Lap 77: Just two laps remaining now as Ricciardo closes to just 0.4
secs behind Hamilton. Sixth-placed Button is still behind Hulkenberg.
Twelth-placed Raikkonen has just set the fastest lap of the race.
Lap 76: This is a nailbiting finish. Rosberg will win (he’s eight
second ahead) but can Hamilton hold on for second?
Lap 75: There is now only half a second between Hamilton and Ricciardo.
Button moves over to let both through. Bianchi is now up to eighth but he
still has a five second penalty hanging over him. Button, meanwhile, tries
to overtake Hulkenberg… but can’t.
Lap 74: Big lock up by Hamilton. Button has moved up to sixth. Oh no!
Raikkonen and Magnussen have just hit each other and have potentially
blocked the track. What does this do for Marussia? What a finish!
Lap 73: The gap between Hamilton and Ricciardo is now only two seconds.
They’ve both hit the traffic which leader Rosberg has now cleared.
Lap 72: Ricciardo can now see the back of Hamilton. Where can he make
the pass if he sees the chance? And Hamilton is really hitting heavy
traffic.
Lap 71: Ricciardo has just set another fastest lap – the gap is now
only five seconds and there’s time for the Red Bull to catch Hamilton. The
Aussie has just been told “you are 1.3 secs faster than Hamilton and
you will catch him. And Hamilton has problems with his vision”.
Lap 70: The gap between Hamilton and Ricciardo is now 6.2 seconds,
while Rosberg’s lead out in front is now a leisurely seven secs.
Lap 69: Hulkenberg is still holding off Magnussen. Meanwhile, Rosberg
looks to have got this sewn up as the gap between him and Hamilton grows.
Lap 68: Hamilton is now five seconds behind leader Rosberg and just 7.9
secs ahead of Ricciardo as he threads his way through the back markers.
Lap 67: The gap between Hamilton and Ricciardo is nine seconds but the
Aussie is lapping around half a second faster. Can Hamilton afford to slow
down a bit to deal with his eye problem?
Lap 66: Hamilton is starting to drop back and it’s not a problem with
his car – it’s his vision. He has dirt in his eye! He’s now four seconds
behind.
Lap 65: There’s a really good battle for fifth emerging between
Hulkenberg and Magnussen – there’s just half a second between them. And
we’ve just heard that Bianchi has been hit with a five second stop-go
penalty.
Lap 64: Alonso has fallen over 10 seconds behind Ricciardo, who is
closing in on Hamilton. And he’s just put in the fastest lap of the race.
Lap 63: Hamilton has made up almost two seconds on Rosberg! What is
going on?! Hamilton is clearly faster in the corners but slower on the
straights.
Lap 62: Bianchi is now up to 10th as he passes the stricken Gutierrez
car. Marussia really could get their first points of the season.
Lap 61: In this phase of the race, Ricciardo is making his move and, if
it stay like this, will catch Hamilton. Surely, though, the Mercedes will
have an answer. Gutierrez has spun! He clipped a barrier. And he’s out.
Lap 60: Hamilton is now over two seconds behind Rosberg. And Ricciardo,
in third, is the fastest man on the track as he increases his lead over
fourth-placed Alonso.
Lap 59: Still no change to the overall positions. Massa has just been
told that Williams expect Gutierrez to get a five-second penalty and that
the Brazilian should just concentrate on his battle with Raikkonen.
Lap 58: If we have one more retirement in the top 10, Marussia could
get their first points.
Lap 57: No safety car for Bottas as his Williams is not considered in a
dangerous position and a crane plucks his car from the track and raises it
into the air.
Lap 56: Rosberg is outpacing Hamilton is three of the four circuit
sectors. Gutierrez, meanwhile, is all over Bottas and he’s going to have to
yield position. And Bottas has stopped out on the track! Will we see the
safety car for a third time?
Lap 55: Bottas is struggling – his car sounds terrible.
