Nico's crash at the start of Practice 3 will surely leave him at the back of the grid in tommorow's race, without having the chance to enter qualifying. At a circuit where it seems impossible to overtake and the midfield cars being quite strong this year will Nico be able to show what he is made of and do what Alonso did last year and get some decent points?
It depends on whether he can take part in qualifying. If he does, I expect him to get into Q3 and have a top 10 finish. If he doesn't, I don't expect him to get into the top 10. Overtaking the backmarkers will take a while, but he'll get it done eventually. Overall though, Monaco is a difficult place to overtake and I don't think he can do a repeat of Alonso last year (and by that, I mean strategy - last year, Alonso's Bridgestone medium tyres lasted 77 laps; I doubt the Pirelli soft tyre will last more than 30 laps). I see Rosberg getting stuck with Sutil and co.
Always a good idea to think in advance If he gets through then this is good news but I don't think they'll make it in time. Just shut this down if does make qualifying 3.
He's unlikely to make Quali according to BBC website. So, starting from the back, if he's a lucky boy, a really lucky boy, bottom end of the points
well, I've put him in the points as I think he's a fairly conservative driver, I think there'll be a safety or 2 which will keep him up there, a few will crash out, which will bump him up more. It's a chance for him to prove how good he is, overtaking faster cars is a real problem here, but i can't see him having many problems passing the HRT-Williams cars. Edit: looks like he's coming out, but will his race set-up be compromised because of the rush? Edit2. lol, after that lap I'd say no.
Lol mud on my face this time. Well done Mercedes crew getting him out and well done nico nailing a lap like that early on. Sorry I even doubted you nico <3
I can't see him going forwards from where he is. It'll be a good result overall i think if he stays where he is, or maybe get 1 position, given the state it was not long before qualifying. The drivers in front of him are unlikely to be easy to get past
I can see Alonso or Schumacher sneaking a podium through a great start, or Hamilton ironically benefitting from an average start and steering clear of incidents in front of him. I don't think Rosberg has a good enough car to make up places through strategy or on the track, given who is in front of him. And I don't think he's close enough to the front to do enough on the start to change that picture. If there is an incident at the front, his position on the racing line combined with the fact that Mercedes are starting well would make him a prime candidate to get caught up in it. Solid points would be a good result.
Good points, Watford - why has it taken you so long to get here? Schumacher's also optimistic about being on the podium. If the new calm-starting F1 (in which drivers are less rabid about gaining places at the start because there's more opportunity later on) is going to break down anywhere, surely it'll be in Monaco? This could well lead to start line incidents that may affect Rosberg.
