The F1 season is never fully complete if a trip to Monaco is not on the calendar. Formula One is a rich man’s game and Monaco is the ideal settings to demonstrate money, fame, glamour and ego. It is one of the track circuits that every F1 driver dreams of winning. Monaco’s circuit stands apart from other F1 destinations. The Monte Carlo’s streets will require precision driving and technical excellence from the drivers in order to succeed in the race. This circuit has been a regular fixture since 1955 and many all time greats have won at Monte Carlo. You will find names like Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher amongst them.
The Monte Carlo circuit length is 3.340 km and the race distance is 260.520km. The race will consist of 78 laps and Michael Schumacher currently holds the fastest lap of the circuit at 1:14.439 in 2004.
Spanish Grand Prix Recap
A Brawn one two again puts the Brawn team on pole position for the Championship title and the Constructor Drivers Championship. Jensen Button led a pole position and won the Barcelona race, followed by his teammate Barrichello. Most notably incident in the race came after the second turn in lap 1, where 4 cars collided with other each where Jarno Trulli, Adrian Sutil, Sebastien Buemi and Sebastien Bourdais had to retire under the category of “accident”. However, Heikki Kovalainen had a gear box problem and retired in lap 7 while Kimi Raikkonen had to retire in lap 17 after hydraulics failure.
Brawn GP
Jensen Button is leading the championship race with 41 points and his nearest competitor is his own teammate Barrichello with 27 points. Team mate Ruben Barrichello was furious with the decision that the Brawn team changed Button’s tactical during the race. This resulted in Barrichello needing to pit stop 3 times which is one more than Button. Never the less, Button drove majestically and he fully deserved to win Barcelona although Barrichello could have challenged him if the tactics were in his favor. Having said this, they will go to Monaco in good spirits and hope to dominate once again. Button will be looking forward to win Monaco.
Team Red Bull-Renault:
Another great performance from the German Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. They ended up 3rd and 4th respectively and is the closest team to rival the Brawn. Both drivers started amongst the top 5 positions and some interchanging were made during the race. Although, their cars were outpaced by the Brawns easily, that made it harder for them to actually challenge them. Vettel did not look like himself on the day and prior to that, there was a sign of some gearbox problem during qualifying. The Red Bull team did a good job in Spain and they will be hoping to go one better at Monaco as the track suits Mark Webber’s driving style. His strategy worked very well in Barcelona so somehow you know that the Red Bull will be plotting something and will pull it out in Monte Carlo. Webber got his podium and has announced that they want to finish on podium more often in the future.
Team Ferrari:
Monaco is Ferrari’s turf, the scene just fits the bill of a Ferrari car driving in the background. The prestige and pride are the things that the people go to Monaco to see the shining red cars pass them in the streets of Monte Carlo but sadly it might not be the red Ferrari car if they will pull out next season. The problem off the track is not far from on the tracks, the car itself has not been optimal and that was proven with Kimi Raikkonen’s car pulling out due to the failure of the hydraulics. On the other hand, Massa at one point looked likely that it was his day but slowly, the Ferrari faded in Barcelona. Questions are being asked and with the threat of them leaving F1, it can only turn uglier as Ferrari ‘s cars do not look like mounting a title chase this season. Monaco has been good to the Ferrari cars in the past, it is a shame that this is coming to an end.
Team McLaren:
No surprise that Heikki Kovalainen went out of the race in Barcelona. He was dogged with issues with the gearbox at the qualifying and that came back to haunt him during the race. There was not much to do but to hope that Hamilton will do better. He started out 14th on the grid and after the accident he was able to move a couple spots farther. Hamilton’s car needs a bit more tuning up but what Heikki needs is a whole new set of car. Off the track, McLaren has been steady working their way into the night by getting themselves back to championship form. Sadly, this is yet to be seen and it might not come in Monaco where Hamilton has been successful in the past. He will want to win this again but it could be another Englishmen stealing the limelight in Monte Carlo.
The Final Verdict:
Going into Monaco it is hard to believe that the new world order starts with the word “Brawn”. Many people are surprise as Monte Carlo lays their tracks down for the team Brawn GP leading the way. Brawn will be anxious to show what they are capable of and will be reminding them that Ferrari could be a past in the history. As the saga budget cap remains with certain teams, smarter teams will be pulling their weight to hunt for further points. The season is only 6 race old so anything can still happen. There is only two teams that stands out at the moment, Red Bull and Brawn. I have a feeling that the Red Bull will give themselves some new set of wings at Monte Carlo and will be willing to gamble to close the gap between them and Button.
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