the soft was not very quick at the beginning, so when the people around us stopped, you need to make a decision. At the same time, nobody predicted that on lap 30, the supersoft would do pink sectors every lap. Knowing now what Sebastian tried to do and how our in lap was and the tyre state on that lap, with a few more laps, for sure we could jump Nico and Mark.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Mark, last year, at the same Grand Prix, you had a completely different situation than you have today, mainly compared to your teammate. He had won several races, you nothing, even inside the team it was different. Can you tell us what is the big difference between last year and this year?

MW: Yeah, last year was a little bit of a mystery to be honest. The gap sometimes was really really extreme and it was hard for me to understand why it was like that sometimes. I think there was also a factor of me getting on top of the tyres but it wasn't all of it. I didn't feel that I had lost that much form but as the season went on, obviously things got a bit closer and a little bit better. But you're correct in your question, the first five months was very tough and I was in a different category to the other car, whereas this year it's much much more like 2009 or 2010, which is nice.

Q. (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) Mark, Red Bull Racing won today and the last two Grands Prix in Monaco. How do you do it?

MW: Well, we've been on pole position for the last three years here as well, which is a big help. 2010 was a similar race – actually the last three have been similar. I think they've all been one stop races, obviously different safety cars. Sebastian had a red flag to help him a little bit to get him over the line last year, but generally I think that we've had a very very good car every time we've come here. I think this year is probably the weakest car we've had here in the three years that we've come here, but it was still enough to win, so the other years were a little bit more straightforward, this one was much much more difficult. I don't know, maybe the guys are drinking a lot of Red Bull and it gets them in the zone for the special weekend, but they're very fortunate we've won three in row here and it's a brilliant effort from the team.[/spoiler]

Lineker · May 28, 2012

Formula 1 teams are to meet the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone in Monaco on Monday to embark on a fresh push to bring costs down in the sport.

On the back of dialogue between the teams and the FIA about the possibility of the governing body getting more involved in budget control, FIA president Jean Todt has arranged a get together at the Sporting d'Hiver club to move the debate along.

It is understood that a range of topics have been put on the agenda, including the FIA policing the Resource Restriction Agreement, changes to F1's testing format, the 2014 engine rules and new cheaper regulations.

F1 team figures are hopeful that the discussions that will involve every team principal will be positive, and that any agreement coming out of the meeting can then be put through the appropriate channels to be drafted in to regulations.

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "The meeting is related to see if we can find altogether some measures that will reduce the costs in F1. That is the purpose.

"It is just a meeting where we should discuss if we can find consensus in a lot of things that have been proposed and discussed with the FIA in the past weeks.

"This meeting is to see what is the status of the teams and the FIA, to understand if everyone is clear and to see if we can try and save money for the future of F1."

Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug told AUTOSPORT: "I think it is vital for F1 generally speaking to balance things out, even now.

"It is not a secret that with the new [commercial] arrangements that the top teams are better off, and what we want to have in F1 are competitive midfield teams that can spring surprises.

"It is an ideal situation right now - not for us, as I could live with domination - but at the end of the day if you dominate everything then it is very clear that after a while you do not get the right amount of spectators."

Despite concern from some teams about a dramatic rise in the cost of customer engines for 2014, manufacturers are wary of delaying the introduction of the V6 rules as that would not save any costs for them.

Haug explained: "It is just a question of money. We have a parallel programme and two engine programmes, and you need to get rid of one programme.

"You cannot subsidise it all the time, and one fact is clear: after we have started now, doing it later costs more money. Ferrari, Renault and ourselves, plus PURE, will spend more money if we need to develop longer."

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh thought it was vital, however, that teams did not face a dramatic rise in engine costs for 2014.

"There is no one to my knowledge who has quoted prices, but I suspect the majority of the grid would not be able to afford $20-25 million," he said "So I think we have to work hard with the FIA and the manufacturers.

"We have to respect the fact that the manufacturers are spending a lot of money in developing these new packages. But that is something a lot of teams did not ask for, and it will not be possible to spend that amount of money on power train.

"The FIA and the teams have to get together to make sure that there is a smooth transition from the current regulations to the new ones, and we have a sustainable business opportunity later."

