Report cards of the Monaco Grand Prix

Barcelona and Monte Carlo. Two very different tracks, two polar opposite races, only one winner: Mark Webber. The Australian dominates the event on the most famous street circuit in the world and takes the lead in the world championship together with his teammate Vettel, who with second place gives Red Bull another one-two. Third is an increasingly brilliant Kubica, ahead of Massa and Hamilton. Nice comeback by Alonso, from last to sixth, retirement for Button. Enjoy the reading!

Jenson Button: sv – He deserves a ten just for not having yelled at the mechanic who left the protection over the radiator of his McLaren, leading him to retire early on. However, his race objectively ends too soon to be able to give a vote. Sin. Sabotaged (???).

Lewis Hamilton: 8 – Seeing him drive is always a spectacle. With a long wheelbase McLaren, agile on the streets of Monte Carlo like a truck on a children's slide, he puts everything he has into keeping up with the others. Enjoy the cameracar to believe it. In qualifying he gets the most out of the car, in the race he does what he can but has to settle for a fifth place which fully reflects the poor form of the Woking car. Miracles don't happen in Monte Carlo, or rather they don't happen anymore. Little else to add. Stoic.

Michael Schumacher: 6 – The grade is the average between his performance (8) and the stupid thing he commits on the last lap, when he passes Alonso under the safety car and gets the penalty that knocks him out of the points zone. Gone are the Ferrari days in which he enjoyed a sort of semi-impunity (Silverstone '98 and the stop & go never taken for granted, for one). And the excuses according to which the safety car would have returned earlier do not hold up, the finish line has always been valid. It's a shame because his weekend had been positive, and coming home with a few points wouldn't have been so bad. But the competitive wickedness is still there, and this is comforting. Chicken.

Nico Rosberg: 7th – Interim seventh place for the blond Finnish German, who beat his teammate in qualifying - and could have been on pole by his own admission - but who suffered him in the race, at least until the last corner. But, above all, it limits itself to the homework. Which, conceptually, isn't even wrong. Keeping yourself out of trouble in Monte Carlo is the most important thing, and avoiding overdoing it is a good way to achieve this. But perhaps a little more determination, perhaps at the start, wouldn't have hurt. Also because, with a clear track, he shows that Mercedes certainly had the potential. But Nico is always -still- missing something. Inaccurate.

Sebastian Vettel: 7st – Second consecutive slap from his teammate, this time if possible even clearer than the one received in Spain. He qualified third, after the first corner he was second but never managed to worry Webber, appearing slower in every phase of the race. And in the end he admits that he was more afraid of Kubica than he wanted to take on the leader. A surrender, to all intents and purposes. He is leading the world championship but seems less serene than some time ago. Perhaps he is under Webber's pressure, perhaps he is simply in imperfect form. The fact is that the hierarchies in Red Bull - contrary to what one might have thought a month ago - are far from defined. Played.

Mark Webber: 10 – A Martian for everyone. Above all, his ability to immediately impose his own pace at every restart and to dig a deep furrow between himself and his pursuers seemed impressive. He is in a clear state of grace, drives cleanly and makes no mistakes. He has always had speed, but his lack in his career has often been his clarity in key moments. What if he finally found her? Compared to the first appearances of the year it really seems different, and the success in the Principality is more a real consecration than a victory. It can only be good for him. Reborn.

Felipe Massa: 7,5 – A dog that barks does not bite. Imagine if she doesn't even say a word. His race is regular, without high notes, he starts fourth and finishes fourth. He keeps Hamilton behind and keeps a safe distance from Kubica. That's all. Everything possible? Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. Let's say maybe not because throughout the weekend the Red car in Alonso's hands seemed faster and more incisive. It's clear that we won't pass in Monaco, but it's equally clear that to induce someone to make a mistake you have to put pressure on them by being close to them. Felipe doesn't do this. Indeed, he gets into trouble by pinching the yellow line when exiting the pits but is pardoned by the judges. And let's pretend we didn't hear Capelli's comment: "Let's hope the commissioners didn't catch this image." Congratulations for your sportsmanship. Felipe is obviously not to blame for this. Good, then, but not great. Mute.

Fernando Alonso: 8,5th – The vote is indelibly stained by the unforgivable mistake in free practice, when in one fell swoop he destroyed the car and the hopes of being able to obtain a good result. But always give your best. He starts from the pits, takes advantage of the first safety car to mount hard tires with which he does 76 (!!!) laps without experiencing any drops in performance. Perhaps this is more notable than the sequence of overtaking carried out in the early stages of the race. It's not nice, however, to see him complain because Di Grassi doesn't give him a path. It should be explained to him - and to Jean Alesi - that everyone must do their own race, regardless of the car they end up with. We didn't like this. He perhaps deserves more, but the mistake that affected the weekend was his alone. Irreducible.

