MONACO GRAND PRIX
Venue: Monte Carlo Dates: 21-24 May (no action on Friday 22) Coverage: Comprehensive live coverage of Sunday's race - which starts at 1300 BST - across BBC TV, radio and online platforms. Find complete listings here
A rueful Lewis Hamilton apologised to his McLaren team after he crashed out of Monaco qualifying. The world champion hit a barrier during the first session and was later demoted to the back of the grid because his car needed a new gearbox fitted. "I don't know what I was thinking," said the 24-year-old, who had been hopeful of pushing for victory on a circuit he usually excels at. "I made a mistake. I apologise to the team for wasting their time." Hamilton has an outstanding record at Monaco, winning on four of the five occasions he has raced there. The Englishman finished second on his F1 debut in the Principality in 2007 before winning last year, and has also scored two victories at Formula 3 level and another in GP2. And Hamilton, who has endured a difficult season so far, had been in upbeat mood ahead of qualifying. His McLaren, which has been off the pace this year, appeared to be coping well with the unique challenges of the Monaco street circuit.  | I'm only interesting in winning |
However, during the first qualifying session, Hamilton lost the rear end of his car on the entrance to the Mirabeau hairpin and hit the tyre wall. He was forced to take the long walk back to the pits, during which he kept his helmet on. "It's been going well all weekend," he said. "Tomorrow I'll do the best job I can to recover from it. "It has just been tough. You learn from these mistakes. They're bound to happen, this is what makes you stronger." McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said they would be forced to do something "different" on strategy which could mean that Hamilton will go for a very long first stint. Whitmarsh added: "It's very difficult for Lewis. "He pushes very aggressively and occasionally if you push that hard you will run into trouble. "He was very strong this weekend and I don't think anyone would realistically say we could have been on pole, but we certainly could have been very competitive." McLaren did at least see Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen qualify in an encouraging seventh. But it was Brawn's championship leader Jenson Button who again caught the eye, producing a near-perfect lap at the death to pip the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen to pole. "It is just fantastic and it really means a lot," said Button after his fourth pole in six races. | 606: DEBATE Macheda Stole My Hair Gel |
"It was a really tight fight today and all weekend I have been fighting with Rubens (Barrichello) and he has definitely had the upper hand. "It was manic, but it is great to come away with the pole - to snatch pole I am chuffed to bits." Raikkonen qualified on the front row for the first time since last year's French Grand Prix in a rare piece of good news in a troubled season for Ferrari. "I'm only interesting in winning," said the former world champion. "I have nothing to lose, the team needs points. We're not really in the championship. "We know that the team has not had an easy time this year but we've shown some signs that we still need work."
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