Red Bull insists it is in no rush to sort out a fresh contract with Mark Webber for 2013, despite his Monaco Grand Prix victory coming amid speculation that he is a key target for Ferrari.

Webber became the sixth different winner this season as he held off race-long pressure from Nico Rosberg around the streets of the principality.

But despite his form, and ongoing suggestions that Ferrari is interested in the Australian as a replacement for Felipe Massa, Red Bull says it will not change its plans to sort out a contract over the summer.

Webber has been on a rolling one-year deal for several seasons now, with the contract having usually been sorted out later in the campaign.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "Mark has had a great day in Monaco. He is driving really well. He is in great shape and you can see on a day like this that he is absolutely on top of his game.

"We have a very open and straightforward relationship with Mark and [the Monaco win] certainly does not change that. It is the same situation that we have had the last couple of years. Let's focus on now and the future will take care of itself."

When asked about whether he expected Red Bull to face a fight to keep hold of Webber amid the lure of a possible Ferrari chance, Horner said: "Why would he want to leave? I think he is a comfortable in the team.

"The team knows Mark very well and Mark knows the team very well. We are only at race six, and obviously a lot depends on his desire and motivation which, at the moment, looks very clear. He is doing a great job and we are really happy with him, and he really deserved this result."

If Webber moves to Ferrari it means there will be a vacancy at Red Bull, which has again prompted speculation that Lewis Hamilton could be a target.

The Briton is currently evaluating his options - with Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes all possibilities if he does not agree terms for an extension at McLaren.

There was speculation over the Monaco Grand Prix that Sebastian Vettel could even be a serious target for Ferrari - with sources suggesting that he had agreed an option with the Maranello-based team for 2014.

However, senior sources at Red Bull insist that Vettel will remain at his current outfit at least until the end of that season as he is under a firm contract until the start of 2015. He has longer-term options at the team too.

The FIA is planning to resolve the row over the controversial holes in the floor of the Red Bull RB8 over the next few days, AUTOSPORT has learned.

After Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren expressed some doubts about the legality of the holes ahead of the rear wheels of the Red Bull, there was some consideration given to a post-race protest over the matter.

In the end, it was felt that it would be better to sort out the issue before the Canadian Grand Prix, rather than damage the sport with the prospect of the results of the Monaco Grand Prix being overturned.

AUTOSPORT has learned that discussions will take place over the next 48 hours on the matter, and the FIA has confirmed it hopes to issue a clarification on the matter this week.

A spokesman for the FIA said: "Red Bull have not been asked to change anything yet. However, there is a difference of opinion over interpretation of a regulation, which we intend to clarify our position on during the next days."

The dispute over the holes relates to the fact that those on the Red Bull do not feature small slots to the edge of the floor, like those that are on the Ferrari.

By having this slot, which the FIA says can be so small that even a sheet of paper would not fit through, the holes are no longer enclosed and become openings.

The FIA spokesman added about the governing body's position: "We think there are arguments on both sides so a position will have to be taken."

Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes can look forward to the remainder of the campaign with some good optimism after his second place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Despite struggles in the first two races of the campaign, Rosberg has been the highest scoring driver in the last four grands prix.

That has lifted confidence for the team ahead of venues like Canada and Valencia that should perfectly suit the W03.

"It is great to see how we are improving as a team, getting stronger and stronger," Rosberg said in his official video diary.

"In the last four races I am the one who has scored the most points, which really shows that we are quite consistent. That is why the future can look good for us in the next upcoming races."

Rosberg believes that Mercedes had the best car in Monaco, but the nature of the track meant it was not possible to overtake race winner Mark Webber to make the most of that potential.

Even so, Rosberg is pleased with the fact that he is just 17 points off the world championship lead after six races.

"Points wise we are looking good in the championship," he said. "I am really looking forward to Canada because a) I think we have a really good car for there and b) now my father cannot give me advice any more on F1 as I [will] have more experience than him, as I have done just as many races as him in his career."

Canada will be Rosberg's 115th grand prix start, with his father Keke starting in 114 races during his Formula 1 career.

McLaren remains confident that its title challenge is not slipping away, despite more disappointment for its drivers over the Monaco weekend.

