A.Wayne

I see you are still not taking your medication


Ok, Ms is the greatest driver EVER!!! getting ot, ,NOW LESS GETBACK TO OUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING OF THE 2007 F1 CHAMPIONSHIP WITH REIGNING WCD ALONSO and cast , thank you gentlemen and pole........

Geo

Berger was never Senna's lapdog. Berger just couldn't carry Senna's jock strap. But he was never Senna's lapdog.

I don't know what to say. It's just as well because it wouldn't be polite.

Geo

You know, more and more if someone wanted to get a pool going, I'd cast my money on Massa.

despitekimibeingtalentedithinkthisyearlooksalotlikelastyearsofaranddon't seesignsofanythingchanging

While Hamilton is very much the real deal and has been quite consistent so far, I don't think he will have the poise to stay on top when the WC really heats up.

I would not count Alonso out by any stretch, but he's going to have to make a bit more of his own luck. At Renault he built early leads in the WC and hung on. I'm not so sure he's up to duking it out in the heat of the late season.

I think Massa is a man on a mission. I think he recognizes he has a premium opportunity in front of him and I think he is supremely motivated to make the most of it. He's also shown that he can quickly learn from his mistakes.

A.Wayne

Geo , he gave you a hint , he is austrian , LOL, he is just like lauda.

no need to respond to the senna comment , it is so laughable LOL


Ye, i'm with s Massa , he will be 07 WC , much to pole's disgust , he was counting on rindt beating senna!!!

Geo

What? No ears, no hair, half a nose?

That reminds me of when one of the Japanese F1 drivers first started racing in F1. At a press conference he was asked what was the funniest thing that happened to him today. Well.... he thought he was asked what the funniest thing he heard was that day. So, he responded...

A blind bunny rabbit and a blind snake meet each other by chance in the woods. Being blind they were unaware of what they were and when they started talking they agreed to touch each other and figure it out.

The snake touches the bunny and says: "Well, you're furry, have a cotton ball-like tail, and long ears. You're a bunny rabbit!"

So, the bunny touches the snake all over and says: "Well, you have scaly skin, no ears, no hair, and not much of a nose. You're Niki Lauda!"

A.Wayne

LOL!
Must have originally been said by Bobby Rahal

smlporsche

I'm stayin on the sidelines of this debate but that was too funny

+1

A.Wayne

ALONSO IS ALWAYS GOOD AROUND MONACO
My pick for this weekend ,
1. Alonso
2. Hamilton
3. Kimi


i don't expect much from massa this weekend s as he is not comfortable or precise enough for a track like Monaco , but we will see, that's why they race no!



.....Practice 1: Alonso puts Lewis in the shade
Thursday, 24, May, 2007, 10:43


Double world champion Fernando Alonso fired a timely reminder to his rookie stable-mate Lewis Hamilton in the first free practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix.

As the hype grows around the British sensation's chances on his first Formula 1 visit to Monte Carlo, the McLaren pair delivered the fastest times of the 90 minute session, but significantly it was the Spaniard who commanded a 0.6s advantage as the flag fell.

Alonso's lap of 1m16.973s around the Monaco set him apart from the rest as the champion completed a whopping 31 laps in total - more than any other driver as worked through his soft tyre programme.

Hamilton, by contrast, came out of the blocks fast and engaged in an early battle for supremacy with Felipe Massa's Ferrari.

The 21-year-old ended the scrap with a 1m17.601s lap, which was good enough for second, but not long after headed into the pits where he remained for half the session, having done all the hard tyre work he needed to.

His response to Alonso's target will likely come this afternoon.

Nick Heidfeld, a potential dark horse this weekend, was third quickest in the nimble BMW, while Giancarlo Fisichella was a much-improved fourth.

The Italian's pace on a track he normally shines on will have given the under-par Renault team some cheer, lthough the left-front he severely damaged in a late incident with the barrier at St Devote probably didn't.

Another to clout the wall at the first corner was Mark Webber, whose Red Bull's left-rear swiped the barrier hard on the exit.

The Aussie, who was an impressive sixth fastest, made it as far as the Nouvelle Chicane before pulling off the track just after the chequered flag was waved.

Slipping in between the two crashers in fifth was Kimi Raikkonen in the first of the Ferraris.

The Italian team had a quiet first session with Massa ending up eighth behind Williams's Nico Rosberg, as the young German made yet another fine impression.

Robert Kubica was ninth in the second of the BMWs while Rubens Barrichello broke into the top ten for Honda.

Other points of note during the session were Scott Speed's best lap, which put the American in eighth before he eventually dropped to 12th, and Christijan Albers, who brought out the red flags for five minutes when he stopped his Spyker between the chicane and Tabac.


