26/05/2013
NEWS STORY
 |
Mat Coch writes:
Nico Rosberg drove a masterful Monaco Grand Prix, never more than a few seconds ahead of the field but leading each of the seventy-eight laps. The German, whose school bus drove through the famous Monaco tunnel, wrote himself in to the record books as the first son of a Monaco Grand Prix winner to also stand atop the top step.
Bright sunny skies replaced the clouds which had dominated Saturday's qualifying session. Much of the pre-race talk surrounded Mercedes and whether Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton could remain at the head of the field – and whether they would be allowed to keep their places if protests over a ‘secret’ tyre test in Spain were upheld, though more on that elsewhere.
A gearbox change for Max Chilton demoted him to the back of the grid, promoting Ferrari's Felipe Massa to twenty-first. The Brazilian had not made it out in qualifying after wiping three wheels off his wagon in final practice on Saturday morning.
Soft and supersoft tyres were the order of the day from Pirelli, a two stop strategy expected for most while some would invariably look to stretch it to a single stop.
The race did not start well for Jules Bianchi, failing to get off the grid as the field pulled away for the warm-up lap, his Marussia team pushing him to the end of the pit lane from where he would start. It followed on from a difficult qualifying session where the highly rated Frenchman was forced to park his car after just two hundred metres with an engine problem. An overnight change, to a previously used engine, meant he was on the grid, albeit at the rear, having not set a time, but without penalty.
As the lights went out it was a good start from Vettel which allowed the German the opportunity to force his way inside Lewis Hamilton at the first corner, the Mercedes driver holding out around the outside as the field rushed through St Devote.
Accelerating up the hill before pouring down through the Station hairpin, Giedo van der Garde made contact with Maldonado ahead, losing his front wing before limping back around to the pits for a replacement. Maldonado also pitted with a damaged from wing, the pair instantly dropping half a lap behind the field.
The opening lap featured a wheel-banging battle between the McLaren drivers; Jenson Button and Sergio Perez unwilling to give an inch around the narrow Monaco streets, Perez holding the early advantage.
Still on the attack Vettel monstered the back of Hamilton's Mercedes, the duo separated by inches as they exited the Nouvelle Cchicane on the second lap as Hamilton swerved wildly across the road to keep his German rival behind.
On the radio Button called in to his team pointing out the fact teammate Perez had cut the chicane, "he needs to stop turning in on me," he said, while claiming he'd been alongside his Mexican colleague at the chicane, only for Perez to skip across the run-off to maintain position. He repeated the move at the exit of the Swimming Pool a few corners later.
Early times were comparatively slow, race leader Rosberg lapping in the mid 1:22 bracket, not far off the times set in the GP2 sprint race on Saturday afternoon. Tyre management, even just four laps in to the seventy-eight lap race, of paramount concern.
As the race calmed down Rosberg held a 1.7s lead after eight laps while Hamilton enjoyed a similar lead over Vettel in third place. The top ten was covered by little more than ten seconds, with Mark Webber fourth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Alonso, Perez, Button, Adrian Sutil and Jean-Eric Vergne.
Charles Pic became the first retirement as his car self-destructed, the Frenchman pulling to a stop near the pit entry. Marshals doused the Caterham when a fire broke out, filling the exit of the Rascasse with extinguisher smoke. While a Safety Car was a possibility the ever efficient Monegasque track workers cleared the stricken car under yellow flags.
Unseen by the cameras Perez had lost out to Button, the Mexican presumably moving aside for the former world champion to avoid the attention of the FIA having twice cut chicanes to maintain his advantage.
Eleven laps in the field was running line astern, without any large gaps forming in which teams could drop their driver after a pit stop. It prompted Red Bull to tell Webber to drop back from the car ahead by two seconds and manage his tyres. Felipe Massa too received hints from the team on how to save his tyres, "use second gear in the chicane," said Rob Smedley.
Massa was one of the biggest movers in the early part of the race, both he and Chilton had climbed five places from their starting places after thirteen laps. Paul Di Resta, who pitted on lap nine, was running nineteenth, two spots down on his grid slot. However the Scot was the fastest man on track, setting a new fastest lap of 1:20.379 on lap fourteen while leader Rosberg set a 1:21.949.
