Starting grid for the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix - MotorSportsTalk

The Monaco Grand Prix is the biggest event on the Formula 1 calendar, and in 2014 it has been made all the more tantalizing as the intra-team rivalry at Mercedes boils over for us all to see.

All week long, Lewis Hamilton has been having subtle digs at teammate Nico Rosberg, and this escalated yesterday after qualifying. Whilst on his final flying lap, Rosberg – who was on provisional pole – made a mistake at Mirabeau and went off down a slip road. This brought out the yellow flags, and meant that none of the drivers behind him could improve their times. He had inadvertently given himself pole position, with Hamilton missing out by just 0.059 seconds.

However, Hamilton inferred that there was something more sinister behind Rosberg’s error. The stewards investigated the incident, but ultimately ruled that the German driver had made an innocent error; Hamilton was simply the victim of bad luck.

With the two starting side-by-side on the front row today, we could be set for the closest and most tenuous battle yet.

FROM THE STEWARDS’ OFFICE

As reported yesterday, Marcus Ericsson has been told by the FIA to start the race from the pit lane as punishment for crashing into Felipe Massa during Q1. The Swede has also received two penalty points on his superlicense.
Jules Bianchi will now start from last on the grid (P21) after making a gearbox change overnight. This bumps Max Chilton and Kamui Kobayashi up one place each.
Nico Rosberg will start the race from pole position despite the stewards investigating his off-track excursion during Q3 yesterday.
All cases of on-track blocking have not been deemed severe enough to warrant a penalty by the stewards. Sergio Perez, Esteban Gutierrez, Daniil Kvyat and Pastor Maldonado were all under investigation.

2014 MONACO GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID

1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull
4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
6. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
7. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso
8. Kevin Magnussen McLaren
9. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso
10. Sergio Perez Force India
11. Nico Hulkenberg Force India
12. Jenson Button McLaren
13. Valtteri Bottas Williams
14. Romain Grosjean Lotus
15. Pastor Maldonado Lotus
16. Felipe Massa Williams
17. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber
18. Adrian Sutil Sauber
19. Max Chilton Marussia
20. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham
21. Jules Bianchi Marussia

PIT LANE: Marcus Ericsson Caterham

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In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

Read more about SuperMotocross