Monaco F1 Grand Prix 2019: Qualifying Report - Lewis Hamilton 4th*, Jenson Button 13th*

“I’ve had a good feeling all weekend, but his afternoon was massively tough: one of my toughest qualifying sessions for some time, in fact. And there are two great drivers ahead of me who’ll make it even tougher for me tomorrow. “I’m fortunate to be one place higher owing to Michael’s penalty, but we struggled a little today, particularly with the very low-speed stuff. It was difficult to get the tyres to ‘switch on’ and give us the grip we needed. “Still, qualifying was so much fun - I really enjoyed it - and the tyres and strategy can play a big part around here. If I get a good start, we’ll suddenly be in fighting position for the win. “Monaco is all about qualifying - that’s just the way it is - but I didn’t quite have the pace this afternoon. The car felt good this morning and we looked strong, but then we couldn’t translate that performance when it mattered.

“It’s strange, because it’s there at certain points of the weekend - even this morning, in P3, the car felt good and I was pretty happy. I’m hoping that our pace will be better in the race - but it’s very tricky to overtake here. “The drivers around me are going to be on the same strategy, so it’s going to be tough, but as always we’ll do our best. I’ve only finished in the points at Monaco three times before - in first, second and third positions. “I hope I get another one of those tomorrow! “Our car is reasonably good on the few high-speed corners there are here at Monaco, and it’s pretty decent in terms of traction too. Under braking, however, we’re slightly struggling because it would appear that we aren’t managing to get quite enough energy into the tyres. “As a result of that, Jenson narrowly missed out on making it through to Q3. But it was an incredibly close qualifying session, as we’ve got used to seeing so far this season. Lewis, for example, lost a tenth or two at Sainte Devote on his first run in Q3, but his second run was strong and solid for the most part - and, as a result, he’ll start tomorrow’s race from P3. “Moreover, tomorrow’s weather conditions may well be changeable, we’re told, which could make the shape of the race less predictable still. And, on this famously daunting street circuit, anything can happen, as we’ve seen so many times before.

Once you get the car moving acceleration is brisk, but the seven-speed automatic transmission in the S63 is slow to engage. There’s always a brief hesitation between a stab of the accelerator and forward motion, as if the transmission and throttle computers need a moment to think about what they’ve been asked to do and how best to respond. As a result, the S63 does not feel as quick as it could; it doesn’t have the lightning-quick responses some AMG-tuned cars do. There’s just no hiding the fact that it’s a big grand-touring coupe, not an actual sports car. Handling also suffers due to the car’s bulk and weight. If you expect it to be a floaty, luxurious, insulated boulevardier, you’ll be supremely pleased with it. If you look at the AMG badges and think it’s going to be a taut muscle car with amazing steering feel, tight responses, an excellent suspension and dynamic feedback, you’re going to be rather disappointed. This is not some kind of larger AMG-GT with a backseat, it’s a more powerful, more aggressive-looking S550 Cabrio. It’s posh and cushy like the S550.

Even the exhaust, which is supposed to have special flaps that open for better breathing and rorty noises, is remarkably quiet for an AMG vehicle. This is not a car that likes to be driven aggressively, and after trying to do so for a while you won’t want to anymore. It might be marginally quicker, it might be slightly more firm in the suspension department, but the driving differences between the S550 and S63 are not that great. Fuel economy is about what you’d expect in a car this heavy and equipped with a monster V-8 engine. It’s rated by the EPA at 14/22/17 mpg, and my week of testing netted an observed 18 mpg. The S-Class Coupe and Cabriolet have a different interior than the S-Class sedan; it feels lower, with a distinctive floating dashboard. Everything in the S63 Cabrio is top-notch, swathed in premium leather, piano-black lacquer with special inlays, and knurled metal for the knobs and buttons. The front seats aren’t so much seats as they are thrones, two massive chairs with incredible adjustability. Longer, taller, shorter, softer, wider — you name it, you can adjust it.

There’s even a massage function and an active bolstering feature that helps keep you in place as you corner. The backseat has plenty of width for two, but legroom is surprisingly tight given the length of the car. Much of the space back there is taken up by the seat-folding mechanism and a storage bay for the convertible top, which pushes the backseat forward into the cabin. You can fit adults back there, but despite the tony surroundings they won’t be happy for very long. Quiet isolation is still the name of the game for the S63 Cabrio, at least with the top up. The triple-layered fabric top is extremely well-insulated against outside conditions; more noise comes through the side windows than the top itself. Drop the top and activate the AirCap function, and a bar rises from the top of the very low windshield header to help deflect airflow over the cabin.