At the front Rosberg was not pulling away enough to stop without losing out to those behind and appeared to be simply maintaining the gap to Hamilton behind while Vettel loitered just under 2.5 seconds further back. A message from the team however confirmed the pole sitter was matching his target times, and opening the gaps behind in to which he would later drop following his pit stop.
Twenty laps in the race had stagnated, drivers simply circulating and conserving their tyres ahead of the first round of pit stops. The headache for those at the front appeared to be the drivers further back on the soft tyre, headed by Daniel Ricciardo in thirteenth place, twenty-seven seconds behind Rosberg.
Most notable was the gap between Raikkonen and Alonso, a four-second hole existed some five seconds behind Rosberg. Even further back a small hold was beginning to appear in front of Valtteri Bottas' Williams, almost nineteen seconds behind the leaders.
The logical place to feed back in appeared to be ahead of Bottas, Ricciardo stopping on the twenty-third lap to ease the concerns of those ahead. At the front it prompted an increase in speed for the leaders, times dropping to the mid 1:20's before Webber pitted on the twenty-fifth lap.
The Red Bull driver was the first of the front runners in to the pit lane, swapping a set of supersoft tyres for the yellow-walled softs. The Australian, who had been running in fourth, emerged eleventh behind Nico Hulkenberg but ahead of Bottas.
Down the back Paul Di Resta passed Felipe Massa in to Ste Devote, going around the outside of the Ferrari as the pair rounded the first turn.
At the same time Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button headed into the pits, swapping their red wall tyres for a set of the yellows, reacting to the move made by Webber a lap earlier.
Both Mercedes drivers soon began setting personal best lap times, dipping in to the 1:19 bracket for the first time in the race as Hulkenberg pitted for Sauber at the end of the twenty-seventh lap. As the German emerged from the pits he appeared to touch the yellow pit exit line as he skirted around the inside of Ste Devote.
Next to stop was Fernando Alonso, a 3.1 second stop dropping the Spaniard behind Kimi Raikkonen in ninth place. Perez and Vergne then dived in to the pits as Alonso's teammate Massa crashed out of the Grand Prix.
Massa's car was quickly craned off the circuit following what looked an identical incident to that he had in final practice on Saturday morning. The Brazilian received medical attention at the scene, sitting on the outside of the circuit while a neck brace was fitted and doctors examined him.
With yellow flags out for the accident Vettel headed for the pits as if predicting a Safety Car, which duly emerged just seconds later. The timing of the Safety Car effectively handed both Mercedes drivers a free pit stop; Hamilton falling off the back of his teammate to create time for the pair to be stacked in pit lane.
However by doing so it allowed Vettel, who had been released from behind the Safety Car as he was not the race leader, to drop into second place before Hamilton could return to track. Webber too jumped the 2008 world champion.
The Safety Car continued circulating some seven laps after it had emerged, while a medical car was parked in the run off at Ste Devote, a stretcher also visible. Though no word had been given on Massa's condition the Brazilian had been seen sitting on the outside of the circuit looking out of sorts after a heavy side-on impact with the tyre barrier.
At the end of the thirty-eighth lap the Safety Car peeled off, Rosberg backing up the field before accelerating away from Vettel on the exit of the Swimming Pool. Alonso immediately pressured Raikkonen while Hamilton lurked in Webber's mirrors.
An audacious move at the Rascasse by Hamilton almost caught Webber unaware, the pair rounding the tight right hander side by side before Webber swept across the road, closing the door firmly as the pair spilled out towards Anthony Noghes.
Hamilton appeared faster during the middle phase of the race, able to stay with Webber's Red Bull around most of the circuit though unable to find a way thtough. Webber in turn was being held up by Vettel, while behind Hamilton a traffic jam began forming.
Rounding the Station hairpin Button tagged the back of Alonso's Ferrari. Wrong footed, Perez pounced while his teammate was distracted, stealing seventh place at the Nouvelle Chicane.
