Crash, bang, wallop!!
Buckets of rain, no traction control and the twisting Monaco race track all added up to an excellent Grand Prix on Sunday. Don't listen to the techno-boffins and their constant harping about how technology should never be constrained etc. The loss of traction control has made Formula One far more interesting as drivers no longer have their safety net, leading to some slightly embarrassing incidents this year (Massa and Coulthard in Australia springs to mind). Sunday was no different, as many highly rated drivers found themselves thrashing about in the puddles, missing wings and bodywork. Even the eventual winner Lewis Hamilton, crashed early on in the race!
Many of the great and the good found their way into the uncompromising Monaco Armco, including Coulthard, Alonso and Bourdais. Nico Rosberg had a real bone-cruncher at the Swimming Pool. Massa even ended up down an escape road whilst leading the race, allowing Kubica through. Raikkonen smashed into the back of Adrian Sutil at the nouvelle chicane, who until that point was a career best fourth. So you could say it was an entertaining couple of hours...
Hamilton picked his way through the wreckage to win his second Grand Prix of the season. It was a lucky victory, as most other drivers would have found themselves back in the pits with their wrecked car being winched off the track. However, fortunately for Great Britain and Lewis, he exhibits that almost Schumacher-like ability to come out smelling of roses, when by rights, he should have ploughed into the poo.
Anyway, comedy car crashes aside, Hamilton has moved into the lead of the drivers championship. Ferrari are probably a bit cheesed off by this. Ha! Ha!
Monaco Grand Prix Preview
Yes, it's that time of the year again. Time to watch highly powered racing cars darting through streets barely wide enough to accommodate them, all for the pleasure of the royal family of Monaco and Bernie Ecclestone's cash register. However, I'm not complaining as Monaco is one of the high spots of F1 calendar, one of the only circuits left with any kind of character and provides a stern test for the drivers.
Precision is the name of the game in Monaco, an inch off line and you could find yourself eating Armco or coming off worse with a concrete wall. There is next to no run-off, no gravel traps, no overtaking opportunities and absolutely no room for error. A good qualifying position is key and a knack of 'hustling' the man in front to make a mistake is also handy. Last but not least, reliability is probably your biggest ally here, Monte Carlo is a car breaker par excellence. Seventy-seven gruelling laps can break gearboxes, transmissions, engines and drivers who've been indulging in too many pies.
So who's hot and who's er...not? Well, Lewis Hamilton was looking very handy around the track yesterday as the McLaren is improving with every race. On paper, the Ferrari's look strong, although don't be surprised if Raikkonen is off the boil and Massa puts his prancing horse in the barriers. The BMW's are currently looking good, so don't be too surprised if they pull off a coup and win it. Red Bull's David Coulthard is also worth watching as Scotland's finest is always impressive at what is practically his home race.
As for me, I'm not going to relax on my yacht with a couple of lady friends and watch the qualifying. Martini anyone?