Monaco 2008

UNFORTUNATELY FOR FELIPE MASSA, THE F1 PADDOCK HAS MOVED FROM HIS FAVOURITE TRACK (TURKEY), WHICH HE WON FOR THE 3RD TIME IN A ROW AT THE LAST ROUND, TO HIS LEAST FAVOURITE, MONACO. NEVERTHELESS, HE SURPRISED EVERYONE, NOT LEAST MCLAREN, BY CLAIMING POLE POSITION ON SATURDAY FROM HIS TEAM-MATE, KIMI RAIKKONEN (2ND), LEWIS HAMILTON (3RD) AND HEIKKI KOVALAINEN (4TH). NOT ONLY IS IT NOT MASSA'S FAVOURITE, FERRARI ARE NOT TOO KEEN EITHER! NO WIN HERE SINCE 2001 AND THIS WAS THEIR FIRST FRONT-ROW LOCKOUT HERE IN LIVING MEMORY! IT CERTAINLY LOOKED AS IF THEY WERE GOING TO COME AWAY WITH A VICTORY THIS YEAR.

NO ONE WAS TAKING ANYTHING FOR GRANTED, HOWEVER, BECAUSE THE WEATHER WAS LIKELY TO CAUSE DISRUPTION ON SUNDAY AND THERE IS NOTHING MORE LIKELY TO CAUSE AN UPSET THAN RAIN IN MONTE CARLO. SUNDAY CONFIRMED EVERYONE'S FEARS - THE FIRST WET RACE SINCE 1997 AND, OF COURSE, IT WOULD HAPPEN THIS YEAR; THE FIRST YEAR WITHOUT TRACTION CONTROL TO HELP KEEP THE DRIVERS ON THE 'ISLAND' AND THIS WAS THE FIRST WET RACE OF THE YEAR! COULD THERE BE A BIGGER CHALLENGE?

FERRARI GOT OFF TO A BAD START RIGHT FROM THE MOMENT WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT TO GREEN - KIMI WAS A FRACTION SLOW OFF THE LINE, LEWIS WASN'T AND BY THE FIRST CORNER AT SAN DEVOTE HE WAS 2ND BEHIND FELIPE BUT AHEAD OF KIMI. MORE BAD NEWS FOR FERRARI WAS ABOUT TO FOLLOW WHEN THE STEWARDS AWARDED THEM A DRIVE THROUGH PENALTY AGAINST RAIKKONEN BECAUSE THEY HAD NOT CLEARED THEIR EQUIPMENT OFF THE GRID BY THE '3 MINUTES TO GO' MARK. HAMILTON THEN SLID WIDE AND TOUCHED A BARRIER, CAUSING A PUNCTURE, BUT IRONICALLY AS IT TURNED OUT, THIS WAS POSSIBLY THE BEST MOVE HE COULD HAVE MADE! MCLAREN MAXIMISED THEIR OPPORTUNITY AND CHANGED HIS FUEL STRATEGY BY FUELLING HIM UP FOR A VERY LONG STINT.

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN HAD HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO STALL ON THE GRID AND HAD TO START FROM THE PIT-LANE AND MAYHEM WAS OCCURRING FURTHER DOWN THE FIELD - FERNANDO ALONSO EMULATED HAMILTON'S BRUSH WITH THE BARRIER AND SUFFERED THE SAME FATE, DAVID COULTHARD FOLLOWED SUIT BUT HARDER AND WAS IMMEDIATELY HIT FROM BEHIND BY SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS. THIS BROUGHT OUT THE SAFETY CAR WHILST THEIR CARS WERE WINCHED CLEAR. THE RAIN WAS STARTING TO RELENT BUT IT WAS UNLIKELY THAT THERE WOULD BE ANY CHANCE OF A DRY LINE APPEARING FOR SOME TIME. THAT DIDN'T STOP THE SPECULATION THOUGH!

JUST WHEN IT LOOKED LIKELY THAT THEY COULD CHANGE TO DRY TYRES, THE FORECASTERS ISSUED A STATEMENT THAT RAIN WOULD START IN 6 MINUTES. IT DIDN'T AND SOME OF THE RUNNERS FURTHER DOWN THE FIELD DECIDED THEY HAD NOTHING TO LOSE AND POSSIBLY EVERYTHING TO GAIN BY MAKING THE CHANGE. ALL THE TEAMS WATCHED THE LAP TIMES OF THOSE ON DRY TYRES WITH INTEREST BUT THE FRONT RUNNERS SOLDIERED ON WITH THEIR WORN INTERMEDIATES.

LEWIS BY NOW WAS DRIVING AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME AND HAD NOT ONLY TAKEN OVER THE LEAD BUT STRETCHED IT OUT TO SOME 40 SECONDS - MORE THAN ENOUGH TO RETAIN THE LEAD WHEN HE EVENTUALLY WENT INTO THE PITS FOR FUEL AND FRESH INTERMEDIATE TYRES. HOWEVER, NICO ROSBERG NOT ONLY DESTROYED HIS WILLIAMS, AFTER A FINE DRIVE UP TO THAT POINT, BUT ALSO DESTROYED LEWIS'S LEAD BECAUSE THE SAFETY CAR HAD TO BE DEPLOYED, WHICH RESULTED IN ALL THE GAPS DISAPPEARING AS THE CARS BUNCHED UP.

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

LEWIS HAMILTON, ON THE OTHER HAND, WAS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT HAVING WON THE RACE THAT EVERY DRIVER WANTS TO WIN. ROBERT KUBICA WAS A FINE SECOND AND FELIPE MASSA THIRD. HAMILTON NOW LEADS THE TITLE RACE AS WE HEAD TO MONTREAL.

Race Results posted by
David Little
26th May 2008

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