Lewis landed on the podium for the sixth time in his career in Monaco on Sunday, ending this year’s race in third place.    Hamiltons finish kept him in the lead for the Drivers’ Championship with 110 points, 14 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel (96 points). Valtteri ended his race in fifth and is currently in fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship with 68 points.

Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Monaco GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Monaco GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Monaco GP 2018.

Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Monaco GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Monaco GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Monaco GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Formula One – Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Monaco GP 2018. Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton

A big congratulations to Daniel, I’m really happy for him. He was so close to winning his first Monaco Grand Prix two years ago, so it’s good for him to have it now. I’m happy with the weekend – we were the third quickest team and we almost got second. I’m grateful to only have lost three points to Sebastian in the championship fight – I’ll take that and move forwards. It wasn’t a really difficult race, we just had to take the tyres go a long way; I didn’t think they were going to go as far as they did. It’s a shame that the race is unfortunately not as exciting as the whole spectacle of Monaco, especially since through practice there’s no place like it and the track is just epic in Qualifying. We hope that Canada will suit our car a little bit better; but it will be another close fight, especially with the Ferrari.

Valtteri Bottas

That’s Monaco – sometimes a lot of things happen; sometimes nothing happens and you get a pretty uneventful race like today. I think we made the right choice with the SuperSoft tyre for my second stint, it felt like it was working better than the UltraSofts. The first stint was difficult because of the tyre drop-off, but the second stint was really good, I could put pressure on the cars ahead. I had more pace than the cars in front of me, and yet there was nothing I could do; even with the pace difference overtaking was impossible. We knew the weekend might be difficult and that’s how it turned out to be, but we managed to do successful damage limitation. Qualifying P5 did not make that any easier for me and I don’t think we could have done anything different today with the car we have. Montreal should be a better hunting ground for our car, so we hope for a better outcome in Canada.

Toto Wolff

In sport, you have to accept that there are days when you won’t win and, if you’d offered us third and fifth before the weekend, we’ d probably have taken it as a fair result. Congratulations to Daniel, he deserved the win and was the quickest man out there this weekend. It was a tough and frustrating afternoon for Lewis and Valtteri. Lewis suffered from graining on both tyre compounds which he had to manage through most of the race; we discussed making another stop but it would only have cost us positions, not gained any, so it was the right call to stay out. Valtteri ended up running most of the race on the best compound, the SuperSoft, but there was no way past Kimi so he had to follow him to the flag. Overall, this was a weekend of damage limitation for us and we can be pleased to leave Monaco in the lead of both championships. Now we will regroup and aim to return to winning form in Canada.

Andrew Shovlin

It was a frustrating afternoon in many ways, we finished where we started and never really had much opportunity to do any more. Our HyperSoft stints were weak on both cars, we suffered graining early on and fell back so stopped Lewis quite early for UltraSoft to avoid losing race time. Valtteri had a similar issue but we kept him out a bit longer as it wasn’t really impacting his race. Our championship rivals were better at managing the HyperSoft today and we need to understand and improve before Montreal as it’s likely to be even trickier there. With Valtteri we decided to try the SuperSoft tyre as Lewis was feeling that the ultra was quite delicate and needed managing. This seemed to work well in terms of pace, with Valtteri catching the cars ahead quite quickly but there was no way to pass so he had a rather frustrating afternoon following Kimi for 46 laps. Lewis was concerned that he wouldn’t get his tyres to the end as they opened up early on but after some degradation they stabilised and he was able to keep pace with Vettel who seemed to have similar issues and Riccardo who was struggling with a power unit problem. Towards the end of the race, the midfield cars closed up which took away any real options to do anything under a safety car, so we just focused on bringing the cars home. Happily we’ve not suffered too much of a dent in our championship today and we didn’t come here expecting to be the benchmark, so overall we are not too disappointed. However, whilst Montreal should suit our car more, the tyres will play a big role in the strategy there and unlikely Monaco, you can overtake. So, we’ ll be working hard over the next few days to make sure we understand our weaknesses. We had a tough weekend in Monaco last year and finished first and second in Montreal a few days later so we are confident that we can recover our form and will be aiming to do just that.

