• Monaco Grand Prix

Whitmarsh fears qualifying chaos

Martin Whitmarsh says a split qualifying session would have been preferable © Sutton Images

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Martin Whitmarsh says he would have preferred a split qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix due to concerns over safety.

The McLaren team boss thinks that the huge differential in pace between the cars at the front and back of the field will make things extremely difficult for all of the drivers on a busy circuit.

"I think Q1 in Monaco will be very, very difficult for all of the cars and we have to accept that at the moment there are six cars in the order of six or seven seconds slower who will be difficult to avoid," Whitmarsh told the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team phone-in.

"When you are trying to open a gap, you can't back off because there are cars behind. It is a circuit where you are likely to catch cars and a circuit at which it is difficult to get out of the way even if those slower cars want to. They will be staring in their mirrors, which will be distracting for them, and even if they do see something, trying to respond will be very difficult even on a slow lap."

Whitmarsh says his preferred solution would have been to either split the field in half or, controversially, to give the perceived slowest six cars a session to themselves.

"By choice, I would have advocated to divide it up somehow, either by splitting the field in half or by having a session to give the six slower cars the first five minutes to fight out amongst themselves, albeit they would miss track evolution. It has always been difficult but with more cars and a greater performance differential there will be controversy."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.