Formula 1 2013 Monaco Grand Prix – Rosberg Reigns In Principality
The Big Picture Test-gate; Mercedes found themselves swept up in controversy after it emerged on Sunday morning that they had conducted a 1000km tyre test with Pirelli at Barcelona in the week following the race, May 15th-17th. Pirelli is allowed to conduct these sorts of tests, as part of their contract with the FIA, provided they are the ones doing the testing and they offer the opportunity to all teams to participate to ensure sporting equality. However it seems in this circumstance that was not the case, other teams were not involved and that even the FIA were unaware that the test by Pirelli was going ahead, having only given initial clearance to a request to conduct it, not confirmation of the actual testing at Barcelona following the Spanish Grand Prix. Red Bull and Ferrari lodged an official protest in Monaco, which has been escalated to the FIA, which may convene to hand out penalties to Mercedes should they feel theyve infringed on the regulations of the sport. Mercedes themselves say that the tyres they were testing were for the 2014 season mostly, and that they did not get any information from the 1000km of running as Pirelli handled the test programme, as per regulation. Also, as Ross Brawn pointed out, what did people think they were doing when they hadnt packed up as darkness fell in Spain following the race? And how exactly could such a test at a leading circuit like Barcelona go completely unnoticed by the FIA, immediately after a race weekend? More details will follow this week, continuing the saga over the tyres in the weeks prior to the Canadian Grand Prix, however theres no denying that with in season testing banned using current 2013 cars, the evident lack of clarity surrounding this test and the fact that Mercedes just dominated the Monaco Grand Prix with an excellent handle on tyre performance, it all falls into a rather grey area and its a storm thats likely to darken Brackley for a while. The Small Picture This weekend saw multiple drivers participate in their first Monaco Grand Prix, a daunting task for any fresh-faced young rookie. Bottas, Chilton, Bianchi, Van Der Garde and Gutierrez all took on the challenge of their first race in the principality, tackling the daunting streets of Monte Carlo. Only one of them retired, Jules Bianchi, and that was due to a brake failure on his Marussia, with the rest of them making the chequered flag. Van Der Garde worked the conditions excellently in qualifying to take a career-best 15th place, and Bottas was beaten over the line by Hulkenberg by just a tenth of a second for the chequered flag. There were some scrapes along the way, with Van Der Garde needing a new nose on the first lap, and most notably Gutierrez and Chilton racing hard, which led to the latter barging Maldonado into the barriers. These are to be expected at Monaco, and despite them the debutants all did what I felt was a sterling job just beyond the points, and gave us some great racing to watch. From Behind the Glasses The Monaco Grand Prix was an exciting race to watch, with it taking time to come to the boil after tyre saving early on. Packed with incidents that brought out the safety car and a red flag, it was how Monaco delivers Formula 1. There were some great overtakes through Ste Devote, the hairpin, out of the tunnel and through Rascasse, keeping it exciting until the cars made it over the line. Whilst some people deride Monaco and claim its always boring or theres no overtaking, its simply not the case, and this is just how a very unique circuit brings us F1. Even when things arent happening, this magical circuit just feels laced with potential and every lap you know something could happen, and out of the blue it does, such as when Chilton tagged Maldonado and brought out the red flags. The thing that mostly annoyed me was the stupid rules under a red flag that allows teams to change tyres. There is absolutely no reason that should be allowed unless weather conditions have changed dramatically, as it is merely a pause in the race, not a restart as if it hadnt been run at all. This completely voided all strategic tyre work throughout the race, and left it as a sprint to the finish on a single set of option tyres. Whilst thats what we want to see, F1 cars going flat out, strategy is a part of this sport and it was building tension from the first lap which was then squandered. Overall I loved the race though, if not the overall outcome, and am glad we continue to race at Monaco for all its flaws.