Nico Rosberg scored his second career victory in Formula 1 by winning the glamorous Monaco Grand Prix in the Mercedes.
This was the team’s first win of the season thanks to Rosberg’s superb driving. He controlled the race from the front with ease despite two safety cars and a red flag.
Mercedes was unable to repeat its qualifying one-two, as Lewis Hamilton fell to fourth behind the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
Rosberg held his lead at the start and was able to maintain an advantage of around two seconds for the majority of the race, whether in tyre conservation mode or showing his true pace.
Hamilton lost ground when the safety car came out amid the first scheduled pitstops.
Felipe Massa repeated his qualifying crash at Sainte Devote, prompting the interruption and sending the Ferrari driver to hospital for checks.
As all those yet to pit immediately dived in to do so, Hamilton had to queue behind team-mate Rosberg and emerged behind the two Red Bulls.
Hamilton then spent the rest of the race mounting attacks on Webber for third, getting alongside through Rascasse at one point but never making it ahead.
Rosberg was unfazed by a mid-race stoppage, caused when contact between Max Chilton’s Marussia and Pastor Maldonado’s Williams sent the latter flying violently into the Tabac barriers.
Maldonado was unhurt in the incident, for which the race stewards punished Chilton with a drive-through penalty.
While Rosberg cruised to victory ahead of the Vettel, Webber and Hamilton train, which only spread out in the final moments, the rest of the pack engaged in some spectacular and wild racing.
Force India’s Adrian Sutil pulled off brave passes on Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso into Fairmont Hotel hairpin.
He then benefited when contact between Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez at the chicane late on left the Lotus with a puncture and caused damage that would ultimately force Perez to park.
Button came through to sixth position, having earlier had a spat with his McLaren team-mate Perez when the Mexican cut the chicane to hold him off.
Perez was ordered to let Button past, but overtook him cleanly at the same place later on.
The Mexican then had another chicane incident with Fernando Alonso, and this time it was the Ferrari asked to move aside having cut the corner.
Raikkonen was next on Perez’s list, but on that occasion the chicane move ended in contact.
Alonso lost out to Button in the traffic jam behind Perez’s wounded car and finished in seventh position with Jean-Eric Vergne chased the Ferrari driver in eighth.
Paul di Resta converted P17 on the grid to ninth position, thanks to pitting as early as lap nine and making his tyres last to the end.
Raikkonen’s recovery drive ultimately earned him a championship point, as he overtook Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber on the final lap.
The other major incident came when Romain Grosjean ploughed into the back of Daniel Ricciardo at the chicane, causing the final safety car.
Jules Bianchi also crashed, slewing into the Sainte Devote barriers, having earlier sustained damage on debris from the Chilton/Maldonado crash.
So a fantastic weekend by Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes. Quick in practice, grabbed pole position in qualifying and now race victory. He matches his father Keke’s 30-year achievement by winning the legendary street circuit.
The result puts Vettel further ahead in the world championship chase with 107 points to Raikkonen’s 86. Alonso’s 78, Hamilton’s 62, Webber’s 57 and Rosberg’s 47. In the constructors’ stakes, Red Bull have 164 to Ferrari’s 123, Lotus’s 112 and Mercedes’ 109, with Force India on 44 from McLaren’s 37.
A slight cloud hangs over Mercedes’ triumph, however, as prior to the race Red Bull and Ferrari lodged a protest concerning a three-day Pirelli tyre test which Mercedes took part in following the Spanish Grand Prix.
