2012 Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix 2012 took on 27 May at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo and was the sixth race of the Formula 1 season in 2012.
- 3.1 qualifying
- 3.2 race
- 4.1 Drivers' Championship
- 4.2 Constructors' Championship
Reports
Background
After the Spanish Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel led the drivers' championship points at front of Fernando Alonso and 8 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton. In the design rating Red Bull -Renault led with 11 points ahead of McLaren -Mercedes with 25 points, ahead of Lotus -Renault.
At the Grand Prix of Monaco presented Pirelli riders the tire compounds P Zero soft (yellow) and P Zero Supersoft (red), as well as for wet conditions Cinturato Intermediates (green) and Cinturato Full Wets (blue ) are available.
With Michael Schumacher ( five times ), Alonso (twice), Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton, Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Vettel ( once each ) were seven former winners of this Grand Prix.
As race stewards acted José Abed (MEX ), Christian Calmes (MON ), Paul Gutjahr (SUI ) and Nigel Mansell (GBR ).
Training
The first day of practice at the Grand Prix of Monaco is traditionally the Thursday. In the first free practice Alonso posted the fastest lap ahead of Romain Grosjean and Sergio Pérez. The training was stopped about nine minutes before the end and not restarted. The trigger was an engine failure by Heikki Kovalainen at the tunnel exit. In the second session, which was marked by changeable weather conditions, Button set the fastest lap before Grosjean and Felipe Massa.
Before training there was an accident on a harbor -side grandstand. According to organizer information a wooden floor collapsed at the stands, whereby two people came to case. One of them is serious leg injuries allegedly suffered.
In the third free practice session on Saturday Nico Rosberg was the fastest driver in front of Massa and Vettel. Also, this exercise was not completed regularly, but stopped just before the end, as Pastor Maldonado in the casino lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the boundary. A previous round Maldonado had a contact with Sergio Pérez before the porter curve. Pérez had the faster Maldonado released the racing line, but moved so sharply inward, that it came to a contact. The race stewards interpreted this as a lack of sportsmanship and occupied Maldonado with a starting place penalty at ten positions.
Qualifying
The first segment was discontinued after four minutes. Pérez lost the exit of the Louis Chiron control of his vehicle because his front suspension was no longer intact, and touched the limit with the left side of the vehicle. As a result, broke his left rear wheel, which eventually rolled over the line. He tried to drive back to the pits, but stopped in the Rascasse. After the interruption, Nico Hulkenberg scored the fastest lap. Besides Pérez resigned from the HRT, Marussia and Caterham pilots. As Pérez had set no time, he failed at the 107- percent rule. However, it was subsequently admitted to the race.
In the second section, Jean- Éric Vergne collided exit of the tunnel with the wall. He suffered a suspension failure and the front wing pushed under his car, he drove slowly back to the pits, but went no further round more. Massa posted the fastest lap. The Toro Rosso and Force India pilots and Bruno Senna, Button and Kamui Kobayashi retired from. In the final segment Schumacher set the fastest lap. As he had, however, received a sentence of five positions starting place for creating a collision in the last race, pole position went to Webber, who scored the second fastest time. From the second place Rosberg went into the race from the third Hamilton.
After qualifying, the gearbox was changed with Perez and Maldonado, which earned both a disciplinary transfer to five positions.
Race
Webber kept at the start of the Grand Prix the lead ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton. Grosjean, who had gone from fourth place in the race, collided with Schumacher, who started from sixth place. While Schumacher drove on, the race for Grosjean was completed before the first corner. As a result of the accident by Grosjean, there was unrest in the field, Kobayashi easily took off. He first drove on, had the car after five laps, but leave in the pits. After initially no safety car phase was initiated, sent the race management, the safety car onto the track after the field for the first time drove past the accident site by Grosjean. In addition to the accident by Grosjean came in the first round even in a collision between Maldonado and Pedro de la Rosa, in excreting both racers.
