The 2013 Grand Prix of Monaco is finally here. Â There is no Formula 1 event more glamorous or race track more challenging than the race through the streets of Monaco. Â The challenges of this race are plenty. Â The narrow streets closely lined with barriers, the bumpy and changing road surface, and unpredictable weather. Â Getting a pole position is crucial to winning this grand prix because it’s incredibly difficult to pass on Sunday.
Today was full of action. Â Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean crashed in separate incidents during the final morning practice. Â Massa’s Ferrari suffered heavy front and rear damage. Â Both Ferrari and Lotus teams scrambled to fix their cars. Â Lotus was able to bring Grosjean’s car back to life with under five minutes remaining in the Q1 session. Â He was able to advance to Q2 and finish qualifying in 13th place. Â Ferrari team had to change Massa’s transmission and were unable to put the car back together in time. Â He will start the Sunday race dead last.
Weather kept playing games with intermittent showers and drivers remained on intermediate wet tires throughout Q1 and Q2. Â But the track started to dry out during Q3. Â The times kept getting faster and faster with drivers leap frogging one another in the closing minutes. Â Nico Rosberg crossed the line right after teammate Lewis Hamilton and took pole position by under one tenth. Â Sebastian Vettel tried to better the boys from Mercedes, but was unable to do so.
Mercedes locked out the front row and is in prime position for tomorrow’s race. Â That being said, Monaco is one of the most unpredictable circuits, and any number of crashes can dramatically change the outcome. Â And if it rains, then all bets are off. Â Tomorrow is going to be great!
2013 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco Qualifying Results (Top 10):
| Nico RosBerg | 1:13.876 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 1:13.967 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 1:13.980 |
| Mark Webber | 1:14.181 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 1:14.822 |
| Fernando Alonso | 1:14.824 |
| Sergio Perez | 1:15.138 |
| Adrian Sutil | 1:15.383 |
| Jenson Button | 1:15.647 |
| Jean-Eric Vergne | 1:15.703 |
Check out this fun TFLcar review of the 2013 Mercedes SL 550:
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, software engineer, writer, and reporter. He has been writing and reporting at TFLcar since 2011. When not working or spending time with the family – you can find him tinkering in the garage or scouring the internet and other media for various automotive, mechanical, and computer related information.
