F1: Button and Hamilton warn of weather carnage at Monaco
By LJ Hutchins
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
The notorious Monaco circuit, which has no room for error. A number of rookies. The removal of traction control and now a good possibility of rain. Three drivers busting up their cars before practice was even completed.
No wonder Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are expecting trouble.
Button was the first to publicly predict trouble, telling the BBC that under these conditions Monaco was “ten times more dangerous” than any other race.
He said: “With the white lines going up to Casino Square, if you touch one you’ve a big chance of putting your car into the wall.
“People have driven in the wet at Monaco with no TC before. If they can’t hack it they shouldn’t be there.
“So it’s going to be pretty intense, and you just hope we get some practice in before the race. The last thing we all want is to be barrelling into Casino with no practice in the wet.”
But he did say that he was hoping for rain as it would give him his best chance of a points finish: “It’s what I enjoy because you can make a difference with your driving, and it means I’ve a better chance.”
Next to express concern was Lewis Hamilton who, despite enjoying two excellent practice sessions, said he feared the race itself could be a disaster.
“It will be especially difficult here in the wet, especially this year without traction control. Pedro de la Rosa made a comment at the last test that it is incredibly difficult to get to full throttle here in the wet.
“With this circuit being so tight, I think it’s going to be a disaster.”
Every team is expecting rain and planning accordingly – especially since it is forecast to appear during both qualifying and the race.
Monaco five-day forecast from the BBC is available here >>
Check out the weather for yourself on the Monaco Live webcam here >>
Read more about Formula One, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Monte Carlo Grand Prix, weather reports.
This entry was posted on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 12:37 pm and is filed under F1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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Author: LJ Hutchins. Supports McLaren, kind of. Thinks James May gets a rough deal off the other two. Drives a Subaru Impreza but regrets its lack of bright blue paint and gold wheels. Is very nearly old enough to know better but probably never will. Is a supporter member of the BWRDC. LJ has written 1115 articles for us.
