Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Hamilton apologises to Massa and Maldonado

Lewis Hamilton has apologised to Pastor Maldonado and Felipe Massa for his comments following the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished the race sixth after a difficult weekend and was clearly still frustrated when interviewed by the BBC following the race. He was penalised by the stewards for overtaking moves on Massa and Maldonado and in the heat of the moment criticised his fellow drivers, saying: "These drivers are absolute frickin' ridiculous, it's stupid."

However, on Monday he apologised to the pair via the social networking website Twitter: "To Massa and Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended you. Both of you are fantastic drivers who I regard highly."

Hamilton has already apologised to the stewards of the meeting for a joke referencing Ali G, which he admitted "wasn't funny at the time".

On Monday, he also sent out an apology to his fans via Twitter. "Hey guys. I wanted to apologise for last weekend's performance and also my comments after, I never meant to offend no one."

He added: "To my fans lost and my fans won, I wish you nothing but love and happiness. God Bless you. Onwards and upwards, Montreal next. Lewis."

And in British newspapers, Hamilton explained his loss of temper. "I don't do it to offend people or to hurt anyone," he said. "I do it because I love racing. I feel like I can do it better than others."

He also said his desire to succeed in Monaco, the past playground of his hero Ayrton Senna, is higher than ever. "In my heart of hearts I believe I can own this circuit," said Hamilton. "I feel like I can be the fastest here. I was, and not with the fastest car."

He admitted the events of Sunday's race had frustrated him. "I got hit [in the race] and my rear wing was hanging off and I was asked to come in and retire, and I refused. The first pit stop I was asked to pit and no one was there. So all the tension just boiled up."

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Pirelli supports no tyre changes under red flag

Pirelli believes a rule tweak could have created a more exciting finish to last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were shaping up to challenge race leader Sebastian Vettel, whose tyres were severely worn, when the race was red flagged following a three-car pile-up. During the stoppage the drivers were allowed to change to fresh sets of tyres, taking the pressure off Vettel.

Acting as a steward in Monaco, sports car driver Allan McNish told the Guardian that tyre changes are not allowed under the same circumstances at Le Mans.

"Even if you have bodywork damage you can't repair it, you've got to restart the race as you finished, so that if you've got a good strategy or a bad strategy, you have to restart as if nothing had happened," he said.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motor sport director, admits it might be a good idea if F1 adopts a similar rule.

"I had a lot of people shouting at me from the boats around the harbour, saying 'Why were they allowed to change?'" he is quoted by The Sun. "It took away something from the race. I don't really understand why they are allowed to change tyres. It was a shame."

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Alonso hopes Silverstone will be Ferrari's turning point

Fernando Alonso has warned against writing Ferrari off so early in the season and insists the British Grand Prix will be the true litmus test for his championship campaign.

Alonso is currently 74 points behind runaway championship leader Sebastian Vettel and despite the tight and twisty Monaco Grand Prix circuit playing to the Ferrari's strengths last weekend, he still finished behind the Red Bull. Just one week earlier Ferrari's aerodynamic weaknesses were laid bare on the high-speed Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, which is a more representative proving ground for a car's overall pace.

The next major test of the cars' aerodynmic package will come at Silverstone in early July and Alonso is hoping a major upgrade package will put him back in the fight.

"Clearly the gap in the championship is widening all the time: we can do the maths, but neither myself nor the team are used to throwing in the towel," Alonso told the official Ferrari website. "Already today [Monday], I've been talking to the engineers about the new parts we will have in Montreal, but above all, of the steps forward we must take for Silverstone, when we will back at a track which requires a lot of aerodynamic downforce. That's where we will really see how our season is going to pan out. Up until then, we want to and we must believe in ourselves."

After the Monaco Grand Prix Alonso drew comparisons between Vettel's start to the season and Jenson Button's championship winning year in 2009, but despite the obvious similarities he is not giving up on the title fight.

"Immediately after the race, I said the fight for the title was getting ever more difficult, not to say impossible," Alonso added. "Sure, if Vettel ends up winning a race in which we felt there was a chance of victory, then you get a feeling of disappointment, but that does not mean will not continue working hard at the track and back home on developing the car."

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First points of 2011 'bittersweet'

Williams technical director Sam Michael has admitted his team's first points of the season were bittersweet after Pastor Maldonado retired from sixth position following a collision with Lewis Hamilton.

Rubens Barrichello picked up two points for a ninth place finish but the star of the show was Maldonado, who qualified eighth and was set for eight points before the accident. Michael said Maldonado had been "nothing short of excellent".

"It was great for everyone involved to get some points on the board and we must thank Rubens for bringing home our first of the season," he said. "It was however, somewhat bittersweet because Pastor was looking good for a big points haul. Rubens as well was perhaps looking good for an even better result but the first safety car came out and damaged his position significantly.

"You can see this from the number of cars that were running behind him that ended up in the top five after the safety car. Monaco is normally a lottery in that respect so to come away with some points is a good result for the whole team."

Asked for his thoughts on the collision between Maldonado and Hamilton, Michael simply said: "It was a racing incident."

Michael said the car's overall performance had been promising.

"The FW33 was performing well," he added. "In the race, I was particularly impressed at the speed we had on the same age of tyres as the top cars. For sure there is still a lot of work to do but we are heading in the right direction."

He is confident Williams can remain competitive at the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix.

"Every circuit has been different this year, but with the improvements we have coming to the FW33 next weekend we should be competitive."

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Bahrain circuit insists it could 'hold the race today'

The chairman of the Bahrain International Circuit insists his venue is ready to hold a grand prix and has asked the FIA's World Motor Sport Council to reschedule its race for later this year.

The final decision will be made on Friday when the FIA meets in Barcelona to discuss the issue, with the state of emergency in the island kingdom set to be lifted on Wednesday. On Tuesday the chairman of the circuit, Zayed Rashid Alzayani, told the Associated Press that his country is ready to "hold the race today".

"We feel we are in position to have that event back," Alzayani added. "Things have calmed down tremendously in Bahrain. Life is back to normal. We are happy to have the race anytime really."

Over the weekend Bernie Ecclestone told CNN that he would do everything he could to get the race back on the calendar if the circumstances are right.

"If there's peace there and they're happy, we're happy to compromise and make things happen for them," he said.

He added: "We've always tried to keep out of politics and religion and things like that. I don't really know and I don't know if people have ever found out exactly what the problems are. All you can do is hear what people report but sometimes these things are not reported that accurately. So I don't know."

Asked if F1 would make a political stand if the reports turn out to be true, Ecclestone said: "I think it would be difficult to do that, but we'd have to say let's do something to keep everybody peaceful."

Alzayani believes the grand prix will bring joy back to the country and provide a welcome boost to its economy.

"We went through a rough patch and we need nice moments in our history now for the nation," Alzayani said. "Formula One has always been a time where Bahrain showcases itself to the world not only as a sports arena but as society, a community that Bahrain as a nation has to offer. Formula One can bring back joy to the country."

However, there are some indications that the streets of Manama will not return to normal after Wednesday. A spokesman for a leading Shia party told Radio 4's Today Programme on Monday that the protests will not fade away.

"I think the people will advance - fast [or] slow," Khalil Ebrahim al-Marzooq said. "This is history and this, I think, is the moment in this region so the people will not succumb. Especially the Bahraini people, they never surrender. Maybe they keep quiet for some time but they will march again and I think June will have some surprises."

It emerged recently that 24 of the circuit's employees were detained following the original protests in February, but Alzayani played down the significance of the story.

"There were some employees detained but they were not all Shiites. Some were Sunnis," he said. "We still have employees working who are Shiite, Sunnis and Christians. We never looked at race or sect thing. We look at productivity and loyalty to the job. They weren't detained because they were Shiite but because they had cases against them. Some have been released. Some are still under detention."

If the race is rescheduled it will likely take place on October 30, with the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, set to take place on that date, being made the season finale on December 11.

