Fernando Alonso topped the times in the second practice session at Monaco – just as he did in the first.
A few spots of rain towards the end of second practice and the usual traffic problems made life especially tricky for the drivers.
With rain forecast for the second half of the session most of the cars were on-track within minutes of practice starting.
But even when the track was completey dry the drivers struggled with the Monaco circuit. Some went straight on at Sainte Devote – including Timo Glock and Felipe Massa.
Others missed the chicane at the harbour front – something Michael Schumacher did on more than one occasion and several others copied him, bumping over the high new kerb on the inside of the corner.
Robert Kubica briefly held the top spot on the times sheets as he continued to impress in the Renault. But he was eventually beaten by the man he replaced at Renault – Fernando Alonso.
As expected, traffic proved a problem when the track was at its busiest – particularly when drivers were backing off in the final sector. Massa backed of too much on one lap, allowing Heikki Kovalainen to overtake him at the final corner. The next time around Massa had Glock’s Virgin all over the back of his Ferrari.
When the rain began to fall it was only very light but it was enough to catch a few drivers out. Jaime Alguersuari lost control of his Toro Rosso on his way down to the chicane and only an impressive feat of car control kept it out of the barriers.
Lewis Hamilton also had a moment in the McLaren, but kept his car out of the barriers at Anthony Noghes.
But it was a wasted session for Bruno Senna whose HRT is in need of repair. The team won’t have the necessary parts until they’ve been flown out by Dallara.
Several drivers got closer to Alonso’s time by the end of the session – including Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel, Massa and Schumacher. But for the second session in a row Alonso was the fastest man in Monte-Carlo.
| Pos. | Car | Driver | Car | Best lap | Laps | |
| 1 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’14.904 | 36 | |
| 2 | 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’15.013 | 0.109 | 40 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’15.099 | 0.195 | 48 |
| 4 | 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’15.120 | 0.216 | 45 |
| 5 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1’15.143 | 0.239 | 38 |
| 6 | 11 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 1’15.192 | 0.288 | 39 |
| 7 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’15.249 | 0.345 | 32 |
| 8 | 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1’15.460 | 0.556 | 42 |
| 9 | 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’15.619 | 0.715 | 38 |
| 10 | 6 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’15.620 | 0.716 | 28 |
| 11 | 12 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 1’15.746 | 0.842 | 44 |
| 12 | 16 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’16.276 | 1.372 | 46 |
| 13 | 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Williams-Cosworth | 1’16.348 | 1.444 | 48 |
| 14 | 9 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | 1’16.522 | 1.618 | 38 |
| 15 | 15 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India-Mercedes | 1’16.528 | 1.624 | 42 |
| 16 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’16.599 | 1.695 | 36 |
| 17 | 23 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’16.818 | 1.914 | 46 |
| 18 | 17 | Jaime Alguersuari | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’17.023 | 2.119 | 28 |
| 19 | 19 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus-Cosworth | 1’18.184 | 3.28 | 48 |
| 20 | 25 | Lucas di Grassi | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’18.478 | 3.574 | 38 |
| 21 | 18 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Cosworth | 1’18.667 | 3.763 | 13 |
| 22 | 24 | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | 1’18.721 | 3.817 | 42 |
| 23 | 20 | Karun Chandhok | HRT-Cosworth | 1’20.313 | 5.409 | 36 |
| 24 | 21 | Bruno Senna | HRT-Cosworth | 1’22.148 | 7.244 | 11 |
2010 Monaco Grand Prix
sumedh
13th May 2010, 14:47
Good to see Felipe only 2 tenths off Fernando. And 45 laps is good mileage as well.
Victor.
13th May 2010, 14:48
I think I might risk Kubica for pole :P
mw
13th May 2010, 14:49
Minor Typo – Alonse !
good stuff fernando!
sam
13th May 2010, 15:02
Kubica a good bet for podium. Weber only did 28laps!!
