Translated material
Urban legends
McLaren drivers dominated the Monaco Grand Prix
For the first time in the history of the Monaco Grand Prix, the top three were completely identical to the top three. McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton finished the race in first and second place, while Ferrari driver Felipe Massa finished third. In the Drivers' Championship, reigning world champion Alonso caught up with his teammate. The Spaniard ranks top in the personal classification for the most wins this season.The race in the Principality of Monaco has long been considered legendary. But what makes it so? Basically, the factors that distinguish a track laid out on city streets from other stationary race tracks. Factors that in themselves do not quite meet the strict canons of motorsport nevertheless make the Monaco Grand Prix one of the most interesting competitions in the world. Judge for yourself. The slowest race on the calendar, due to the narrowness and winding of the track, practically devoid of overtaking, and therefore predictable - such characteristics would sound like a death sentence for any other Formula 1 stage. But not for Monaco. On the contrary, the organizers of the race can be absolutely calm about its future, which seems as azure as the coast on which the principality is located.
It is not a legend that the starting position is extremely important in Monte Carlo. Although in absolute terms this fact does not look like a pattern - out of 53 races since 1950, pole position brought victory only in 21 cases - but for the last three seasons the driver who started first also finished first. Therefore, when at the end of the third series of qualifying Lewis Hamilton showed the best time, he turned into the pits with a calm soul. Moreover, at that time the command bridge reported that it was starting to rain. This means that no one could improve his result. But his teammate was still on the track. And the pole still went to Alonso. It is interesting that the last time pilots of the same team occupied the first row of the starting field was in Monaco in 1998 - then Mikki Hakkinen and David Coulthard, who also defended the colors of McLaren, succeeded.
But luck ran out for Ferrari in Monte Carlo. Since 2001, the Scuderia has not only not won victories, but also qualified its riders with great difficulty. How can one not remember Michael Schumacher's trick last year, as a result of which he not only lost his pole position, but was also sent to last place by the judges. Then no one believed the seven-time champion, who claimed that he blocked the track in the last turn due to an unintentional mistake. But when in the same place a year later, Kimi Raikkonen stopped his car in the middle of the road, they didn’t even consider this episode - it was clear that the Finn made a mistake by attacking the curb too zealously and breaking the Ferrari’s suspension. And he only interfered with Felipe Massa - the Brazilian barely had time to react when he saw his partner's wrecked car. No matter how hard the mechanics tried to repair the equipment, they were unable to do it before the end of the qualification. 16th place at the start involuntarily begged for comparison with Schumacher's race last year. Then Michael accomplished a small feat, finishing fifth.
Another legend is the low speed qualities of the city highway. Yes, an average speed of 150 km/h may seem unworthy of Formula 1. Especially in comparison with the fantastic 245 km/h of Monza. But in a narrow corridor of metal fenders, even this “snail” speed requires more concentration than the long straights of the Italian track. Here, perhaps like no other place, the skill of a racer is tested. Oddly enough, the number of accidents in Monaco is decreasing from year to year. Last year, not a single driver left the track as a result of a collision - the equipment failed. This year, however, it was not possible to avoid accidents. Already on the first lap, Vitantonio Liuzzi from Toro Rosso got close to the wall in the easy Massene corner.
It is impossible to overtake in Monaco. This is also a legend. You can overtake, but only at the start. Schumacher managed to jump into eight places last year. Raikkonen could only manage six. Things didn't go any further. Until the pit stops, Kimi was stuck in tenth place with no chance of overtaking Heidfeld's Sauber. Even the tactic of one pit stop did not help, since the main rivals also settled on the same one. True, Barrichello and Button were unable to resist Ferrari, and Raikkonen nevertheless crawled into the points zone. Eighth place and a lap behind the leaders - the Finn still has a lot of room to grow before Schumacher.
Also, however, he was not ready to replace the retired seven-time champion and Felipe Massa, who was present in the Scuderia’s pits. His third starting position was Ferrari's best qualifying result since 2001. But that’s all the Brazilian managed to achieve in Monaco. Almost from the start, the two McLarens began to compete only with each other, leaving their competitors far behind. Massa, unlike the rest of the peloton, managed to finish the race in the same lap with the “silver arrows”, but one minute behind - in football this would be called a defeat with a large score.
Alonso and Hamilton finished in splendid isolation. At times it seemed that Lewis was about to either overtake his more experienced partner, refuting the postulate about the impossibility of overtaking in Monaco, or get smashed against the barrier. Fortunately, the young Englishman had the skill and common sense to stop the unnecessary fight.
Results. Monaco Grand Prix. 1. Alonso (McLaren) - 1 hour 40 minutes. 29.3 sec. 2. Hamilton (McLaren) - lag 4.1 seconds. 3. Mass (Ferrari) - 1 min. 9 sec. 4. Fisichella (Renault) - 1.14. 5. Kubica (BMW-Sauber) - 1 lap. 6. Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) - 1 lap. 7. Wurtz (“Williams”) - 1 lap. 8. Raikkonen (Ferrari) - 1 lap. Pilots' Championship. Hamilton - 38 points, Alonso - 38, Massa - 33, Raikkonen - 23, Heidfeld - 18, Fisichella - 13, Kubica - 8, Rosberg (Williams) - 5, Coulthard (Red Bull") - 4, Trulli ("Toyota") - 4. Constructors' Championship. McLaren - 76, Ferrari - 56, BMW-Sauber - 30, Renault - 16, Williams - 7, Toyota - 5.