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Nick

The morning after the afternoon beforeBLOG | 30/05/2011

The morning after...

So, who says the Monaco...



RACE DAY CROWD ENJOYS MONACO THRILLER

The morning after the afternoon beforeBLOG | 30/05/2011

The morning after...

So, who says the Monaco...



Monday, May 30, 2011

Perez released from hospital

Sergio Perez has been released from hospital two days after his heavy crash during qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Perez had been kept in the Princess Grace hospital overnight on Saturday suffering from concussion after he lost control of his car exiting the tunnel and slammed in to the barriers at the Nouvelle Chicane. Following tests on Sunday it was decided that doctors wanted to keep him in for another night for observation. Perez then underwent a further brain scan this morning before being released this afternoon.

"Just left hospital, thanks to all of you for your messages," Perez wrote on his Twitter account.

Having missed the race in Monaco it is expected that Perez will be fit to take part in the Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks time, although he will have to be assessed by an FIA doctor before he will be cleared to do so.

"I'm pretty sure I will be driving in Montréal," he said in a press release, adding he would do "everything to make sure I can drive in Canada".

Perez admitted he still had a few aches and pains but nothing out of the ordinary.

"I feel okay," he said in a press release. "I have little bit of pain in my leg and in my neck, but this comes from muscles and is nothing to worry about. On Sunday I still felt a bit dizzy but that is all. Thank God I'm healthy and I'm looking forward to being back in the car soon. They treated me very well in the hospital. I want to thank the staff for this, and also want to thank everyone else who was worrying about me - the people from the team who came to see me and other visitors as well. My family has also been with me.

"I want to say thank you for all the messages I received. I'm very grateful for all the support and feel sorry for not having replied to all of the messages. There were so many and my phone very quickly ran out of battery."

As for the accident, Perez admitted that a mistake under braking was the most likely cause.

"I remember how I started Q3 and I also remember some of the accident," he said. "For the time being I am missing some memories about what happened after the first impact and the rescue procedures. I don't really know what caused the accident. My race engineer told me there was no problem with the car. I can only guess that I might have been a bit offline or braked on a bump."

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Horner praises 'awesome' Vettel

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has called Sebastian Vettel's back-to-back wins "the best two drives of his career".

Vettel won the Spanish Grand Prix after withstanding pressure from Lewis Hamilton for the majority of the race, and then followed that up with victory in Monaco seven days later. The latter was all the more impressive as he held off Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button on heavily worn tyres for 10 laps before a late red flag allowed him to change tyres and cruise home, and Horner was full of praise for the championship leader.

"It was a world champion's performance," Horner said. "To soak up the pressure from Fernando and Jenson like he did, it was an awesome performance from him. What he did in Barcelona, which seems an awful long time ago now, and what he delivered in Monaco, has been absolutely fantastic.

"But he's made another step this year, and as a driver and a person he's just developed tremendously well, and that's coming through in his performances in the car. Over the last seven days I would say he has produced the two best drives of his career."

Horner admitted that Vettel was in a good position having won five of the first six races, but said that the way he has had to grind out the last two wins proves that the competition is tough.

"Sebastian is seven points off a maximum score after six rounds, and that's a phenomenal start to the year," added Horner. "He's got a healthy lead, but the points with the new system are quite deceptive because 58 points under the old system is just over 20. It's just over two race wins. For sure he's got himself into a great position, but as we've seen over the last two weeks, he's been pushed all the way by different competitors.

"Jenson was very quick, as was Lewis, Fernando here and in Turkey, so you can't take anything for granted. Of course, we've made the results stick this year, which has been tremendously satisfying for the team. But there's an awfully long way to go in this championship and things can happen very, very quickly."

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Vitaly post-Monaco video

The morning after the afternoon beforeBLOG | 30/05/2011

The morning after...

So, who says the Monaco...



Kubica comeback in 2011 not ruled out

Robert Kubica could make a return to Formula One before the end of the season, according to his manager Daniel Morelli.

Reacting to comment from Renault boss Gerard Lopez that a comeback in 2011 was not on the cards, Morelli said it was not out of the question.

"I wouldn't suggest betting Robert won't be back before the end of 2011," Morelli told the BBC. "What Lopez said is not corresponding with the information that we have. There is no basis to make such a statement.

"We [speak] daily with Robert, we know what the doctors are saying, what Dr Ceccarelli [Renault's team doctor], who is coordinating the recovery programme, is saying. We have a lot of information and what Lopez is saying is not corresponding with the information that we have.

"To give a Friday session to Robert is the minimum that the team should give to support its driver. It looks to me kind of an insufficient proposal. When Robert is back, he will be back because he will be capable of doing what he did the day before the accident."

Morelli explained the next stage of the rehabilitation process was to get Kubica onto a simulator. "The simulator will be one of the tools that will be used in order to give Robert again the feeling of speed. He needs to go back to the normal movements that he used to do automatically. There is no concern that the recovery will not be complete or at least sufficient to drive an F1 car.

"Robert's strength, weight and general condition have been showing that we are in the right direction. If the trend keeps going like it is now the doctors think that Robert can start his training programme at the end of July to rebuild his normal conditions: running, strength, breathing. There is no concern that he will not be fit in order to be back."

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Who said what after the Monaco Grand Prix

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso - 2nd "This is my best result of the year and I think it is very important, especially for the team. A podium was needed, we needed to be fighting to the end for the win. Sure, this is not a typical circuit and we should not draw conclusions from a race that always produces its own story. We must close down the distance that separates us from the best: in Canada, we will have some updates on the car and we hope they will prove useful. I got a good start: if there had been a bit more room, maybe I could have done the same as in Spain. Then I tried to look after the tyres, before attacking Vettel at the very end, but then came the red flag and that meant it was over, because on new tyres, he was impossible to beat. Unfortunately, these sort of things can always happen here and they are part of the character of this Grand Prix. We must be pleased with this result and look to Montreal and Valencia, two races where we went well last year, with confidence. The gap in the championship is very big, but there is still a long way to go."

Felipe Massa - DNF "I am very disappointed with the way my race ended. After Hamilton had tried to pass me at Loews, which is an impossible place to do it, hitting me and pushing me into Webber, the car was no longer right and I could not drive it properly, which is why he got on the inside of me inside the tunnel. That put me on the dirt and then I ended up in the barrier. At the start, I got away well, but at the first corner I found Webber and Fernando in front of me: I was on the outside and Rosberg managed to get inside me. That meant I missed out on the train that would have kept me up with the leaders, as I spent too much time behind the German's Mercedes. Today, we were competitive and, given how things went, I could have finished fourth. Now, we head for Canada, where we hope to have a car capable of fighting, as was the case here. The fact we will have the same two types of tyre, the soft and supersoft, is definitely positive for us."

Stefano Domenicali, team principal "Going into this weekend, if we'd been told that we would finish second, eleven tenths off the winner, I would have signed up for it on the spot, but now there's no denying there is a slight feeling of regret. Fernando was fantastic all weekend long and today he fought for the win, right down to the final metre. The race had a deserving winner, but there's no doubt the red flag towards the end deprived our driver of the opportunity to attack in the final laps, making the most of having tyres with slightly less degradation. At the restart, with everyone on new tyres, there was not much more we could do. There's much regret for Felipe too, who was also capable of getting a good finish: the collision with Hamilton pretty much put him out of the running and then he immediately ended up in the barriers. It is only a week on from when we were lapped at the Catalunya Circuit and we have seen how quickly things can change, depending on the track characteristics and the type of tyre we are using. Clearly, the situation in both championships is getting ever more difficult, but we are not giving up: we are coming up to two races where, on paper, we should be competitive and then, before the summer break, we will see where we stand."