Ed
13th May 2010, 15:00
It seems there weren’t too many glory runs at the end, so its hard to judge the qualifying pace.
Its quite amazing that Ferrari haven’t won here since 2001, and I definitely wouldn’t bet against them this weekend. Massa has been very aggressive so far and Alonso’s had good solid pace, which is encouraging for them.
Henry
13th May 2010, 18:31
Their car is very good on tyres over race distance compared to say the Red Bull, which will help at Monaco, plus now they have their engine reliability problems sorted (and an extra 12 hp from the ‘fix’) they should be in good shape. But then again, I reckon its wide open to any driver who gets pole, and that is wide open to the driver who can get a clear lap! Red Bull, McLaren would be my bets but Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault are all just as likely.
Paradoxos
14th May 2010, 5:30
How do you know they have 12hp extra?
George
14th May 2010, 17:13
I thought they lost hp when they fixed the engine(hence the other teams not complaining)?
Mike
15th May 2010, 9:00
To be honest without really strong evidence I’d be sceptical that Ferrari would lose HP, especially when Mercedes has more.
Glenn
13th May 2010, 15:01
This is going to be a crap shoot to predict. Man this is tough. But I am going to have to go with Driver skill over Outright pace.
Drivers will have to will their cars in Q3 to get pole. And watching an Oversteering (loose) Alonso is enough to get the hairs on the back of my neck chilled.
DaveW
13th May 2010, 15:10
Refreshing to see the top eight coverd by 1/2 second. I expect it will remain this close among the top 4-5 talent. I expect to see a couple red flags in qualifying and many good cars not advance. The first car to get in a fully clean lap in Q3 may well be the pole sitter. That could by anyone from Vettel to Hulkenberg.
Nitpicker
13th May 2010, 15:20
Shame the new teams were a second behind, and the Hispanias another 1-2 secs further back. Not so close at the tail end.
I still can’t bring myself to refer to them as ‘HRT’.
mmertens
13th May 2010, 15:11
I think that if Massa wants to keep the press quiet about his performance vs Alonso and to retain morale inside Ferrari, his Saturday Qualifying performance is crucial. And probavly he knows that this race is going to be a major opportunity to get the pole, making less harder to get a much needed victory. But beating Alonso here would be extremely hard.
So far he´s doing fine only two tenths off Alonso’s pace.
Nitpicker
13th May 2010, 15:22
There wouldn’t be much point for Massa to ‘do a Trulli’ and blitz qualifying, then lose pace during the race.
Enigma
13th May 2010, 22:56
In Monaco it doesn’t really matter how fast you are in the race. If Massa gets the pole and it’s a dry race he has a very high chance of winning. Good start, then keep the others behind, make an early pit stop and he will lead after everyone pits. Then again stay ahead, hold others up, and try to bring the car home with very worn tyres.
Weasel Chops
13th May 2010, 17:53
I suspect you’re placing too much faith in Massa’s team spirit and that he is just 2 tenth’s off at the moment. Maybe he’ll catch up by Saturday but I’d bet against it right now.
Mike
13th May 2010, 15:12
I’m gonna stick to Vettel, Alonso is doing well yes, but I think the red bull’s don’t show there hands until Saturday, and I think Vettel is a driver, at that time in his career, when he can do stupidly fast lap from nowhere…
J
13th May 2010, 15:13
Kubica is looking good.
What’s going on with the Mclarens?
Glenn
13th May 2010, 15:22
They did not take to the SS too well. seems like they where exploring it heavy fuel runs with the SS and the car did not take it well at all.
Seems like the could possibly qualify on the Prime tire in Q3 to avoid being caught out on Rubber that wont last a decent stint. Could really put a wrench in the race if Mclaren are out in the last couple of laps setting a fast pace.
BasCB
14th May 2010, 7:25
Yesterday or on wensday i read an interview with Lewis (that was about his driving and tyre use), where he said, that the difference between Super Soft and Medium is not that big here, so maybe going for Mediums for Q3 and the start of the race would be a possibility.
