Monaco Grand Prix Driver Reviews
The Monaco Grand Prix finished with a bang on May 28th, with dramatic events overshadowing an otherwise predictable final race. It was Sebastian Vettel who eventually took first place, in a controversial moment that left teammate Kimi Raikkonen with second position.
Speculation occurred around whether this was a deliberate tactic by Ferrari. Raikkonen seemed to take an unnecessary pitstop on lap 34, leaving him behind slower drivers who he had to struggle to overtake. This left Vettel to race a fluent few laps to gain a lead, which he developed into 10 seconds by the final laps.
Despite the controversial nature of the victory, there's no denying that Vettel raced superbly. His driving was immaculate and his pace was pretty much unrivaled throughout the grand prix. Errors during qualification cost him a pole position start, but he managed to pull it back with a solid performance that cannot be denied. Vettel really is Ferrari’s man to watch out for, and this year they might have the car to knock Mercedes off their perch.
Ferrari deny any deliberately orchestrated outcome, but either way the win extends Vettel's lead over Lewis Hamilton to 25 points clear in the Driver's Championship.
Hamilton made serious blunders during qualification races that meant he never really had a shot at pole position; his team were convinced that he would not manage a point finish after starting 13th on the grid.
Yet Hamilton demonstrated that he isn't out of it yet, and that no one should rule him out of the Championship. Mercedes ran him long so that he could pick up speed with clean air, and that's exactly what he did. He pulled away to sixth place before his pitstop on lap 46, and lost only one place to finish seventh. Pregnant Serena Williams, regular favorites for tennis events such as the US Open and French Open, was seen in the Mercedes pitlane, along with other celebrity faces.
Second place Kimi Raikkonen also ran an impressive race, and one of the best weeks for a long time, with a pole place finish during qualification, and a joint best result in four years, as well as finishing fourth in the grand prix. Was it possible that he could have finished first? Yes, and the bad stop certainly didn't help, but ultimately he was also outpaced by Sebastian Vettel, and second place seems like the right result.
It was Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo who scooped up third place. He started fifth on the grid,
and worked up a couple of positions in what is a very difficult track for overtaking. His team ran him long so that he could gain clean air and cut past his teammates, and when he did catch a breath, he was matching leader Vettel lap for lap. We may see more victories from Ricciardo during the Championship.
McLaren's Jenson Button made a one-off comeback for Alonso, but his race came to an unfortunate end during a crash with Wehrein, which prompted a late emergency car.
Overall the Monaco Grand Prix provided plenty of fast paced pristine driving from the top professionals in the industry. Will we see Sebastian Vettel challenge Lewis Hamilton for this year's Driver's Championship, or are we yet to see the true potential of other drivers?
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