Rubens Barrichello: 5,5 – He starts very well and in the first phase of the race cleverly stops the dreams of glory of the two Mercedes. Considering that the driver closest to him is Michael Schumacher, we can't imagine a sarcastic smile on his face. The smile vanished immediately after the pit stop, when he was pushed back, and especially after the retirement, caused by problems at the wheel. That same steering wheel that he throws onto the track in anger and is hit by Chandhok. A dangerous gesture, as well as rude, which one would not expect from a veteran like him. The lack of sufficiency is only for this reason, otherwise it could have been there. But it is forbidden to throw objects out of the window when you are on the street, let alone from a single-seater on the track. Rude.

Nico Hulkenberg: 4 – He who begins well is halfway there. He starts badly - with a horrible start - and ends worse, crashing under the tunnel on the first lap and causing the safety car to come out. Even thinking about giving it more than 4 is arresting. Embarrassing.

Robert Kubica: 9 – That he knows how to handle the steering wheel is nothing new, and is almost no longer news. It is well known that he works miracles with a Renault that is clearly not up to the standard of the Red Bulls. Why, then, be surprised by another brilliant podium achieved in Monte Carlo? He gets the start wrong, of course, letting Vettel overtake him, but in a city like Monte Carlo, having an equal position in qualifying - and therefore starting from the least rubberized part of the track - is a terrible handicap. He kept pace with Vettel throughout the race and approached him towards the end, trying to put pressure on him. The citizens like him, and it shows. Well done, really good. Inspired.

Vitaly Petrov: 5 – It would be ungenerously exaggerated to ask him to keep up with Kubica, of course, but in Monte Carlo the gap objectively seemed too wide. He missed out on Q3, and consequently remained stuck in the midfield in the early stages of the race. His personal record also includes a puncture, which sends him even further back, until he retires due to mechanical failure. He is gaining experience, of course, but he appears subdued compared to his latest appearances, also in terms of personality. In Türkiye things will be better. Dull.

Adrian Sutil: 7,5 – Beaten by Liuzzi in qualifying, he focuses everything on rhythm and regularity and manages to overtake his teammate at the finish line. Without causing havoc, without actions worthy of applause, but with skill and experience. And, thanks to the penalty inflicted on Schumacher, he even achieved eighth place. Massi, come on, it's okay. Although it's strange to think that two years ago, with a Force India that was much more in crisis, he was decidedly ahead in the standings until the infamous rear-end collision suffered by Raikkonen. Oh well, better not to think about it, we could lower his rating. Nostalgic (us).

Vitantonio Liuzzi: 7 – The placement is not to be thrown away, of course, and neither is the performance. What is certain is that it would have been reasonable to expect a little more from Tonio given his access to Q3. But miracles aren't possible, as we said before, and all in all a ninth place allows us to collect precious points. The best thing about his race - curiously - is the maneuver he makes to avoid Barrichello spinning at Massenet, in an extremely dangerous situation. Half a point more for the skill displayed in the circumstance. Tightrope walker.

Sebastien Buemi: 6,5 – The stewards penalizing Schumacher give him a point. He - blatantly putting on a good face at a bad situation - explains that he is satisfied with the placing, even though it came at the end of an overall boring race. He loses time at the start due to Hulkenberg's indecision and subsequently finds himself stuck - his words, perhaps a little exaggerated - behind Liuzzi in eleventh position. Maybe a slightly different strategy could have brought it higher, but talking about it we would be entering the esoteric field and frankly we prefer to stop at the facts. Regular.

Jaime Alguersuari: 6 – It's his very first Monte Carlo in an F1 and he finishes eleventh, just behind his teammate. Even with all the wickedness of this world we cannot deny it sufficiency. Also because he had started seventeenth, due to a complicated qualification - to put it mildly. He risks a lot with a long shot in S.te Devote, but comes out without damage and without wasting too much time. He does km, gains experience and brings the car to the finish line without a scratch on the bodywork. That's enough for us. Adjust #2.

