Results from the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix.
A dramatic and rain soaked Monaco Grand Prix produced a surprise result in which Lewis Hamilton won despite a minor early crash, and the two Ferraris faded even though they both started on the front row. Robert Kubica surprised no one, finishing second ahead of Felipe Massa to further cement his reputation as a possible champion.
In fact seven different teams took home points in this collision filled race, where luck, safety cars and timeous tyre changes all helped settle the final order. Mark Webber deservedly finished fourth for Red Bull, ahead of Sebastian Vettel in a Torro Rosso and a rare sixth for Honda’s Rubens Barrichello. Kuzuki Nakajima again picked up points for Williams while Heikki Kovalainen did well to salvage a point in his McLaren having started from the pit lane.
Had a cruel rear-ending not ended Adrian Sutil’s race on lap 67, he would have been thrilled to finish fourth for Force India and ensure that all the usual tail enders picked up points for a change. He was having the drive of his life when a threatening Kimi Raikkonen braked in the wet and slid into the chicane and shunted Sutil into retirement. The Finn pitted for a new nose cone and lost out on vital points, costing him the drivers champion lead.
The wet conditions and tyre gambles caused accidents all round, not the least of which was Lewis Hamilton’s brief brush with the barrier on lap four which punctured a rear tyre forcing a pit stop. As luck would have it, a safety car slow the race and he was able to rejoin in fourth with a full tank of gas. This helped him stay out longer and put in some blistering laps to snatch the lead from Massa when the Brazilian pitted. At that stage the Ferrari driver had already lost the lead to Kubica after a braking error but emerged to regain second.
Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen’s chances all but vanished when he was given a drive through penalty for not having his tyres correctly fitted in time for the race start. Ferrari also panicked with Massa, altering his strategy to a single pit stop to counter Hamilton but with drying conditions calling for new tyres he was not in a position to compete and ultimately finished third.
Others to lose control were Fernando Alonso, who eventually finished 10th, and David Coulthard and Sebastien Bourdais who suffered retirements when they too slipped up at the Massenet corner. Nico Rosberg, Giancarlo Fisichella and Nelson Piquet Jnr, all retired also. Meanwhile poor Nick Heidfeld had an off day and finished last.
The result catapults Hamilton back into the Drivers’ Championship lead with 38 ahead of Raikkonen’s 35 and Massa’s 34, while Robert Kubica has asserted himself as a contender on 32. Ferrari’s comfortable lead in the Contructors’ Championship has been somewhat reduced but McLaren are now on 53, one point ahead of BMW, while the leaders are on 69.
Result of Monaco Grand Prix:
- Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes two hours 0 minutes 42.742 seconds
- Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 3.064 secs behind
- Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari +4.811secs
- Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault +19.295
- Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari +24.657
- Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda +28.408
- Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota +30.180
- Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes +33.191
- Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari +33.792
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault one lap behind
- Jenson Button (GB) Honda one lap
- Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota one lap
- Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota one lap
- Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber four laps
- Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 67 laps completed
- Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 59 laps
- Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 47 laps
- Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 36 laps
- David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault seven laps
- Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari seven laps