Hamilton majestic in Monaco
2008-05-26 09:06
Natalie Le Clue
Take the most brilliant strategists in the world, add the fastest cars and the best drivers on the planet and you have a recipe for success. Now add an uncertain element to that mix, such as rain, and the only thing that can save you is what is known as F1's X-factor... luck.
Rain had been predicted all through the weekend of the Monaco GP, but as fate would have it, it only showed up just before the race was to get under way. After qualifying, the cars are 'locked-off' in Parc Ferme meaning that other than changing the tyres and the front-wing angles, no other changes can be made to the car. A car set up for wet conditions will be one that generates the greatest amount of grip possible over the course of a lap. Driving in the streets of Monte Carlo was described by David Coulthard as riding a bicycle in your bathroom. If the rain was reckoned into that point of view it would be accurate to assume that the bicycle was being ridden in the cramped bathroom which, now, had a floor made out of ice.
A sublime opening stint by Felipe Massa saw Lewis Hamilton falling by the way side quite dramatically. The McLaren had to come up with an answer for the Ferrari's pace immediately.
What do you say to taking chances? If you're Lewis Hamilton you say hello to the barriers on the exit of the swimming pool. Hamilton had to pit with a right rear puncture. Just how big of an ironic twist this would prove to be, no one saw coming. Hamilton soon found himself in third place some 25 seconds adrift of second place.
By scraping the barrier Hamilton was forced into a pitstop and the McLaren team seized this opportunity to add as much fuel as the tank could handle.
Now for the ironic part.
A safety car was deployed negating the time that Hamilton had lost in making the pitstop and brought him straight up to the rear of Massa. It could not have played better into the hands of Hamilton. In effect he had not lost any time as a result of the forced pitstop. In fact, it was a blessing in disguise. If he had not brushed the barrier and made the forced pitstop, the safety car would not have given him any advantage in terms of fuel strategy.
Raikkonen was handed a drive through penalty for a reason that will make the FIA even less popular among racing fans. The penalty that was handed down to Raikkonen was as a result of the tyres of the car not being completely fitted within three minutes before the start of the race. Kudos to the FIA for employing 20 time-keepers, one person armed with a stop-watch for each car on the grid. How else can they determine who was 10 seconds too late in fitting their tyres?
The rain had stopped and most of the runners had switched to the dry tyres. This is where the drivers have to be even more careful. Even thought the track was drying out and getting quicker and more grip became available with each passing lap, the drivers still had to guard against pushing too hard. Every corner is a guessing game in a scenario such as that. Brake an inch later, accelerate just a millisecond too early and you could find yourself in the wall.
All Lewis had to do now was keep the car out of the wall. He did that in magnificent style, from time to time lapping more than a second a lap quicker than Massa. The way he extended the gap over second place was a clear sign that he wanted to win this race and no one was going to stop him. He didn't look leery or ragged once while doing so. Hamilton may have had some incredible luck early on in the race, but it wasn't luck at work behind the wheel of that silver arrow, it was the ultimate in driving skill in the most atrocious conditions imaginable. Hats off to Hamilton for the best performance of his racing career.
The championship is increasing in intensity with each passing race. Hamilton called it right this weekend. It was all silver at the front.