Lap 54: Rosberg has been told that his fuel situation has stabilised
which means Hamilton failed to take advantage. It also means both cars are
equal again so all he has to do is stay the course.
Lap 53: Hulkenberg is now up to fifth, ahead of Magnussen and Button.
And it looks like Hamilton has found his mojo again as he closes the gap
back up to less than a second.
Lap 52: Blue smoke is pouring out of Vergne’s car and he’s coming into
the pits. A real shame, that’s his race over.
Lap 51: If Hamilton does stay behind Rosberg, a lot of chat will centre
around pit stops, which you can just imagine the Briton will still be
grumbling about even now.
Lap 50: Hamilton is now 1.6 secs behind Rosberg – he’s definitely
falling back a bit just when he should be going faster. Very odd.
Lap 49: No changes to positions. A scruffy lap for Hamilton, though, as
he loses 0.4 secs on Rosberg.
Lap 48: Hamilton has just confirmed with his engineer whether he too
has to conserve fuel, like Rosberg, but the answer is no, so this will be
Hamilton’s opportunity to really put the foot down and catch his rival.
Lap 47: Hamilton is still trying to find a position to strike a blow on
Rosberg, but it’s not there. Rosberg, however, has used over a kilo more
fuel than his team-mate.
Lap 46: Massa is pitting and he’s dropped to 11th, but he comes out
ahead of Vergne and Bianchi. He’s also ahead of Raikkonen, but on fresher
tyres. That’ll make him feel good seeing as it was Raikkonen who took his
seat at Ferrari.
Lap 45: It’s still Rosberg, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Alonso, Massa.
Apologies to all those who didn’t know positions. I will be keeping a track
of the first three at the top of this blog.
Lap 44: Rosberg has used more fuel than Hamilton and it looks as though
the Brit is just biding his time for now. Hamilton, meanwhile, could be
suffering from overheating problems. Nothing too serious, though.
Lap 43: Hamilton’s heart must drop every time he and Rosberg enter the
tunnel because as soon as he feels he has a sniff, his team-mate pulls away.
Lap 42: Hamilton hasn’t been this close to Rosberg for a while but he’s
just too far back to try an overtake at the chicane. Rosberg has better
acceleration through the tunnel and that is where he’s pulling back those
tenths.
Lap 41: Rosberg is being told to use longer gears as we start to talk
about fuel loads. Hamilton is definitely closing the gap over the last few
laps.
Lap 40: Ricciardo, in third, is about eight seconds behind Hamilton and
he’s being caught by Alonso.
Daniel Johnson: Not much to report here, but that’s not unusual with
Monaco. Eerily quiet in the media centre – can barely hear a car apart from
the odd guff of wind as they go through Rascasse. If Rosberg wins this one,
Hamilton will be fuming.
Lap 39: Hamilton less than a second behind Rosberg but he’s not
creating any opportunities to overtake.
Lap 38: Bianchi has moved ahead of Vergne into 12th – the best place a
Marussia will have finished this season if it stays like this.
Lap 37: We’ve bsee some overtakes in the most unusual places as
Grosjean thinks about a dart but Kobayashi cuts off the inside line.
Lap 36: Kobayashi up to 14th and the scrap at the back is eally hotting
up.
Lap 35: The Mercedes are over a second a lap faster than everyone else
Lap 34: Leader Rosberg still holding off Hamilton, who continues to
grumble.
Lap 33: Raikkonen has to swerve to avoid crashing and loses position.
Daniel Johnson: Niki Lauda, Mercedes motorspot boss, gave a stern
warning to both of his drivers before the race not to crash into each other,
and it’s obviously worked. The Mercedes in a class of their own but Rosberg
steadily eeking out a gap.
Getting to turn one first here isn’t quite a fait accompli, but it’s pretty
close. With a one-stop race, it’s going to be difficult for Hamilton to get
through.
Lap 32: There’s nothing between Vergne, Hulkenberg and Magnussen as
Hulkenberg, from nowhere, nips through to sixth.