Lewis Hamilton ended up a frustrated fifth in the race, while Jenson Button's miserable run of form continued as he retired after struggling in the midfield.

Although conceding that Monaco had not delivered everything that it had hoped for, team principal Martin Whitmarsh felt there were still plenty of reasons to feel positive about its chances over the remainder of the campaign.

"We were not quite quick enough and it did not quite go our way in the race," he explained. "With one lap to go we were within three seconds off the leader, but on this track if you have a lot of cars between you and the leader it is very difficult to do anything about it.

"You are never satisfied in F1, but Lewis is scoring points at every race, he is keeping his head and doing a very good job. This title is still anyone's to play for. We, Lewis and Jenson, can win this year's championship."

Hamilton remains in strong contention for the title as he is just 13 points behind leader Fernando Alonso, but Button is much further adrift after scoring just two points in the last three races.

Button is struggling to find a good set-up for his car, and it is likely that efforts will be ramped up by the team ahead of the Canadian GP to make changes to the way it operates to help him.

"I think he is struggling a little bit with tyre energy," said Whitmarsh about Button. "In this race he spent his time behind someone all the way through.

"We had him on the prime tyre, he was looking after his tyres and he ran it long. It was one of those tricky races that ended sadly with a puncture."

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali believes his team must focus on improving the single-lap pace of its car if it is to seize control of the world championship battle.

Fernando Alonso has been in brilliant form this season with an under-performing car, and his third-placed finish in Monaco helped him move back to the top of the world championship standings.

However, Domenicali thinks that Ferrari must start qualifying on pole position to take advantage of the benefits of running in clear air at the front of the field.

"If you are fighting for pole position, and even on pole position, then the race is totally different," said Domenicali. "This is something we need to keep focusing on to make sure things are going in the right direction.

"In terms of the pure performance of the car, we had a very difficult start. We have a situation where we are not happy and where we want to improve the car because we have seen other cars at the moment have pole positions, and we do not. So that has to be a target for the team."

Ferrari's update package for the F2012 that it delivered at the Spanish GP appears to have provided the step forward in form it needed to keep the team in the title hunt.

Further improvements are set for the next few races, and Domenicali thinks there is also an onus on Alonso to keep producing the kind of performances that he has done so far this year.

"I feel that at home everyone is working to make sure that every race we keep putting performance on the car, and that is what we have to do," he said.

"I am happy we are leading but with such a championship we have to make sure that we don't lose points. There are so many drivers and teams that are fighting for the win that you have to be always there."

Felipe Massa has turned the corner on his so-far troubled campaign with his performance in Monaco, according to Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali.

The Italian team had not hidden away from the fact in the build-up to the Monaco race that Massa needed to raise his game amid questions over his future.

Speaking about Massa's form, on the back of his sixth place finish in the train of cars behind race winner Mark Webber, Domenicali said: "I think that he did a great weekend. It was the weekend that he deserved, after a lot of weeks of big pressures.

"I am sure this will be the turning point of his season. It was a great boost for him to perform in a difficult moment. It is something we need for the Constructors' Championship, so I am expecting a good Felipe up until the end [of the season].

"He did a great qualifying, and you always can say it could have been better in Q3, but we need to look at it from different angles. He did a great race and he was a bit unlucky because he could have got out in front of Lewis for a fraction. But he was there in the first six cars that were very close, so that is for me the best point."

Massa said that sixth place is not what he is racing in F1 for, but on the back of his troubles earlier in the campaign it was a positive weekend.

"It was a good race," said the Brazilian. "It's always a difficult race, and I think this was a race where everything went okay.

"There was good pace and to finish with good points at the end, even if it was sixth - not a position that gives you a lot of happiness - with what had happened up to now was good. I would say everything worked in a good direction during the weekend."

Lotus boss Eric Boullier has backed Romain Grosjean following another early exit for the Frenchman in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Grosjean had been expected to fight for victory in Monaco, but his race was over before the first corner after he brushed wheels with Fernando Alonso away from the start and then crashed with Michael Schumacher.

Although that is the third time this year Grosjean has been out of races early on, Boullier thinks that his inexperience has to be taken in to account when judging the reigning GP2 champion's form.