Pat Fry, technical director "It was an incredibly close race from the first to the last lap. After we managed to sort out Fernando's car, which had not been as quick in yesterday's qualifying as it had been in free practice, today we showed a good race pace on both types of tyre. I think we took the right decisions at the right time at every point in the race, making the most of our opportunities. When the race was neutralised after Felipe's accident, we chose to change tyres on Fernando's car, so as to put him in the right condition to attack in the final stages. Unfortunately, there was a red flag which meant the Spaniard could not try all the way to the end, but that's Monaco for you and you have to accept that anything can happen. As for Felipe, we have to work out why his DRS was not enabled by the FIA electronic control in the first part of the race, because maybe, if everything had worked properly, he would have managed to get past Rosberg sooner and not lose so much ground to the leaders. A shame, because I think he also had the potential to run a good race all the way to the end. Now we go to Canada, wanting to continue to improve our performance. There will be some new parts on the car: we must continue to push on the development front in order to reduce the gap which still separates us from the best."

Force India

Adrian Sutil - 7th "I started the race on the prime tyres and our plan was to do a one-stop strategy. When the first safety car came out I pitted to take the option tyres and I knew I would be on them for a very long time. I tried to make them last, although they dropped off with about 15 laps to go and that's when I had a big train of cars behind me. It was then that I ran wide on the marbles at turn 12, which gave me a right rear puncture. But that's when the safety car came out and I pitted to change tyres so I didn't lose too much ground. So I was in eighth when the race restarted and ended the race in seventh. It's a great result for the team and we're all very happy because we've been waiting a while for this. I have a lot of great memories here in Monaco and this is another special moment to savour."

Paul di Resta - 12th: "I think it was all running quite smoothly to begin with and our strategy seemed to be going well. After my first pit stop the team told me that to make the strategy work I needed to pass Alguersuari so I tried to overtake him at the hairpin. That's when I made contact and damaged my front wing, which is why I had to make an early second stop. I have to hold my hands up for this accident because I was probably a bit too ambitious. It's a shame because the car was working well and without this incident I think I could have scored some points."

Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal "Today's race was full of excitement, drama and great racing. With Adrian I believe we judged the strategy perfectly and his seventh place finish is a great reward for the whole team. He did an excellent job to keep his tyres alive in the middle part of the race when we were planning to do a one-stop strategy. Towards the end of the race we got a little bit lucky with the safety car, but we reacted well and Adrian kept pushing hard to score six important points. Paul's race was looking promising in the early laps until he picked up some damage after contact with the Toro Rosso. He was maybe a little over-eager to get by, but this was his first Grand Prix at Monaco and he will learn from this experience."

HRT

Narain Karthikeyan - 17th "I made a good start as I managed to keep the car together. The car went well in the first stint. I was ahead of Tonio when I came in for a pit stop and then the safety car came out twice which was unlucky and meant that I lost a lap. But I completed the race in Monaco which is a track where you don't get to drive much so it's very positive to have been able to get through every lap. We will come away from this race with positives and the sense that we're moving forward".

Vitantonio Liuzzi - 16th "It was a good race. I had a problem since the first lap with the power steering so it was a very tough race. Fortunately, we made it to the checkered flag. 16th is a good result and puts the team in a better position. This result is good for motivating the team for the upcoming races, it was hugely important to finish the race after the issues we've had this week. We overcame our difficulties and made it to the end which is a positive step."

Colin Kolles, team principal "It has been a very tough weekend for the team but everybody worked very hard to achieve the best possible result under the circumstances. We suffered the whole weekend with balance problems and, due to the reduced amount of running, were not able to get the best out of the car. Both drivers finished the race though, which is very important. Now we must look ahead to Canada where we're planning to introduce new updates which should improve the performance of the car."

Lotus

Jarno Trulli - 13th "That was a great result for the team, the best of the season so we're all pleased with that. I had another great start - I wish I had made starts like that in previous seasons as I think I would have won several races with starts like that. After that I was holding position and keeping up with the cars ahead but the safety car hit our race strategy hard. The gap we had was wasted behind slower cars and even though I passed D'Ambrosio the second safety car pretty much defined the rest of the race."

Heikki Kovalainen - 14th "Finishing 13th and 14th is a very good team result, but that was a bit of an average race for me. I lost a position at the start and that was pretty much the end of my race. The first stint was pretty difficult and on the second stint I couldn't really find a rhythm as I kept having to let cars past. After the second stop I was able to start pushing but by then I couldn't really do much. Having said that, it's been a good weekend overall and we'll keep fighting in two weeks time in Montreal."

Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer "A strong result for the team and it was good to get both cars over the finish line. Both drivers drove very strong races and we gave them a chance to fight with a two stop strategy, starting both cars on options. We switched Heikki to the prime for the last two stints because he had higher degradation but kept Jarno on the options until the second pitstop and even though they were held up by slower cars we are very pleased with 13th and 14th."

Tony Fernandes, team principal "I watched the race from Bali and that capped off an incredible week for us. This time last year neither car finished the race but today both cars crossed the line in 13th and 14th places. Our pace was good but most importantly both cars finished the race, we brought the Team Lotus brand home and we won the first of the GP2 races in Monaco. That constitutes a very good weeks work at the office. Now we go to Montreal and as we keep moving forwards to the rest of our history, our heritage and our destiny with Caterham. Thank you all for one hell of a ride."

McLaren

Jenson Button - 3rd "First of all, I'm pleased to hear that Vitaly [Petrov] is okay after we saw another big shunt this weekend. As for my race, I didn't put a foot wrong out there, pulled away into a good lead… but came away with 'only' 15 points in the end. But that's Monte-Carlo. We jumped Sebastian [Vettel] at the first stop and I then pushed like crazy on the Super-Soft, even tapping the wall a couple of times. The car was good and I pulled out a big lead, about 15 seconds, so it was all looking great at that point. Then we made another tyre stop - just moments before the Safety Car was deployed. By that stage, we still hadn't run the Prime, which meant we still had to fit another set of tyres to finish the race.

"With 10 laps to go, it was looking like either myself, Sebastian or Fernando [Alonso] could win the race: Sebastian's tyres were going off and Fernando was pushing him really hard. I could tell that Fernando was getting ready to have a go into Turn One - it was fun to watch because they were either going to crash or there was going to be an opportunity for me to try and get through as they battled each other. Any of us could have won at that point. But after the red flag for Vitaly's big accident, all the teams were able to fit fresh tyres - which meant we couldn't do anything because the three of us were all on the same pace and I'd lost my advantage.

"The team did a great job this weekend and I'm very happy. We really went for it and had to try something different in order to beat Sebastian here. It was looking good, but it didn't work out in the end…"

Lewis Hamilton - 6th "It's been a disappointing weekend, really. This afternoon, in the race itself, I made some strong moves on three drivers - Michael [Schumacher], Felipe [Massa] and Pastor [Maldonado] - and I got penalised for two of them. With Felipe, I went up the inside at the hairpin, he turned in early and we touched. With Pastor, again, he turned in and I was pushed over the kerb. The penalties were frustrating: it's really tough to overtake around here, and you rarely get an opportunity to do so. I was racing my heart out and just wanted to put on a good show for everyone."

Martin Whitmarsh, team principal "Our car had a lot of pace here in Monte-Carlo today - race-winning pace in fact - and I guess we'd therefore have to count ourselves as a bit unlucky not to have been able to convert that pace into the race win it could well have achieved.

"We selected a three-stop strategy for Jenson - and, had the race not been red-flagged just as Jenson had caught Sebastian and Fernando, I think that that selection would have been revealed as the right one. Now, of course, we'll never know - but it's undeniable that Sebastian and Fernando were both on very worn tyres at the end, whereas Jenson's were pretty fresh by comparison, so we definitely fancied his chances of being able to press home that advantage by overtaking the Ferrari and the Red Bull in the final laps. But, as I say, the red flag scuppered those chances. Having said that, Jenson drove not only faultlessly but also very, very fast here this afternoon. Indeed, he posted the team's 10,000th lap in the lead of a grand prix today, a stunning statistic. On his charge, he caught the Sebastian-Fernando battle by almost two seconds per lap whilst still managing to conserve his tyres. It was a truly excellent performance.

