The technological gap is narrowing in F1 2011, with Sebastian Vettel's huge winning margin in Turkey reduced to just half a second in Spain. But in Monaco, cars are just expensive machines and the drivers are the stars…
Sebastian Vettel (GER), Red Bull – 1st (118pts)
It must have made a pleasant change for Seb not to have everything his own way, but the result was still the same. After the usual dominant Red Bull qualifying performance which saw Mark top Sebastian for the first time this season in a one-two, the pair had to work hard to recoup ground after Fernando Alonso’s first-corner banzai move into the lead. Then Vettel had to fend off the advancing Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps – the pair were covered by just 0.6 seconds at the chequered flag, while third-placed Jenson Button was a massive 35 seconds further back, proving once again that Seb is not only very quick but also tactically very astute.
redbullracing.com
Mark Webber (AUS), Red Bull – 3rd (67pts)
Meanwhile, fourth-placed Webber might have been the first poleman in Spain in 10 years not to win the next day’s grand prix, but we are now heading to Monaco, scene of perhaps his finest win yet when he held his nerve during three safety car periods last year to take victory, and he won’t have forgotten that, or the swim he took in the pool and in the harbour with his team-mate, still in his race suit. Incidentally, Monaco was also the race where David Coulthard grabbed Red Bull Racing’s first ever podium, way back in 2006. How times have changed.
markwebber.com
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Lewis Hamilton (GBR), McLaren – 2nd (77pts)
Five races down and only one Hamilton victory, but the rub is that he remains the only man to break the Vettel stranglehold so far this year. You could argue that Hamilton simply ran out of laps in which to overtake Vettel in Barcelona, but that the McLaren is probably better in a straight line than the Red Bull in race trim is as good as useless at Monaco, as is the fact that it corners pretty much as well as the Newey-penned RB7 now too. (“It’s a circuit where high-speed downforce is less critical and where the driver can make a difference, so it should be a strong track for us,” Hamilton commented this week on lewishamilton.com.) DRS might or might not be a factor in this renewed era of overtaking, but will KERS? Red Bull’s system is still far from bug-free, and a little burst from the McLaren on the start line might make a Red Bull pole position an irrelevance if Lewis can get anywhere near the front row and then get in front, and as his only win in four Monaco Grands Prix was three years ago, he’ll be desperate to grab that advantage. But then there are pitstops for tyres, which have behaved differently on every car at every race so far this season. Didn’t F1 used to be boring?
mclaren.com/formula1
Fernando Alonso (SPA), Ferrari – 5th (51pts)
Not for the first time this year, Ferrari's top brass watched in dismay as their apparent recent improvement was neutralised and indeed surpassed in the next race. After the euphoria of a classic piece of Alonso opportunism at the first corner in Spain saw him leap into first place as the Red Bull drivers looked over the wrong shoulder, the roar of the crowd that drowned out the roar of F1 engines was soon replaced by roars of disbelief as the helpless Spaniard fell down the field, eventually suffering the ignominy of being lapped by the leaders. An unforced Monaco practice error last year led to the former champion thumping the barriers and missing quali, having to start the GP from the pitlane in a spare chassis. This year, surely only the first two rows will do for Fernando to get his challenge back on track in this romantic enclave of Ferrari-mania within south-eastern France. Downforce is the problem for Ferrari, but Monaco is less about aero and more about the driver, and Alonso is characteristically optimistic: “I am definitely not thinking of giving up on the championship after just five races. The gap in the classification is very big, but everything can still happen, I’m sure of it.”
ferrari.com
Michael Schumacher (GER), Mercedes – 10th (14pts)
After all the questions about the seven-time world champion’s ability and hunger came the flat denial and claims he was misquoted about "not enjoying racing", followed by the bizarre admission that he’s not as good as he was at 25, when he was winning his first championships for Benetton, but that his better brain makes up for that. Whether or not any of the above is true, Schumi recorded a good result in Spain by recent standards (sixth, better than his team-mate Nico Rosberg for once, albeit still a lap down at the end) at a track he likes. Monaco is a place where he has often courted controversy: five years ago, an end-of-qualifying ‘accident’ that left his Ferrari parked in Rascasse and rival Alonso unable to complete a flying lap to beat Schumacher’s provisional pole time cost the German a trip to the back of the grid. Last year, the stewards, including Schumi’s old adversary and partner-in-controversy Damon Hill, judged that his move on Alonso for sixth place at the death, which prompted a complaint from his old team Ferrari, was still under safety car conditions, and penalised him to the tune of 20 seconds (the equivalent of a drivethrough had there been enough laps) and consequently six places. Oh, and he’s won this race five times. Don’t leave F1 yet Michael, GP Monaco would be a duller place without you…
mercedes-gp.com
Want more?
- Monaco Grand Prix event page
- Red Bull Racing on Twitter @redbullf1spy
- Official F1 website, formula1.com
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