Next in Perez's sights was Alonso, the McLaren driver repeating the move he made on Button as he dived inside under braking out of the tunnel. Alonso opted not to make the chicane, maintaining his place only by running off the circuit. "Fernando cut the chicane," argued Perez while Ferrari confirmed to Alonso that he was correct in taking avoiding action on "safety" grounds.
It was almost a moot point as Chilton, defending a move from Maldonado, moved back on to the racing line and tagged the front of the Williams, sending the Venezuelan skywards at Tabac. The impact knocked the tyre barrier into the middle of the circuit leaving Jules Bianchi, next on the scene, with nowhere to go. The luckless Belgian collided with the barrier, damaging his front wing and forcing him back to the pits.
The damage to the tyre barrier was enough to bring out the red flag, drivers trundling back to the starting grid with mechanics also making their way to tend to their cars with forty-six laps under their belts.
During the interruption Martin Whitmarsh revealed that the FIA had instructed Ferrari to give Perez sixth place. Replays showed Alonso walking over to Perez's car as they stopped on the grid, the pair exchanging pleasantries as Ferrari discussed with the FIA how to best hand the position back to McLaren.
Meanwhile Button, in the other McLare,n had the team make a small adjustment to his front wing, complaining of understeer over the radio.
Speaking to reporters Charles Pic confirmed a gearbox seizure caused his retirement, the net result of which was a Caterham bonfire early in the race.
The race finally restarted behind the Safety Car, making its second appearance of the day, some twenty-five minutes after the red flag was shown. With most drivers taking the opportunity to change tyres for the last time it left a straight, thirty-two lap race to the flag. As the Safety Car led the field away Alonso, true to Ferrari's word, handed his position over to Perez.
With the race on once more Rosberg led the field away up the hill towards Massenet; Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Perez in hot pursuit.
Chilton was penalised for his part in the Maldonado incident, the Marussia driver handed a drive through penalty, thereby dropping him to the rear of the field having been running ahead of teammate Bianchi.
Now ahead of Alonso, Perez had his mirrors filled with the Spaniard as the Ferrari ducked and weaved behind his McLaren. While Alonso was good under brakes Perez was solid on traction, an elastic band seemingly holding the pair together.
Similarly Hamilton was once more hunting Webber, hounding the back of the Red Bull heading into the Rascasse. Wise to the move, given his earlier move, Webber covered. Undeterred Hamilton had another attempt heading in to Ste Devote, with DRS open he pulled out then thought better of it. Inch-perfect defensive driving from Webber kept him ahead of the charging Mercedes.
Fifty-two laps down, Rosberg still led the pack by just over 1.5 seconds from Vettel, who appeared to be nursing his tyres ahead of Webber.
Down the order Adrian Sutil dived inside Button at the Station hairpin, the Englishman conceded the corner and position to the Force India driver save risking a collision. He then had to defend from Jean-Eric Vergne who attempted to drive past the wrong-footed Englishman.
A lap later Perez attempted his now customary Nouvelle Chicane pass on Raikkonen, though out-braked himself and missed the apex, forcing the Lotus driver off track with him. It was similar to the Alonso incident, though with both drivers running off the track, and Raikkonen having nowhere else to go, there was no question of the Finn handing Perez the position.
The ever racy Hamilton was then warned to look after his tyres, the short response that he was "trying to pass, man," as he remained locked in battle with Webber
The biggest movers were the two Force India drivers, di Resta having benefitted from the red flag to find himself eleventh without the need to stop again. Teammate Sutil pursued Alonso aggressively, looking around the outside of the Ferrari driver at the Station hairpin on the fifty-sixth lap.
Not long after, Sutil, fed up with staring at the Ferrari gearbox, dived underneath Alonso at the Station hairpin to move in to seventh place, setting a personal best lap of 1:20.751. Alonso immediately dropped back, appearing to struggle for grip in comparison to those ahead as he began to come under pressure from Button.
