But I'd prefer Kimi has his typical "logo" on the top of the helmet. Those are what makes Kimi's helmets stand out amongst the others IMO " title="wink" />
Zitat von BoudicaKimi is looking very slow, I didn't have high hopes for Monaco, but Grosjean is up there so it cant be completely bad. Lotus's S3 time is bad though.
I hope Kimi is not having problems with his steering again or something.
I was also hoping that Ferrari might not be as fast around here, but it seems like they are very fast once again.
I hope they were running a different program than the rest. Let's hope P2 shows us another picture with Kimi.. " title="holy" />
But I'd prefer Kimi has his typical "logo" on the top of the helmet. Those are what makes Kimi's helmets stand out amongst the others IMO
Kimi's helmets usually looks great. It is only this season that I dont really like the design, not that I dislike it, it just very bland imo. I really liked last season's plain helmet.
Zitat von BoudicaKimi is looking very slow, I didn't have high hopes for Monaco, but Grosjean is up there so it cant be completely bad. Lotus's S3 time is bad though.
I hope Kimi is not having problems with his steering again or something.
I was also hoping that Ferrari might not be as fast around here, but it seems like they are very fast once again.
I hope they were running a different program than the rest. Let's hope P2 shows us another picture with Kimi..
Yes that is also what I am hoping for, or that Kimi was testing something. Although FP1 is usually used for setup.
I guess we'll see what happens in FP2, perhaps Kimi himself is just taking it slower. Nothing good has ever come out of damaging the car at Monaco.
ZitatKIMI RÄIKKÖNEN PLEASED WITH IMPROVEMENTS ON DAY 1 IN MONACO A relatively low-key day for the Iceman in Monte Carlo, just the way he likes it. Good laps on the board, and a clear path for improvement gives Kimi plenty of confidence for qualifying
HOW WAS YOUR FIRST DAY ON TRACK IN MONACO? I was much happier at the end of today than this morning. We were working on getting the steering right in the first session and it wasn’t great at the beginning, then we changed a few things on the car and it felt far better. We’ve still got a few other areas to improve, but it was feeling stronger with every run. To get pole we have to make the car a bit faster overall and I have to drive a bit better, then we’ll have to see what happens.
HOW DOES THE CAR FEEL WITH THE DIFFERENT TYRES AND CONFIGURATIONS? With the high fuel it didn’t feel too bad but for sure we can improve, and the same with low fuel too. It didn’t feel like a massive difference between the tyres to me, so maybe we didn’t get either one working as well as we should. It’s something we’ll be looking at before qualifying and the race. The main thing is the car feels pretty good and we’ve got a few ideas about how to make it better. I think if we get everything right we can still do something good.
HOW WELL CAN WE FARE IN QUALIFYING AND WHAT CAN BE DONE IN THE RACE? We haven’t had enough time to look at all the data yet to work out strategy possibilities for the race, but if you want to win here you probably need to qualify very near the front so we’ll see where we end up on Saturday.
ZitatMonaco GP: Kimi Raikkonen sure Lotus can match Mercedes By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde
Kimi Raikkonen believes Lotus has the pace to match the single-lap speed of rival Mercedes in Monaco following the first two practice sessions on Thursday.
The Finn finished the morning session over 1.3 seconds off pacesetter Nico Rosberg, but reduced the gap considerably in the afternoon, finishing seven tenths behind the Mercedes driver.
Rosberg, who has started from pole in the last two grands prix, was the only man to lap in the 1m14s in the second session.
Raikkonen, however, sees no reason why Lotus cannot match Mercedes' pace in qualifying, although the Finn is refusing to make predictions.
"I think yes, if we get all the things right," Raikkonen said when asked by AUTOSPORT if Mercedes' lap time was within reach.
"We will see. Why not? We see what happens on Saturday.
"You would think they will be very fast. Today they were very fast, but things can change. We have to wait and see. I have no interest to start guessing what can happen on Saturday."
He added: "We have to see how it is in the morning. If it's like this morning then it's going to be a disaster. But we improved a lot and it's getting better and better all the time.
The Lotus driver said starting from the two first rows of the grid will be crucial if he wants to have a shot at winning the race.
"If we want to win, probably yes," he said.
GROSJEAN CONFIDENT DESPITE CRASH
Team-mate Romain Grosjean finished his day early after crashing against the barriers at Sainte Devote in the second session.
The Frenchman managed just 10 laps, but is confident the accident will not affect his performance this weekend.
"It is not a big deal. It's a bit of a shame, as we lost some time, but the confidence is there," he said.
"I locked when I was already into the corner so unfortunately there was nothing I could really do.
"I think it's going to be tight. Fernando [Alonso] is quick, both Mercedes are, and I think we are, so it's going to be a good battle."
ZitatContact – 2013 Monaco Grand Prix, Thursday 23rd May 2013
Kimi Räikkönen completed the first practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix with the sixth fastest time of the day, with team-mate Romain Grosjean right behind him in seventh. Kimi set his time on the super soft Pirelli tyre whilst Romain – who was third fastest in the morning – set his time on the soft compound.
Romain’s afternoon session ended early after contact with the barriers on his out lap for a super soft run. As part of the team’s partnership with Columbia Records, both cars and drivers – as well as the team garage – sport eye-catching Daft Punk livery for this weekend.
Technical programme notes • Both drivers ran with new front and rear wing specifications today. • Pirelli’s soft (yellow) compound tyre was used in the morning session, the soft and supersoft (red) in the afternoon. • The Monaco barriers are unforgiving.
What we learned today: • The Monaco-spec front and rear wings work well. • The E21 looks good on both tyre dry compounds. • The damage to Romain’s car is easily repairable and he will continue with a replacement Monaco-spec front wing tomorrow.
Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03 Free Practice 1: P11, 1:17.509, 26 laps Free Practice 2: P6, 1:15.511, 39 laps
Kimi: “I was much happier at the end of today than this morning. We spent the first session getting the steering right as it wasn’t great at the beginning, then we changed a few things on the car and it felt far better. We’ve still got a few other areas to improve, but it was getting stronger with every run today. To get pole we have to make the car a bit faster overall and I have to drive a bit better, then we’ll have to see what happens.â€
Romain Grosjean, E21-02 Free practice 1: P3, 1:16.380, 21 laps Free practice 2: P7, 1:15.718, 10 laps
Romain: “After a great start to the day it was a real shame to end things early. I didn’t have the grip I expected going into the corner, but there was nothing wrong with the car; my braking and entry speed were all wrong and I ended up hitting the barrier. There was no chance to let off and go straight on into the runoff area; I was committed to the corner so that was it. We have a very good car here and it gives you the confidence to push, but unfortunately I pushed a bit too hard. I’m sorry for the team and I definitely owe them all a drink for all the work that’s needed before Saturday. The grid looks very close, but we seem in good shape and I’m eager to get back out on track and fight for the top positions.â€
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “We’re pretty happy about today. We had a little blip with Romain going into the wall and stopping him doing any long run evaluations in the afternoon, but Kimi completed plenty of laps so we have ample amounts of data to evaluate. Our pace looks good, both drivers are pretty happy with their cars and we’ve still got some improvements to make on both front end grip and single lap pace. There’s not too much damage to Romain’s car and we have plenty of spares so we’re not concerned on that front. That Romain’s fastest lap today was on the soft tyre illustrates his strong pace here, as there’s a second or even more to come from the super soft. Kimi’s a little further off getting the perfect set-up, but we know where the improvements should come from.â€