"Lewis, by contrast, had a frustrating afternoon. I guess the reality is that, if you start anywhere other than at the front of the grid here in Monte-Carlo, you're always going to run the risk of getting involved in incidents - especially if, like Lewis, you're a forceful driver who never, ever, gives up. But that's Lewis. That's why he's such a fantastic driver - and that's why watching him race is so thrilling. So, yes, he's disappointed, because he's been seriously quick all weekend here, but that's Monte-Carlo; that's racing; that's life. Immediately after the race he was very down, and during a post-race TV interview he made a poor joke about his penalties that referenced Ali G. However, I'm pleased to say that he chose to return to the track a little while later to speak to the stewards about the joke. They accepted his explanation.

"In summary, then, Sebastian was probably a bit luckier than Jenson today, but he drove well to win so congratulations are due. In Montreal, though, let's hope it's our turn to have a bit of luck on our side."

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg - 11th "I had a good start today, and that's the one positive thing that we can take from the race. After that, I thought that I would be able to push but unfortunately the rear tyres went off in the first stint which really cost me performance. It was a difficult weekend for us with the car not at its best, and I was not at my best either, so it didn't really come together. That happens sometimes but we will push and be better in Montreal. We will learn from what happened today and we know that the result is not where we belong. I'm sure we can improve and look forward to seeing that in a fortnight."

Michael Schumacher - DNF "Unfortunately, there are not a lot of positives we will be able to take away from this race. At the end, there was a fire inside the airbox and the car simply stopped, but the beginning of the race was not satisfying either. At the start, the anti-stall system suddenly kicked in which meant I had to re-do the whole starting procedure. Then I had a rendezvous with Lewis at turn one which left my front wing not working properly, so I lost downforce which also handicapped my tyres. That meant we had to stop much earlier than we had planned and, from then onwards, the race was obviously compromised. All in all though, the race was quite exciting, and I am happy that Vitaly Petrov seems to be well."

Ross Brawn, team principal "We felt confident after qualifying and practice that both drivers would have some good opportunities today but clearly it turned out to be a very disappointing race. The difficulties that we experienced on the first set of tyres, with the super softs falling away from us and graining so early, really dictated our race. We need to look into it as this was surprising after the good pace we had during the practice sessions. We had a few technical problems with the cars in the race but the core issue was the inability to make the first set of tyres last more than ten or twelve laps."

Norbert Haug, motorsport director "These were not the results we wanted here in Monaco. Nico's accident on Saturday morning, from which he thankfully escaped unhurt, was certainly a handicap for us, but our guys did a fantastic job to build the car up in record time ready for qualifying. Michael started fifth but did not make a good getaway and the reason for this will be investigated. As a follow-up, his front wing was damaged in contact with another car at the first corner and this badly handicapped his performance in the first stint. After his pit stop, with a new nose and another set of option tyres, his lap times looked better, but an airbox fire stopped his race when he was about to pit during the first safety car period. In addition to a car that was not handling well, Nico suffered some KERS problems during the race and finished outside the points. Despite the lack of results, I would like to thank everybody in the team for their hard work and dedication throughout a difficult and challenging weekend. We will do a better job in Montreal."

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel - 1st "It's difficult to describe today; it's a great feeling. I've seen what it takes to win here. Today it was a crazy race. It's difficult to imagine you can one-stop at this race, but that's more or less what we did. Our first pit stop was not spot on and we lost the position to Jenson. I was surprised when Jenson came in and we had to react, he was pulling away on the soft tyres while I was on the hard tyres. I thought 'don't give up' and kept pushing to close the gap. The safety car helped us, but it was no walk in the park to do roughly 60 laps on the same set of tyres - our estimation was not allowing that! We took a lot of risks, but that made today's win even sweeter. Towards the end of the race the tyres I had were nowhere close to fresh - but I saw the only way to win the race was to stay out. I had 20 laps where I was under pressure from Fernando and Jenson, it would have been a difficult final six laps, but there was another safety car and a suspended race, so we were able to change the tyres. I'm extremely happy. At some stage I was in P2 and 15 seconds behind Jenson, so victory seemed far away, but it's a crazy place here. I think the roulette was spun last night and kept on spinning during this race. I'm really, really happy. A fantastic result and a huge honour to put my name on the list of Monaco race winners. We fully deserved this win, we took the risk and we got the reward."

Mark Webber - 4th "We didn't really go long enough on the first stint, which is normal for me on these tyres, so that compromised me. When I arrived in the pits we didn't have any tyres out, I arrived and sat there, but the boys were still getting them ready. There was a radio communication problem within the team and so they weren't properly prepared. When you wait here, you lose track position and you have to wait behind people, so it was not bad to get fourth from there. I don't know why we restarted the race when there were only five laps left - but that was the decision and it turned out okay. I hope Vitaly (Petrov) is okay."

Christian Horner, team principal "A phenomenal drive by Sebastian today. We had a communication problem with the first stop, which affected both drivers as they were both stopping on the same lap. It delayed Sebastian, but we managed to re-adjust our strategy. We didn't panic and managed to engineer ourselves out of the situation to get him back into the lead. He then had an awfully long way to go on the harder tyre, which he made work. He soaked up huge pressure from Fernando and Jenson and then our hearts were in our mouths when the accident happened just in front of him. But he picked his way through that and, with the benefit of the option tyre, was able to have a bit more comfort in the remaining laps after the re-start. It was a classy drive from Sebastian today and a tremendous team performance to recover from what looked to be a difficult first stop to win the race. At one stage Mark was 15th after the first round of stops, but he never gave up and kept on pushing through. He pulled a great move on Kobayashi on the last couple of laps who's not an easy guy to pass and it was a shame not to have him on the podium today, as he deserved to be there."

Renault

Nick Heidfeld - 8th "Firstly, I am glad that Vitaly is doing ok. Hearing that he has not broken or fractured anything is good news. He was in a strong position and was very unlucky to have the incident. For me, the start of the race was ok, I almost got one of the Force Indias but I did not manage to make up a place unfortunately. When the safety car came out, I got a very late call into the pits but I made it, which definitely helped me. It was a difficult weekend for us here but to take four points for the team is ok given my qualifying position."

Vitaly Petrov - DNF "First of all, I would like to thank all my fans for all their well wishes, the medical teams at the circuit, the hospital for their efficient and friendly assistance, and the team for their concern. It was quite a big impact and I could not feel my legs very well after the crash. I thought it was best for the medical team to assist with removing me from the car as it was difficult for me to move and my legs were trapped in the cockpit. I did not lose consciousness but I was in quite a lot of pain when I was inside the car. It is a shame as I made a good start, gaining two places straight away. After my pitstop, I was stuck behind Kamui Kobayashi - who was very slow- and Adrian Sutil -who was defending his position really too agressively- but I was being cautious as it is very difficult to pass on this track. Then I got caught in the incident. It is a shame, as we could have got quite a few points this weekend. I'm now looking forward to Montreal. We need to sort out our problems in qualifying and we will get some good results, as our race pace is usually very good."

Eric Boullier, team principal and managing director "It was a bit of a disappointing day to be honest. First of all we are glad to report that Vitaly is ok and he has no fractures. He has a sore ankle, but he is already joking and we expect the hospital to release him within the next couple of hours. With regards to the race result itself, there is disappointment because we could have finished P4. We had fresher tyres than Sutil and Kobayashi and so could have caught them, but they managed to pit when the safety car was called. Nick moved back up to tenth position, which was not bad and finishing eighth was ok given the position he started in. However, there was an opportunity to score more points."

James Allison, technical director "After a disappointing weekend during which we struggled to find a decent qualifying pace, we managed to bring some points home. More importantly, Vitaly is OK and this is a relief for the whole team. We elected to go for a one-stop race in order to step ahead of the cars in front of us and this strategy seemed adequate a few laps before the end of the race, as both R31s were in the points. Unfortunately, Vitaly has been caught up in the crash involving Adrian Sutil and Jaime Alguersuari. There are not a lot of positives to be taken from this weekend, but Nick moves up one place in the drivers' championship and we have extended our lead over Mercedes GP in the constructors' classification. This said, we're under no illusions and we know we must raise our game in order to perform at the level we want to."

