2013 Monaco Grand Prix

An unsatisfactory race on several counts.  Too many crashes, which made the race scrappy and fragmented. It goes without saying that the "the tyre situation" once again reared its head, and the effects were felt particularly acutely in the early stages.  At least there was no shortage of talking points!

Nico Rosberg looked to have the legs of everyone else for the bulk of the weekend.  On paper, it looked like the impediments which have afflicted Mercedes' race form in recent times would be less pronounced in the principality, and so it proved, even allowing for some reservations expressed by the drivers.

The one mystery in the race was the mediocre showing of Fernando Alonso, who if anything seemed to go backwards as things progressed. I for one had expected his nous and solidity to show through here, but it was not to be, and it has to go down as a missed opportunity.

Whilst some of the established runners were encountering misfortune, others were performing above themselves.  A superb drive by Adrian Sutil, his most convincing since he returned to Formula 1, a reminder of his capabilities, and another building block in his bid for recognition.  Drives tend to be noticed more at Monaco than at most other venues. Jean-Eric Vergne's eighth-place finish was also a fine achievement. 

McLaren were unexpectedly visible and prominent in the race, even allowing for their mildly encouraging practice. Sergio Perez caused a few ructions with his tactics, but at least showed some fire.  The sixth place notched up by Jenson Button is very welcome, but is unlikely to fool too many people at McLaren. 

A mundane, uneventful and smooth weekend for Romain Grosjean!.  It was like 2012 all over again.  His raw talent is not in the slightest doubt, but a nice anonymous but productive weekend in Montreal would not go amiss. With luck this latest penalty might concentrate his mind. When we also consider Raikkonen's problems late in the race, one hopes that Monaco does not signal some kind of downturn in fortunes for Lotus. 

Reading form from here on in is tricky.  It seems reasonable to assume that Red Bull are not going to crumble or weaken appreciably.  The growing strength and confidence of Mercedes, if it can be sustained, is the new factor in the equation. In fact Sebastian Vettel, with a nice little points cushion, will possibly secretly welcome this trend, as it is likely to deprive Ferrari and Lotus of points in their efforts to close the gap. 

2012 Monaco Grand Prix Reflections

Despite what some media outlets have been saying, not a thrilling Monaco Grand Prix, but certainly an interesting and intriguing one.  The closeness of the competition, and the vagaries of tyre management and the Monaco weather, tended to obscure the fact that there was little passing, or even attempted passing, in the top echelons of the field, even by the standards of the street circuit.  Because of the trends established thus far in 2012, there must be a temptation to pass even the quite mundane off as pulsatingly exciting.

Mark Webber's performance was composed and error-free, and will be a major filip for the Australian, after some ill-fortune and disappointments earlier in the season.  After the pit-stops and tyre strategies unravelled, he looked reasonably comfortable, and none of his pursuers looked realistically capable of getting by, despite the presence of the tightly-packed bunch, exacerbated by the rain in the closing laps.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of Sunday's race was the performance of Ferrari. Did the nature of the circuit mask some of the car's deficiencies, or has there been genuine progress?  There is probably foundation in both of these theories, and Alonso's comments post-race sounded cautiously upbeat.  The race showing of Felipe Massa will have dampened speculation concerning his future, until Montreal at least...

Perhaps the disappointment of the weekend was the failure of Lotus to fully realise the great hopes which had been invested in them beforehand.  Although they did emerge from the weekend with little tangible to show for their efforts, no major concern or disquiet is evident.  Everyone is fully conscious of the margins under which people are operating this year.  Sauber, another team constantly knocking at the door of a real breakthrough, might have expressed similar sentiments after the race...

Events at McLaren continue to fascinate, as they are further subsumed into the main pack, following their perceived "advantage" at the outset of the season.  Lewis Hamilton appears to be coping better than his team-mate. Button endured another torrid race, caught in traffic, and then spinning out.  Frustration?

Michael Schumacher was ultimately out of luck in Monaco, but the weekend did contain some things which should give him heart.  A fast time in qualifying, and a feisty start in the race, which was curtailed by his contretemps with Romain Grosjean.

A quick word of praise to both Jean-Eric Vergne and Heikki Kovalainen, whose creditable displays have gone relatively unheralded.

All in all, Monaco seemed to offer little in the way of solid pointers for the rest of the season, and anyway any bold predictions are proving futile this year!