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Battle continues with Round Six of the 2017 season from the Circuit de Monaco

• Toto Talks Monaco
• Featured this Week: Monaco – One of a Kind (Includes Driver Video)
• Stat Attack: Monaco and Beyond

Battle continues with Round Six of the 2017 season from the Circuit de Monaco

Toto Talks Monaco

“It’s always good to come away from a race weekend with a points advantage, no matter how small. But the gap is just that: very small. We are in a massive fight with Ferrari. On one side, this is very exciting and challenging. But on the other side, it is going to stretch us to our limits. You cannot base your current assessment on the balance of power on just Barcelona.

“It was painful to lose 15 valuable points with Valtteri retiring from P3. We’ve identified the root cause of the problem, which was the turbo. We haven’t seen that defect before, which shows you that you need to be double diligent. This is a technical sport and if you stretch your limits, you’ll encounter technical problems.

“If you look at the results, both Pascal and Esteban had a really good weekend. Pascal made the one-stop strategy work and could have been P7 – but P8 is still very good for him and very valuable points for Sauber. I’m happy to see how Pascal has fitted into the team. He speaks highly about the team and is on a great learning curve.

“As for Esteban, Force India have been very successful in scoring regular points. Esteban is making a good contribution to that. He will really need to stretch himself to beat Checo (Pérez), who is the benchmark for him, but I’m interested to see how that battle develops. They’re pushing each other to new levels and Force India will be the beneficiary.

“We expect Monaco to be a completely different ball game to Barcelona. The circumstances, working environment and driving challenges are completely different to anywhere else – and you need to get everything exactly right if you want to perform to your maximum around those streets. Not every factor is under your control, either, so you need to turn fortune in your favour at the right time if you want everything to come together.

“Monaco is also one of our busiest races. We welcome many guests, executives and partners, who all contribute to our success in different ways. It’s extra special to have this group cheering for us, so we look forward to their support at the track.

“Every weekend will push us to the limit; this is the new reality of Formula One in 2017. The last three years were extraordinary. But this season I have re-discovered why I love the sport. I love the intense competition. This competition means that you won’t be winning easily – but that you’ll have a fierce fight on your hands. Because of that, the feeling is even greater when you manage to come out on top, as we did in Spain.

“If we get the job done in Monaco, I’m pretty sure we’ll bring down the garage roof. We’re all properly fired up for this fight, so let’s see what we can do…”

Featured this Week: Monaco – One of a Kind

Monaco is a race like no other. You don’t need to be an F1 aficionado to know that much. The tight, twisting circuit that threads its way through the famous streets of Monte Carlo is a one-of-a-kind throwback to the eras of Fangio or Caracciola. And even now, decades later, this remains the crown jewel of the Formula One calendar.

It’s the race every single driver on the grid wants to win – or win again, in Lewis Hamilton’s case. But victory in the Principality isn’t quite like winning anywhere else. The greatest Grand Prix of them all offers a unique challenge not only to the drivers but the teams as well.

Monaco is the ultimate drivers’ circuit – a track all about precision. Drivers spend hours at the factory ahead of the race studying and preparing for this one race. Some go even further…

“I’ve been doing this for a long time now,” says Lewis. “I spend a lot of time at the factory with the engineers to understand past races. Just the other night, I was driving around the track in my Smart car, visualising the circuit. It’s not so easy, though, when there are lots of cars around!”

As Lewis explains, racing at Monaco is all about peaking at exactly the right moment. A driver must feel his way into the weekend, building up confidence and momentum as the track develops. From the moment they turn left out of the garage on Thursday morning in FP1, this process begins. They’ll push that bit harder, flirt that fraction closer with the barriers and brake a touch later, as they find more time from within themselves.

“The most important thing is that you have to learn to walk before you run,” says Lewis. “You have to build up to the pace so that, by the time you work up to that second run in Q3, you’re at 100%.”

You’ll often see drivers who are quick in the earlier sessions crash out on Saturday morning in FP3 where they’ve pushed just that bit too much, too early. Monaco is not a circuit that forgives. If you misjudge your braking or your turn-in point even by a matter of millimetres, you’ll end up in the barriers. And if you lose a session in Monaco, you’ll struggle to recover from it.

“It’s one of those weekends when you really need to be on the top of your game,” explains Valtteri. “You need to be so focused on what is a mentally exhausting weekend. You need to be focused on every single car of every single lap, because one mistake will cost you.”

