Mercedes Benz

Showing posts with label thursday. Show all posts

Monaco F1 Grand Prix 2012: Thursday's Free Practice Report (VMM)

By Adji | Published Friday, 25 May 2012

JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-27A-02
- P1 programme: 1m17.190s (+0.925s), 13 laps, 13th
- P2 programme: 1m15.746s, 17 laps, 1st

“The most important job today was to try and get a decent high-fuel long-run on the Supersoft tyre – which I don’t think anyone managed. We’ve got to see how the tyre works because its performance will play a considerable role in the race.

“Still, it was nice to briefly stick that tyre on and see how much grip it has – that gives you a bit of information to look over before Saturday, even though we’ll still get to run that compound again before qualifying.

“I definitely feel like the car improved from P1 to P2. We tried something different for this afternoon’s session and I was happier with how the car felt. There’s still room for improvement, but we know what direction we want to take.”

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-27A-03
- P1 programme: 1m16.747s (+0.482s), 12 laps, 4th
- P2 programme: 1m17.375s (+1.629s), 19 laps, 11th

“We didn’t get to learn quite as much as we’d perhaps wanted to today. The weather was clear in the morning, but was quite difficult to dial-in the car because of the changing weather conditions we got this afternoon, compounded by the traffic as usual here. It’s an incredibly tough circuit, very technical, so every little scrap of information helps you understand where to go with the set-up.

“The less running you get, the tougher it becomes to understand the behaviour of the tyres. Today, neither of us got to do a long-run, so we’ll be going into the race slightly unsure about how the tyres will behave. But everyone is in the same boat so I guess it’ll be a bit of a surprise for all the teams.

“Nonetheless, it’s still mega-fun out there; it feels incredible driving this track.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
“Hearing the roar of Formula 1 engines resonating around the harbour front vividly reminds you that no other circuit in the world can match the taut, visceral thrill of Monte-Carlo.

“Unfortunately, the changeable weather conditions – a dry morning followed by an increasingly damp and greasy afternoon – have caused us to be a little less well prepared for the remainder of the weekend than we’d ideally like. But it’s the same for everyone. It’s just another of the unique challenges posed by this most formidable of street circuits.

“I think we’re yet to see what either Jenson or Lewis can achieve when they push the car to its fullest extent around here, but I know that both our drivers relish the challenge of this circuit and that they’ll hit the ground running again on Saturday.

“At the moment, the sharp end of the grid looks extremely close – and it’ll be all to play for in what’s likely to be an absolutely thrilling qualifying session. Bring it on!”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ~

Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Posted in 2012, f1, free practice, grand prix, monaco, report, thursday, vmm, vodafone mclaren mercedes | Leave a comment

Monaco F1 Grand Prix 2012: Thursday's Free Practice Report (MBAMGF1)

By Adji

Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher completed the opening two practice sessions around the streets of Monte Carlo today in preparation for the 70th Monaco Grand Prix, Round Six of the 2012 World Championship.

• The team completed a total of 58 laps today during the combined three hours of practice running.
• The technical programme focused on basic set-up work and driver familiarisation with the unique circuit.
• Neither driver completed a run on the super soft Pirelli tyres today owing to the rain during the afternoon session.

Nico Rosberg
“It was great to be back again and to race through the city. I’m pleased with today’s practice sessions. We have the feeling that we are going in the right direction with our set-up work for this demanding track. It took a bit of a time to find the right rhythm for the circuit but it worked out well, even though we did not run very much in the afternoon because of the bad weather. I’m now really looking forward to Saturday and Sunday.”

Michael Schumacher
“It’s always great to get out on the track for the first laps in Monaco and get back into the rhythm of this special place. Already, during practice this morning I could see the areas where the safety has been improved further since last year, and it’s great that the organisers always push to make things even better every year. The weather was mixed today, which made it hard to make any firm conclusions, but basically my feeling with the car on this circuit was positive.”

Ross Brawn
“We’ve had a reasonable first day here in Monaco. Obviously, this is a track where conditions are changing all the time and the wet weather in the second session this afternoon reminds us that these things can happen here. We have a lot of information to look at and work out what we’re going to do and how we think the circuit will evolve for Saturday. Generally, it’s been a good start to the weekend.”

Norbert Haug
“Today´s sessions were effectively brought to an early end in the morning after an engine failure on the track, then we had rain in the second half of the afternoon session. Considering these circumstances, which handicapped the progress of all the teams, we had quite a positive first day and found a reasonable baseline for our cars from which we can progress further on Saturday. With everybody completing fewer laps than usual during the first practice day in Monaco, the challenge of this demanding race is probably even higher this year. We now are looking forward to Saturday when our target is to make a good step forward to be in a position for good results in the race on Sunday.

Understandably, we have been asked frequently about the status of our Concorde Agreement negotiations in the past days. On this matter, I can confirm we are having constructive discussions that are heading in the right direction.”