Sauber

Kamui Kobayashi - 5th "I am very happy. I was struggling a lot in qualifying, but the team did a great job with the pit stop strategy today. The call for the tyre change came at a perfect time. It was no problem to go for such a long stint with the super soft tyres, and I think they would have lasted even longer. After the start I had problems with traffic, but then one after the other they stopped and it became better for me. After my one and only pit stop I was stuck behind Adrian Sutil, and at the same time I had to defend against Mark Webber. In this situation it was a bit difficult to manage the tyres. Without the restart I obviously could have finished fourth. But when Mark was so close behind me on the final laps there was nothing I could do to defend that place. However, I think fifth is a great achievement at the end of what was a difficult weekend."

Peter Sauber, team principal "Once more Kamui drove a fantastic race, managing the tyres very well, and the car was strong too. This is a result he has deserved for a long time. My compliments to Kamui, and also a big thank you to the whole team who prepared the car perfectly. I now hope we can start in Montreal with our regular driver pairing."

James Key, technical director "As always in Monaco, a very eventful race for all concerned. We entered just one car for Kamui with Sergio not racing. Our hopes really relied on Kamui. We opted to go for a one stop strategy, starting on the new soft tyres, and we had a new set of super soft for the second stint. Fundamentally Kamui drove a good race. It's great to bring points home in what has been a very mixed weekend, both in terms of performance and emotion with Checo's crash. We can dedicate these points to him as a team and hope that we can get back to normal in Montreal."

Toro Rosso

Sebastien Buemi - 10th "I started sixteenth and finished tenth after a very difficult Grand Prix, because by the end of it, I have to admit I was not too sure where we were in terms of strategy and tyres, with the situation made more complicated by the Safety Car and the red flag. I think we can be happy with our race pace as my lap times were quite good. To come away from the toughest race of the year with a point is pleasing, especially when you consider our qualifying did not go so well. Now I am looking forward to Canada, where I had a good race last year, finishing eighth."

Jaime Alguersuari - DNF "I seemed to be in traffic all the time, which is normal here, so I was unable to exploit the full potential of the tyres. It was very difficult, or nearly impossible to overtake so there was not much I could do, having started so far back on the grid. As for the accident towards the end, I was overtaking Heidfeld at the time. I think Sutil had a problem with his rear tyre, so Hamilton braked very hard in front of me and, although I also braked as hard as I could, it was too late, I could not stop and went into him. Of course it's disappointing, but our race pace is encouraging so I hope we can make use of that in Montreal in two weeks time."

Franz Tost, team principal "Another very exciting Formula 1 race, with action from the very beginning to the end, including a re-start. On top of that, the top three finished within 2.3 seconds, having each gone for different strategies - a one stop, a two and a three, which shows how complex it is to find the best strategy these days. From the Toro Rosso point of view, the whole team did a good job as we come away with one point, which was better than we could have expected after a rather disappointing qualifying performance yesterday. Sebastien Buemi did a very good job, not making any mistakes which is not easy at Monaco, eventually finishing six places higher than his grid position. Jaime Alguersuari was unfortunately involved in the accident that brought out the final safety car and then the red flag. He had nowhere to go and he could not avoid it. Now, we must analyse why our qualifying performance was not good enough, whereas our race pace was better. For the next two races, we will have the same Soft and Supersoft Pirelli tyres, which suggests that Montreal and Valencia should also produce some exciting racing."

Virgin

Timo Glock - DNF "I was having a good race until the problem with the rear suspension. Even though the cars in front were slightly quicker, we were keeping up with them and we could have a bit of a fight. But unfortunately the right rear push-rod was damaged and collapsed in the chicane in the harbour - lucky it happened at a slow part of the track. So it's a bit disappointing after what has been a good weekend for us. We had a good qualifying yesterday and today we had a good possibility to finish the race. Unfortunately this was not the case. I want to thank the team for a good weekend after two very busy weeks for all of us."

Jérôme D'Ambrosio - 15th "It was a pretty good race for me, which was all about keeping the tyres alive. After starting on the Soft Prime tyre, the car wasn't as quick, but we decided during the race that we could make a one-stop work. Then the Safety Car came out a few laps earlier than we would have chosen to stop and so we had to switch to the Super Softs at that point. It went okay for 30 laps but then when Heidfeld passed I got some pick-up from the marbles and I couldn't clean the tyres again. I just lost grip and the Lotuses were able to pass me, and that was it. Still, a great first Monaco Grand Prix and I look forward to many more. It's a real privilege to race a Formula One car here."

John Booth, team principal "We predicted yesterday that the race would be incident-filled and that we would need to be ready to take advantage of any opportunity that came our way, and this is exactly what both drivers did today. It was a difficult decision to start both cars on a split strategy, but one that ultimately paid off at different stages in the race. We had information from Timo's first stint on the Option tyre that made us feel confident that, when the safety car came out, we could switch Jérôme to a one-stop and take the track position that we were getting from the strategy. Jérôme had done a great job of defending against Lotus for around 15 laps but unfortunately, due to running wide for a blue flag, he picked up some marbles and was unable to stay in front. Timo drove a strong first stint to keep in touch with the guys in front. Throughout the weekend he has demonstrated great skill and faultless performances but unfortunately we believe his right rear push-rod failed in the race, so we will go away and analyse what led to that. All in all it has been a challenging but rewarding couple of weeks of back to back racing and we will return to our base to prepare for the trip across to Canada in two weeks' time."

Williams

Sam Michael, technical director It was a good result to get some points on the board. It was close to being a lot more but that is the nature of Monte Carlo. Pastor has driven outstandingly all weekend, so it is a shame that his race ended in the barriers. The tyres were solid all afternoon but it became clear that it would be a two-stop race strategy for us. The safety cars both hurt us as well as we lost a lot of time with both drivers. On the positive side, we didn't have any reliability issues and we're looking to continue developing the car ahead of Canada.

Rubens Barrichello - 9th With six laps to go, I thought tenth was the best result we were going to achieve today. I ended up ninth, but not in the way I would have liked to as it was at the expense of my teammate. We lost some really good points for the team so that is disappointing. I'm happy that I've broken my run of bad luck though. The safety car didn't help us as our one-stop strategy would have worked well had I not just done my pitstop before it was deployed. There are positives and negatives to take from today, the positive being we scored some points.

Pastor Maldonado - 18th The final result was not what we wanted but the rest of the race was good. My pace was strong but after the re-start Hamilton tried a very ambitious manoeuvre at the first corner and that was the end of my race. I'm really disappointed not to come away with any points today.

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Dan Wheldon gets stunning Indy win

JR Hildebrand was one turn away from winning the Indianapolis 500 on his very first try. Then, within sight of the checkered flag, the 23-year-old Californian made the ultimate mistake.

Hildebrand slammed into the wall on the final turn, and Dan Wheldon drove past to claim what appeared to be an improbable Indy 500 win Sunday in his first race of the year. "It's a helpless feeling," Hildebrand said.

While Wheldon celebrated, gulped milk in Victory Lane and kissed the bricks at the start-finish line, his apparent second career Indy win was not yet official. As of 4 p.m. ET, official results had not been posted and the finish of the race was under review by IndyCar Series officials.

Hildebrand's crumpled machine slid across the finish line in second place while hugging the wall. While Wheldon celebrated, IndyCar officials reviewed the video to see if Wheldon passed the wrecked machine before the caution lights went on. It appeared he did, giving the Brit another Indy 500 title with a part-time team.

There was no protest filed as of 4 p.m. ET. Even if Wheldon passed Hildebrand under the yellow, that penalty can not be grounds for a protest.