"I am disappointed," said Boullier about Lotus missing out on fighting at the front. "After two good weekends we did not know what to expect with the speed here, so it was a nice surprise to see one of our guys fighting for the front.

"With Romain, there is no excuse, but just one thing: all the drivers around him, they have done millions of miles of testing and many races before. He is still in his first year, so he has the right to do so [make mistakes].

"I think he is doing a pretty amazing job for a rookie driver and nobody on the grid today who started his career with no F1 testing and stepped into F1 has done as well as he is doing."

Grosjean crashed out of Australia on the first lap after a collision with Pastor Maldonado, and then spun out early in the Malaysian GP shortly after he made contact with Michael Schumacher.

The Formula One Teams' Association will hold its next Fans' Forum in Manhattan, New York City next month.

The event will take place on June 11th and the exact location is yet to be announced.

FOTA has held Fans' Forums in London, Woking, Montreal, Milan and Barcelona so far.

New Jersey is scheduled to host its first Formula 1 grand prix in June 2013.

Fans wanting to attend the event can register on FOTA's website.

Rich · May 29, 2012

I watched the whole race and have seen several replays, so that's not an issue.

My argument is that they gained an advantage by cutting the first corner and they should not have kept that advantage.

My argument would be... Yes, they gained an unfair advantage, but by not cutting the corner they would have caused a larger accident, which could lead to injuries and other unforseen circumstances, so for once, lets not take the rule book to literally and let the race evolve more organically, at the end of the day, if the people who missed out because of the incident deserved to be infront they would have passed them some where along the line.

Summers · May 29, 2012

Moving on; Alonso is making me proud this season so far. Performing fantastically thus far in a car that should be far better than it is.

Lineker · May 29, 2012

Fernando is something special. Personally I think he's the most naturally gifted of our current era.

Elsewhere, Alan Jones has told Mark Webber to jump at a Ferrari drive should it be offered to him.

Lineker · May 30, 2012

Elsewhere, Alan Jones has told Mark Webber to jump at a Ferrari drive should it be offered to him.

Mark Webber should seriously consider a move to Ferrari if a proper offer is made, according to former world champion Alan Jones.

Jones, the last Australian to win the Formula 1 title, believes that Webber would find himself revitalised by an opportunity to race for the Maranello team.

Speaking in a podcast put together by the Australian Grand Prix organisers, Jones said: "Mark has already done one of the two things that most Formula 1 drivers would like to do, and that's win Monaco. The other one is to drive for Ferrari.

"I'm sure he'd have a look at it. If he goes to Ferrari, it could be a breath of fresh air - it's very prestigious and something really good to have on your CV. He gets on extremely well with [Fernando] Alonso, so maybe that could be a good way for him to go."

Webber's contract with Red Bull runs out at the end of this season, and his strong form in the opening part of this campaign has again ignited speculation that he is on Ferrari's radar as a potential replacement for Felipe Massa.

Although going up alongside Alonso would not be an easy thing to do, Jones reckons that Webber already faces a big challenge at Red Bull with Sebastian Vettel.

He added: "Personally, I think that Mark is with a good team (but) having said that, if he signed on with Red Bull next year he's still going to have Vettel as his team-mate, which is a pretty hard task."

Formula 1 team principals are adamant that the unpredictable nature of this season is not a turn-off for fans.

Mark Webber became the sixth different victor of 2012 in the Monaco Grand Prix, and there have been criticisms from some quarters that F1 risks losing credibility if the races are too random.

But McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh and Red Bull's Christian Horner insist that there is nothing for the sport to worry about, even though it is making it much harder for their teams to win races.

Whitmarsh said: "If people now say randomness is unattractive, then that is a 180 [degree change] from what people felt a few years ago when it was very predictable.

"On balance I am sure that people want a lack of predictability. You want to go to each event not knowing who is going to win. You want to go through the course of the weekend not sure what is going to happen in each session, and you want to go through the race not knowing what is going to happen. Every one of our races this year has been tremendously exciting."

When asked if he felt the races were too random this year, he said: "I don't think so. I think it is an enthralling sport at the moment. A few years ago weren't people saying 'aren't these processional races and aren't they so predictable?' Well, we certainly don't have a predictable season. I think an unpredictable race and an unpredictable season is what a lot of fans want."

