FP2 Laptime Analysis: Monaco
Despite the many yellow flags and virtual safety cars, FP2 provided enough free time to complete some race stint simulations as well as hot laps.
Daniel Ricciardo set an impressive time of 1:14.6 to go six-tenths clear of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton who ran into light traffic in the middle sector of his fastest lap.
The following graph shows the average multiplier from FP2 to Qualifying in 2015 for all teams (no Haas).
The 2015 multipliers have been combined with the data from the suitable race weekends so far this season to project the power order for Saturday’s qualifying session:
Team | Fastest Qualifying time |
Red Bull | 73.3 |
Mercedes | 73.6 |
Toro Rosso | 74.5 |
Ferrari | 74.7 |
Force India | 74.8 |
Williams | 75.1 |
Haas | 75.5 |
McLaren | 75.6 |
Sauber | 76.4 |
Renault | 76.6 |
Manor | 77.7 |
Daniel Ricciardo with his upgraded engine had, unexpectedly, a huge advantage over teammate Verstappen. Daniel was fastest in the speed trap – 0.5kph faster than the “rocketship” Manor. Monaco being a power-undemanding circuit could also suggest the driveability of the Renault power unit has also improved.
In the last 45 minutes or so of FP2, it is typical for every team to simulate a race stint. This was the first appearance of the purple ultra soft compound tyre at a Grand Prix weekend so it was the focus of most teams’ sessions. The stints of the drivers who managed to get an ultrasoft tyre stint started are shown below. Stints of less than 5 laps were ignored and obviously slow laps (driving error, cooling down or letting faster driver through) were discounted.
The right graph shows the gap to Ricciardo if the stints were a race, and each car could phase through one another. The Red Bulls lead for the entirety.
Rosberg looks to be closing the gap to Ricciardo but his stint isn’t really long enough to tell.
Massa’s long run pace shows more promise than their low-fuel pace, and the tyre wear doesn’t look too bad either which has been a problem for the team in the past.
Gutierrez’s run may be simulating a stint later in the race with less fuel weight, as the McLaren should really be faster.
When drivers on other tyre compounds are introduced, the trend becomes more apparent. Some drivers start to catch Ricciardo after a few laps. Carlos Sainz wins this mini race however he has the red-marked supersoft tyres on his car and is likely to be running with less fuel. Sebastian Vettel too.
Another interesting feature the Toro Rosso’s are revealing is that Kvyat starts catching his teammate. Sainz starts off with similarly low fuel (fuel weight is worth 0.04 seconds per lap at Monaco), but the tyre wear is very low on the yellow-marked soft tyre and Kvyat could potentially make the gap back as soon as lap 15, which may be worth the effort of opting to in the race to give yourself a chance of overtaking some drivers with worn red tyres at the end.
Finally, Monaco’s lap record set by Kimi Raikkonen in 2006, a 1:13.439, could be beaten on Saturday so tune in!