Monaco Grand Prix

A lifetimes ambition achieved with a visit to Monaco for the Grand Prix, where spectators are closer to the action than anywhere else, and the noise and atmosphere are intensified by the venue, and what a race 2013 produced

There was glitz, glamour and an awful lot of noise as Formula 1 rocked up at Monaco, for the most prestigious Grand Prix of the year. Warm and sunny pretty much throughout the weekend, it’s a place steeped in history and tradition.

With the streets so narrow, the barriers don’t take any prisoners around here. A mistake can be costly as a number of drivers found out. On Saturday afternoon the sun was unfortunately replaced by grey clouds and a sprinkling of rain just in time for Qualifying.

Qualifying report.

Qualifying is difficult enough in Monaco, but rain added that extra test of ability on what is the most important qualifying session of the year. Grid position is absolutely critical around the tight and twisty streets of this beautiful principality. With the conditions being damp and slippery, there were some surprises in store. But Felipe Massa didn’t have to worry about the rain, he didn’t take part due to a heavy crash in the morning practice session. The car couldn’t be repaired in time.

The session started with everyone on the intermediates due to the conditions, getting to grips with the tyres wasn’t easy as there wasn’t a wet practice session. Paul DiResta was frustrated with his team for not putting a fresh set of tyres on at the end of Q1, it cost him dearly and he was out of qualifying.

There was delight down at Caterham however, Giedo Van Der Garde made it into Q2 for the first time in his F1 career. He qualified 15th. Romain Grosjean had an incident packed weekend so far, the speed was there, but unfortunately for the Frenchman so were the barriers. Having crashed twice in practice, he failed to get into Q3.

In the final qualifying session the track had dried out and the supersoft tyres were the way to go. Sebastian Vettel sounded confident in the Red Bull hinting at a possible challenge to the Mercedes, but a few small errors on his lap cost him pole position, the triple world champion started in third ahead of teammate Webber, and critically ahead of both Raikkonen and Alonso.

It was a better day for McLaren as both cars qualified in the top 10, the first time since Malaysia. Jenson Button however could only manage P9 after a suspected fuel pump failure. There was no such problem however for Mercedes, both silver arrows qualifying ahead of everyone else. Nico Rosberg ahead of Lewis Hamilton, taking his third pole position of the season.

Full Qualifying Results.

1. Rosberg Mercedes
2. Hamilton Mercedes
3. Vettel Red Bull
4. Webber Red Bull
5. Raikkonen Lotus
6. Alonso Ferrari
7. Perez McLaren
8. Sutil Force India
9. Button McLaren
10. Vergne Toro Rosso
11. Hulkenberg Sauber
12. Ricciardo Toro Rosso
13. Grosjean Lotus
14. Bottas Williams
15. V D Garde Caterham
16. Maldonado Williams
17. Di Resta Force India
18. Pic Caterham
19. Gutierres Sauber
20. Bianchi Marussia
21. Massa Ferrari No Time
22. Chilton Marussia Penalty

It was a highly interesting grid for the race, the anticipation on Sunday was quite incredible. With a list celebrities on the grid along with a sea of media and team members, you had to look hard to even see a race car through the crowd. But once they cleared the grid the focus was very much on the 78 lap race ahead, it was going to be thrilling.

2013 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix

As the lights went out it was Vettel on an immediate charge looking to get between both Mercedes, Hamilton and Rosberg worked together to fend off the charging Red Bull. It was good clean start from all drivers into Sainte Devote with no real contact. Charging up the hill towards the famous Casino Square Vettel still attacking Hamilton and Fernando Alonso was harrowing Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus ahead. It was an electric start to the Monaco Grand Prix but as the cars entered Mirabeau Vettel was looking for a way past Hamilton and the McLaren’s were battling with each other, Perez locking up as he makes the pass on Button. The inter team battle continued all they through into the tunnel, Button trying to get the position back from his teammate. Bursting into the sunlight side by side into the Chicane Perez had to cut the corner, it was all kicking off once again for McLaren. As the first lap was completed Nico Rosberg was stretching out a healthy lead as Hamilton tried desperately to keep Vettel behind.

Fernando Alonso was on charge in the Ferrari as he pressured Raikkonen in 5th place. Alonso has had some mighty starts so far this season but we didn’t see that in Monaco. Jenson Button was on the team radio saying that teammate Perez mustn’t turn in on him, perhaps echoes of what Jenson was thinking back in Bahrain. Paul DiResta in the Force India was making up several places in the first few laps after a dismal qualifying, meanwhile Sebastian Vettel could only dream about making up places as he just couldn’t get past Lewis Hamilton. The drivers were ducking and diving, it was great to watch them fight for second position.

Alonso’s earlier charge on Webber was all but a distant memory for the Spaniard, he was now falling back to Perez in the McLaren,Raikkonen however was hunting down Webber ahead, he was closing in and before long was right on the gearbox of the Red Bull.

Lotus had the possibility of a win with the flying Finn but strategy was crucial. Gaps in the traffic were just not opening up meaning that once again tyre management was all the talk. Charles Pic didn’t have to worry about strategy, all he needed to do was get out of the car as quickly as possible after a rather large fire caused by a gearbox seizure. Pic had sensibly parked the Caterham off the racing line, the Monaco marshals doing a fantastic job as always moving the car off track without the need of a Safety Car.