Monaco Grand Prix, race result after 78 laps:
1. Rosberg Mercedes 2:17:52.056
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault +3.888
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault +6.314
4. Hamilton Mercedes +13.894
5. Sutil Force India-Mercedes +21.477
6. Button McLaren-Mercedes +23.103
7. Alonso Ferrari +26.734
8. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari +27.223
9. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes +27.608
10. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault +36.582
11. Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari +42.572
12. Bottas Williams-Renault +42.691
13. Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari +43.212
14. Chilton Marussia-Cosworth +49.885
15. Van der Garde Caterham-Renault +1:02.590
Not classified/retirement:
Perez McLaren-Mercedes 72 laps
Grosjean Lotus-Renault 63 laps
Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 61 laps
Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 58 laps
Maldonado Williams-Renault 44 laps
Massa Ferrari 28 laps
Pic Caterham-Renault 7 laps
World Championship standings, round 6:
Drivers:
1. Vettel 107
2. Raikkonen 86
3. Alonso 78
4. Hamilton 62
5. Webber 57
6. Rosberg 47
7. Massa 45
8. Di Resta 28
9. Grosjean 26
10. Button 25
11. Sutil 16
12. Perez 12
13. Ricciardo 7
14. Hulkenberg 5
15. Vergne 5
Constructors:
1. Red Bull-Renault 164
2. Ferrari 123
3. Lotus-Renault 112
4. Mercedes 109
5. Force India-Mercedes 44
6. McLaren-Mercedes 37
7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12
8. Sauber-Ferrari 5
Next race: Canadian Grand Prix, Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal. June 7-9.
After winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg is keeping his Formula 1 title hopes in check despite the race victory. Autosport.com has the story.
Nico Rosberg is not getting over excited about challenging for the 2013 Formula 1 title, despite dominating the Monaco Grand Prix for Mercedes.
The German topped every session across the weekend, before leading every lap of the race en route to victory.
But despite the victory, and a run of three pole positions in a row, Rosberg is keeping his title ambitions in check.
He is still 60 points behind leader Sebastian Vettel in the standings, where he sits sixth.
“I don’t want to talk about [the title] at all, because two weeks ago we were 70 seconds away [from victory],” Rosberg said.
“Today we were in a much better positions. It is a different track, and I had chance to take it easy, saving the tyres.
“We should not get over-excited for the next couple of races. We still have a bit of an issue with our race pace, and also with the development race, everyone is pushing forward.
“So I am definitely not thinking of the championship, I am today just thinking about Monaco.”
Speaking of the win – his second in F1 – Rosberg said it was a childhood dream come true.
“When I was quite young watching this race, my first memory was Ayrton Senna with the yellow helmet in the red and white [car].
“This is the most special race for me to win, it was incredible, unreal. That is what is special about the sport, so unreal – all these emotions make up for the difficult moments you get.
“It is amazing.”
Championship leader Sebastian Vettel has admitted that Nico Rosberg and Mercedes had this race under control. Autosport.com has the story.
Sebastian Vettel is satisfied with his second place from the Monaco Grand Prix, the German conceding that Nico Rosberg and Mercedes controlled the race.
Vettel started third, before jumping Lewis Hamilton during a mid-race safety car period to take second place.
But he was powerless to take the fight to Rosberg, something Vettel says was down to track position.
“[Mercedes] did what worked best for them,” said Vettel.
“It was clear what they were doing after couple of laps after start – they were going slow and trying to make a one-stop happen. Fair play, they were in the lead, and it is very tricky to pass.
“Every time I tried to get close, they reacted. They could afford to go slow and they had the pace to pick it up again.
“In that regard not the most exciting race, and there were still a lot of laps looking after tyres. It was not straightforward today, and happy with the result.”
Vettel also admitted he and Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber were lucky to finish in front of Hamilton.
“We were lucky on strategy point of view,” he added. “The team did a great job to get past Lewis. Lewis was all over Mark behind me, so I think we can be happy with the result.”
In the build-up to the Monaco Grand Prix, the news emerged that Mercedes carried out a secret Pirelli test after the previous race in Spain. Although Mark Webber doubts the Mercedes’ tyre test influenced the win in Monte Carlo. Autosport.com has the news story.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber admitted he was surprised to learn that Mercedes had carried out a secret tyre test with Pirelli after the Spanish Grand Prix.
