Jarno Trulli wins
his first ever race ahead of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.
What a race!. So
many controversial incidents and a different winner for the first time this
year!
A few highlights;
Jarno Trulli
drove a consistent race and deserved to win. His team-mate Alonso was
shadowing him until his incident with Ralf Schumacher (again!). Should
Ralf - who was being lapped - have slowed down or was Alonso impatient as
he was losing time to Trulli.
Jenson Button
also drove superbly and kept the pressure on Trulli until the very last
lap. Sato had a great start (possibly a jump start) but yet again retired
with an engine failure that caused chaos on the track. Should BAR have
called Sato in as soon as his engine began showing signs of failure or was
it right to keep Sato out to try and give Button a buffer ?
Rubens
Barrichello ended up on the podium by luck as he himself admitted but his
Ferrari was way off the pace. Michael Schumacher on the other hand drove
superbly and made up 2 places through the pits. But warming up his brakes
in the tunnel behind the safety car, was that a wise move ? Montoya didn't
anticipate it and couldn't avoid hitting Michael sending him out of the
race.
Ferrari's strategy however did appear wrong as whilst he was leading
behind the safety car he still had a pit stop to do while Trulli and
Button behind him didn't.
Montoya
deserves credit for overtaking Barrichello and Heidfeld on the track. Not
many drivers can do that however the pace of his Williams wasn't
consistent (or was it him) and he ended finishing 4th just because four
cars ahead of him retired! Ralf Schumacher continues to show how an
impressive driver he is and how good he playing the role of a backmarker!!
Williams don't appear to be going much better than McLaren with Montoya a
lap down and Ralf out with a retirement!
Speaking of
McLaren, if they can't get their engines to last in Monaco, they won't
last anywhere. Coulthard though was unlucky to be hit by Fisichella in the
smoke.
Giancarlo
Fisichella ruined his race and Coulthard's by being adventurous in zero
visibility. His team-mate Massa managed to salvage 4 points for the team
though!
Toyota got
lucky and managed to finish both cars in the points. Their pace was
pathetic but they lasted!
Even Jordan
managed to score 2 points thanks to the high attrition rate and who
would've guessed that Baumgartner was very close to scoring the first
points for Minardi despite being 6 laps down!
Overtaking
backmarkers was very difficult at times and it appears that the marshals
weren't consistent. Whatever happened to that -state of the art- light
system that was supposed to be introduced into the cars warning the
backmarkers of an approaching car ?
Your
thoughts ?
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What others are saying:
Well, I have to
say that this was a much better race than I anticipated.
Congratulations to Jarno Trulli, he seems to be one of those guys who quietly
goes about his job.
I never saw a race where so many drivers were so mad at each other after the
race. They race on that track every year, they know the conditions are tough,
and yet they act like they're so shocked when they can't overtake cleanly. I
thought that the MS and JPM incident was just an accident. And Michael should
stop sulking. And I thought Alonso was impatient. Another 50 meters, and he
would have passed Ralph easily. I think Sato is just stupid. His car Blows, he
causes this huge accident, potentially injuring Fisichella. And he walks off
the track smiling and waving to the crowd.
McLaren is un-lucky, while Toyota got lucky, and Rubens had a look on his face
during the post race like he had his life threatened. What was that
about?
See ya in the Nurburgring - John N - USA
I thought it was a
brilliant race. At last a race to watch with excitement. I am a huge MS fan
but dear oh dear. What was the guy thinking? You don't do things like that in
the tunnel!! Those cars do not have brakelights at the rear. He knew (so did
JPM - how I dislike that guy) that the Safety Car was coming in on that lap.
Now he goes and accelerate in the tunnel. Of course JPM was going to do the
same - he does not want MS to get a clear advantage at the restart. But MS
thought it wise to brake just as hard in the tunnel with JPM at speed behind
him and he does not have any indication (brake lights) of his actions. What on
earth was he thinking? That is not even "not very smart" - that's
downright stupid!!
He deserved the points and the place he got! But he is still my
favourite!!
As far as Sato is concerned - I also have a feeling he jumped the start. But
should he have been brought in in anticipation of engine failure? I don't
know. A year or 2 ago David Coulthard also had a smoking car and retirement
seemed imminent. But McLaren kept him out and he won the race. Any
different?.
Jarno Trulli, well done, you deserved it. I don't think Button would have won
even if he had pole. He passed MS at the start but MS passed him on strategy.
JT's strategy was even better than MS's. But all credit to Button - he drove a
brilliant race.. Johan M - South Africa
I was a Montoya
fan in some distant past, but changed my mind when seeing his behaviour in F1.
I can't help but wonder what he would say if, leading the race, he was bumped
out from behind by a backmarker under the safety flag. Especially if the
backmarker was the guy he loves to hate.
That said, like Michael, I accept the Stewarts' decision. They must call the
shots the way they see them, and sportsmanship requires to take it in good
grace (tell that to Montoya!). - Fred - USA
Congratulations to
Trulli, Renault, Michelin and Elf!!! They did a superb job and Trulli would
win it with or without MS's accident.
Button was also brilliant! By the away, Button said it all when he mentioned
that the track inside the tunnel is colder. MS should have waited a hundred
meters more before locking his front tires. It was a childish mistake...
From what I've seen THIS TIME Ralf is innocent. Alonso was simply faster than
the track and that's all.
Sato had a jump start: what were the marshals looking at? And I once more
agree with Button when he says that Sato should have been flagged out. It is
Monaco for Godīs sake!!!!
Who would say that McLaren's chassis was better than the Williams'? Let's pray
that Mercedes will do its homework as soon as possible.
Barrichello was lucky and I was very disappointed. It seems that he had a
problem with his left rear suspension. I just wonder if he touched the wall
somewhere... Anyway, three Brazilians within the top 6. I guess the last it
happened was in 1991. Good times! - Andre B - Brazil
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