Horner added: "I think it is remarkable that there have been so many winners. The tyres are a factor and the fact that there are so many strong drivers as well is also a crucial factor.

"Red Bull has become the first team to win two races this year, which is an achievement. F1 is different this year primarily because of teams trying to get on top of the variances in the tyre compounds."

Although the team principals are happy, not all drivers are satisfied by the fact that form seems to fluctuate so much.

Jenson Button, who started the season strongly but has had poor results in the last three races, said: "Clearly everyone is excited about so many different winners, which initially was great for the fans and great for the sport.

"But there will come a time when the fans will say, 'So anyone can win a grand prix, everyone can lose a grand prix like that?' I think they're finding it a little bit strange now.

"I don't know, but hopefully a pattern will emerge after the next couple of races and we'll understand the teams and drivers we need to beat to win the championship."

Ferrari suspended work at its Maranello base on Tuesday following the earthquake in northern Italy.

Although the area around the Ferrari factory was not among those worst affected, with the centre of the quake 40 kilometres north of Bologna, Ferrari felt it was important to halt operations for the day.

A statement on its Twitter feed said: "After the earthquake, working activity has been suspended for today. All the workers and employees have been allowed to join their families."

Fernando Alonso added: "After the earthquake, the team has decided to stop the activities at the factory. We are all going back to home."

Ducati, located nearer to Bologna and therefore to the quake centre, also shut its factory down for the day.

"Ducati today is closed due to the earthquake. People are OK, we are verifying the factory," its Twitter feed said. "We feel very close to all the families and people that live near here for this difficult moment."

Italian media reports say that six (NB: now confirmed to be more) people have so far been confirmed dead as a result of the earthquake.

Red Bull does not feel it has stamped its authority on this year's Formula 1 constructors' championship, despite extending its lead in Monaco by becoming the first team to win two races.

The reigning champion team currently holds a 38-point margin over closest rival McLaren in the teams' standings.

But with F1 proving so competitive this season, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner knows that one slip up can be enough to wipe away its advantage.

"It [leading the championship] is the result of good team work, but there is an awfully long way to go," explained Horner.

"Points can disappear just as quickly as they came. The team is working tremendously well, and it is a tough year this year because of the regulation changes and particularly the tyre complexities. But I feel we are working in a really great way."

McLaren had started the campaign as the team to beat, but its form over recent races has slipped away. Even so, Horner reckons that any of the frontrunning outfits this year have what it takes to win the title.

"This weekend has not been a great weekend for them [McLaren], but as you see, form has see-sawed. Don't forget that Pastor Maldonado lapped us two weeks ago, so form does vary. It would be foolish to discount a team of the quality of McLaren or Ferrari."

Mercedes sees no reason why it cannot keep up its current strong form, with Nico Rosberg's recent haul of points thrusting him into Formula 1 title contention.

Despite a difficult start to the campaign with tyre problems in Australia and Malaysia, Rosberg has been the highest scoring driver from the Chinese Grand Prix onwards.

In the last four races he is the only driver to have started on the front row more than once, and more significantly he has cut a 35-point deficit to championship leader Fernando Alonso after Sepang to just 17 now.

And with new updates - including its carbon gearbox and rear suspension tweaks that Rosberg used for the first time in Monaco – having delivered a step forward in pace, the Brackley-based outfit is optimistic that it can keep up its progress.

"Making predictions does not make us quicker, so we need to focus and work on it, but the general trend seems to be the right one," Mercedes Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug told AUTOSPORT.

"There will be ups and downs. But I think our curve is generally going up after a third of the season. This is not 'hurray, hurray, we can celebrate', it is just comparing last year to this year."

As well as Rosberg's pole position in China, Michael Schumacher set the fastest time in qualifying in Monaco last weekend, only to lose the front position because of a five-place grid penalty he was given for crashing into Bruno Senna in Spain.

Even so, the speed shown by the W03 as Rosberg finished right behind race-winner Mark Webber was evident, and it comes ahead of races like Canada and Valencia that should suit the characteristics of the car.

Haug says big lessons were learned from the tyre errors in the first two races, as Mercedes' drivers overheated their rubber in Australia and then could not generate enough heat in the Pirellis in Malaysia.