At the restart Webber again defended the lead ahead of Rosberg, Hamilton, Alonso, Massa, Vettel, Raikkonen and Schumacher. Vettel was the only one of its pilots, who had gone into the race with the harder tire compound, while the others all used the softer compound. At this stage of the race, several teams were expecting soon it started to rain, so all the pilots tried to stay as long as possible outside, in order not to have to often change tires.
While Pérez went by Vergne and Timo Glock in the back of the pack, Vitaly Petrov retired with technical problems. In the meantime, formed a gap behind the sixth-placed Vettel, as Raikkonen was unable to match the pace of the front group and overtaking on the narrow street circuit are heavy. Behind Raikkonen drove low residue Schumacher, Hulkenberg and Senna.
On lap 27 Rosberg started from the top group, the pit stop phase. He switched to the harder tire compound. One lap later, Webber and Hamilton followed him, the positions remained unchanged with each other. Changes took place after Alonso driving out drove at the top of a head start on Hamilton and overtook him at the stop. Massa initially took the lead, lined up after his stop but behind Hamilton and Schumacher, who was not on the box, a. Vettel now leading the race. Since he was started on the harder tire compound, he was able, first to drive faster times than his pursuers.
In his only scheduled pit stop Pérez turned off late in the box and disabled while Raikkonen, who lost a position. The stewards took Pérez then a drive-through penalty. In the meantime, Button, who started from twelfth place on the harder tire was on the box and moved to the softer compound. He fell after his stop behind Kovalainen. While Button was able to not let his opponent go of overtaking him but did not succeed.
Finally, Vettel went into the 46th round to the pits. He switched on the softer tire compound and came back in fourth place ahead of Hamilton on the track. At the top succeeded to all drivers, not to let the respective front man pull away too far, so the first six within ten seconds - mostly even less - were. Behind it was a larger gap to the rest of the field led by Schumacher.
During light rain began, Schumacher was no longer able to ride the times of the other riders. He finally gave up with technical problems. The one round after him was also finished the race Charles Pic and Daniel Ricciardo with technical defects. At the top of the first six riders came together even more closely. In the 71st round of the sixth-placed Massa had only about three seconds behind the leading Webber.
Although the track was not completely dry and no new bests allowed risked only Vergne, who was first on the seventh place, a change to intermediates. However, he did not benefit from this change and lost some positions, since the dry tires were still faster. When overtaking buttons against Kovalainen shortly before race end button his vehicle damaged to such an extent that he gave up. Kovalainen damaged thereby the front wing and had to repair a pit stop.
Webber finally won the race ahead of Rosberg, Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton and Massa. The first six pilots came within 6.2 seconds to the finish. The other point went to Paul di Resta, Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Senna.
With the sixth driver Webber won the sixth race of the season. This happened yet in any Formula 1 season.
At 18:45 local time clock confirmed the FIA, the result official. Before the race, Ferrari and McLaren kept open the possibility to appeal against the result of protest because they doubted the regulatory compliance of the underbody of the Red Bull RB8. Red Bull had added to the RB8 a hole in the underbody just before the rear tires. Eventually, however, no team placed a protest against the classification. The system was first used at the Grand Prix of Bahrain in 2012.
In the drivers' world championship Alonso took the lead from Vettel, who dropped back to second place and was now level on points with third-placed Webber. For the designers, it came on the first three positions also shifts. Red Bull continued to lead ahead of McLaren, but Ferrari took third place by Lotus.
In the back of the World Cup were also encountered shifts in the teams and drivers without points. Kovalainen and Narain Karthikeyan made with the squares 13 and 15, their best season placement. Kovalainen therefore improved from 22nd to 19th place, Karthikeyan of the 24th to the 22th rank. When the designers Caterham walked past Marussia with 13th place Kovalainen.
Message list
Classifications
Qualifying
Race
WM stands after the race
, The first ten of the race were 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point (s).