With twenty laps remaining it suggested a long afternoon ahead for the Spanish Grand Prix winner, his times some three tenths slower than those of Sutil ahead. However as the field ducked and dived Alonso was able to stay in touch, McLaren warning Button to be wary of Sutil's advances heading into the Station hairpin.
Jules Bianchi was the next to retire, the Marussia driver appearing to have a right-front brake explode before sliding sideways into the tyre barrier in the run off area at Ste Devote. Under double waved yellows the field continued its private battle as Bianchi's car was cleared.
With sixty-two laps completed the top ten were covered by just nine seconds, Rosberg enjoying a 3.5 second lead over Vettel.
A damaged front wing on Romain Grosjean's car led to a tangle with Ricciardo, the Frenchman appearing to miss his braking marker and tagging the back of the Toro Rosso under braking into the Nouvelle Chicane. At one stage both cars were airborne.
With the Safety Car out again Lotus replaced Grosjean's front wing, the fourth incident of a difficult Monaco weekend, while Ricciardo's race was over – his Toro Rosso short a rear wing and featuring some heavy damage at the rear of the car.
It made the Australian the fifth retirement, joining Bianchi, Maldonado, Massa and Pic on the sidelines. As Maldonado confirmed he was a little battered and bruised but otherwise unharmed, it was revealed that Massa had been taken to the local hospital, which doubles as the circuit’s medical centre.
Lotus opted to retire Grosjean's car as confirmation came through that the incident with Ricciardo would be investigated, the car suffering a broken floor. The team’s day wasn't getting better as it told Raikkonen he was losing water from the engine because it was running too hot.
The Safety Car returned to the pits with sixty-six laps complete, Rosberg streaming across the start-finish line ahead of Vettel, Webber and Hamilton.
With ten laps remaining Hamilton, who had earlier told his team he was trying to pass Webber when told to go easy on his tyres, complained his right-front tyre was graining. There appeared nothing wrong with Rosberg's tyres though, the German opening a lead of 1.8 seconds on the first green flag lap.
The ever aggressive Perez attacked Raikkonen on the entry to the Nouvelle Chicane. The Finn defended, Perez heading in to an area that was ever narrowing. Contact between the pair pushed Perez in to the barrier and caused obvious damage to his front wing, while a lap later Raikkonen was forced to pit with a left rear puncture.
As Raikkonen dived for the pit lane Button stole seventh place from Alonso, the Ferrari driver’s day not getting any better. Alonso got caught behind Sutil at the Rascasse as the field stacked up behind the slow Raikkonen, Button taking the opportunity to pounce.
The heavy attrition had allowed Giedo Van der Garde to climb to fourteenth with Chilton fifteenth as Raikkonen rejoined at the back of the field, his point-scoring streak seemingly at an end.
With five laps remaining and armed with a fresh set of tyres, Raikkonen wasted no time in passing the two drivers ahead of him, setting a fastest lap 1.2 seconds faster than the times set by race leading Rosberg.
Missing his braking marker Perez cut the Nouvelle Chicane. Gaining an advantage he looked to slow so as not to gain an advantage. A mistake at Rascasse allowed Sutil through, with Button following suit. Heading towards Anthony Noghes the Mexican went straight on, as if battling suspension or steering problems after his coming together with Raikkonen three laps earlier.
With three laps remaining Raikkonen was thirteenth, while Alonso was seventh. Both Force India's were also in the points, a strong drive from di Resta had seen the Scot quietly move from the back end of the grid into the points paying positions. Points were not off the table for Raikkonen, the Lotus driver stalking Esteban Gutierrez, who was in a three-way fight with Bottas and Hulkenberg.
With a lap and a half remaining Raikkonen had clawed his way by Gutierrez and Bottas, sneaking by Hulkenberg out of sight of the cameras to claim the final points paying position at the start of the final lap.
But the day belonged to Nico Rosberg, winning the Grand Prix in a lights-to-flag victory thirty years after his father won in a similar lights-to-flag fashion. Vettel and Webber rounded out the podium ahead of Hamilton, Sutil, Button, Alonso, Vergne, Di Resta and Raikkonen in tenth.
Check out our race gallery, here.