Lap 31: Hulkenberg is being harried by Vergne in the middle of the
pack, but then Magnussen catches Vergne napping and squeezes through the
narrowest of gaps.
Lap 30: More safety car. The drivers are weaving in and out trying to
keep their tryes warm. And the safety car has finally gone! It’s Rosberg,
Hamilton, Ricciardo, Alonso, Massa in the top five.
Lap 29: Still more safety care folks. As you were.
Lap 28: So, we have Grosjean between the two leaders and it’ll be a
race to the end now. Grosjean will move over to let the race leaders
through. Hamilton is annoyed he didn’t pit earlier by the sound of it. And
Raikkonen has pitted again – another set of soft compounds. Maybe a
puncture, but that’s terrible luck for the Finn as he comes out in 14th.
Lap 27: While Hamilton was in the pits, Grosjean manages to unlap
himself. The safety car is still out.
Lap 26: The safety car is coming out because of Sutil’s crash and
Button has darted into the pits. Clever thinking that, as the rest of the
cars have to slow down to safety-car speed. Hamilton and Rosberg also pit.
Lap 25: Yellow flags are being waved as debris is spotted on the track.
And Sutil is out. It looks like he’s made contact with the barrier coming
out of the tunnel.
Lap 24: Rosberg has caught up with bac markers Grosjean and Ericsson
and they both alllow the two Mercedes to race through. However, now that
they’ve hit traffic they are no longer the fastest men on the track.
Instead, it’s Alonso.
Lap 23: The two Mercedes roar through the tunnel as Rosberg locks up
his left front. That’s twice he’s done that now as they approach traffic and
will give Hamilton hope.
Lap 22: Brit watch! Button is up to ninth, catching Hulkenberg.
Meanwhile, Hamilton is now less than a second behind Rosberg. Which of these
two will pit first?
Lap 21: Alonso has sneaked up to fifth, while fourth-placed Ricciardo
is catching up with Raikkonen in third.
Lap 20: Hamilton is starting to clock better times than Rosberg. That’s
a turn-around. Tell you what, if it’s his window next to pit he’ll probably
say no way!
Lap 19: Chilton has received a five-second stop-go penalty. He motored
into the wrong grid slot at the start after Maldonado failed to get going.
Gutierrez and Bianchi have also been hit with a penalty.
Lap 18: Hamilton now complaining about breaks, he thinks he’s getting
slower.
Lap 17: Sutil overtakes Chilton! The Brit left a massive wide-open door
for Sutil to overtake but the Sauber man still had to produce a skilled
piece of driving to pick the gap.
Lap 16: This year the front tyre has proved better than the rear so
it’s no surprise that Hamilton may be having issues. Still, he’s continuing
to lap faster than third-placed Raikkonen and is maing time up on Rosberg in
the middle sector.
Lap 15: Hamilton may have an issue as we enter lap 15. Something to do
with his rears, so clearly his slowing down is not tactical to preserve
tyres.
Lap 14: Ricciardo, in fourth, is now 12 seconds behind the leaders –
he’s not going to be happy with that – and he’s lapping slower than
third-placed Raikkonen.
Lap 13: Hamilton is dropping back a bit behind Rosberg, he’s now 1.6
secs off his team-mate. Is he preserving tyres? He was told they are heating
up.
Lap 12: Raikkonen is six seconds behind leader Rosberg, five behind
Hamilton. The Ferrari is racing well. Ricciardo, meanwhile, is slipping back
a bit and is now 10 seconds in arrears.
Lap 11: Kvyat’s Torro Rosso sounds dreadful, he must have engine
issues.
Lap 10: Rosberg has been told he’s not as hot on his tyres as Hamilton,
but he’s holding firm. We’ve also just been told that the insident involving
Perez and Button that caused the Force India out at the start of the race
will be investigated.
Lap 9: Ricciardo is seven seconds behind leader Rosberg. He’s Red
Bull’s only hope now that Vettel has retired.
Lap 8: Behind the two Mercedes, gaps are starting to spread out. These
two are in a race of their own. Raikkonen, in third, is four second back.
