Monaco F1 Grand Prix 2013: Complete Report - MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS at front across the entire week-end

I. Thursday's Free Practice Report - MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS drivers set the pace

Nico Rosberg topped both practice sessions in Monaco today with Lewis Hamilton second fastest this afternoon.

• Nico´s fastest time in the afternoon session was one second quicker than the fastest lap in P2 last year

• The drivers completed a total of 154 laps today, equivalent to almost two race distances

• The focus of the sessions was on basic set-up work, circuit familiarisation and tyre evaluations

• During P2, Nico and Lewis both completed runs of over 20 laps on the super soft compound

Drivers ++ Car No. ++ Chassis No. ++ Practice One ++ Practice Two
Nico Rosberg ++ 9 ++ F1 W04 / 03 ++ 31 laps, 1:16.195, P1 ++ 46 laps, 1:14.759, P1
Lewis Hamilton ++ 10 ++ F1 W04 / 04 ++ 28 laps, 1:16.469, P5 ++ 51 laps, 1:15.077, P2

Weather - Warm and sunny
Temperatures - Air: 21-24°C / Track: 30-47°C

Nico Rosberg
“A very productive day for us. We completed a lot of laps and I feel comfortable in the car. It seems that we are quick again on one lap but we have been working hard again to make improvements to our race pace. It will be interesting to see where we are compared to the others over the weekend as it´s not really representative today. It feels great to be back here driving around the streets of my home city here again and I´m very much looking forward to the weekend.”

Lewis Hamilton
“It´s been a positive start for us today and I´m pleased with what we have achieved here in Monaco. We did some good long run work this afternoon and the supersoft tyres seem to be performing well. I need to improve my one lap pace however, partly with the balance of the car and partly from me. The car is almost there and the pace looks good so we´ll look at the data tonight and work on those areas which can still be improved before the weekend.”

Ross Brawn
“Today was a pretty good day for us and it´s always nice to come through the first day of the Monaco weekend cleanly. The true test will come on Sunday but I´m pleased with the technical work that we covered in the two practice sessions today. Both Nico and Lewis, along with our engineers, did a very good job working together through the programme. A pleasing start to the weekend and now we have to make the right decisions for Saturday and Sunday.”

Toto Wolff
“It was a good solid first day for us: lots of laps, no incidents and good lap times. Nico and Lewis both looked quick and comfortable and we seemed able to keep the tyres in good condition on our long runs this afternoon. Our rivals will be very strong on both Saturday and Sunday, so we will get our heads down and keep working to build on this good start.”

II. Saturday's Qualifying Report - Second front-row lock-out of the season for MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton claimed the second consecutive front-row lockout for the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS team in today´s qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix.

• Pole position is Nico´s third in a row and the fourth consecutive pole for the team in the 2013 season

• Nico was fastest in every practice session of the weekend prior to qualifying on pole this afternoon

• The 0.091s gap between the drivers is equivalent to less than a car length around the 3.340 km Monaco lap

Drivers ++ Car No. ++ Chassis No. ++ Practice ++ Qualifying 1 ++ Qualifying 2 ++ Qualifying 3
Nico Rosberg ++ 9 ++ F1 W04 / 03 ++ P1 ++ P8, 1:24.620 ++ P3, 1:16.135 ++ P1, 1:13.876
Lewis Hamilton ++ 10 ++ F1 W04 / 04 ++ P5 ++ P6, 1:23.779 ++ P4, 1:16.265 ++ P2, 1:13.967

Weather - Mixed
Temperatures - Air: 16-17°C / Track: 20-23°C

Nico Rosberg
“It´s a great feeling to be on pole in the city where I grew up and it means so much to me to drive through the streets here in a Silver Arrow. The conditions were really difficult out there today with the rain at the start but we handled it well. I have to say thank you to everybody at the team for all of their hard work in improving our car and our performance so much since last year. Having said that, we know that race pace has been our weakness. We´ve learnt a lot since the last race, and this track should suit us, but we´ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if this will be enough.”

Lewis Hamilton
“Congratulations to Nico and the team today, a great job all round. It´s a big improvement for me after struggling in the practice sessions here so I´m really happy to be on the front row of the grid. I didn´t have a great first sector on my lap today but after that it really came together. I´ve got some work to do as I haven´t felt completely comfortable in the car this weekend but I´m confident that we can have a good race tomorrow and we´ll be aiming to get the best possible result for the team.”