But he does not believe it was a major factor in Nico Rosberg’s win for the Brackley squad in Monaco.
Mercedes took its first Formula 1 victory of 2013 just hours after AUTOSPORT revealed that it had covered 1000 kilometres over three days of tyre work at Barcelona last week.
Red Bull and Ferrari subsequently lodged a formal protest, as Pirelli insisted the test had mostly been on 2014 preparations and was permitted within the rules.
Webber finished third in Monaco, behind Rosberg and the sister Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel.
“I think we were probably a bit surprised it happened,” said Webber of the test.
“I don’t think it probably had a huge bearing on today’s results, That car would always perform pretty well around here to be fair.
“But you can’t unlearn what went on at the test. So we need to see how it came about and what the rules are to see why Mercedes thought it would be OK.
“Time will tell, but it didn’t affect today’s result.”
Webber has been a consistent critic of the high-degradation Pirelli tyres and their impact on F1, and he said Monaco had been more of the same.
“We were basically saving the tyres and making the one-stop work,” he said.
“All the drivers were having to nurse their cars very aggressively.
“Generally we were just driving around, protecting tyres and waiting for the chequered flag.”
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was not pleased by his race performance in Monaco. He started in second position but was unable to keep track of his team-mate Nico Rosberg. Lewis eventually finished in fourth place. Autosport.com has the details.
Lewis Hamilton admitted the pressure is on him to improve after his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg won the Monaco Grand Prix.
Rosberg’s victory came after three consecutive pole positions, and was the second successive race in which he has beaten Hamilton on Sunday.
Although Hamilton dropped from second to fourth when the safety car emerged in the middle of the pitstops, he denied he had been unlucky.
“I don’t put it down to bad luck,” Hamilton insisted.
“I wasn’t good enough this weekend.
“Big congratulations to Nico and the team, they did a great job today and I have to keep work harder.”
Hamilton conceded that he had miscalculated the gap he should leave to Rosberg when they both had to pit on the same lap during the safety car.
Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were able to get between the Mercedes as a result.
“It was my mistake today,” Hamilton said.
“I was told to have a six-second gap, and I had a little more than six seconds and I lost out. That’s motor racing.”
Williams driver Pastor Maldonado has blamed Max Chilton in causing the crash at the Tabac corner. Autosport.com has the news story.
Pastor Maldonado accused Max Chilton of driving dangerously after the collision that caused the Monaco Grand Prix to be red-flagged on lap 45.
The stoppage was required when contact between the two cars sent Maldonado’s Williams into the air and then the barriers at Tabac.
Maldonado was unhurt, but the air-fence was dislodged, clipping the car of Chilton’s Marussia team-mate Jules Bianchi.
The race was stopped for 25 minutes while the barrier was reconstructed.
The stewards gave Chilton a drive-through penalty for the incident after the restart.
Speaking before being informed of this, Maldonado said the Briton definitely deserved censure.
“It was scary,” said Maldonado.
“I didn’t expect Chilton to cross my line.
“It is very dangerous and a very quick corner on the track.
“Maybe the stewards need to evaluate very carefully what he did.”
Maldonado confirmed that he escaped serious injury.
“I’m OK, I feel OK,” he said. “Some contusions but really good.”
Felipe Massa has been released from hospital after his Monaco Grand Prix accident.
The Ferrari driver slammed into the barriers on the approach to Sainte Devote at the start of lap 29.
The incident was almost identical to his crash in final practice on Saturday.
Although Massa got out of the car unaided, he was taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
He has now been discharged and headed straight home. The Brazilian is suffering from a sore neck but is otherwise uninjured.
His team-mate Fernando Alonso finished seventh in the race.
Source: Autosport.com
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean has been penalised with a 10-place grid penalty after his clash with Daniel Ricciardo in the race. Autosport.com has the details.