Jarno Trulli: 4 – Driving a Lotus would also make Job lose his patience. And we all agree on this. Racing in Monte Carlo, on a circuit where you have already won, can only exacerbate the sense of frustration. If your crew also gets involved, making you spend 20 seconds in the pits for a tire change, it's clear that you would need a year's supply of Valium to calm down. And in fact he seems anything but relaxed. However, it is equally unfair to vent one's anger on Chandhok - who also drives a worse car, if possible - by jumping on top of him and risking decapitating him in a clumsy and unfortunate attempt to overtake. Besides, useless, among other things. It's not done like that. Especially after being overtaken by Alonso in the early stages of the race without putting up the slightest resistance, the only one among all those passed by the Spaniard. No, we didn't like it. Villainous.

Heikki Kovalainen: 7 – The mastiff that never gives up is back. Even with a unique car - and let's be generous - he fights and fights in what might seem like a battle against the windmills but which is just a desire to make a good impression. He kept pace with Petrov for a good part of the race and trailed his teammate by 9 tenths (yes, nine tenths) on the fastest lap of the race. And if you please. The retirement, caused by a mechanical failure, put an end to a good race. Compared to last year he seems like a different rider. Who knows what they were doing to him at McLaren. Lexotan? Valium? Gladiatory.

Karun Chandhok: 6 – When in a single race you manage to run over a steering wheel that someone has practically thrown in front of the nose of your car and get another single-seater on the bonnet… well, recommending a trip to Lourdes/Fatima/Pietrelcina seems like the minimum to us. And to say that all in all he was going well, he hadn't made any mistakes and was keeping a decent pace. He says Jarno apologized for the accident, and that's something. Still better than the justification given by Barrichello for the new Olympic discipline of throwing the steering wheel ("I wanted to get out of the car quickly"). Sufficiency deserves it as a matter of course, together with a pat on the back and a lucky horn. Unlucky.

Bruno Senna: 6,5 - Not bad. He too, like Alonso, stops for the pit stop on the second lap and thus manages to recover several positions as the race progresses. He says he could have finished thirteenth, and the funny thing is, that's probably true. A hydraulic problem forces him to retire, and it's a shame because - as already mentioned - he could have achieved a good placing, excellent for his and the team's morale. However, the team has shown that it is there, choosing a strategy - that of the very early pit stop - that is as aggressive as it is apt. There are signs of optimism, however moderate. As long as the money is enough until the end of the season. Optimistic.

Pedro De La Rosa: 6 – Technically it would not be correct to give him a grade, given that once again his race ends quite early and through no fault of his own. But we got tired of having to always dismiss his performances in the same way, so we give him a solid six for encouragement. He beats Kobayashi in qualifying and keeps a good pace until his BMW gives up its soul - to God, to the Devil, to Buddha, whoever you want, once and for all it doesn't hurt anyone - for the umpteenth time. Will he ever finish a race? Maybe'. Disconsolate.

Kamui Kobayashi: 6 - CTRL+C –> CTRL+V. Copy paste. Copy/Paste. You do. You can also choose whether to copy from his teammate or from a previous race. Anyway, more or less, the script is the same. He starts well, maintains a consistent pace and doesn't make any mistakes until the car leaves him in the lurch. Even this time, for several laps neither the director nor the commentators noticed his withdrawal. Why wasn't he impacting the race or why is it now established practice? It's up to you to decide, we don't think there's any point in arguing. To rage would be like a certified sadist, and we don't feel like it. Even report cards have a heart. Sometimes. Disconsolate #2.

Timo Glock: 6 – He loses a position at the start from Di Grassi but makes up for it at Loews, passing, in one fell swoop, his teammate and Trulli. He resists Fernando Alonso's comeback as much as he can but has to give in at the chicane after the tunnel. Kovalainen follows and seems to keep the same pace until his rear suspension collapses, forcing him to retire. He admits that he was having fun. And, with a VIrgin, it is a sign of optimism but also, in our opinion, of good will. It is impossible to deny him sufficiency. Wide sleeves, you say? Try replacing Timo and driving a Virgin among cars that are 5'' faster per lap and we'll talk about it again. Commendable.

Lucas Di Grassi: 6 – He has his moment of glory when he keeps Alonso behind him for 4-5 laps, even making him curse loudly. But he plays his game, he defends himself correctly and there is nothing - absolutely nothing - to complain about his behaviour. Coldness, personality, professionalism. In his Resistance there is everything. Previously he had passed Glock at the start only to be overtaken again immediately afterwards. He also ended his race early due to a wheel problem. It's a shame, also because he could have accumulated km of experience which - given the limitations on testing - would only have done him good. Here too we don't feel like beating anyone. Resistant.

Manuel Codignoni
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