Wheldon, the 2005 winner but without a full-time ride this season, appeared headed for his third straight runner-up finish as Hildebrand took the white flag with a comfortable lead and needing only to make it through the last of 200 laps around the 2½-mile speedway.

The first three turns went smoothly. Then Hildebrand came up on another rookie, Charlie Kimball, in the fourth turn. Instead of backing off, Hildebrand moved to the outside to make the pass, got in the rough patch of the track and lost control. He slammed the wall, allowing Wheldon to drive into Victory Lane.

"I caught him in the wrong piece of track," Hildebrand said. "I got up in the marbles and that was it." But what brought disappointment to Hildebrand brought joy to Wheldon. "I just felt a lot of relief. It's an incredible feeling," Wheldon said. "I never gave up."

The 100th anniversary of America's most famous race was dominated much of the day by Chip Ganassi's top two drivers, defending champ Dario Franchitti and 2008 winner Scott Dixon.

But after a series of late pit stops, things really got interesting. Second-generation racer Graham Rahal spent some time up front. Danica Patrick claimed the lead but didn't have enough fuel to make it to the end, forcing her to stop with nine laps to go. Belgium driverBertrand Baguette had already gotten past Patrick, but he didn't have enough fuel, either.

When Baguette went to the pits with three laps to go, the lead belonged to Hildebrand. All he had to do was make it to the end. He came up one turn short. "My disappointment is for the team," Hildebrand said. "We should've won the race."

Not that Wheldon isn't a deserving champ. Despite plenty of success in his IndyCar career, he lost his ride at Panther Racing - where he was replaced by Hildebrand, no less - and couldn't find a regular ride this season.

He sat out the first four races of the year, then picked up a one-race deal with Bryan Herta Autosport. Surely now Wheldon will be able to find a more regular gig.

"It's more and more depressing when I don't win the race," said Patrick, who finished 10th. "But Dan Wheldon, he's a great winner. And what a great story. He hasn't run this year. ... That's really cool."

Not so much for Hildebrand. He'll always remember that final turn.

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Hamilton apologises for joke

Lewis Hamilton says he apologised to the stewards for the joke he made in reference to why he had been penalised following the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton was interviewed immediately after returning from the stewards for having to explain his part in a collision with Pastor Maldonado. He was subsequently given a 20 second time penalty, but before the penalty had been handed out Hamilton was asked by the BBC why he felt he was being victimised by the stewards and responded with "Maybe because I'm black, that's what Ali G says…"

The comment was a joke referencing the character portrayed by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, but Hamilton said he went back to the stewards to ensure there was no misunderstanding.

"They said at the end that they would make sure other people in the FIA understand," Hamilton said. "They said that for anybody who has heard it and misunderstood, that they'll clarify it with them and it won't go any further than the meeting room. But what I said was a bit of a joke, which wasn't funny at the time.

"I made them aware that when emotions are high, and it's very intense at the end of those kinds of races, you don't always say the right thing, and the joke didn't come at the most appropriate time. So I went there, made that clear to them, we've made our peace.

"They accepted my explanation, they understood. They said 'We've all competed before and we understand the passion, where you are coming from', and we all shook hands afterwards. The weekend was tough, I feel like I've had everything thrown at me, and I've managed to catch it and deal with it the best I could."

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Vettel almost champion

Fernando Alonso has said that Sebastian Vettel is already closing in on the world championship after Vettel won the Monaco Grand Prix.

Vettel has won five of the first six grands prix to open up a 58 point lead at the top of the driver's standings - the equivalent of two wins and a sixth place. Two of the last three seasons have been secured with five victories to the champions' name, and Alonso cited Jenson Button's title in 2009 as an example that Vettel was starting to become uncatchable.

"I think we saw in the last couple of years that if you win five or six grands prix you've nearly won the championship," Alonso said. "So if you win five of the first six, you are in a very good position. There's only one occasion that (many early wins) happened, a couple of years ago with Jenson and we know Jenson's result."

Alonso said he had been preparing to make a pass on Vettel in an attempt to win the race in Monaco because he had nothing to lose, before the late red flag scuppered his chances.

"One hundred per cent I was ready to try. He was having problems with his tyres over the last 10 laps, and that was our time to attack, but the last 10 laps didn't come after the safety car. It's difficult here, there's not much space. So 50 per cent maybe you overtake, 50 per cent you crash. He's leading the world championship, so he has more to lose... So, yes, I was ready to overtake, and if we crash, then we crash."

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Kobayashi homeless in Europe

Life isn't always glamorous for Formula One drivers, as Kamui Kobayashi has said that he no longer has a home in Europe after moving out of his Parisian flat.

The Sauber driver was asked if he might move to Switzerland in order to be closer to his Sauber team's headquarters, at which point Kobayashi admitted he didn't currently have a permanent place to call home and that he was living out of a suitcase.

"That would be nice, but I'm still thinking about where to live," Kobayashi said. "I have no house, no home. I don't know where I should live. I have no base at the moment except for a big suitcase. At the moment I'm going from hotel to hotel. I'm always on the move anyway."

Kobayashi joked that the biggest decision he had to make was which country should receive the large amounts of tax he will be charged on his earnings.

"But now I need to ask myself a question - who do I pay tax to now?!"

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December calendar extension 'too much'

Ross Brawn has again spoken out about the possibility of extending the Formula One calendar until mid-December to accommodate a rescheduled Bahrain Grand Prix.

The World Motor Sport Council will meet on Friday to decide whether the Bahrain Grand Prix should take place this year and how best to accommodate it if it does. Bernie Ecclestone said at the weekend that he hoped it would return to the calendar, replacing the Indian Grand Prix on October 30, which in turn would be postponed until December 13 to become the season finale.

But Mercedes team principal Brawn thinks that would be too much to ask of his hard-working team members.

"That [December] is too much," he is quoted as saying by spox.com in Monaco. "Our guys have been working since January and to then give them no time for a holiday until Christmas is not acceptable."

However, McLaren team principal and FOTA chairman Martin Whitmarsh said on Friday there is no question as to whether the teams will attend the race if it is rescheduled.

"I think it's tough on the team, simple as that," he said. "I think the teams will go to the races that are on the calendar, that's for sure, but I think it makes it a very long season. The guys started working very hard in mid-January, building cars to go testing and it will make it a very, very long season for them."

Aside from the logistics of extending the calendar, there is still the question of whether a Bahrain Grand Prix in late October would be appropriate or indeed safe. On Wednesday the island kingdom's state of emergency will be lifted and, although talks about political reform are expected, a spokesman for the opposition Shia Party told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that their may be some "surprises" in June.

"I think the people will advance - fast [or] slow," Khalil Ebrahim al-Marzooq said. "This is history and this, I think, is the moment in this region so the people will not succumb. Especially the Bahraini people, they never surrender. Maybe they keep quiet for some time but they will march again and I think June will have some surprises."

There are other pressures on Ecclestone to give up his plans to reschedule Bahrain this year, including from the New York-based Human Rights Watch. On Thursday it wrote to the FIA and F1 teams saying: "We believe your decision should be informed by, among other things, the severe human rights crisis in Bahrain today, one that has worsened considerably since the cancellation decision in February. We seriously question whether a successful Formula One event can be staged in an environment characterized by an unrelenting official campaign of punitive retribution against many who participated in or otherwise supported the pro-democracy protests."

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The morning after the afternoon before

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The morning after the afternoon before So, who says the Monaco Grand Prix is not an exciting fixture in the calendar? Some say it is only there for the sake of tradition; a little keepsake because of tradition and memories. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

The 2011 Monaco Grand Prix will be one that's hard to get. Firstly, of course our collective LRGP thoughts went to Vitaly who got caught up in an unfortunate crash between Adrian Sutil and Jaime Alguersuari when he was closing in on a fourth place finish.

Thankfully, after being taken on a precautionary visit to hospital, it was found that Vitaly had not broken or fractured anything, and just had some pain to his left ankle. Our very own 'Vyborg rocket' was in good spirits and we are looking forward to him taking the field in Montreal at the end of next week.

