F1 Race Monaco

It's showtime. The spectacle of Monaco is the jewel in the crown of F1, the cars are nearer to the crowd, the speeds around this iconic street circuit are immense, the walls are ever close and the tunnel is still as dark and scary.

Martin took us around Mark Webber's pole lap which not only confirmed how great a lap it was but what a lap around Monaco is about. The bumps, barriers and turns of Monaco are around normal roads and we all know what "normal roads" are in the UK.

The talk is now over and it's time to race with a track temperature of 40 and air temperature of 22. As many of the drivers live in Monaco for them it is like a home grand prix which gives them added incentive.

The sound of the cars going around the principality onto the grid is deafening on TV but when you are there ear plugs are an absolute must. As usual the narrow Monaco grid is packed with team mechanics, paparazzi, reporters and many celebrities as the Monaco grid is the place to be seen.

The tyre covers come off as the teams move back to the pit lane as all the cars move off for the siting lap except Fernando who is starting from the pit lane after his appointment with the barrier wrecking his chassis before qualifying.

As the flag dropped 20,000 hp launched into the first corner as Sebastian (V) launched past Robert into Saint Devote making it a Red Bull one, two. All went well until the dreaded tunnel and Nico (H) hit the wall coming out of it making a mess of his car and bringing out the safety car. During the safety car period some of the cars on the soft tyres (they have to use both tyre compounds through the race) including Fernando changed to the prime tyres.

Then out of the blue Jenson stopped with what appeared to be a cooked engine and the second retirement on only lap one. It appeared a bung was left in one of the engine intakes going to the grid cooking the engine. All the rest followed the unbelievable Mercedes safety car whilst the debris from Nico's Williams was cleared out of the way.

Keeping all the temperatures under control is very difficult for the drivers and they would all be relieved when the safety car came in on lap six and back to racing. Mark launched his self away followed by Sebastian, Robert, Felipe and Lewis and then a small gap back to Rubens who was struggling on the first lap after the safety car.

It was exciting watching the mighty Fernando trying to get past Lucas and after a lot of gesticulating he passed him into the chicane after the tunnel and then quickly disposed of Jarno. The top five, with Mark moving away from the next four were leaving the rest behind but the interest will come if the tyres start to grain.

The cars in front of Fernando were getting a whole bag of TV coverage as the cameras were watching his surge from the back of the field and it was a feature of the early stage of the race. Mark seems to have Monaco under control and he was lapping in the mid 1.17's at a meteoric rate and on lap 17 he was some 5 seconds ahead of Sebastian.

Lewis was the first of the top runners to change to the prime tyres and he came out in front of Fernando and behind Jaime and this will be interesting to watch accepting Fernando has already changed his tyres. Then came a host of tyre stops on lap eighteen for all of the top teams and race on as we wait for the positions to settle down.

So after the tyre stops the positions were Mark, Sebastian, Robert, Felipe, Lewis and Fernando but after Nico's tyre stop it dropped him behind Michael into eighth. Rubens finished up with two wheels on my wagon as he hit the wall in Massenet with what looked like a mechanical failure to bring out the safety car for the second time.

All Mark's good work out in front was negated and he has now to be do it all over again as the team bunches up behind the Mercedes safety car. What seemed a quite rapid removal of Rubens' Lotus Mark was biting at the bit behind the safety car and Mark launched again at the front and he looks remarkably under control and in the groove.

Lewis seems to have stalled Fernando's meteoric move through the field but still not really putting pressure on Felipe in front of him. Nico was falling away from Michael in the hands of the Force India's whilst up at the front Mark was now already 2.5 seconds ahead of Sebastian after only three laps after the safety car withdrawal on lap forty one.

Mclaren are asking Lewis to be patient and look after his car and he received the information with comments better not repeated. Then out came the safety car for the third time as it was announced a drain cover had come loose and that of course is extremely dangerous and a most unusual occurrence. It appeared to be false alarm and the safety cover was deemed OK.

Poor old Mark had to do it again for the third time and he must be thinking what do I have to do to win this thing. So in came the safety car and off went Mark again with the rest line astern with no problems.

The safety cars of course reduce the problem of the leaders having to overtake the back markers which at Monaco can always cause problems for the faster cars. The top ten were covered by only nine seconds with 30 laps to go which shows how close the front runners are.