"We know we didn't get it completely right in the first two races, in fact we didn't get it right at all," he said. "But it is always like that if you are learning. If today was Australia or Malaysia we could have done a better job, and it was unfortunate for Nico to lose those points in Australia.

"He is 17 behind right now. It is not too bad. But it does not mean you are in a position to win the championship. However, we were fourth last year [in the constructors'] and if people would have said you will be missing just 17 points after six races then probably we would have brought it."

Lotus boss Eric Boullier has admitted to some concern that his team's performances appear to depend so much on the weather.

The E20 has proved it is good enough to win races this season, but Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean have struggled with pace on occasions when the temperatures drop.

Boullier said its poor speed at times of the cooler Monaco race, compared to how strong it was when it was warmer, was further evidence of the situation Lotus is facing.

"It was worrying seeing in the race our pace getting worse, so it is very related to the weather conditions," Boullier told AUTOSPORT.

"When you know the tyres will degrade, what you want to do is design a car that will not degrade the tyres. But what we were not expecting is that because of this, which is a strength in one hand, it also became a weakness when the temperatures come down."

The influence of temperature on Lotus's form has been evident at several races this year.

Raikkonen and Grosjean had been favourites for victory in Spain on the back of strong race form in hot free practice sessions, but when conditions cooled on race day they no longer had the speed to match Pastor Maldonado in the Williams and Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari.

In Bahrain, Raikkonen and Grosjean appeared to have the fastest car in the race when temperatures got hotter on the Sunday, having not been pole position threats in qualifying.

Katsuya · May 30, 2012

In good news, the Mexican GP is returning next year by the sounds of it. The even better news is that it's replacing Valencia.

MJB · May 30, 2012

Hope that means the Spanish GP will stay.

Lineker · May 30, 2012

Who's reporting that apart from Marca?

EddieG · May 30, 2012

Mexican GP? I can't ever remember seeing a Mexican GP. :blush:

Bring back the Argentinian GP!

Katsuya · May 30, 2012

Nobody yet, but I can't see why Marca would be so sure about it. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part that we can finally rid ourselves of Valencia.

Rich · May 30, 2012

Mexican GP? I can't ever remember seeing a Mexican GP.

Bring back the Argentinian GP!

The circuit is also like a mental version of Monza where it was, the last corner was notriously dangerous and Mansell went all thew way round Gerhard Berger on the outside, beautiful beautiful raising. Ayrton Senna also had a monster crash there one year and sufferred minor injuries, I think it was 1991. In other words, the old Mexican track was a tricky tricky beast, especially in the heat it was held in.

LUKIE · May 30, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84KPzDvkgds

Lineker · May 31, 2012

World champion Sebastian Vettel says he finds it hard to imagine life outside of Red Bull Racing, and insists he does not want to be anywhere else.

The two-time champion has a contract with the Milton Keynes-based squad until the end of the 2014 season, but the German has again been linked with a move to the Ferrari team.

Vettel, however, says he feels perfectly happy at Red Bull, with which he has won his two titles.

"I've been wearing a Red Bull helmet for almost my entire career. It is difficult to imagine another kind of life if you are so used to it," Vettel told AUTOSPORT when asked about his plans after 2014.

"It would be like when you turn 18, 19 and move out of your family's home. I am very happy where I am right now and I don't want to move on to anywhere else."

Vettel, who dominated the 2011 season with 11 wins and 17 podiums, is currently in second place in the standings, having won just one race this year.

The German says consistency - and not only wins - will be very important this year given how tight the fight at the top is.

"People only remember our wins, but they forget a bit how tight it often was," he said. "Yes, we won some races in which we did not have the strongest package.

"This year there are much more candidates to win races than before. Therefore it gets more essential to collect as many points as possible in every race."

With six different winners in the first six races of the season, Vettel believes it is vital to get everything right during the weekends in order to be fighting for victory.

"From the first day of winter testing on I had confidence in our car. We have not got out the most of the potential though we make steadily progress. And troubles with tyres concern almost everyone, not us alone. It simply depends on who will be doing the better job."