Then there’s the added challenge of 2017’s wider, heavier, faster cars. “We have new cars this weekend which are wider and faster, so that’s going to be a massive challenge,” says Lewis. “In trying to push the car as close as you can to the limit, it’ll be a real test of your awareness of where the car is. I’m sure there will be some brushing of the barriers…”

Monaco is the one race of the year when the Grand Prix can almost feel like a side show to the main event. Amongst the boat parties and the superstar celebs, having a distraction-free weekend is a huge part of the challenge for the drivers.

To combat this fatigue, the engineers spend a lot of time ensuring that their drivers are able to break up their time and switch off. It’s tough, with Monaco a busy weekend from a media and marketing perspective. But this is crucial in allowing the drivers to relax and get away from what is a very intense weekend, with immense pressure.

“It’s a circuit which is all about mental strength,” says Lewis. “You need to be sharp and clear. Experience counts here too – that helps massively in setting the car up.”

Ultimately, Monaco is a weekend all about compromise, from the engineering setup to the cars themselves. The pit wall, for example, sits one story above the compact garages rather than overlooking the start finish-line as it does at every other circuit.

While engineers don’t necessarily need to see the cars to engineer them these days, instead relying on bespoke software for strategy and live feeds for visual aids, they do like to be able to see the garage. In Monaco, the occupants of the pit wall have to rely on cameras to show them what is going on. It may seem simple – but good communication becomes even more important in that environment.

Logistically, too, Monaco is tricky to say the least. A distinct lack of garage space means the engineers share their office with front wings, floors and hydraulic systems. The frequent support races during the weekend mean they also have to deal with a near constant level of noise, as cars fly past while important debriefs are underway.

There’s not much space downstairs either. The tyre technicians, for example, have to work down in the harbour – carrying all of the tyre sets up to the pit lane as and when they’re needed because there is simply not enough space in the garage. These factors heap extra pressure on what is already a tough weekend for the team.

Track position takes on an even greater level of importance and must be considered in any strategy move here. When you’re in the lead of the Monaco Grand Prix, it’s all about protecting that position and managing the advantage. The last thing you want to do is offer the trailing car clean air and an opportunity to pass through strategy. .

In fact, you’ll often see the leader driving within their means through fear of storming into a lead, only to see their advantage wiped out when they’re left on worn tyres later in the stint. This year’s tyres offer a new challenge, as teams expect to be able to complete the entire race distance on either the UltraSoft or SuperSoft. That low degradation rate means a smaller delta between the tyres, which will only make it trickier to pass.

All these factors converge to make Monaco the stiffest test a driver can face in F1. Amid the yachts, glamorous guests and VIP events, it all comes down to mastering those 3.337 km of undulating tarmac. “Monaco is always a great challenge,” smiles Valtteri. “We live for these kinds of challenges.”

Rights-free video footage of Lewis and Valtteri discussing the challenges of the Monaco Grand Prix is available to download via media.mercedesamgf1.com

Stat Attack: Monaco and Beyond

Nico wins in Monaco to make it a hat-trick of wins in the principality, with Lewis completing a double podium in P3.

• It was a bittersweet victory for the team today after accepting a mistake was made in pitting Lewis under the safety car, which ultimately cost him the win
• Nico secured his second win of the season and made history at this circuit, becoming only the fourth driver to win three consecutive races in Monaco after Graham Hill, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna
• Nico ran option then prime stopping once on lap 37, with Lewis running option/prime/option, stopping on laps 38 and 65
• Lewis leads Nico in the Drivers’ World Championship by 10 points with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS heading Ferrari by 84 points in the Constructors’ battle

Nico Rosberg

That was my luckiest experience in racing so far. What a crazy race. I was surprised when I saw no one else behind the safety car than me. I didnt know what was happening in that moment. But I concentrated on getting temperature into the tyres as they felt like ice. Until the safety car Lewis has done a perfect job, he was better than me over the weekend, so he definitely deserved the win. I know how horrible he must feel now. This weekend was a warning for me that I have to work even harder for the next race in Montreal. For sure I also feel happy to win again here in Monaco. It’s always so special, and one part of me will celebrate that victory today. A win is a win.

Lewis Hamilton

I can’t express the way I feel at the moment. I saw the team out in the pit-lane on one of the screens and thought Nico was pitting. I came in with full confidence that the others had done the same. This is a race that’s been close to my heart for years and it’s special to me, so I really wanted to win. The team have been brilliant all year, so I don’t blame them. We’ll analyse and work out what went wrong, but we’ll do that collectively and try to improve for the future. I always say to my team and my fans, we win and we lose together. You live to fight another day.