One of the features of Monaco is the speed the rubber goes down on the circuit and coupled with burning off the fuel the speeds get quicker as the times are now in the 1.16's. Fernando has had the tyres on his Ferrari since in effect lap one and yet they are still performing well albeit they will not be as good as those who have changed tyres and he is dropping away from Lewis.

Michael is driving a steady race in seventh but just can't get near enough to Fernando to make a pass. Nico (R) is dropping back from Michael and now some 2.5 seconds behind on lap 57. The last couple of races have seen Michael jump ahead of Nico for the first time this season and one wonders whether Michael is getting back to form.

Mark is driving supremely as he has done all weekend seeming to bas one with the Red Bull. Out in front he is now in the 1.15's and his drive around the Monaco streets is not matched by the rest. Robert is keeping Sebastian honest but the top 6 are spread evenly and not really fighting each other.

On lap 61 they started to come into the back markers and one hopes they all get through without incident. Sebastian and Robert got a little held up which put Robert nearer to Sebastian but enabling Mark to leap to six seconds ahead at the front on lap 64. Lewis has dropped a long way behind Felipe which we can only assume is caused by traffic.

Mark has now started to protect his car with ten to go but Sebastian has Robert pushing him so the gap came down slightly but all under control really. The tyres are all holding up well and there won't be any stops now being so close to the end.

Then Karun and Jarno had a big accident as Jarno tried to go inside Karun into La Rascasse, the wheels locked and over the top of Karun went Jarno. That brought the safety car out again in the safe hands of Bert Mylander for the fourth time and the race was destined to finish under the safety car and so it was to be.

However, you can always rely on Michael to be involved in Monaco controversy and particularly at La Rascasse, and in 2010 he didn't disappoint. I must explain the rule behind the safety car is different this year as once it leaves the circuit the drivers go across a line after which they can pass, they do not have to wait until crossing the finishing line.

They started the last lap and as the safety car peeled off into the pits after La Rascasse, Michael stuffed his Mercedes alongside Fernando and took sixth away from him going into Anthony Noades. Not often that the safety car can cause so much excitement and trust Michael to be aware of every trick in the book albeit a great move.

So after the final bit of excitement the race finished and Mark took the chequered flag followed by Sebastian (another 1,2 for Red Bull), Robert, Felipe, Lewis, Michael, Fernando, Nico, Adrian and Vitantonio making the top 10. There were nine retirements through the race including Karun and Jarno who completed seventy laps and there were only 12 cars running at the flag.

Mark's prize was to be presented with his trophy by Prince Albert in a somewhat different ceremony to the usual podium and as we left Monaco the championship has taken a new turn with a Red Bull one, two.

Mark & Sebastian leave with 78 points and take over the championship lead followed by Fernando (73), Jenson (70), Felipe & Robert (59), Lewis (57), Nico (54), Michael (22), Adrian (18), Vitantonio (9), Vitaly & Rubens (7), Jaime (2) and finally Nico H (1).

In the team championship Red Bull take over the lead with 156 points followed by Ferrari (132), Mclaren (127), Mercedes (76), Renault (66), Force India (27), Williams (8) and Toro Rosso (2).

After the thrills, spills and spectacle of Monaco the circus moves to Turkey for the next race 30th June and the question has to be asked who is going to stunt Red Bull's charge. They certainly have the quickest car even though not the most reliable. The stunning pace of Mark in qualifying and his pace in the race suggests someone has to do something special.

I look forward to talking to you again in Turkey.

Monaco Grand Prix

Over the Monaco weekend there were many talks about the budget cap for 2010. All the teams are at least in agreement with the cap on spending but how it's done appears to be the issue. Reading between the lines it now transpires the budget cap won't be applied in full until 2011 with reductions in 2010.

The breakaway series appears to have gone away so at least we are sure of F1 continuing in its present form as all we armchair spectators want it to. My concern is all the changes are going to water down the sport and the politics are getting worse which I am sure the sport does not need.

With a further meeting, 27 May, it will be interesting to see which of the teams lodge their 2010 entry as the only team to enter at this point is Williams.

