2011 Monaco Grand Prix

Championship standings

Vettel has won four of the five races and leads on 118 points — more than double the total of anyone else on the grid. Hamilton is second on 77, Webber third on 67, Button fourth on 61 and Alonso fifth on 51.

Previous race

Vettel won Spain from second on the grid, overtaking Alonso through the pit stops. Alonso, who had led much of the early race, fell a lap down as Ferrari struggled with the new “extra hard” Pirelli compound — some two seconds a lap slower than the softer compounds. Hamilton spent most of the final stint within a second of the lead but could not find a way through. Button used a three-stop strategy to recover from a poor start to third. Pérez finished ninth, scoring the first Championship point by a Mexican driver since Héctor Rebaque in the 1981 Dutch Grand Prix.

Between-race developments

In the build-up to Monaco, Hispania team principal Colin Kolles indicated the team was considering a formal protest to the FIA over the use of off-throttle blown diffusers. Hispania had abandoned a planned upgrade that included the device after the FIA declared it a moveable aerodynamic device and therefore illegal; the FIA then reversed the decision shortly before Spain. Kolles stated that Hispania believed the concept remained illegal and was still considering whether to submit a protest.

Tyre choices

Pirelli brings the yellow-banded soft compound as the prime and the red-banded super-soft as the option — the Monaco debut of Pirelli’s super-soft compound, and a softer pairing than Bridgestone brought to the principality in 2010.

Regulation

Drivers lobbied to ban the DRS from Monaco, citing safety concerns on the narrow street circuit. After pressure from drivers and FOTA, the FIA agreed to prohibit DRS use in the tunnel during practice and qualifying. The device is retained for the race, with the activation zone covering the front straight.