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

What a crazy day. I don’t think there has ever been a more bittersweet feeling than this one. We have won the Monaco Grand Prix and we have lost the Monaco Grand Prix all at the same time. First of all, we must apologise to Lewis. We win and we lose together and what I am proud of in this team is that we take collective responsibility. But this is a day when we simply have to say sorry to our driver, because our mistake cost him the victory here. What happened? In simple terms, we got our numbers wrong. We thought we had the gap for Lewis to take fresh tyres and come back out in the lead behind the Safety Car, ahead of Nico and covering off any risk of another competitor taking fresh tyres. But the calculation was incorrect and he came out in third place. It was our decision to call him in and our mistake, pure and simple; in these situations, a driver trusts his team. Lewis had driven flawlessly until then and really delivered a perfect weekend, with a stunning pole lap and a masterful race. There’s nothing more to say other than to highlight the grace with which he handled the situation; he was a leader and a true sportsman this afternoon. As for Nico, he didn’t put a foot wrong all day, and it would be wrong if we didn’t take the time to recognise his achievement: a third consecutive win in Monaco is something only three other drivers in history have achieved before. It is a very special moment indeed and one for him to savour. He didn’t have the pace of Lewis today but, in this sport, you take the victories any way they come. This, too, is motor racing. We now need to stay calm and analyse how we made the mistake this afternoon. We will be harshly self-critical behind closed doors and this experience will make us a better and a stronger team in the races ahead. There is still a very long way to go in this championship and today showed that we have the performance in our car to do the job this year.

After spending time in Monaco and seeing the circuit for myself, I’ve come to understand the excitement that surrounds the Monaco Grand Prix. Racing through the heart of Monaco past the most luxurious of hotels and yachts while surrounded by beautiful people and extravagance, it’s an experience that and a place that should be on everyone’s list, race fan or not.

But what do the racer’s think about Monaco and the circuit itself? Find out below

Lewis

Monaco is just incredible. As a kid you dream about racing through the tunnel and it’s such a fantastic feeling to actually experience it first-hand. I won here in F3, GP2 and finally in Formula One in 2008. It’s a real driver’s circuit, a second home race for me after Silverstone and I’m excited about the prospect of another good weekend here.

Driving round the Monte Carlo circuit is a seriously hair-raising experience: it’s like the most hardcore rollercoaster you can possibly imagine! Starting with Turn One, finding your braking point is quite tough and there are quite a few bumps on the way in which make it even more challenging. You’re hard on the brakes on entry then hard on the power on exit: heading up the hill into Turns Two and three. This is a really intense section of the track as you can’t see the corners coming, so you really have to know your lines and get it spot on.

You’re then into Turn Four, Casino, which is really tight and again you have to pinpoint your markers so accurately to get it right. You can very easily brush the barrier through here and we see it happen almost every year at some point in the weekend. From there you jink right before heading down through Mirabeau and into the tight, twisting section of Turns Five, Six, Seven and Eight: all very low-speed.

Next up it’s the tunnel, which is a seriously exciting and unique bit of track. It’s flat out into the darkness and you really can’t see where you’re going: you just have to hope you’ve positioned your car in the right place to get a good run back out into the bright sunlight on the other side. From there you’ve got the tight chicane of Turns 10 and 11, the tricky Tabac corner at 12, then the Swimming Pool at 13 and 14 which is taken almost flat out. The next chicane at 15 and 16 is much tighter before you get hard on the brakes again into Rascasse. Both this and the final corner, Anthony Noghes, have really low grip levels and it’s so easy to make a mistake on exit with all the power available from these cars.

An interesting feature of the circuit is that, because of the enclosed nature of the track with all the buildings surrounding you, there’s really no wind effect. It’s just you, the car and the tarmac!

Nico

Monaco represents an immense challenge for the drivers. As you negotiate all those narrow streets, it’s extremely difficult to get the most out of yourself and the car without making a mistake as the circuit is very unforgiving. The slightest miscalculation can ruin the entire weekend and deprive you of a potentially excellent result. It may still be possible to salvage a respectable finish, but if you’re aiming for victory or a podium then you really can’t afford to make any mistakes. You’re constantly driving at the limit and these new turbocharged Hybrid cars will make it even more of a challenge.
What makes for a fast car in Monaco? You need a soft setup but you have to avoid overdoing it. You also need the maximum in terms of downforce. Handling could play a special role this year. Turbocharged cars are very different to their predecessors. They can be more difficult to drive through certain types of corner and you notice it a lot more on a street circuit like Monaco.

