The 2008 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix Thread

[Southernman]

A good race to watch. The combination of a tough track and difficult conditions made it well worth watching.

The driver of the day for me was Hamilton. I usually go for the driver that wins it but Sutil would have got my vote if he had finished the race. I never vote for those that don't finish the race.

Webber also drove well.

I think it was one of the most inept driving performance that I have watched in a while from Kimi. Two poor races in a row.

[Snowy]

If we look at the errors made during this race one thing becomes very evident: The fastest guys, in the fastest cars with the biggest balls and the biggest reputations are all capable of making misjudgements, mistakes and being the victims of fate, misfortune and chance. Motor racing is like that I guess . . . there is one phrase that reverberates through every pitlane in the world, "Sh*t happens". Mr Kubica seems to be bucking the trend since his biggy in Canada. It is amazing how quick this guy can drive after such a shunt! It is conceivable that having sustained no serious injuries he was able to completely erase the incident. In the past we have seen countless very quick drivers shunted into the quick or even sluggish brackets by such incidents. Perhaps Nick was more affected by that crash!? He seems to have lost his sparkle and must now be tettering on the brink of a Toyota drive. . .

[F1greyhound]

My driver of the day is ADRIAN, he looked absolutely set for 4th place on merit, it was obvious KIMI was unable to pass him.

However LEWIS and ROBERT were perfect also, for LEWIS hitting the barrier early on I think it was a shade unlucky just like most drivers on the day. Nobody forgot how to drive an F1 car yesterday, its just that in these conditions things can get out of control easily.

Altogether the race was strongly influenced by the 2 SC phases, the first making sure LEWIS made up all time lost plus the benefit of a refuelled car for a long middle stint. Other than that ROBERT would have won easily. FELIPE didnt do much wrong but had to use the escape road at turn 1 once letting ROBERT pass, later he was obviously handicapped with losing radio contact with his team, I would say it was still a decent performance from him altogether, and I still think he is fractionally quicker than KIMI..

MARK, SEBASTIAN, RUBENS and KAZUKI were a small but exclusive bunch keeping out of trouble and rewarded with points while HEIKKI had a terrible race but still finished 8th.

The champions of the last 3 seasons looked out of luck and sometimes out of control but that will be forgotten in 14 days. Others who will want to forget about the GP will include NICO, JENSON, TIMO, JARNO, DAVID, SEBASTIEN and maybe most of all - NICK.

NELSON was again worst of all and looks like not making it this year, RENAULT could do worse than replacing him by a more gifted driver...e.g.ADRIAN who would certainly be available if the price was right..


As for the whole season it looks like a similarly close race as last year even though at MELBOURNE and MONACO FERRARI were big spenders...it wont hurt them probably in the constructors but LEWIS could inherit MICHAELs one man show go for the title character and take WDC at the second time of asking..

[RE30B#16]

I feel sorry for Piquet!!

I don't. His antics and bellyaching last year helped to force out Kovalainnen. Now he can't even cut the mustard. What a chump!!!

[jido]

I decided to give the driver of the day to Sebastian Vettel, as he did a great race in the wet and the dry and he did finish the race while Sutil did not.

That was quite a departure from the practice sessions where the Toro Rosso were clearly off the pace. Congratulations!

[cmlean]

I also gave my vote for Sutil.
He should have finished in 4th or worst 5th had he not been punted off the road by the out of control Kimi.

[Julian Mayo]

The poll tells the story..............

[Redhead]

Predictable the Kimi is getting a pasting but thoroughly unwarranted.

His problem was that he actually braked earlier than usual, probably trying to stay out of trouble, got unlucky on a wet patch and lost the back end.

What followed was one of the most remarkable pieces of car control seen in a long time. Kimis first instinct is self preservation and so he justifiably tried to keep it on the track, anyone else would have been straight into the barriers. Sutils bad luck is that Kimi is a brilliant driver.

cheers,
Red

[Kapel]

I gave Sutil the driver of the day for staying on track during this chaotic race..damn he couldnt FINnish ...he could have got atleast one point(assuming his penalty n stuff).The one point could have given Force India enough money,covering cost to compete in a min 3 races..sad but true..now Mr.Mallya would have to now shell out from his pocket (his IPL cricket team came last too )

[jido]

Predictable the Kimi is getting a pasting but thoroughly unwarranted.

His problem was that he actually braked earlier than usual, probably trying to stay out of trouble, got unlucky on a wet patch and lost the back end.

What followed was one of the most remarkable pieces of car control seen in a long time. Kimis first instinct is self preservation and so he justifiably tried to keep it on the track, anyone else would have been straight into the barriers. Sutils bad luck is that Kimi is a brilliant driver.

cheers,
Red

That may be a case of "don't look at the obstacle" optic flow problem-- Kimi was looking at Sutil's back instead of focusing on an avoidance route, hence the crash. When your car is going right and left under you the instincts take precedence