Ross Brawn
“That was a tricky session and the weather kept us on our toes for the whole hour. Nico, Lewis and the whole team did a great job throughout qualifying to put us in the perfect position at the front of the grid for tomorrow. We are well aware of our fate in the last few races and we have to make sure that we are in better shape for tomorrow. I believe we have moved in the right direction and we´ll see tomorrow if those improvements are enough and we can have a good race.”

Toto Wolff
“What a fantastic result and a brilliant performance from both drivers. There was a lot to lose at the beginning of the session in the wet conditions and it was important to judge the right changeover point from intermediate to dry tyres. The team did a perfect job of keeping both drivers in the chase and they then delivered the rest out on track. Of course we are very pleased this afternoon but, at the risk of sounding like I am repeating myself, we know it´s tomorrow that really counts.”

III. Sunday's Race Report - Epic victory for Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg took his second career victory today at the Monaco Grand Prix on the streets of his home city.

• Nico’s win came exactly 30 years after his father, Keke, scored the second win of his own career at Monaco in 1983

• Lewis Hamilton finished fourth after losing position during the pit stops at the start of the first Safety Car period

• In spite of two Safety Car periods and one red flag interruption, Nico led every lap of the race after starting from pole

Drivers ++ Car No. ++ Chassis No. ++ Race Result / Fastest Lap
Nico Rosberg ++ 9 ++ F1 W04 / 03 ++ P1, 1:18.327
Lewis Hamilton ++ 10 ++ F1 W04 / 04 ++ P4, 1:18.133

Weather - Warm and sunny
Temperatures - Air: 18-20°C / Track: 39-44°C

Nico Rosberg
“Monaco is such a special place to win and it just feels amazing today. It was my childhood dream to win this race and to do it in a Silver Arrow on the streets where I have lived all of my life is fantastic. I can’t quite believe it has happened yet and it will probably take a while to sink in. Thank you to the team for the car that we had this weekend and it’s good to have been able to show the same level of performance on Sunday and convert our pole position. The whole weekend went pretty much to plan, even though qualifying was tough with the weather conditions. I didn’t have the best start today which meant Lewis and Seb got pretty close but after the first corner, I was able to set my own pace. Then it was just a case of keeping a cool head through all the incidents and the team did a great job of keeping me in touch with what was happening. Thank you to everyone here today and back at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth. I hope this win today is the first of many more to come for us.”

Lewis Hamilton
“It’s been a great weekend for the team and I’m really happy for everyone. Big congratulations to Nico, he’s been awesome all weekend here and really deserves that victory. From my side, this weekend hasn’t really been the best and we didn’t make the most of the opportunity for a one-two finish today. When the safety car came out, I needed to maintain a gap so we didn’t get delayed with the double pit stop but unfortunately the gap was too big and we lost out to the two Red Bulls. That’s motor racing and these things happen sometimes. It’s the tightest track in the world here and virtually impossible to overtake unless you are much quicker than the car in front so there was nothing I could do to improve my position. But it’s great for the team to have achieved our first victory of the season and I hope we can carry through the performance we showed here to Montreal.”

Ross Brawn
“Congratulations to Nico today. He did not put a foot wrong all weekend, topping every session and driving a very poised and controlled race. He richly deserves this second win of his career. Lewis was running very comfortably in second position until the Safety Car period just before both drivers had made their first stops. The team did a fantastic job all weekend in a challenging qualifying session and a difficult race. But we are all aware, Monaco is not a completely representative circuit. We will take the time this evening to enjoy our success but know that we need to keep pushing to understand how to extract the maximum from our car at every circuit and keep improving further.”

Toto Wolff
“Nico was dominant not just this afternoon but all weekend. He did everything right from the first lap on Thursday and he really earned this victory. Lewis lost some time in the second sector on his in-lap behind the Safety Car and that cost him position to the Red Bulls, so we need to find out what happened there. As for the team, congratulations to everybody in Brackley and Brixworth. The guys at the track overcame all the obstacles that were put in their way this weekend and the team at the factory have achieved a great step in performance with the car. Now we need to keep pushing so we can repeat this taste of success at different types of circuit through the rest of the season.”