With the barriers hemming you in on both sides, you’re driving at the limit all the time. You can’t see very far ahead, which means you have to navigate most of the track from memory. You have to know which corners are coming up next. One of the key points is the hairpin: the slowest turn on the entire race calendar and an exceptionally difficult corner to get right.

The next unusual feature is the tunnel. The big difficulty here is that it’s obviously much darker than the rest of the track. As you emerge, your eyes need to quickly readjust to the bright sunlight. This is quite problematic, because you have to prepare for the next braking zone which follows on immediately. At this moment every second counts: especially because the bumpy surface on the section leading down to the chicane can easily throw your car out of line. I always have a smile on my face at this point, as it used to be my route to school. The school bus used to take us through the tunnel each day but now I’m roaring along the same road in a 300 km/h Formula One car. That’s quite a special feeling!

Mercedes AMG Petronas driver, Nico Rosberg put on a spectacular show Sunday, winning the Monaco Grand Prix and making history doing it. Rosberg is the only second generation driver to win in Monaco, following in the footsteps of his father Keke Rosberg who won the race in 1983. Growing up in Monaco, the streets where Rosberg dominated the competition for his second career victory, are home to the Mercedes AMG racer.

Teammate Lewis Hamilton finished the race in fourth after after starting the race in second and then losing his positions to Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber during a pit stop that brought in Rosberg and Hamilton together resulting in a position and time loss and for Hamilton. Hamilton fought hard to make a comeback but once the race was delayed with a red flagged on the 48th lap, Hamilton just couldn’t seem to get his momentum back.

Nico Rosberg Wins 2013 Monaco Grand Prix

Weather	Warm and sunny
Temperatures	Air: 18-20°C	Track: 39-44°C

Nico Rosberg

Monaco is such a special place to win and it just feels amazing today. It was my childhood dream to win this race and to do it in a Silver Arrow on the streets where I have lived all of my life is fantastic. I can’t quite believe it has happened yet and it will probably take a while to sink in. Thank you to the team for the car that we had this weekend and it’s good to have been able to show the same level of performance on Sunday and convert our pole position. The whole weekend went pretty much to plan, even though qualifying was tough with the weather conditions. I didn’t have the best start today which meant Lewis and Seb got pretty close but after the first corner, I was able to set my own pace. Then it was just a case of keeping a cool head through all the incidents and the team did a great job of keeping me in touch with what was happening. Thank you to everyone here today and back at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth. I hope this win today is the first of many more to come for us.

Lewis Hamilton Helmet

Lewis Hamilton

It’s been a great weekend for the team and I’m really happy for everyone. Big congratulations to Nico, he’s been awesome all weekend here and really deserves that victory. From my side, this weekend hasn’t really been the best and we didn’t make the most of the opportunity for a one-two finish today. When the safety car came out, I needed to maintain a gap so we didn’t get delayed with the double pit stop but unfortunately the gap was too big and we lost out to the two Red Bulls. That’s motor racing and these things happen sometimes. It’s the tightest track in the world here and virtually impossible to overtake unless you are much quicker than the car in front so there was nothing I could do to improve my position. But it’s great for the team to have achieved our first victory of the season and I hope we can carry through the performance we showed here to Montreal.

Ross Brawn

Congratulations to Nico today. He did not put a foot wrong all weekend, topping every session and driving a very poised and controlled race. He richly deserves this second win of his career. Lewis was running very comfortably in second position until the Safety Car period just before both drivers had made their first stops. The team did a fantastic job all weekend in a challenging qualifying session and a difficult race. But we are all aware, Monaco is not a completely representative circuit. We will take the time this evening to enjoy our success but know that we need to keep pushing to understand how to extract the maximum from our car at every circuit and keep improving further.

Toto Wolff

Nico was dominant not just this afternoon but all weekend. He did everything right from the first lap on Thursday and he really earned this victory. Lewis lost some time in the second sector on his in-lap behind the Safety Car and that cost him position to the Red Bulls, so we need to find out what happened there. As for the team, congratulations to everybody in Brackley and Brixworth. The guys at the track overcame all the obstacles that were put in their way this weekend and the team at the factory have achieved a great step in performance with the car. Now we need to keep pushing so we can repeat this taste of success at different types of circuit through the rest of the season.

Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg had the top times during both practice sessions in Monaco today with Lewis Hamilton being second fastest driver this afternoon.  If you are not really a Formula 1 fan but a little curious what all the fuss is about, this is the race to watch.

For those of you unfamiliar with the track, pole position is exceptionally important in Monaco, and with the way Nico has been running in the practice rounds so far, he is the clear choice for the coveted P1 grid slot. In the event that Rosberg does go on to win in Monaco like his father KeKe Rosberg did in 1983, he would be the only second-generation winner in the Principality to win. His main competition will come from Ferrari and Lotus who were also running well in Monte Carlo.

• Nico’s fastest time in the afternoon session was one second quicker than the fastest lap in P2 last year
• The drivers completed a total of 154 laps today, equivalent to almost two race distances
• The focus of the sessions was on basic set-up work, circuit familiarisation and tire evaluations
• During P2, Nico and Lewis both completed runs of over 20 laps on the super soft compound

Red Bull driver, Mark Webber won the Monaco Grand prix but Mercedes driver, Nico Rosberg, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel were all nose to tail in his wheeltracks, trailing by a mere 1.3 seconds at the finish.

Nico Rosberg turned his second place start on the grid into a second-place finish Sunday at the 70th Monaco Grand Prix to score him 18 points – putting him at the top of the pack with 59 points total. Rosberg said after the race that he had the best car in the race, but he couldn’t quite beat Webber despite undercutting him by making the first pit stop on lap 27. None the less, he was delighted with second place. Schumacher had harboured dreams of a podium in Monaco that disappeared right after the start when his tangle with Grosjean delayed him and later forced him to retire when his Mercedes suffered fuel pressure problems on lap 64.

Mercedes was running a heavily revised, almost B-spec car in Monaco. In addition to a new nose and carbon gearbox case already seen in Barcelona, there were new, narrower sidepods, which have required the team to do fresh front, rear and side crash tests in the last month.

Nico Rosberg

It’s a fantastic feeling to be on the podium at my home race in Monaco today in front of all my family and friends. The team have done a really good job this weekend to get the car working so well. Although we thought this track would suit our car, it’s been better than we expected. I had a clean start but Mark drove a very controlled race today. I could keep in touch with him but we all know how difficult it is to overtake around the streets here and there just wasn’t a way past. Still I’m more than happy with second place, and it’s great to get another podium for the boys here, and everyone back at Brackley and Brixworth. I can’t wait to get to Canada now and keep the momentum going.

Michael Schumacher

What can I say? It was simply a pity to end the race in this way. In any case, the fuel pressure problem had nothing to do with the incident at the start. But it made it doubly disappointing because I had secretly been hoping for a podium finish today. I will take the boost from the high points of this weekend with me to Canada. The track should suit us and I’m hoping to have a normal, clean race.

Ross Brawn

Nico ran a very good race today and did all he needed to do. I think we made the right calls but nothing opened up for us. It was a race that was about managing gaps and finding the right windows in the traffic; the team did a great job on that. Nico was the first of the front-runners to stop, but the harder tyre took a lap or two to come in and it wasn’t enough to jump Mark. As for Michael, he was hit on the run to the opening corner which cost him positions, but was very quick when a fuel pressure problem started to slow him later in the race. We tried to continue but it was costing him too much time, dropped him out of the points and forced us to retire the car. It was very disappointing because he put in a great performance this weekend and he was still on course to score useful points. We need to make sure we eliminate the problems for him, starting in Canada.

Norbert Haug

It was a strong race for Nico and our team, and we were in with a chance of winning until the chequered flag, but Mark did not put a foot wrong all afternoon ahead of Nico. Looking at the results today, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton – who lead Nico in the championship– all finished behind him, and this helped him close the gap at the top of the standings to 17 points. That translates to an average of fewer than three points a race separating Nico from the championship lead after six rounds. It was a pity for Michael: he clearly demonstrated this weekend that he has the speed to win races but his time will come again, like yesterday when he posted the pole position time.

It’s a scene that happens hundreds of thousands of times a day around the world: two people meet, greet each other and begin to chat about work and life. The twist in this particular story, though, is that the elevator is in Monte-Carlo; the two men are residents in the same apartment building, separated by little more than a few floors; and both have written their own chapters in the very exclusive grand prix racing history of Mercedes-Benz.