Lap 7: Hamilton is getting closer and closer through the middle sector
but hasn’t yet had an opportunity to overtake. Vettal is heading back to the
pits and he’s out of the Monaco GP for the first time since 2009.
Lap 6: It never rains but it pours as Vettel tells his team he’s stuck
in first gear. Meanwhile, Hamilton is lapping two tenths faster than
Rosberg. The Brit, though, is looking a bit ragged, he’s sliding all over
the place.
Lap 5: Vettel pits and can be heard saying “Come on guys”
down the team radio. Hamilton is still second behind Rosberg, but he’s right
on the German’s tail. He’s all over him like a rash.
Lap 4: Raikkonen is up to fourth and Vettel has a car problem. He’s
down to 13th. We think it’s an electrical problem, he’s complaining about no
power. Oh my, Vettel is now down to 20th!
Lap 3: Hamilton’s tyre temps are dropping according to the team radio.
His team keep him assured, though. The safety car is still out but will be
coming in at the end of this lap so Lewis hasn’t got long to get those tyre
temperatures up.
Lap 2: Vettel has made a gain ahead of team-mate Ricciardo and
Hulkenberg is up to 10th, Button to 11th. The safety car is still out.
Lap 1: And we’re off! Go! Go! Go! Rosberg and Hamilton give it the
beans as they head towards the first turn. Will we have a crash? No,
everyone’s made it. The yellow flags are waving now, though, as a Force
India crashes out and the safety car arrives for the fifth year running.
It’s Perez who’s out.
13.00 The cars set off for their formation lap… everyone’s away
except Maldonado who can’t get going. Oh dear. And he’s pushed into the pit
lane.
12.56 For those of you who like a temperature stat, it’s 28 degrees on
track. Hamilton and Rosberg have just shaken hands before getting into their
cars. That was very gentlemanly by Lewis, but could it be mind games?
12.51 This is your 10 minute count down (with nine minutes to go). Our
F1 man Daniel is in place, quill at the ready, primed to produce the finest
race report you will have ever read. But in the mean time, sit back and
enjoy the live action with yours truly.
Daniel Johnson: Seeing as I’m here, and can look out of the tiny
windows of this rather basic press room (it also has a lingering smell of
fish, maybe that’s what used to be sold here?), I can tell you about the
weather. In short, it’s quite cool and cloudy. There are a few murmurings of
rain towards the end of the race. As if we did not have enough exictement in
store already.
12.50 As a mark of respect for the dear departed Sir Jack Brabham there
is currently an unveiling of a plaque in his memory. No minute’s silence,
though. Bernie Eccelstone is here, as is Jean Todt. And I think I’ve just
spotted Professor Xavier… yes… it’s Patrick Stewart.
12.45 More from our F1 guru Daniel. What a job he has, jet-setting all
over the world, soaking up the glamour, sniffing the petrol fumes. Anyway,
here’s DJ’s latest post:
Obviously, all this celebrity guff is peripheral to the meat of the story
today: the Lewis vs. Nico battle. Qualifying was without a doubt the most
scintilating day of the season so far. Lewis’s body language more than
suggested he felt Nico was guilty of some underhand tactics, but it will be
intriguing to see if he has cooled off overnight.
My feeling is that Lewis is nowhere near stupid enough to intentionally run
Nico off the road, as Senna did on Prost in 1990. But, perhaps he’ll make a
riskier lunge than he would otherwise contemplate, given the circumstances?
All eyes will be firmly fixed on turn one.
And, with just 15 minutes left until the start, there’s still time to get your
race predictions in. Do
it here.. NOW!
6 years ago today @LewisHamilton won the #MonacoGP for McLaren. Good luck again today, old friend. #MagicOfMonaco pic.twitter.com/wg4R8SFMPC
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 25, 2014
12.35 More beautiful people alert!
It’s the pit girls
12.30 Our F1 Correspondent Daniel Johnson is trackside and will
be sending regular updates. Here’s his first…
So, Monaco! It’s the big one, in many respects. We’ve got an appaling array
of semi-celebrities and nobodys strutting their stuff. Michael Carrick is
with Red Bull, along with some NFL players (didn’t manage to glean much more
on their identity other than a first name being Reggie?)