And the world champion reckons the unpredictability of this year's races is translating into a good show for the fans, despite some criticism about the racing being artificial.

"If you look back ten years, there was heavy criticism of a boring F1 because of Michael (Schumacher) winning all the time. Now we hear F1 is unpredictable and a lottery.

"You cannot satisfy all people every time, but I think we have a good show, a lot of overtaking, good action now. There is more tension - for people who watch and for us inside the cars. I think I like the way it goes, however, we have to be careful not to create something artificially."

Mark Webber has rubbished suggestions that he was backing up his rivals during the Monaco Grand Prix in order to help team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

The Australian started from pole position and took his first win of the season after resisting race-long pressure from Mercedes's Nico Rosberg, who was chased by Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel started the race from 10th position but used a different strategy than his rivals in order to gain places in the race, the German starting on Pirelli's soft compound and running a lot deeper into the race than the men in front.

He pitted on lap 46 and returned to the track in fourth place, ahead of Hamilton's McLaren.

On Wednesday, Webber denied suggestions that he had deliberately run slower in order to slow down the field and allow Vettel to gain ground on his rivals before his pitstop.

"I heard afterwards people had been speculating that I was 'backing up' Nico, Fernando and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who was also behind me, to help my team-mate Sebastian Vettel gain places," wrote Webber in his column for the BBC.

"That is absolute rubbish. You just cannot be that fancy around Monaco.

"Ultimately, Seb ran out of tyres and he had to pit because the rest of us started to go quicker, but if they'd kept going he would have been pushing for the win.

"If we had been trying anything on, I could have been even cuter. I cleared Seb by quite a lot. If I'd wanted to slide him in among other people, I could have slowed down and it would have been even better for the team. But it just wasn't part of the plan.

"The problem with trying to do that would be that you're exposing yourself to even more pressure from the guys behind - Nico and Fernando in this case. And then the boys in the pits might mess up Seb's stop and it would all be for nothing.

"You always get bitten on the bum when you get fancy. So you just don't try."

Williams insists it had the potential to feature far more prominently in the Monaco Grand Prix, and was disappointed with both Pastor Maldonado's 'avoidable' FP3 clash with Sergio Perez and its eventual return of just one championship point.

The Grove-based squad headed to the principality on the back of its first Formula 1 victory in eight years, which came courtesy of a faultless drive by Maldonado at Barcelona.

The Venezuelan spoiled his Monaco chances in FP3 however, when he collided with Perez - an incident which let the team down, according to chief operations engineer Mark Gillan, who believes the team was capable of far more.

"The car was good enough for a P4 or P5 qualifying position and our race pace was also good, so it is disappointing not to have come away from this event with a decent haul of points," Gillan said.

"I think that [Maldonado's] incident was avoidable and therefore disappointing - and that the penalty was therefore understandable."

Gillan said Bruno Senna's race had, by the Brazilian's own admission, been spoiled by his qualifying and by being held up by Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus.

"Bruno was very honest after qualifying admitting that he could have done better and he pushed hard through the race but was ultimately frustrated by Kimi who held him up," Gillan said.

"We will continue to work hard with Bruno in the simulator and on the track to help him maximise the new tyres' performance."

Williams is expecting to be strong again at Montreal, where Gillan insists it will need to deliver throughout the weekend.

"The team are looking forward to Montreal as we believe that we should be strong again," he affirmed, "but we need to deliver in both qualifying and the race. Montreal is usually an eventful race, with multiple stops, high brake wear and with the chance of a safety car being very likely."

Lineker · May 31, 2012

The Sauber team has released a film showing a unique insight of what a Formula 1 car is, by having sliced the single-seater down the middle.

For the past two years, Sauber's mechanics have spent their downtime cutting the car in half, and the model was publicly released on Wednesday.

In the film, chief designer Matt Morris points out where each individual component of the car is located within the chassis.

Mexican Sergio Perez also makes an appearance to demonstrate the driver's position inside the car.

"Formula 1 is all about cutting-edge technology," says Morris at the start of film. "We've all seen countless pictures of racing cars, but wouldn't it be great to really explore inside it - as if peering into the core of an apple?"

Awesome.

Katsuya · May 31, 2012

Another reason why Sauber > all.

Formula One 2012

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