Nick put in a sterling performance to finish eighth (after starting in 16th). Doing what Nick knows how to do best - weaving his way up the lineup - he was able to salvage four points for the team. What was disappointing, however, was that despite what looked a gloomy outlook prior to the race, we could have actually scored some more points.

Yesterday was a real shake-up for the Monaco Grand Prix. For those who say that overtaking is impossible at the street circuit, and that you have to have 100% reliance on qualifying, were proved wrong. Perhaps the 2011 race will be a one-off and next year we will return to a Monaco Grand Prix where cars finish the race where they started it. Perhaps. But, this year, we were given a spectacle which has led us to believe something different. There is more to this race than tradition and memories. The Monaco Grand Prix is very much alive and well, and anyone who thinks that the sport should all be about modern, out-of-town, convenience-based tracks in the new world should take a leaf out of the old world's book, and just look at what such a unique race as yesterday's offers us.

I would even go as far as saying there should be more circuits like Monaco on the calendar. Not too many, but just a sprinkling to keep the drivers and the viewing public challenged.

Yesterday's race had everything - two safety cars and a restart, ensuring that the outcome was anything but clear. We saw agressive driving, errors, unexpected pit stops and yes, traffic. Prior to the Sutil-Alguersuari crash, there was quite a scene. A queue of five cars all vying for position on a fairly narrow stretch of track. Who would have thought it?

A combination of the heat, crowded streets, small team garages and narrow roads all created a race day reaching boiling point, with the adrenalin running high. You would not want that every race; it would not be sustainable. One thing's for sure - the logistics of a race like Monaco are challenging and put added strain on all involved. But, we would not have it any other way. It's all part and parcel of the Formula 1 circus.

As for LRGP, well we will travel to Canada next week knowing that we must take a step up in our qualifying session in order to give ourselves less of a hard time during the race. If we do that, with our respectable race speed, we should be challenging at the top end for points again.

To the Prinicipality of Monaco, for now, it's goodbye.

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Sunday, May 29, 2011

Vettel wins Monaco thriller after late red flag

Sebastian Vettel won a dramatic and tense Monaco Grand Prix, which ended with a sprint to the flag after the race was halted by a three-car pile-up with six laps remaining.

Vettel had been leading a spell-binding three-way battle ahead of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button when a crash involving Lewis Hamilton, Jaime Alguersuari and Vitaly Petrov at the Swimming Pool brought out the red flags. Petrov was taken away in an ambulance with minor leg injuries, prompting the stewards to bring a 20 minute halt to the race.

During that period the cars all stopped on the grid and the teams were allowed to change tyres and repair any damage to their cars. As a result Vettel exchanged a set of 57-lap old prime tyres for a fresh set of super-softs, taking a huge amount of pressure off the world champion in the final six laps. Before the red flag Alonso and Button had been on much newer tyres and it would have been touch and go whether Vettel's Pirellis would have lasted the distance.

Behind them, Mark Webber took fourth after passing Kamui Kobayashi late on, and Hamilton finished sixth having collided with Pastor Maldonado at the restart, costing the Williams driver his first points and leaving Hamilton under investigation.

Vettel led away off the line as Button moved across to cover Webber. The second Red Bull had got away slowly, however, and Alonso slotted in to third place. Initially Vettel was able to pull away comfortably, opening up a five second gap inside four laps, before Button started to ease back towards him. Schumacher had made the worst start of all, bogging down off the line and then running in to the back of Hamilton at turn one. He recovered to pass the McLaren down the inside in to the Loews hairpin, but struggled with his tyres and once Hamilton muscled his way back through at Ste Devote he was the first man to pit on lap 12.

When Button pitted for a new set of super-soft tyres on lap 14, Red Bull responded by bringing Vettel in immediately but a delayed stop dropped him behind the McLaren. Alonso was next to pit and rejoined behind Vettel, but both had put on the harder compound and Button was able to open up a substantial lead.

Further back, Hamilton managed to jump Maldonado and Petrov with an early pit stop, and was soon all over the back of Felipe Massa. He tried to make a move in to the Loews hairpin but couldn't get enough steering lock and ran in to the side of the Ferrari. Though Massa held position, Hamilton then got alongside in to the tunnel and Massa understeered wide on the marbles and hit the wall, causing the first safety car of the afternoon.

Unfortunately for Button, he had just pitted for another set of super-soft tyres, and so had rejoined behind Vettel. On the restart Button had to clear three backmarkers, allowing Vettel to build a four second lead. Button soon closed up on the leader, and was told that he would have to try and pass on track. Hamilton was handed a drive-through penalty for his clash with Massa, as his chances of substantial points slipped away.

On lap 48, Button pitted for a new set of soft tyres, but Vettel stayed out as Red Bull made it clear that he was going to try and run to the end of the race, and Alonso mirrored the strategy. Button started setting fastest lap after fastest lap as he closed the gap, and 12 laps later he rejoined the front two as the race became an 18 lap battle between the trio on heavily worn tyres.

McLaren were expecting Vettel's tyres to lose all performance with 10 laps to go, but just as that moment was imminent the leaders caught up with the scrap for fifth place. Kobayashi had passed Sutil for fourth following contact at Mirabeau, and Sutil suffered a puncture which backed up the field which caused an almost inevitable accident.

Sutil had been holding fifth, but as Maldonado passed him on the inside of Tabac he ran wide and hit the barrier. Immediately behind, Hamilton passed Petrov in to the same corner, but then had to brake to avoid Sutil as the Force India cut the chicane. Alguersuari had followed Hamilton passed Petrov, but ran in to the back of the McLaren and Petrov hit the wall on the outside of the chicane. The race was stopped while the medical team extracted him from the car as he complained of ankle pain, but X-rays confirmed no injuries.

At the restart it was more of a procession at the front, but Hamilton tried a lunge up the inside of Maldonado in to Ste Devote and pushed the Williams in to the barrier. The incident landed Hamilton a post-race drive-through penalty, but the 20 seconds added to his time made no difference to the result. Meanwhile, Webber was being held up by Kobayashi and finally made his move at the Nouvelle Chicane to take fourth position on a difficult afternoon.

Sutil recovered to take seventh ahead of Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello and Sebastian Buemi who all managed to steer clear of trouble to secure points.

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Webber rues slow first pit stop

Mark Webber was left ruing a slow first pit stop at the Monaco Grand Prix that dropped him down the order and left him with a tough fight to finish fourth.

Webber started third on the grid but was beaten by Fernando Alonso into the first corner and then struggled to keep pace with the frontrunners early in the race. He made a pit stop on lap 15 but his team was still recovering in the pit lane from a slow stop with Sebastian Vettel and his tyres were not ready.

Webber came out in 14th and spent the rest of his afternoon picking his way back through the field.

"We didn't really go long enough on the first stint, but that's pretty normal for me on these tyres, I just can't go long," Webber said. "That compromised me and then when I arrived at the pits we obviously didn't have any tyres out, so I arrived and the boys were running around and there was obviously a communication problem."

He confirmed that he had not come into the pits of his own accord.

"They called me in, the team called me in," he added. "Obviously when you have to wait around here you lose track position and then you have to wait behind people for the majority of the race, so not bad to get fourth from there."

The race was stopped with six laps left when a three-car pile-up resulted in an ambulance coming on to the circuit to tend to Vitaly Petrov. Webber was fifth at the time and managed to pull a pass on Kamui Kobayashi for fourth in the final laps when the Sauber ran wide at the Nouvelle Chicane.

"Obviously he's a pretty difficult customer and you have to get it right with him," Webber said of Kobayashi. "I followed him for about 25 laps in the middle of the race and I think he hit most fences around the track. He was pushing and it's not easy in the tunnel with everything else that has happened this weekend you want to get it right. So yeah, it [the restart] helped me but I don't know why we restarted the race for the last five laps."

