Monaco: pre-race
Well,
it was very tight, but only between the two Mercedes. If Vettel's
kinetic energy supply had been stable it might have been a shade
tighter, as it was, he was outshone again by his Aussie team mate.
Ricciardo's having a great season, to date.
Q1
was as expected, with the four pointless teams being joined by both
Saubers, who, alas, really haven't got their act together. It was
also notably for Ericsson knocking out Massa after the Brazilian
helpfully let him through, meaning Massa starts 16th
as he couldn't participate in Q2.
Q2
saw the two Lotuses (Loti?) last (but still ahead of Massa), and
joined by Hulkenberg, Button and Bottas. Mercedes power did not seem
as helpful here as at other circuits, and Hulkenberg and Button were
left behind by team mates who got into Q3.
Q3
was all about one incident, really. On the first runs Rosberg was
half a tenth ahead of Hamilton. On the second, the German failed to
make a corner after locking a brake, caused a yellow flag and
Hamilton (behind him on the road) had to slow down and couldn't
improve. Now, there is fierce debate as to whether this was
intentional or accidental, and opinion seems fairly evenly split. My
inclination at first glance is that it was accidental. I don't think
it's definitive either way.
What
is certain is that Hamilton clearly thinks Rosberg effectively
cheated, and the Briton's coldly furious. Whether Rosberg did cheat
or not almost doesn't matter because the impact on the intra-team
relationship has already occurred.
However,
there were eight other cars in Q3. Ricciardo was 3rd
and Vettel 4th,
a great performance by the German who was suffering intermittent
problems with his kinetic energy supply (a running theme, this year).
Alonso and Raikkonen came next, the Spaniard almost a second faster
than his team mate.
Then
we had Vergne and Magnussen, Kvyat and Perez. It was especially
impressive from the Russian newcomer who got 9th,
as he has never before driven around Monaco. He's very young, but has
really hit the ground running.
It's
worth mentioning there are about half a dozen incidents under
investigation by the stewards. These include (but are not limited
to), Perez and Kvyat for blocking (about two others have the same),
Ericsson for losing control and knocking out Massa, and Rosberg for
being unlucky/lucky/having flashbacks to 2006.
Ericsson
unsurprisingly got a penalty and starts from the pit lane. Without
being cruel, I'm not sure this is necessarily going to disadvantage
his race prospects very much (he qualified 22nd).
I
was surprised how quickly a Rosberg decision was reached, and mildly
surprised he didn't get a penalty. He retains pole, which I must
think will infuriate Hamilton.
I'm
not a Monaco fan, and when I was trying to think of bets to make the
difficulty just reinforced my assessment of the circuit. It's too
damned processional. The race will also be dry, so we won't have any
wet weather shenanigans. Just looking at the grid, nothing came to
mind.
However,
Alonso be winner without Hamilton or Rosberg at 10 (backed each way,
for 1/3 odds top 2) with Ladbrokes seemed of some value. The Spaniard
typically starts well, and if he could mug Vettel at the start would
stand a decent chance of staying ahead of the German throughout
(especially if Vettel suffered yet more kinetic energy woe).
Perez
top 6 was tempting but the odds were too damned short (3.5).
So,
just the one tip: Alonso to be winner without Hamilton/Rosberg (each
way) at 10, with Ladbrokes.
I've
got to say, though, that my focus tomorrow won't be on that result
but how the Silver Arrows battle goes. For the sake of the title race
and my wallet I hope Rosberg has a cracking race.
Morris
Dancer
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