Monaco Grand Prix, Free practice session one

1. ALONSO Mclaren 1m16.973s
2. HAMILTON McLaren 1m17.601s
3. HEIDFELD BMW 1m17.616s
4. FISICHELLA Renault 1m17.758s
5. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m17.918s
6. WEBBER Red Bull 1m17.956s
7. ROSBERG Williams 1m18.074s
8. MASSA Ferrari 1m18.189s
9. KUBICA BMW 1m18.675s
10. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m18.676s
11. WURZ Williams 1m18.869s
12. SPEED Toro Rosso 1m18.967s
13. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m19.095s
14. SATO Super Aguri 1m19.203s
15. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m19.285s
16. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m19.321s
17. BUTTON Honda 1m19.332s
18. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m19.337s
19. TRULLI Toyota 1m19.496s
20. R SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m19.799s
21. SUTIL Spyker 1m21.634s
22. ALBERS Spyker 1m23.235s

Larry Herman

I love this stuff. I can't wait for Montreal!

A.Wayne

I was just thinking the same thing larry ,you know after attending the US grandprix at indy , they need more of a show than what is currently there vs say montreal , i would like to see for my money , say an alms race the sat. afternoon or even a dp rolex race , with f1 on sunday , there is nothing to do at indy , so they might as well race into the night ....

A.Wayne

Monday, 01, January, 0001, 00:00


Lewis Hamilton says he still has an excellent relationship with his McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso despite press speculation to the contrary.

Media reports suggested that Alonso was becoming frustrated after being beaten by Hamilton in the past two races, and that he was uncomfortable about Hamilton's close relationship with McLaren, the Briton having been a team protege since his teens.

But Hamilton played down speculation about inter-team disharmony.

"We're very much working extremely hard together to succeed and it's going extremely well at the moment so, as you can see, it's getting better and better," said Lewis in Monaco.

"I think with me and Fernando the relationship is growing.

"We're sort of starting to understand each other.

"Obviously we've got a huge amount of respect for each other as we always have.

"But it's doing fine."

Hamilton said he regarded Alonso as just another rival in the races, and had never expected to play a number two role despite the Spaniard's greater experience and title success.

"I never actually thought it was a master-pupil thing to be honest," he said.

"I think that as in every team, there's a little bit of rivalry there but that's only on the track.

"We're professionals.

"Off the track we're friends, we can talk, we're relaxed, there's no tension there."

A.Wayne

HOW YUH LIKE ME NOW !


Fernando Alonso beat Lewis Hamilton to pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix by two tenths of a second, as McLaren took their first pole position of the season.

The McLarens had battled for supremacy throughout the qualifying hour, which remained dry despite a light shower shortly before the session.

Hamilton was comfortably fastest in Q1, with Alonso unable to get within four tenths of his teammate, but the positions were reversed in Q2, with Alonso emerging 0.048 seconds quicker.

Hamilton then held provisional pole early in Q3, but a slide at Loews and traffic in the tunnel meant he was unable to improve on his early time. Alonso then produced a 1:15.726 to deny his young teammate his first pole position.

Felipe Massa took third for Ferrari, but his teammate Kimi Raikkonen will start back on the eighth row after an error in the second segment.

Raikkonen clipped the inside barrier at the Swimming Pool exit on his first flying lap in Q2, breaking the Ferrari's right-front suspension.

He continued as far as Rascasse, but the damaged car could not make the corner and ended up parked in virtually the same place as Michael Schumacher had been in the infamous track blocking incident of the 2006 qualifying session.

Massa almost became trapped behind his teammate, before eventually squeezing through the gap between Raikkonen's car and the barrier. The Finn managed to reverse away from the Armco and got back to the pits, but the damage could not be repaired in time.

Giancarlo Fisichella took Renault's best grid spot of 2007 in fourth, with Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber doing likewise for Williams and Red Bull in fifth and sixth respectively. The BMWs will share row four, with Nick Heidfeld ahead.

David Coulthard made it through to the top ten, only for his Q2 times to be deleted as a punishment for blocking Heikki Kovalainen when on an out-lap near the end of the session.

The Red Bull driver was demoted to 16th on the grid, behind Raikkonen, while Kovalainen could only manage 14th.

Coulthard's penalty meant that both Hondas reached the top ten for the first time in 2007. Rubens Barrichello had already made the cut, pushing Jenson Button out of the top ten by 0.003 seconds before the stewards' decision allowed both in. They qualified ninth and 10th.

Vitantonio Liuzzi starred in Q1 with the fourth fastest time, and then achieved a season-best 12th on the grid in Q2, behind Williams' Alex Wurz, and ahead of Jarno Trulli. Toyota had a disastrous session, with Trulli only 14th and Ralf Schumacher failing to get beyond Q1. He will start 20th.

