Certainly, the Monaco Grand Prix brings out fans and detractors of the circuit. For some, it is an event and the crown jewell of the Formula 1 calendar but for others it can be processional, uneventful and a race worth skipping. I’m in the former category because I love Monaco and the challenge it presents but for Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, this may have been one of those races to skip. Alonso said:
“Without a safety car, without yellow flags, the sport needs to think a little bit about the show because this is very disappointing.
“Probably the most boring race ever in Formula 1.
“We probably need to give something to the fans at the end of the race just to pay the ticket back a little.”
Maybe Fernando would like some of those NASCAR-style “competition cautions”? For Lewis, it was equally boring.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen also added to the list of drivers who found it boring:
“Qualifying dictates most things here. Not a lot happened,” the Finn said.
“The start is the next deciding part and everyone was driving behind each other. Whoever was driving in front dictates the speed.
“There needs to be quite a massive mistake to get past. We ended up driving 70-odd laps just around, finishing the race. Not the most exciting, that’s for sure.”
Lewis Hamilton lacked to find the excitement in the Monaco Grand Prix as well:
“We were just cruising around from lap six, maybe,” Hamilton said. “Literally cruising. So it wasn’t really racing.
“Daniel did a great job today, so super happy for him, but ultimately we were all turned down and just cruising around, making sure we get to the end.
“I don’t know if that was exciting for you guys to watch. If it is, no problem.”
Limping Home
For me, the Monaco Grand Prix was exciting because it was a weekend that Red Bull walked into the principality with a big stick and were looking for redemption. That may have been one element but to know that Daniel Ricciardo was down 25% in power and they nearly retired his car only to find Dan dig deep and find something special to bring it home and win.
Some may say the pedestrian nature of the race meant that this was not as big of a feat as it would seem but others, including team boss Christian Horner, felt it was an epic effort from Ricciardo reminiscent of Schumacher’s races with damaged gearboxes in the past.
If I have to find any criticism it would be with the tires. The Hypersoft tires didn’t last as long as the others, obviously, and the Ultrasoft and Supersoft were not managing well. It is the same for everyone but it seems that many of the teams had struggles getting the tires to work the way they needed them to.
Hat Tip: Autosport
Well, the announcers tried to add some excitement that wasn’t there, but yes, pretty boring Monaco. If it would have rained, it might of helped…
i wouldn’t know, i fell asleep. this is how the race went for me.
Formation lap, fell asleep. Lap 16 woke up, oh good Badger Boy winning, fell asleep.
Woke up, Indy 500 is running. Bugger.
Sounds like Alonso is ready for a 2nd run at Indy and this time, he may bring some high profile friends with him.
As a keen Daniel fan, I would have to say it was extremely exciting as I was nervous for him the whole way.
Of course I also appreciate that it was very processional, I’ll admit that if it had been someone else up the front, I would have been bored silly. But that is Monaco, most races there are processional and it always baffles me why people love it.
worst race ever.
Alonso wasn’t the only driver who panned this race. Amazed at the vitriol on that front. Now the suspense begins: Will there even BE a TPF Podcast award for pass of the race? Only passes I saw were done with some degree of consent or maybe, in the case of wild man Max, permitted due to fear.
Monaco’s race takes place during Saturday qualifying. Sunday is just extra.
Nando had an option, they would have loved to have him back over at the Indy 500. Maybe next year Fred?