I would be really exited if they gave that a try as they do not seem to have the outright pace to get to the top in Q3.
Nitpicker
13th May 2010, 15:23
Perhaps they were spooked about the prospect of traffic jams, so got their running in early when the track was green.
Macca
13th May 2010, 15:25
Was there problems with Webbers car? He only did 28 laps.
plushpile
14th May 2010, 1:00
Yeah, and Vettel did 48.
He must have had some sort of problem.
Antonio
13th May 2010, 15:39
Assuming that everyone has a clear race meaning no hitting the barriers or other cars (a science fiction scenario if you ask me) I don’t know if ill give both red bulls a top 5 position in my predictions! They’ve had brake issues throughout the season. Brakes and gear boxes are going to suffer on Sunday!! May I say Vettel won’t make it to the finish line!
Dog
13th May 2010, 15:44
After Ferrari has fixed the engine, suddenly faster all the other cars including Red Bull. WHAT A JOKE
rampante
13th May 2010, 17:04
I suggest you go and read up on rules and how not always the best car is good at Monaco.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th May 2010, 17:10
Ferrari changed their engines before Barcelona and they didn’t win there.
David A
13th May 2010, 17:40
By your extremely warped logic, STR and Sauber, two teams that use the same modified engine, should have gone forward by leaps and bounds. But they haven’t.
Still
13th May 2010, 19:59
In Spain the engine was already ‘fixed’…
remengo
13th May 2010, 15:50
Ferrari had fixed engines in Barcelona too….it was not that effective, despite the result
david
13th May 2010, 15:59
hey keith, is the mclaren`s run with low fuel? because i those that they was in the same thousands like the ferraris…
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th May 2010, 17:11
Hamilton made a mistake which compromised two of his early runs on the super-softs. From Button’s in-car radio it sounds like they were struggling with the wear rate on them. I’ll write more on it when I do the interactive chart.
Bleu
13th May 2010, 16:15
Well, the slower cars were concern before the weekend and in the practice, biggest problem occured when Massa impeded Kovalainen and Glock in FP2.
BasCB
14th May 2010, 7:26
Boo to ferrari for blocking ;-)
I saw that as well.
gopher
13th May 2010, 17:03
I know it’s only practice, but it’s discouraging to see Jaime almost a second behind his teammate Buemi. I believe he’s the best of the rookies and hope he will get a good result in Monte Carlo, where top speed is not so decisive.
BasCB
14th May 2010, 7:31
As i said this morning. You could really see the difference between Rookies and their more experienced teammates.
All were over a second behind (with the exeption of Kobayashi, but maybe we must treat De la Rosa as a rookie here too). In this session the differences between rookies and their teammates went down to about 0,7 seconds as they get experience.
In the case of Hulkenberg the new Williams wing was on his car in the afternoon so it helped him get in front of Baricello. Di Grassi even got between Heikki and Jarno and in front of Timo Glock who was suffering from his gearbox nog being seamless shift.
Alguersuari had a moment there, where he did very good to avoid the barriers, so do not give up.
Jay Menon
14th May 2010, 2:21
Was expecting Alonso to be fast with the tyre compounds suiting the Ferrari. Hope the form carries on to Qualies tomorrow and the race of course.
Chandhouk faster then Senna again? Ok, Senna only ran 11 Laps, but the trend has been the same. Looks like he’s once again proving that GP2 isn’t a good barometer to gauge talent?
Good run by Kovi, impressive.
wasiF1
14th May 2010, 8:39
Nico is back, I hope the time wasted in FP1 is not too much. Sutil & Kubica still are the dark horse if this weekend. Ferrari may win on this track for the first time since 2001, but this times are nothing compare what they will do on Saturday.
Karan
14th May 2010, 9:19
Yeah,agree but what about schumi.
wasiF1
14th May 2010, 15:41
I think we won’t see too much from him this weekend, but point finish for sure.