Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen
by Erik Nielsen
Photos courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media
Button Again
There is always something special about Monte Carlo in the late spring. Some seem to be caught up with the glitz and glamour of royalty, the cache of the Casino. For most tourists venturing to worship at one of the greatest racing events, the memories usually drift to incredible traffic, vulgar Russians with even more vulgarcars and being asked to cough up close to $30 for a drink…anywhere.
This is one of those pay to play races and if you do have the money, it’s best to sit on the back of your own boat in the harbor watching the race on the big screen. I know a little marina just over the formal French border where you can stock up on provisions without having to mortgage the kids.
The start.
Regardless of the damage done to your credit cards, as a racer, there is something still magical to race on the same roads, through the same old town as they have been doing it since 1929, making it one of those historic events that can only be matched with Le Mans and the Indy 500. This is one of those races that you just want to win. And winning here guarantees you a spot in the record books.
Felipe Massa on the coast.
Jenson Button earned that spot with a brilliant drive from pole,
making him the first Englishman to do so since Jackie Stewart’s drive in 1973. His drive was uneventful and he was never really challenged, not even by his teammate Barichello who would finish in second.
A 1-2 finish for BrawnGP at Monaco clearly states that they are the real thing and not a flash in the pan garagiste. Maximum points also makes it more and more likely that the title fights will not go to the last race of the season. It’s pretty clear that Brawn was one of the driving forces at Ferrari during their domination of a few years ago, the question is can the Scuderia catch up?
Kimi Räikkönen enroute to harbor tour.
Ferrari did have their best race of the season with Kimi on the podium and Massa not far behind in fourth. The Brawn Mercedes were still untouchable, but the Italian press has already declared that Ferrari has surpassed the Red Bull cars. We’ll know for sure when the teams have to battle on the more open circuit of Istanbul in two weeks.
Stefano Domenicali tried to explain that the issues with the F60 were related to down force. The argument can be made that decision making is also playing a factor.
Mark Webber finished in 5th after another uneventful drive. He was hot on Massa’s heels, but just couldn’t get up to him and there was nowhere to pass. Vettle crashed out for the second year in a row. The Germans still think he is the second coming. Rosberg finished in sixth, more importantly, he finished ahead of Alonso who was looking for a big result, but only walked away with two points. The last point of the race went to Bordais in the Toro Rosso. He’s not mopping up the same way he did in CART.
Felipe Massa
Lewis Hamilton proved once again that he could walk on water, only if it was really shallow and preferably in temperatures well below freezing. The other Brit in the race was basically a moving chicane, what a difference a year makes when he won this race. Kovalainen could do no better, crashing with 27 laps to go.
The other major spectacle of the weekend is the drama brewing off the track. If you keep up with all of the rumors and innuendo, it seems like most of the teams aren’t happy with the proposed rules changes for 2010 nor entirely thrilled about a proposed budget cap. Ferrari even threatened to not participate. We’ll wait to pass judgment on until we let the story develop. It would be a shame to let F1 turn into more a battle in the courts than actual competition on the track.
Besides, the America’s cup has already taken that route, F1 was
always supposed to be one step ahead. One guarantee is that popcorn futures are up. There is no show like that of watching a train wreck with huge egos involved.
Race Results
| 1 | BUTTON | Brawn-Mercedes | 1h40m44.282s |
| 2 | BARRICHELLO | Brawn-Mercedes | + 7.6s |
| 3 | RÄIKKÖNEN | Ferrari | + 13.4s |
| 4 | MASSA |
Ferrari | + 15.1s |
| 5 | WEBBER | RBR-Renault | + 15.7s |
| 6 | ROSBERG | Williams-Toyota | + 33.5s |
| 7 | ALONSO | Renault | + 37.8s |
| 8 | BOURDAIS | STR-Ferrari | + 63.1s |
| 9 | FISICHELLA | Force India-Mercedes | + 65.0s |
| 10 | GLOCK | Toyota | + 1 lap |
| 11 | HEIDFELD | BMW Sauber | + 1 lap |
| 12 | HAMILTON | McLaren-Mercedes | + 1 lap |
| 13 | TRULLI | Toyota | + 1 lap |
| 14 | SUTIL | Force India-Mercedes | + 1 lap |
| 15 | NAKAJIMA | Williams-Toyota | + 2 laps |
| 16 | KOVALAINEN | McLaren-Mercedes | + 27 laps, accident |
| 17 | KUBICA | BMW Sauber | + 50 laps, brakes |
| 18 | VETTEL | RBR-Renault | + 63 laps, accident |
| 19 | PIQUET | Renault | + 68 laps, accident damage |
| 20 | BUEMI | STR-Ferrari | + 68 laps, accident |
| Fastest Lap | MASSA | Ferrari | 1m15.154s |
Driver’s Championship Standings
| 1 | BUTTON | Brawn-Mercedes | 51 Points |
| 2 | BARRICHELLO | Brawn-Mercedes | 35 Points |
| 3 | VETTEL | RBR-Renault | 23 Points |
| 4 | WEBBER | RBR-Renault | 19.5 Points |
| 5 | TRULLI | Toyota | 14.5 Points |
| 6 | GLOCK | Toyota | 12 Points |
| 7 | ALONSO | Renault | 11 Points |
| 8 | RÄIKKÖNEN | Ferrari | 9 Points |
| 9 | HAMILTON | McLaren-Mercedes | 9 Points |
| 10 | MASSA | Ferrari | 8 Points |
| 11 | ROSBERG | Williams-Toyota | 7.5 Points |
| 12 | HEIDFELD | BMW Sauber | 6 Points |
| 13 | KOVALAINEN | McLaren-Mercedes | 4 Points |
| 14 | BUEMI | STR-Ferrari | 3 Points |
| 15 | BOURDAIS | STR-Ferrari | 2 Point |
Constructor’s Championship Standings
| 1 | BRAWN-MERCEDES | 86 Points |
| 2 | RBR-RENAULT | 42.5 Points |
| 3 | TOYOTA | 26.5 Points |
| 4 | FERRARI | 17 Points |
| 5 | McLAREN-MERCEDES | 13 Points |
| 6 | RENAULT | 11 Points |
| 7 | WILLIAMS-TOYOTA | 7.5 Points |
| 8 | BMW SAUBER | 6 Points |
| 9 | STR-FERRARI | 5 Points |
I suspect that Sir John Young (Jackie) Stewart will take exception to being referred to as an “Englishman” in your Monaco text. The Wee Scot is British, yes. But English? Not on your life.