Mika Häkkinen was the first Mercedes-Benz world champion of the modern era, and a two-time title winner in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren Mercedes; Nico Rosberg is the first man to win a Grand Prix at the wheel of a Silver Arrow since the great Juan Manuel Fangio, in the third season of the return of the Silver Arrows. On the eve of the race around their home streets, the two men met to discuss their experiences as part of one of the most spectacular events in world sport.

The histories of Mika Häkkinen and Nico Rosberg have been intertwined for more than twenty years, when Nico was just a young boy and Mika worked with Keke Rosberg, who led his management team.

“I don’t remember when we first met – maybe Mika does!” laughs Nico when the question comes.

“Well, I started working with Keke at the end of 1987,” recalls Mika. “I think the first time we met must have been down here in Monaco in the early ’90s. I was visiting Keke, and you were playing in your room! It’s possible I was his first sponsor in karting – do you remember that?”

“Yeah, sure,” laughs Nico. “It was 1997, I was 11 years old and competing in the French go-karting championship. I had a poster in my room with all my sponsors on there, and one of them was you!”

“My son is eleven now,” says Mika, picking up the thread. “I’m sure I did a contract with Keke that one day, when Nico will win races and be world champion, he has to start supporting my son Hugo!”

If the early stages of Nico’s career were supported by Mika – who today himself is a partner with Didier Coton in Aces Management and has, among others, young Finn Valtteri Bottas under his wing – the parallels between the two have only grown stronger as time has passed. Both Mika and Nico had to wait until their seventh Formula One season before climbing the top step of the podium – Mika after 96 races, at the 1997 European Grand Prix in Jerez; Nico in his 111th start, at this year’s Chinese Grand Prix. And both in their third seasons driving Mercedes-Benz-powered cars.

“Your first victory in Formula One always feels like it is a long time coming,” explains Mika. “And especially in my case – but when it arrives, the feeling is just amazing. But problems are part of life, and winning or losing, they don’t disappear. You need to keep understanding the cause of disappointments and where you and the team can improve. There is no point having your face upside down for one week – it’s better to pick up the phone, travel, see people, talk, organise yourself. Then you know that at the next event, you will be stronger – and if not the car, then yourself; you can always be better. Because the day when you have a car to win, you have to be ready. If not, it’s too late. I knew that one day I was going to win, it just took a long time.”

“I had exactly the same feeling – Ross, all the guys, kept telling me that the win would come, I just needed to stay patient and take my opportunity,” agrees Nico. “Of course, you get frustrated if it doesn’t go perfectly, but time takes that away and you keep going, follow the development, communicate constantly with the team.”

“Nico did a perfect weekend in China and deserves full credit for that win,” emphasises Mika. “It was not depending on circumstances or luck, but purely on his hard work. As a Mercedes-Benz ambassador, it was great not only to watch his achievements, but to enjoy seeing Mercedes-Benz back on the top step of the podium.”

Inevitably, the conversation soon turns to the unique challenge of racing around the Monegasque streets, which have been home to both of them for more than 20 years. For Nico, the tunnel was once the route to school, in the passenger seat next to his Mum or on the school bus. And that ‘local’ feel is one that Mika says remains throughout the weekend.

“I had some great victories in my career, but Monaco was something special,” remembers Mika. “I have lived here for 20 years and the thing you realise is that the people who work on the race track are also the people who live and work in Monaco – the police, the pompiers. In everyday life, these are the guys you see in the street and they say ‘hi’ as you walk past. To win in Monaco is like winning in your home streets, and you recognise faces all through the weekend.”

“It’s home for me too, of course,” picks up Nico. “I’ve grown up here, all my friends are here and my family, I know everybody and it’s very special to race here. Mentally, it’s quite a demanding weekend. You have a lot going on, a lot of PR events and appointments. Plus on track, too, it’s a bit more intense – but not so much. You need to be super concentrated at every circuit.”

“That’s true. But what changed for me was that, when I got a car that I would win races with, Monaco became more important for some reason. When you are hunting pole position in Monaco, your mind changes; you put yourself in a higher power, even though you think you are doing it already. When you are fighting for P11 or P12, you always think you are doing your maximum. But when I started fighting for pole, it just happened that I was working even harder to reach my goal – but not purposely. And of course, we changed the car, too: the steering lock, and the seating position to sit higher in the car, because the aero was not so important and we wanted to see the Armco properly.”

