Monaco GP: Williams preview

At a Glance
When Thursday 21 to Sunday 24 May, 2009
Where Monte Carlo, Monaco
Round 6 of 17

Monaco's Hot Topics

Who'll have the biggest gin palace?
Which team will have the best celebs?
Will anyone be serving cava rather than champagne?

Monte Carlo in a nutshell

Fierce braking and acceleration are a major feature, and suit a lighter car, but the race distance is about 40 kilometres shorter than most, so drivers have less chance to capitalise. More pertinently, it's essential to qualify well because overtaking borders on the impossible, no matter how quick your car might be. A little flexibility is required, Safety Cars are a tradition, but two-stop strategies are the norm. In 2008, though, Felipe Massa attempted a one-stopper....and would have won had the fluctuating weather not forced him to make a supplementary tyre change.

What the drivers say

Thoughts after Europe's opening Spanish round

Nico "In general, Spain wasn't easy for us. We struggled to get the tyres up to temperature for qualifying on Saturday and then I had a balance problem with the rear of the car at random stages during the race which affected my ability to really push when I needed to. As a result, we didn't get the result we wanted in Spain, but coming home with a point is always positive, particularly as we haven't collected any recently."

Kazuki "Spain was another difficult race for me. The incident on the first lap and subsequent pitstop dropped me to the back and I really couldn't recover. We need to move on from that though and look for something more positive from Monaco."

On Monaco

Kazuki "I hope we have a good car in Monaco, we normally do, and I need a better race this weekend. Although it's not my favourite track to drive, I went well in Monaco last year going from 14th to 7th in my debut race to get two points for the team. With the new regulations this season, I think it will be quite a different experience in Monaco this year and the new slick tyres will really help with the grip levels. I just hope the race will be incident-free for me."

Nico "Monaco should be a good race for us. Our car has traditionally gone really well there in the past few years and I believe it will be strong again this year. As we haven't managed to get the results that our car deserves yet it would be great for everyone in the team if we came away with something positive from the weekend."

On the principality

Nico "Monaco is my home town so all my friends and family will be there supporting me which will be great. Living within 100 metres of the track also makes life so much easier over the weekend as well."

Kazuki "I know I should be more excited about Monaco, but it really is just another destination for me. The glitz and glamour is all a bit too much for me to really enjoy myself there so I'll be keeping my usual routine of working hard at the track during the day and then having quiet evenings at the hotel, probably some training and treatment followed by a quick supper and an early night."

On the most glamorous track on the calendar

Kazuki "Monte Carlo is an iconic destination for Formula One. The atmosphere is completely different to anywhere else we go and that can't fail to make it a more exciting weekend than usual."

Nico "To me, Monaco is my home so I'm used to it but it is a completely different place when Formula One is in town. Normally it's quite quiet, just like anywhere really, but the Grand Prix weekend brings a different atmosphere to the place and that's really special to be a part of."

-credit: williams