Mark Webber Wins 2010 Monaco Grand Prix
Mark Webber continued his turn of brilliance by winning the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix. That makes two in a row for the Aussie and a well rewarded tie in the lead for the drivers’ championship.The Monaco Grand Prix is often touted as the crown jewel of the Formula 1 season. I find it a bit boring as I’ve mentioned before, but to each their own. The race this year was processional, but did have a few moments of glory. All and all, however, it was a parade and only made bearable by the odd crash.
Driver of the Race
Mark Webber wins in a landslide. Many will tout Alonso, but much of his move up the field was due to a great call by his team to pit after only three laps of the race when a safety car came out. Webber didn’t just win the race. He dominated it and he crushed his teammate. In the same car, Webber regularly pulled out 10 and 15 second leads over what must be a frustrated Vettel. I’ve bashed Webber in the past, but there is no disputing he is on a hot streak now and deserves every accolade he gets.
Poor Drive of the Race
Oh, Michael. What has gotten into you? The Brawn…err, Mercedes is not a top flight car, but you keep doing baffling things. You had a great drive in that you beat your teammate, but the last lap effort to pass Alonso when everyone knew there was no passing allowed? Are you brain dead?! Perhaps dementia has set in. The 20 second penalty is justified and you have nobody to blame but yourself. Way to throw away the points by dropping from seventh to 12th.
Teams – The Good and Bad
There was much room for a team to make a good or bad decision in this race, but two managed to do it. Ferrari has often been criticized [and justly so] for the odd decisions they make when it comes to race strategy. Not today. The decision to bring in Alonso so early was brilliant and is much the reason he snagged a sixth place finish. Well done to the Scuderia.
McLaren comes in on the other end of the rope. What a terrible performance by the team. First, they leave one of the radiator ducts blocked on Button’s car during the warm up lap, which leads to engine failure. How can this happen?
Then, McLaren did not use a sufficient brake component to last the race. Hamilton is being bashed for complaining over the radio, but he had every right to. What car starts to lose its brakes before even half the race is run? McLaren surely knows that Hamilton is aggressive and that the brakes need to be substantial for Monaco. If Lotus can figure out the brakes needed for Monaco, you would think McLaren could as well. A terrible day by the team and the driver’s should be furious.
Overall
Things seem to be setting themselves straight in Formula 1. Red Bull has been the best car by far and now the standings show it. Webber and Vettel are at the top of the drivers’ championship and the team leads the constructors. Perhaps Alonso will have something for the Bull, but it realistically looks like the only question left now is whether Webber or Vettel takes the championship.
Race Results:
1 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:50:13.355
2 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull + 0.448
3 Robert Kubica Renault + 1.675
4 Felipe Massa Ferrari + 2.666
5 Lewis Hamilton McLaren + 4.363
6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari + 6.341
7 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP + 6.651
8 Adrian Sutil Force India + 6.970
9 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India + 7.305
10 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso + 8.199
11 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso + 9.135
12 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP + 5.712
13 Vitaly Petrov Renault at 5 laps (DNF)
14 Karun Chandhok Hispania at 8 laps (DNF)
15 Jarno Trulli Lotus at 8 laps (DNF)
16 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus at 20 laps (DNF)
17 Bruno Senna Hispania at 20 laps (DNF)
18 Rubens Barrichello Williams at 48 laps (DNF)
19 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber at 52 laps (DNF)
20 Lucas Di Grassi Virgin at 53 laps (DNF)
21 Timo Glock Virgin at 56 laps (DNF)
22 Pedro de la Rosa Sauber at 57 laps (DNF)
23 Jenson Button McLaren at 76 laps (DNF)
24 Nico Hülkenberg Williams at 78 laps (DNF)
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