autoevolution
 

Kubica Suffers Engine Blow, Rosberg Tops P2 at Monaco

Robert Kubica joined Sebastian Vettel in setting a smoking day at the Monte Carlo circuit on Thursday, as the Polish driver failed to do a single lap during the second practice session due to his engine failure. And, just as in Vettel's case earlier in the morning, the scene was quite spectacular, as the BMW F1.09's V8 went out with plumes of white smoke and fire.

And that was only BMW's first headache of the day, as Kubica's teammate Nick Heidfeld went on to finish the second practice on a disappointing 17th place. Earlier on Thursday, during Practice 1, the BMW duo were again off-pace, finishing in 16th and 17th respectively, more than one-and-a-half second behind winner Barrichello.

Talking about practice winners, the 2009 tradition continued on Thursday afternoon, as Williams' Nico Rosberg topped yet another meeting this year. The German driver is yet to complete a Grand Prix without topping at least one practice session during the weekend.

As in the morning action, reigning champion Lewis Hamilton managed to secure a top spot after the 90 minutes of practice, running in a strong 2nd place at the end. What's encouraging about the pace of the McLaren MP4-24 is that this was not a coincidence, as Ham managed to challenge for the top positions during both practice sessions on Thursday, running on both compound Bridgestones.

Rubens Barrichello also completed a successful first day at Monaco, finishing ahead of teammate and championship leader Jenson Button for the second time running on Thursday. In addition, the latter introduced his BGP 001 to the arm-co barriers for a few seconds, as he later had to stop by the pits to take car of the problem.

Felipe Massa completed the Top 5, but not before having a go at Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella. The Brazilian initially blocked the Italian driver on track, after which he was himself held up by Fisico later on. Massa's way of dealing with it was more of a Montoya-style reaction, as he waved his fists at the F1 veteran from the cockpit.

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) and Nelsinho Piquet (Renault) completed the Top 10.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories