25/05/2008
NEWS STORY
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Following heavy overnight rain, there was further rain during both of this morning's support events. As we look ahead to this afternoon's big race, things are brightening up but the experts predict further downfalls once this afternoon's event is underway, and who are we to doubt them.
Due to the fact that we are essentially in the lap of the gods, it is hardly worth trying to make any sort of prediction regarding what will happen this afternoon, for once the rain falls, particularly in Monaco, the form book goes out of the window.
What we would say however, is that rain or shine (or a mixture of the two) we have a strong feeling that both Heikki Kovalainen and Robert Kubica should be watched this afternoon. Nothing else to add, just that we have a feeling that one of these guys could pull off a surprise.
Another driver to keep an eye on this afternoon is Nico Rosberg, who has looked superb in every session. Then again, there are the other drivers who excel once the rain begins to fall… Alonso, Webber and Button.
As the cars make their way on to the grid, the rain begins to fall, albeit lightly, at which point the officials duly announce that there is a 60 percent chance of rain.
It's widely speculated that the McLaren are on a heavier fuel load, but that's exactly what it is, speculation. What with the doubts over the weather, drivers cannot even decide on what tyres to start the race, the fuel load issue is entirely academic.
With five minutes to go before the start, the air temperature is 20 degrees C, while the track temperature is 20 degrees. In the grandstands, the umbrella are up as the intensity of the rain increases. Officials announce that the rain will continue for the next twenty minutes.
The field heads off on the parade lap, everyone appear to be on 'light wets'. Heikki Kovalainen doesn't get away, the Finn appearing to have stalled. He is pushed into the pitlane, from where he will start the race. Dreadfully frustrating for the young McLaren driver.
They're away, and thankfully there is no silliness. Raikkonen is slow getting away which allows Hamilton to move into second behind Massa. As they venture into the great unknown the drivers are cautious.
At the end of lap one, it's Massa, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Kubica, Alonso, Rosberg, Trulli, Glock, Heidfeld and Nakajima.
Clearly, there was some silliness, Button clouts Heidfeld necessitating a trip to the pits for the Honda driver for a new nose. Also, the replay shows Rosberg hitting Alonso at the hairpin.
At the end of lap 3, Rosberg pits, the Williams driver having a new nose fitted. This drops him right to the back of the field.
Behind Trulli, who is running in sixth, Glock has lost his nose, the German heading a train of six very frustrated drivers, including Heidfeld and Webber. At the end of lap 4, the Toyota number two pits. The replay show the German losing his nose after spinning at the exit of Rascasse.
After 5 laps, Massa enjoys a 3.1s advantage over Hamilton, who leads Raikkonen by a further 7.3s. In the (relatively) clear conditions, the leading five are lapping around 5s a lap quicker than the rest.
On lap 7, Hamilton clouts the barriers at Tabac, puncturing his right rear. He returns to the pits for fuel and (surprisingly) intermediates.
As Hamilton drops to fifth, Kubica closes in on Raikkonen, the Pole just 0.5s behind the World Championship leader.
More excitement, Alonso has damage his right rear wheel, after hitting the barriers at the entry to Casino. He heads back to the pits, where he's give the thumbs up to continue. Meanwhile in a separate incident Bourdais has gone into the back of Coulthard at exactly the same point Alonso hit the barriers.
The safety car is deployed as the Red Bull and Toro Rosso are lifted to safety.
At the end of lap 9, the safety car pulls off track, the race resumes, with Massa leading Raikkonen, Kubica, Hamilton, Heidfeld, Webber, Alonso, Nakajima, Barrichello and Sutil.
Meanwhile, Raikkonen gets a drive though for having his tyres fitted within three minutes of the start of the race. Out front, Massa is pushing hard, at times too hard.
Alonso is having a great scrap with Webber, the Spaniard in bullish mood today. The two time World Champion now sets his sights on Heidfeld, the Renault driver making great use of his full wets.
At the end of lap 13, Raikkonen comes in for his drive through. He rejoins the race in fourth, behind Hamilton.
Alonso makes his move at the hairpin, however, Heidfeld is having none of it, he slams the door and the Spaniard t-bones the BMW. In his determination to get back into the race, the German drives over the nose of the Renault. As they sort themselves out Webber heads the traffic jams that builds.
As Alonso pits for another new nose and more wets, the rain stops. Elsewhere, Kovalainen has hit Rosberg, another nose for the Williams driver.
Massa makes a mistake at Ste Devote and though he is able to continue, it is Kubica who takes the lead.
After 16 laps, it's Kubica, Massa, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Heidfeld, Webber, Sutil, Nakajima, Trulli and Barrichello.
Heidfeld is going very slowly, a number of drivers pass the BMW, which drops to seventeenth. The German pits, where another set of inters are fitted together with a new nose.
Out front, Kubica posts a new fastest lap (34.529) as he extends his lead over Massa to 2.9s. Hamilton is 8.1s behind the Ferrari and 3.2s ahead of Raikkonen. Webber is 23.9s behind the World Champion.
While Massa posts a new fastest lap (34.002), it is Rosberg who is the fastest man on track, even though he is back seventeenth following two pits stops. The German posts 33.273.
While the rain has stopped, the track remains wet, in some places dangerously so… Ste Devote, where it appears to be standing water, being a prime example.
Rosberg has made up the 7s deficit to Alonso and is now all over the Spaniard. This could be a really interesting scrap. Out front, Massa continues to shadow Kubica.
Piquet, currently twelfth, 1.4s behind Vettel and 1.2s ahead of Glock, is told to keep his pace up. Elsewhere, his teammate is under intense pressure from Rosberg.
At the end of lap 26, race leader Robert Kubica makes his first scheduled stop. The Pole fits inters and rejoins the race in fourth behind Raikkonen. However, the Finn locks up at Ste Devote and goes straight on damaging his nose. The World Champion heads back to the pits as Kubica continues in third.
Out front, Massa posts a new fastest lap (30.809), as he enjoys a 16.5s comfort cushion over Hamilton. There's a problem fitting Kimi's new nose, costing the Finn a precious 16s. He rejoins in sixth, behind Webber and Sutil. There is talk that the Ferrari driver may now have been switched to a one-stop strategy.
After 30 laps, it's Massa, Hamilton, Kubica, Webber, Sutil, Raikkonen, Trulli, Barrichello, Nakajima, Kovalainen, Piquet, Vettel, Glock, Button, Fisichella, Alonso, Rosberg and Heidfeld. Trulli - ever the mobile chicane - heads a train of four cars.
No sooner has Hamilton posted a new fastest lap (30.553) than Webber goes quicker, the Red Bull driver posting 30.388. That said, moments later Massa crosses the line at 30.096.
At the end of lap 32, Massa pits, as Webber posts another fastest lap (29.880). The Brazilian rejoins in second, just ahead of Kubica.
While Alonso is enjoying a great scrap with Rosberg, Piquet is under intense pressure from Vettel.
Kovalainen pits at the end of lap 35, the Finn rejoining in fifteenth. Elsewhere, Rosberg finally gets past Alonso, the German seeming to catch the Spaniard unawares.
Adrian Sutil, currently running fifth, posts a new fastest lap, the German crossing the line at 29.292. In the pits, the cameras catch one of the BMW crew falling asleep!
At the end of lap 38, Trulli pits, which will be a blessed relief to the guys stuck behind him. Out front, Hamilton leads Massa by 18.1s, with Kubica just 1.8s behind.
Glock spins at Mirabeau as further down the road Fisichella pulls into the pits, the Italian said to be having gearbox problems since the start.
Another lap, another fastest lap for Hamilton, who posts a 27.385. This suggests that this might be the time to think about fitting dry tyres. That said, there remains talk of further rain. The slo-mo cameras show Hamilton really riding the Monaco kerbs. He is now 23s ahead of Massa.
Two weeks after making F1 history, as the most experienced driver of all-time, Rubens Barrichello posts the fastest lap of the race (26.978). Moments later, however, Webber goes quicker (26.921).
Piquet is under intense pressure from Rosberg and Button. Thing is, can he handle it?
Alonso is asked if it's time for dry tyres; "I don't know," he replies, "it's a very big risk, it's very wet off-line".
After 45 laps, the officials announce that rain is expected within the next six minutes.
All eyes on Alonso, who makes the very brave decision to stop for dry tyres. However, seeing that is running sixteenth, the Spaniard has nothing to lose. Elsewhere, a new fastest lap for Hamilton (26.546).
Rosberg makes a brave move on Piquet, the German taking tenth. That said, Piquet immediately pits for fuel and dry tyres. Back on track, Alonso has a massive slide on his dry tyres.
As Heidfeld gets all out of shape in the Swimming Pool, Rosberg posts a new fastest lap (25.744). Webber pits for dry tyres.
It's all over for Piquet who puts it into the barriers at Ste Devote, having previously got it all wrong at the Swimming Pool. Elsewhere, Button is another driver to stop for dry tyres.
After 50 laps, Hamilton has a massive 33.2s lead over Massa, who has Kubica right up his exhaust. Sutil is fourth, 25.1s behind the Pole, but 17.4s ahead of Raikkonen. Barrichello is sixth, ahead of Nakajima, Vettel, Webber and Rosberg.
Kovalainen is fitted with the harder dry option tyre, which suggests that McLaren is experimenting before making a decision on Hamilton. Out on track, the Englishman seeks the damp patches in an attempt to keep his tyres cool and together. Thing is, most of those drivers on dry tyres are clearly struggling.
At the end of lap 53, Kubica and Sutil pit, as Alonso (on drys remember) posts a new fastest lap (24.767).
Next time around, Hamilton pits for hard dry tyres, rejoining still in the lead. Rosberg and Trulli also pitted. Elsewhere, Button and Kovalainen have a minor coming together. The Finn immediately signalling that it was his mistake.
As the Ferrari crew prepare for a stop, Nakajima posts a new fastest lap (24.745). Sure enough, at the end of lap 56, Massa pits. The Brazilian's decision to stay out as long as he has, doesn't pay off, Kubica sweeps past the Ferrari as it exits the pits. Next time around, Raikkonen pits, the Finn's third visit to the pitlane this afternoon. Against all the odds, the Finn switches to the super-soft tyre. Either a brave or a very unwise move.
After 58 laps, it's; Hamilton, Kubica, Massa, Sutil, Raikkonen, Webber, Vettel, Barrichello, Nakajima and Rosberg.
Fastest man on track is Kovalainen, who posts another fastest lap (20.252). Had it not been for that failure on the grid, who knows what he might have achieved here today. Don't forget, we tipped the Finn and Kubica for great things before the start of the race.
As Hamilton enjoys a 40s lead, the whole race is thrown wide open again, when Rosberg crashes heavily at the Swimming Pool. The safety car is immediately deployed.
The replay shows that it's a heavy crash, the Williams being launched after hitting the kerbs. The German is a helpless passenger as his car bounces from side of the track to the other. The good news, however, is that Nico is safely out of the car.
As the Williams lifted to safety, Hamilton's lead over Kubica is cut down to 8.3s, and sure to decrease further. Massa continues in third, ahead Sutil, Raikkonen, Webber, Vettel, Barrichello, Nakajima and Kovalainen.
The field picks its way gingerly through the scene of the accident, nobody wanting to risk a puncture at this stage in the race. Heidfeld pits for the third time this afternoon.
Race Control announces that lapped cars may now un-lap themselves by overtaking the safety car. However, for reasons best known to themselves, Heidfeld and Kovalainen fail to do so.
Finally, Kovalainen passes the safety car, as does Heidfeld.
When the safety car does pull off, it will be frantic, we should have a real fight to the finish. However, the race won't go to the 78 lap distance, instead the two-hour rule will come into play, which means we have a twelve minute sprint race ahead of us.
The race is on again, and other than Hamilton, all eyes are on Sutil, who has Raikkonen on his tail. In fact too close on his tail, the two collide at the Nouvelle Chicane, the Finn going into the back of the Force India.
Raikkonen heads back to the pits, as does Sutil, dreadful bad luck for the hapless German.
The replay shows that the Finn hit a damp patch on exiting the tunnel, and wan unable to do anything about hitting Sutil, who was an entirely innocent victim.
Hamilton enjoys a 2.8s lead over Kubica, as Webber moves up to fourth, ahead of Vettel, Barrichello, Nakajima and Kovalainen.
Kovalainen posts a string of fastest laps, but is 13.6s off seventh place. Back in the Force India garage, Adrian Sutil is inconsolable.
As Massa ups the ante in his pursuit of Kubica, Raikkonen posts a new fastest lap (17.033), though he remains outside the points.
Hamilton takes an excellent win on the streets of the Principality, and at the same time re-takes the lead in the World Championship.
Possibly one of the English youngster's best performances, and though he apologises to his crew for the first lap clash with the barriers, the incident was a decisive factor in the victory.
A superb performance from Robert Kubica, who soaked up all the pressure he needed to and demonstrated that it is only a matter of time before he claims that all important maiden win.
Massa will be disappointed with third, but he took a gamble and it didn't work.
Another great performance from Mark Webber, who continues to add to his, and his team's, points tally.
Though we didn't see him all afternoon, a great performance from Sebastian Vettel, who brought the brand new STR3 home in fifth despite starting nineteenth on the grid.
Rubens Barrichello scores his first points since Brazil 2006, while Nakajima takes another thoroughly deserved points.
Several drivers will be wondering what they did to offend the gods today, most notably Heikki Kovalainen and Adrian Sutil. The Finn drove a superb race, having started from the pitlane, and despite everything thrown at him was still pushing to the limit almost two hours later.
As for Adrian Sutil, what can one say? The kid had everything he needed to, and then some. He had every right to shed a few tears following his elimination form the race, it was cruel luck.
Ahead of the race, numerous drivers were warning of their fears of a crash fest, indeed, there was talk of starting the race behind the safety car. Thankfully, nobody was hurt, and the ever-changing conditions meant we got a race that actually went some way to living up to the hype.
It's easy to say, we know, but were we Mark Webber or Jenson Button, we'd be more worried about being forced to dress up as pratts for a fashion show than taking part in a wet Grand Prix on a track which has witnessed so many legends.
Now for Canada.