Anyway, back to the race. It was an interesting race with mixed strategies which always make it interesting. Jenson shot off pole into Ste Devote and never really got challenged from there. In the meanwhile Rubens had a great start and beat Kimi into the first corner and he never really relinquished that position either.

After a shakedown the Ferrari's gathered behind the Brawn's and again were never really challenged finishing three (Kimi) and four (Felipe). They have closed the gap on Brawn and the best showing of their season so far. The cars looked sharper, more driveable and definitely much more on the pace.

Lewis struggled all day from his lowly grid position, made even worse by a gearbox change. He finished a lowly 12th and again nil points. Heikki on the other hand had a strong start faded to 7th and then hit the wall at the swimming pool, knocked off the nose and out he went, an incident very similar to Fernando's accident during quali.

Behind the Ferrari's Mark (Webber) drove a great race to finish 5th followed by a resurgent Nico who finished in his grid position of 6th. Fernando said his car felt better as the race went on to come in 7th and the last point scorer was Sebastien (Bourdais) earning a point for Toro Rosso.

Nelson Piquet was enjoying a good race until Sebastien (Buemi) decided to push him off the circuit into the armco at Ste Devote, so both were out.

Vettel started on super softs and was soon presenting a mobile chicane for many stuck behind him. Eventually he had to come in early as the tyres were shot. A lot of the teams were surprised how quickly the super softs went off and caused some strategy changes for the teams.

Vettell eventually attacked the armco at Ste Devote and his race was run. BMW continued their bad luck season with Heidfeld complaining the car wasn't quick enough and Kubica pulled out with brake problems.

So the race finished with Jenson (First) and Rubens (Second) and another Brawn 1,2. A rather amusing finish as Jenson decided he would ignore Monaco protocol and drive into the customary pit lane rather than the Monaco scenario of driving to the finishing lane and parking in front of the royal box.

Even after 78 laps around the streets of Monaco he was seen running to the start/finish lane which caused a little hilarity but confirms his fitness level.

So a Brawn 1,2 a Ferrari 3,4 followed by Red Bull, Williams, Renault and the last point to Toro Rosso.

Can anyone catch Jenson who now leads the championship by 16 points from Rubens on 35 and then the luckless Vettel at Monaco who has only 23 points. The constructors championship is obviously led by Brawn on a massive 86 points with their nearest rival (Red Bull) on a lowly 42.5.

One has to say it is not over yet but his points lead after 6 of 17 races is huge and it will take some failures from Brawn to water down such a massive lead. The reliability of the Brawn's to date has been exemplary to date and lets hope for Jenson and Rubens that continues.

So off we go to Turkey and what a thriller that will be with Ferrari coming back, Red Bull still improving, Williams getting nearer and let us all hope Mclaren find the downforce which is so sadly lacking so far this season.

Monaco Quali

Well here we are at the glitz and glamour of Monaco for the most evocative race on the F1 calendar. This street circuit is one of the most challenging for the drivers with close barriers, the tunnel where vision coming out is an issue and the challenge of overtaking.

It looked like Lewis was going to be on top of the list except he dropped it going into Mirabeau on the bump and swiped the rear left corner. So that was him down to 16th and taking no part in the qualifying hour.

Up at the sharp end it was destined to be a fight between the Brawn's, Red Bull's and Heikki in the remaining Mclaren with Fernando in there and fighting with his Renault. Jenson seemed to be taking things very slowly and didn't really figure in the early running. So, in quali 1 we lost Lewis, both Toyota's and both BMW's. One has to ask where are BMW as their season has been miserable to date and one suggests drastic changes have to be made and quickly.

Into quali 2 and the fight continued at the head of the field with Rosberg now putting in some scintillating laps and we were in for a showdown. There were no surprises in the top 10 as we lost the Toro Rosso's, Force India's and Nelson in his Renault.

So let battle commence as the last 15 minutes started. Again Jenson wasn't showing his hand as Rubens led the pack with Kimi in close pursuit. What was Jenson doing floundering around but he obviously had the game in hand. At the last minute he threw in a lap that was to put him on pole and where he got that from no one knows.

So the finishing order in the top 6 was Jenson, Kimi, Rubens, Sebastian (Vettel), Felipe and Nico showing good form in the Williams. Heikki showed well in front of Mark, Fernando and Kazuki.

So lets hope for a good race with plenty of the usual Monaco excitement.