Morning practice pacesetter Adrian Sutil could not repeat his giant-killing performance in qualifying, but did manage to get off the back row, taking 19th. A hydraulic leak meant his Spyker teammate Christijan Albers was unable to set a time.

Both Super Aguris also departed in Q1, with Anthony Davidson 17th and Takuma Sato only 21st. Toro Rosso's Scott Speed was the other man eliminated early, and will start 18th.
Monaco qualifying breakdown Session 1 Session 2 Session 3
Pos Driver Team Pos Time Lap Pos Time Lap Pos Time Lap
1. Alonso McLaren 2. 1:16.059 8 1. 1:15.431 3 1. 1:15.726 11
2. Hamilton McLaren 1. 1:15.685 6 2. 1:15.479 4 2. 1:15.905 12
3. Massa Ferrari 5. 1:16.786 8 5. 1:16.034 7 3. 1:15.967 12
4. Fisichella Renault 12. 1:17.596 7 6. 1:16.054 6 4. 1:16.285 11
5. Rosberg Williams 6. 1:16.870 9 7. 1:16.100 3 5. 1:16.439 12
6. Webber Red Bull 14. 1:17.816 7 9. 1:16.420 6 6. 1:16.784 12
7. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 10. 1:17.385 5 4. 1:15.733 7 7. 1:16.832 12
8. Kubica BMW Sauber 11. 1:17.584 5 3. 1:15.576 7 8. 1:16.955 12
9. Barrichello Honda 8. 1:17.244 10 10. 1:16.454 6 9. 1:17.498 11
10. Button Honda 9. 1:17.297 10 11. 1:16.457 6 10. 1:17.939 12
11. Wurz Williams 16. 1:17.874 9 12. 1:16.662 7
12. Liuzzi Toro Rosso 4. 1:16.720 11 13. 1:16.703 6
13. Trulli Toyota 13. 1:17.686 8 14. 1:16.988 6
14. Kovalainen Renault 15. 1:17.836 8 15. 1:17.125 8
15. Raikkonen Ferrari 3. 1:16.251 9 16. No time 2
16. Coulthard* Red Bull 7. 1:17.204 9 8. 1:16.319 7
17. Davidson Super Aguri 17. 1:18.250 7
18. Speed Toro Rosso 18. 1:18.390 7
19. Sutil Spyker 19. 1:18.418 8
20. R.Schumacher Toyota 20. 1:18.539 8
21. Sato Super Aguri 21. 1:18.554 10
22. Albers Spyker 22. No time 3

* Coulthard's time from Q2 was removed by the stewards due to him blocking Kovalainen

A.Wayne

Fernando Alonso, McLaren, at the Monaco GPDouble world champion Fernando Alonso was delighted after grabbing his first pole position with the McLaren team ahead of tomorrow's Monaco Grand Prix.

Alonso beat teammate Lewis Hamilton with a last-minute flying lap of 1:15.726 to end Ferrari's supremacy in qualifying this season, after the Italian squad had started from the top spot in all the previous Grands Prix.

"I am very, very happy, a very important pole position and qualifying had a little bit of everything going on," said Alonso, on pole at Monaco for the second year in a row.

"We were expecting rain, it came but very light, so it stayed only one lap and then picked up speed.

"We had traffic, but you cannot expect to avoid all the traffic in qualifying," added the Spaniard, who claimed he could have gone faster if not for Williams driver Nico Rosberg slowing him down.

"Absolutely, I think Nico was unlucky because when he left the pits he did a very good out lap and crossed the line with one second but not enough to hold me up in last few corners. It's difficult to get a clear lap," he added.

The McLaren driver, winner at the principality last season, is now looking to turn his pole into his second victory of the year.

"I think all the weekend has been quite good for us," he said. "This morning in the wet the car seemed to be quite competitive and we were at the top.

"Qualifying has been good and to be on pole at Monaco like last year is very, very important. And to get the first pole of McLaren-Mercedes is special. I am very happy.

"I think always Monaco is very special to be on pole but also be as long as you can, you need to find a compromise. We will see tomorrow how our competitors found the perfect strategy and hopefully our strategy will be better.

"It will be interesting, with weather conditions as well."

A.Wayne

This season is really turning out fantastic , hamilton has pushed Alonso to turnup the volume and he has accepted , the sign of a top driver is how they respond to pressure and the 2 times WC has responded well . What a fantastic race we have in store for Sunday , as the fuel loads will tell the tale .....


could the ferrari be the last of the top 3 to pit........?

multi21

Massa is just a hair off of Hamilton and .2 off Fernando's time. Barring any funny stuff on the 1st lap, if Massa is heavier by 2 laps, he's got a chance.

Two things: Ferrari hasn't won in Monaco in a number of years AND if the 80% chance of rain persists, all bets are off on how this one is going to end.