(Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team)
The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team head into the Monaco Grand
Prix this weekend following yet another dominant performance last time out at
the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago.
Nico Rosberg secured his first victory of the season winning
by 17.551s from team mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton closing the
gap to the double world champion from 27 points to 20 points as the Silver
Arrows aims to secure yet another 1-2 at the iconic Principality which is
described as the jewel in the Formula One crown.
Last season Nico Rosberg took victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton
and the German, who grew up around the streets on Monte Carlo will be hoping
for a repeat performance this weekend.
Speaking in the build up to Sunday’s race Nico Rosberg
commented by saying:
‘We had a perfect weekend in Spain and, for me
personally, it was good to close the gap a little in the points. There’s still
a long way to go this season so it’s all there to fight for, I’m just taking it
race by race. Next we have Monaco – the most legendary, exciting and
challenging event in the calendar. Throughout the whole weekend, the atmosphere
is very, very special. It’s a home race for me and it’s strange to just walk or
take a scooter to the racetrack – but also very cool to sleep in your own bed each
night! The circuit itself has very unique setup characteristics and we
evaluated a few of those during the test in Barcelona, as the last sector there
has a lot of tight corners which are quite representative. The car felt very
good so I'm feeling optimistic and ready for this next race. If we can have
everything running smoothly from the start it should be a good weekend, so I'm
really looking forward to it.
Lewis Hamilton will be hopeful that he will be in a position
to challenge for victory this weekend after ending the race in Spain with such
a big gap to the Rosberg.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s race the double world champion
who is yet to agree a contract extension at the Brackley based outfit stated:
‘I didn’t have the best
weekend in Barcelona, so to come away with second was okay in terms of damage
limitation and it meant another great result for the team with the one-two. I’m
now fully focused on Monaco – the race that everybody looks forward to and one
I particularly love. It’s the biggest challenge of the year for a driver and,
when you get it right, that feeling is hard to beat. Building a rhythm right
from the beginning of practice is so important, as you really need to feel your
way into the circuit. You have to be inch perfect at every point, as the
slightest slip can ruin your weekend. It’s about pure driving skill and pure
bravery behind the wheel, which for me is what makes it so special. Like Spain,
it’s another circuit where I haven’t had the best of luck in the past – but I’m
not interested in what’s been and gone or in making any predictions. I’m just
here to get in this fantastic car we have, race it hard and give it everything
I’ve got, like always.’
Mercedes Motorsport Director Toto Wolff commented on this
weekend’s race saying:
‘Barcelona was a great
weekend and the drivers did a perfect job in the race. We saw the advantage
swing between them last year and I think we will see more of that in 2015. They
are mentally tough, resilient and hate to lose – they push each other all the
time to lift their performance and that lifts the performance of the whole
team. We saw in Spain that our car had a good advantage in the tight third
sector, so we head to Monaco with some optimism. But there is no point talking
about any gap to the opposition. You have to earn every advantage and it can
turn around very quickly if you’re not on top of your game – especially in Monaco.
It’s a challenging weekend for the team, the drivers and the car – and, of
course, the best showcase for the sport of Formula One. To be quick on Sunday,
you need a smooth weekend with lots of track time, so the drivers can get
dialled into the track and really attack the limits. We will need to be at our
best if we want to maintain our good form.’
Mercedes Executive Director (Technical) Paddy Lowe commented
saying:
‘Monaco is a unique
event. It’s a long weekend, with running beginning on the Thursday and no
running on Friday. The race itself is one which frequently nudges the two hour
limit, despite being the shortest of the season distance-wise at 260km as
opposed to the standard 300km. The tight and twisting nature of the circuit
makes it comparatively slow in terms of absolute speed. For the drivers,
however, it’s anything but slow – with no real point at which they can relax
their attention as they constantly trying to avoid the next barrier whilst
making regular adjustments on the steering wheel and pushing the car as hard as
possible. It’s highly demanding on the car, too, with a lot of gear changes and
a bumpy surface to contend with. We’ll also see the supersoft compound for the
first time this season – although even that will be a challenge in terms of
getting temperature into the tyre. We’ve had a good car at Monaco in the past
two seasons and this year’s model remains strong in low-speed corners. It’s a
real driver’s circuit and we should be set for an exciting intra-team battle
throughout the weekend. Overtaking is extremely difficult, so nailing a good
lap in qualifying will be crucial.’
The Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team head into the race weekend
leading the Constructors championship by 80 points from Scuderia Ferrari.
© Ben Johnston 2015
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