Preview - Monaco Grand Prix

The most glamorous Grand Prix is back for the 56th time. Monaco sees host to round six of the championship. Once again all the news, preparation and a recap of last years race in the streets of Monte-Carlo.

Last Years Race
Fernando Alonso grabbed pole for 2007 race, with his McLaren teammate, Lewis Hamilton, behind him in second. Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella lined up on row two. Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber qualified in front of the BMW's on row four. After crashing in Quali one, Kimi Raikkonen started from sixteenth. The race started very cleanly with nobody failing to get round the first corner. Fernando Alonso stayed in the lead, while Nick Heidfeld snatched two places from Webber and Rosberg. Luizzi came very close to taking Raikkonen into the hairpin and had another try at Casino, only to crash into the barriers and retire. Within no time, the McLarens had pulled away and began lapping traffic at the back. At the first round of pit stops, Lewis Hamilton had his strategy changed from a one-stopper to a two-stopper giving him little hope of taking first from Alonso. The Spaniard went on to win the race leading Hamilton, Massa, Fisichella, Kubica, Heifeld, Wurz and Raikkonen.

Information

Official Name: 2008 Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco

Date: 22 - 25 May 2008

Round: 6

Circuit: Circuit de Monaco

Location: Monte Carlo

Race No: 791

First Race: 1950

Laps: 78

Lap Distance: 2.08 Miles (3.34km)

Lap Record: 1:14.439, M.Schumacher

BST Race Start: 13:00

Preparation and Predictions
A good qualifying performance is essential in Monaco. Overtaking opportunities are pretty much non-existent and the chances of the drivers improving on their starting positions are slim, quite the opposite to Turkey. Fernando Alonso has won the past two races, however his chance for three in a row is unlikely. It should all depend on his qualifying strategy. McLaren are the favourites for the race, having finished with a one-two last year. Ferrari are leading the Constructors championship by 19 points, with both their drivers on top in the standings. McLaren need to get a win in Monaco to stop the Italian team getting too far ahead.

News
Toro Rosso's Sebastain Vettel will carry a five place grid penalty after being forced to fit a new gearbox in the new car. The Toro Rosso STR3 makes it's debut in Monaco this week but a new transmission design is incompatable with the gearbox used by Vettel in the STR2B at Turkey. His French teammate, Sebastain Bourdais, will escape the penalty after failing to finish the Turkish race. In other news, Giancarlo Fisichella celebrates his 200th Grand Prix start, just two weeks after Rubens Barrichello made history with his 257th race. Only 11 drivers have broken the 200 race mark.