“That’s interesting, because we definitely make changes, too,” says Nico. “But I don’t think it’s common practice, even today.”

With that, the two men are off to inspect the circuit at the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster. Over the years, Mercedes-Benz has been synonymous with success in Monaco – from the three consecutive victories in 1935, 36 and 37 for Fagioli, Caracciola and von Brauchitsch respectively; to the seven Formula One victories for Mercedes-Benz power, including three of the last five. And the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team will be working hard to add a new milestone to the company’s heritage this weekend.

The Monaco Grand Prix, Round Six of the 2012 World Championship, is without doubt the most prestigious and unique race on the Formula One calendar. Taking place around the streets of the principality on Sunday, May 27, this year’s race will mark the 70th anniversary of the event.

• During a typical Monaco qualifying lap, the driver makes over 130 significant steering movements
• Including other functions like KERS, a driver makes around 200 car inputs per lap – not including brake and throttle pedals
• On average, the drivers change gear once every 54 metres around a lap – in Spa, it’s once every 146 metres

Michael Schumacher

“Monaco is just a circuit of its own very unique character. In a way, you could look at it with a big portion of irony with regards to the contradiction that, for so many years we have successfully campaigned for more track safety, and then we deliberately race in Monaco. But in my view this is justifiable once a year, especially as the circuit is really so much fun to drive. Every time you go there, you just look forward to finally getting out and driving the track. Of course, knowing that I will lose five positions on the grid does not add to this feeling but this just means that I will have to try even harder. I’m actually quite confident that we should look reasonably good in Monaco due to the hard work that everybody in the team is putting into the development of our car. So let’s make the best out of the weekend.”

Nico Rosberg

“I love the Monaco Grand Prix weekend and it’s a great feeling to be driving at home, knowing that all my friends and family are watching. I have always been quick around the streets here, and I believe a good result is possible for us next weekend. The nature of the track should suit our car but as we have seen at every race so far this season, tyre management will be crucial. With five different winning teams so far this year, at least ten drivers have the chance to win in Monaco so this could be one of the most interesting races there for years.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal

“The uniqueness of Monaco makes it one of those tracks where anything can happen, particularly in a season that has proved to be almost impossible to predict so far. Despite the logistical challenges of the weekend, Monaco is a race that everyone on the team and the drivers really enjoy, and the experience of winning in Monaco is something very special indeed. After Nico’s win in China, we have had two more difficult race weekends, but I am confident that we will start to see an improvement in Monaco as the developments that we have brought to the car recently take effect.”

Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“With five different winners from five different teams in five races, it has been an exciting and unexpected first quarter of the 2012 season.Now Formula One visits the most atypical circuit of all, Monaco. It makes unusual, one-off demands of the cars: there are fast and narrow sections, but also eight corners taken at under 100 kph and over 4,500 gear changes during the race. It is also incredibly challenging and rewarding for the drivers. In Monaco, more than any other circuit, the driver can really make the difference, especially on a single qualifying lap. Both Nico and Michael have shown a great feeling for the circuit and the ability to master it in recent seasons.

After all the talk of unpredictability of the teams’ performance levels this year, there are also clear facts: three of five races have been won from pole position, including Nico’s victory in China. What’s more, the five drivers who have completed every race lap are all in the top seven in the current championship standings. Strong qualifying speed has been rewarded at every race, and consistently finishing races appears to be even more important in 2012. In the last three races, Nico has scored a total of 41 points, the second highest total in the field after Sebastian Vettel with 43. Our focus in Monaco will be to extract the maximum from our further developed technical package. Giving the drivers a car they can trust and feel confident in is worth more here than at any other circuit on the calendar.”

For those of you that were busy watching the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600, and missed the Monaco Grand Prix, we have the results. Unfortunately, it ended in disappointment for the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team with Nico Rosberg finishing outside of the points in 11th place and Michael Schumacher retiring on lap 33.

• Both drivers suffered severe rear tyre degradation in the first stint, which forced early stops and cost valuable track position.

• This drop-off in tyre performance was not typical of what had been seen in practice, and will now be investigated in detail.

• Michael retired on lap 33 with a suspected airbox fire, as he was about to pit under the first Safety Car period.

• Michael had made a single pit stop on lap 12 for option tyres, having also started on the options.

• Nico made three stops on laps 15, 33 & 53 with an option/prime/prime/option strategy, finishing the race in 11th position.