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Hamilton slams penalties and fellow drivers

Lewis Hamilton was left fuming after the stewards slapped him with two penalities during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton's problems started in qualifying when his best time was deleted for skipping a chicane and got worse when he was twice investigated by the stewards over the 78 lap race. He was given a drive-through penalty for making contact with Felipe Massa into the Loews Hairpin midway through the race and was then given a 20-second post-race penalty for a collision with Pastor Maldonado in the first corner towards the end of the race.

"You know what, out of six races I've been to the stewards five times - it's a joke, it's an absolute fricking joke," he told the BBC.

He made clear that he felt the other drivers should have given him more space in the two incidents.

"You can't overtake here and you very rarely ever get an opportunity," he added. "I was quite a lot quicker than Massa, I went up the inside and the guy turned so early and just turned in to me. I tried to go over the kerb to avoid him and we were stuck together so it was just … and of course I get the penalty, which is usual. He held me up in qualifying and I got the penalty, he turned into me and I got the penalty.

"Then I went up the inside of Maldonado and you can see on the screen he turned in a good car-length too early to stop me from overtaking and just crashed into me … it's just ridiculous. These drivers are absolute fricking ridiculous, it's stupid."

Hamilton suggested that the stewards should be more lenient to allow the drivers to put on an exciting race.

"It's not affecting my confidence as a driver, I just think people want to see motor racing and see overtaking and you get done for trying to overtake and trying to put on a show, you get done trying to make a move," he said. "Fair play if I really feel that I've gone too late and hit someone, then I'll put my hand up and say I really have caused an incident and I've been the stupid one, but it's not the case."

When asked why he had been the subject of more investigations than other drivers, Hamilton joked: "Maybe because I'm black, that's what Ali G says…"

He later apoligised to the stewards for the joke according to team principal Martin Whitmarsh.

"Immediately after the race he was very down and during a post-race TV interview he made a poor joke about his penalties that referenced Ali G," he said. "However, I'm pleased to say that he chose to return to the track a little while later to speak to the stewards about the joke. They accepted his explanation."

But despite his disastrous weekend and evident frustration after the race, Hamilton is not giving up on the championship, which Sebastian Vettel now leads by 58 points.

"It's never too late," he said. "It's not looking great I must say, but I gave it my all today and the team did a great job to get the car back out and get it fixed for the last few laps. I really have to apologise to the fans for what I think is a bit of a shambles of an experience today they saw probably with me. I'll try my best to bounce back in the next race.

"I just try to keep my mouth shut and enjoy the rest of the season, which I'm sure is going to be an interesting one, but you can see he [Vettel] is walking away with it now."

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Petrov cleared of serious injuries after crash

Vitaly Petrov has been cleared of any serious injuries after a crash during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Petrov ran in to the barriers at the swimming pool chicane as he attempted to avoid a collision between Lewis Hamilton and Jaime Alguersuari in front of him. The Renault hit the barrier at a relatively low speed but quite a harsh angle, and the race was red flagged as Petrov had to be removed from the car by medics as he complained of pain in his ankle.

His Renault team confirmed after the race that Petrov had been checked over and that no injuries had been discovered.

"After his crash during the Monaco GP this afternoon, Vitaly complained about his left ankle to the medical crew, so doctors drove him to the Princess Grace hospital for further checks," a Renault statement said. "No fracture had been diagnosed at the circuit. Once at hospital, it was confirmed that there was no swelling or broken bone. As a precaution, Vitaly will undergo a full body scan but he should be back in the paddock within a few hours."

Petrov added: "First of all, I would like to thank all my fans for all their well wishes, the medical teams at the circuit, the hospital for their efficient and friendly assistance, and the team for their concern. It was quite a big impact and I could not feel my legs very well after the crash. I thought it was best for the medical team to assist with removing me from the car as it was difficult for me to move and my legs were trapped in the cockpit. I did not lose consciousness but I was in quite a lot of pain when I was inside the car.

"It is a shame as I made a good start, gaining two places straight away. After my pitstop, I was stuck behind Kamui Kobayashi - who was very slow- and Adrian Sutil -who was defending his position really too agressively- but I was being cautious as it is very difficult to pass on this track. Then I got caught in the incident. It is a shame, as we could have got quite a few points this weekend."

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Button rues safety car timing

Jenson Button admitted he was disappointed not to finish higher than third in the Monaco Grand Prix, citing the timing of the safety cars as crucial to his chances of victory.

Button took the lead from Sebastian Vettel after the first round of pit stops, and proceeded to build a substantial lead on the super-soft tyres while Vettel and Alonso were on the harder compound. However, immediately after Button pitted for another set of the super-softs, Felipe Massa crashed in the tunnel and brought out the safety car, which Button said proved costly.

"It was all looking great at that point [when leading], the radio traffic was all positive," Button told the BBC. "Then we put another set of tyres on and then it was safety car. So we were in a very tricky situation. Sebastian decided to stay out but the problem was we hadn't put both sets of tyres on yet, so we had to make another stop which put us behind Fernando."

The front three went in to the last 18 laps of the race within a second of each other, as Vettel and Alonso tried to make it to the end on their set of harder compound tyres. Button said he was biding his time watching the pair, but that the red flag caused by Vitaly Petrov's accident ended any chance of victory.

"With ten laps to go to be fair it was looking like it could have been any of ours, because Sebastian's tyres were going, Fernando was pushing him really hard and - I was watching it, it was fun to watch - he was going to have a go in to turn one and they were either going to crash or he was going to get through and I was going to have a go on the next lap.

So any of us could have won at that point, but obviously with the safety car and then the red flag we all put new tyres on, which was strange and I didn't know that was the regulations - I need to read up on it. And then you can't do anything, we're all on the same age tyres, we're all about the same speed so that's how it ended."

Button said that although he was disappointed, the strategy was the right one and praised the work his McLaren team had done during the weekend.

"The team did a great job this weekend, I'm very happy with our strategy. We went for it, we had to try something different to Sebastian to beat him here, and it was working, but it didn't work in the end. I suppose you need to take in to account that there's possibly going to be safety cars, but we had to take the risk and go for more stops to get some clear air, and it looked like it was going to work but it didn't.

"But we shouldn't be upset with what we did this weekend, I think we did a good job, we're just disappointed not to get a better result. The guys deserved a bit more, but we got a third which is not so bad - two podiums in the last two races - and hopefully we'll have another good race in Canada."

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'We took the risk and we got the reward'

Sebastian Vettel admitted he took a risk to win the Monaco Grand Prix after a mistake at his first pit stop forced him into an unconventional strategy.

Vettel, who led away from pole position at the start of the race, lost the lead at his first pit stop when a communication problem resulted in his Red Bull team fitting the wrong tyres during a slow pit stop. He left the pits on prime tyres instead of super-softs, but rather than make a second scheduled stop, he attempted to go the 63 laps to the end of the race on the same set, getting ahead of Button when the McLaren made its second stop ahead of the first safety car period.

"It's fantastic," said Vettel. "It was a very long race and a long way to the chequered flag and at some stage the victory seemed quite far away. The safety car came out and we got back in the lead but it was quite difficult to stay ahead. It is difficult to pass here but they had such better grip. I called to the box and I said I wanted to stay out as it was the only chance to win the race."

Towards the end of the race he came under intense pressure from Alonso and Button, but the battle was cut short when the race was suspended following a three-car pile-up. Vettel took on a new set of tyres before the restart to lift the pressure in the final six laps, but reckoned he could have still won without the stoppage.

"With six laps to go before we had a suspended race, obviously I was struggling with my tyres but I think we could have made it to the end. Then I saw the red flag and it was good to hear Vitaly was fine, and we were able to change tyres as I could get rid of these old tyres and then had another short sprint race to the chequered flag.

"We took the risk, we wanted to win and we got the reward. I am happy and it is an extreme honour. It is one of the best grands prix all year and surely a nice one to win."

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