Justin Bieber was also here yesterday, and hobbled from Bernie Ecclestone’s
motorhome out onto the harbour. Quite what the 83-year-old chief executive
of a global sport and an imp who sings have to talk about, I have no idea.
Maybe Bieber was asking about the current state of governance with Formula
One’s Strategy Group? Who knows. Apparently, Bieber took a few selfies. He
also requested to meet Fernando Alonso, but he was too busy. The Spaniard
has dramatically risen in my estimation.
12.15 As this is Monte Carlo, you will have to forgive me but I will be
gratuitously throwing pictures of celebs and beautiful people into this live
blog as and when the urge takes me… looks it’s Sherlock Holmes!
Benedict Cumberbatch is a Formula One fan (GETTY IMAGES)
12.10 Monaco is famed for its glitz and glamour as A-list celebrities
flock to the principality to sip on champagne, relax on one of the many
super yachts in the harbour and generally try to look as beautiful as the
surroundings. The great and the good of Hollywood can regularly be seen
hob-nobbing with royalty. Unfortunately, some just don’t really fit in, as
much as they try. Yesterday, in the early afternoon, hordes of Beliebers
(that’s Justin Bieber fans to you and me) gathered to catch a glipse of the *cough*
pop star. So in case we have any Beliebers reading this live blog, this is
for you…
Justin Bieber without a top on… now there’s a shock (ACTION IMAGES)
And for all the rest, THIS is for you…
The beautiful Monaco harbour (GETTY IMAGES)
12.03 With Hamilton seething at Rosberg, could he do an Ayrton Senna
and take out his team-mate today?
The bitter hostility that existed between Senna and Prost during the late
1980s, when the pair were team-mates at McLaren, has become legendary.
Ok, so the current fracas between Hamilton and Rosberg remains far from the
extremes of those days, but the Brit may yet take matters into his own hands
if yesterday’s comments are anything to go by.
“I don’t know if Senna and Prost talked about it, but I quite liked the
way Senna dealt with that, so I’ll take a page out of his book,”
remarked Hamilton after qualifying.
In 1989 Prost took out Senna late in the Japanese Grand Prix to win the title
that year.
A year later, and at the same circuit, the Brazilian returned the favour by
running into the Frenchman – who had moved on to Ferrari – at turn one to
claim the second of his three championships.
Ayrton Senna loved racing around the Monaco circuit (AP)
12.00 Hello and welcome to what is, without doubt, the most
hotly-anticipated race of the season to date. And it’s getting all spicy at
just the right time after yesterday’s qualifying.
In case you’ve had your head buried in the sand, Nico Rosberg escaped
punishment by the stewards after being hauled before them for an incident
during the closing stages of qualifying that compromised Mercedes team-mate
Lewis Hamilton’s final hot lap.
On provisional pole position by just 0.059secs from Hamilton after the opening
quick laps, Rosberg locked up on the entry to Mirabeau on his second and
final attempt, and was forced to take the escape road.
An attempt to reverse, however, swiftly brought out the yellow flags, and with
Hamilton behind and on a quicker lap, the championship leader was forced to
abort, denying him top spot on the grid.
Hamilton and Rosberg aren’t exactly on speaking terms at present (GETTY
IMAGES)
Hamilton later inferred Rosberg’s actions were deliberate but, after a
surprisingly swift hearing, it was determined the 28-year-old German was not
guilty.
You can imagine how Hamilton felt. In response to a question on BBC 5 Live:
‘Did he (Rosberg) screw you over?’, Hamilton replied: “Potentially.”
Asked a similar question on Sky Sports, Hamilton said: “I’m not
saying no.”
Interesting, *taps fingers together while taking a break from typing*,
very interesting.