Mercedes had very good race pace around Monaco as they had pulled out ahead of Red Bull a little later in the race. Alonso was still falling back to the McLaren’s in the Ferrari, he needed a big change in luck to stand any chance of winning the race. Teammate Felipe Massa however was passed by Di Resta for 16th place, it was a great move by the Scot on the outside of Sainte Devote. Ferrari were not having a great race so far, in fact it was a race to forget for the Scuderia. If that wasn’t bad enough, there was yet another suspicious accident involving Felipe Massa, almost exactly the same as he had in FP3 on Saturday, locking up in the breaking zone of Sainte Devote smashing into one barrier before sliding and careering into the other barrier on the outside of the corner. Debris was strewn across the track and the Safety Car was deployed, the pit lane was instantly very busy.

Nico Rosberg benefited greatly from the Safety Car situation but teammate Hamilton lost out and lost position to both Red Bulls. Felipe Massa was being attended to by the marshals and the Medical crews, it was a very heavy impact with the barriers. To me it looked again like a braking or suspension issue on the car, it just completely locked up and went virtually head on into the first barrier, absolutely identical to the FP3 crash. The Safety Car made it’s first appearance of the season just days before Bernd Maylander’s birthday. On the restart Rosberg did a great job immediately building up a gap once again to both Red Bulls behind. Fernando Alonso was right behind Raikkonen once again and searching for a way past. Hamilton continued to push Webber and was looking aggressive.

The McLaren’s were battling once again and Sergio Perez made a brilliant move on teammate Jenson Button at the exit of the tunnel into the chicane. The action had only been back underway before another serious accident down at the Tabac corner. Max Chilton completely at fault as he cut across the Williams of Pastor Maldonado briefly launching the Venezuelan head on into the barriers. Chilton later received a drive through penalty for causing the collision, in my view he’d got away scot free. Luckily Maldonado was ok but the race was red flagged because the barrier and debris were blocking the circuit. Pastor walked away from the car unhurt once again showing the immense strength of these modern F1 cars and the safety around every circuit. As the cars lined up on the grid in race order, they were allowed to change tyres and the race would resume behind the Safety Car.

After a 30 minute pause in proceedings, the race resumed with 46 laps remaining. Bernd Maylander led the field away in the SLS AMG-GT Safety Car while Fernando Alonso had to hand a position back to Sergio Perez after what was deemed by the stewards as an illegal overtake. The Safety Car pulled into the pit lane and Nico Rosberg again made a brilliant restart. Hamilton right behind Webber just could not get past and with the long train of 19 Formula 1 cars racing around Monaco it was so difficult to overtake. Alonso was looking super aggressive in the hunt of Perez once again, clearly frustrated about having to give a position back earlier on to the Mexican driver. But it just wasn’t happening for Alonso, quite the opposite in fact as Adrian Sutil passed the Ferrari at the hairpin.

Perez meanwhile was pressuring Raikkonen in the Lotus, the Mexican had been looking racy and aggressive all afternoon. He was looking increasing optimistic with Raikkonen in the latter stages of the race much to Kimi’s annoyance. Jules Bianchi wasn’t having the best race of his career with a stall on the grid at the start, on lap 61 his race ended in the barriers of Sainte Devote. Luckily the impact wasnt as heavy as Massa’s earlier and the marshals recovered the car under yellow flags. Romain Grosjean had a difficult weekend, and things got worse on lap 62 as he launched into the back of Daniel Ricciardo in the Toro Rosso. The incident happened on the exit of the tunnel into the chicane. The Safety Car made another visit to the race track as debris was all over track. It was Grosjean’s 4th major accident of the weekend and some people are unfortunately beginning to wonder how much time the Frenchman has left in F1. It was a nasty crash with Grosjean nearly launching over the top of the Toro Rosso. Romain Grosjean received a 10 place grid penalty for the next race in Canada for causing that crash.

On the restart it was yet another great get away for Rosberg, but things had gone too far for Perez as he made a move, and contact with Kimi Raikkonen once again. The Lotus got a puncture from the contact and the McLaren received damage to the front wing and a considerable smack against the wall. Raikkonen was slowing down the field and Button made a cheeky move on Fernando Alonso. Perez attempted to pit on lap 73 to repair the damage but almost took out his teammate as he attempted to enter the pit lane, he couldn’t get through and retired from the Grand Prix with just a handful of laps left. It was a good race for Sergio Perez but he became too optimistic, it was a good race turned bad for the Mexican.

Nico Rosberg however drove a dominant and controlled race for Mercedes Benz as he took a fantastic victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, it was well deserved for the German. Sebastian Vettel was second with Mark Webber in third. It was a good race around the tight and twisty streets of Monaco, but in my view it wasn’t a classic.

Race Classification after 78 Laps

1. Rosberg Mercedes
2. Vettel Red Bull
3. Webber Red Bull
4. Hamilton Mercedes
5. Sutil Force India
6. Button McLaren
7. Alonso Ferrari
8. Vergne Toro Rosso
9. Di Resta Force India
10. Raikkonen Lotus
11. Hulkenberg Sauber
12. Bottas Williams
13. Gutierrez Sauber
14. Chilton Marussia
15. V D Garde. Caterham

DNF: Perez, Grosjean, Ricciardo, Bianchi, Maldonado, Massa, Pic

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