Romain Grosjean’s clash with Daniel Ricciardo in the Monaco Grand Prix has earned the Frenchman a 10-place grid penalty for the next Formula 1 race in Canada.
The Lotus driver ran into the back of Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso on the approach to the chicane on lap 62 while trying to take 13th place.
Both cars had to retire as a result of the tangle, which caused a safety car due to the amount of debris spread over the circuit.
The incident came after Grosjean had crashed in both Thursday and Saturday practice.
Grosjean’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was also called to the Monte Carlo stewards having been caught exceeding the prescribed speed during a safety car period.
The Finn escaped with a reprimand.
Raikkonen finished 10th in the race, having run fifth until a collision with Sergio Perez’s McLaren resulted in a puncture.
McLaren’s Sergio Perez has blamed Kimi Raikkonen for causing a collision. Autosport.com has the news story.
Sergio Perez believes his incident with Kimi Raikkonen in the closing stages of the Monaco Grand Prix could have been avoided if the Lotus driver had given him room.
Perez tried to pass the Finn for fifth place into the chicane having pulled off successful moves on Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button in previous laps, but the pair made contact.
Raikkonen suffered a left-rear puncture as a result and was forced to pit, though he recovered to finish 10th, while Perez retired with brake problems just a few laps from the finish.
He believes the collision was avoidable, if the 2007 world champion had afforded him the same amount of space as Alonso and Button had previously.
“It was risky [the move on Raikkonen],” Perez admitted. “But I overtook Jenson, I overtook Fernando in the same place. Jenson overtook me in the same place.
“So at the end of the day you have to give some space. If you see the accident I hit the wall on the entry of the corner.
“Kimi didn’t give me any room, there was nothing I could do to avoid it. If someone could avoid the accident it was Kimi.
“At the end of the day it doesn’t matter how aggressive you are if you [aren’t given] space.”
His team-mate Button was a beneficiary of his retirement, the Briton finishing sixth having opportunistically passed Alonso after his Ferrari was delayed when Perez pulled off the circuit.
“The end result is OK, getting some good points,” Button said. “It’s a pity we couldn’t get both cars in the points.
“We take positives in the way that the car feels here. The pace we really don’t know because the cars in front were so slow today, I don’t know why.”
Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn has insisted that there was no way his squad could have benefited from the private test it carried out for Pirelli after the Spanish Grand Prix.
Rivals Ferrari and Red Bull lodged an official protest when it emerged in Monaco that Mercedes had carried out 1000 kilometres of running with Pirelli at Barcelona last week.
The issue is being discussed with the stewards in a hearing in Monte Carlo.
Brawn remained adamant that the test’s focus was on 2014 developments and safety changes relating to recent delaminations, and that none of the running would have helped Mercedes’ tyre understanding.
“The test was exactly what Pirelli wanted, they stipulated what we were doing,” he said.
“We know they have a new tyre for Canada, but we don’t know which of the tyres they tested was the tyre that they are bringing along to Canada. The tyres they tested were anonymous. It is not possible for us to know, because the tyres just had codes on – tyre Code A, tyre Code B.”
He also argued that there was nothing secret about the test session.
“It wasn’t a secret test. I am not sure where it comes from because it was a Pirelli test,” said Brawn.
“It was up to Pirelli to spread the information. It wasn’t up to us, it was their test.
“Pirelli has been asking teams to help them out for 12 months and people haven’t been supporting them, so there are lots of communications between Pirelli and teams asking them to do 1000km for them.
“We obviously had an issue in Bahrain with Lewis [Hamilton] which we were quite anxious about – and we made the effort to help them. Nobody else seems to have done that.”
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff underlined that the team made no attempt to hide what it was doing after the Barcelona race.
“Nothing was in secret,” he said. “We left everything there, the garage, the buses, the trucks, all the engineering offices, nothing was secret.
“We didn’t trick them. Should we have? Everybody speaks about everything these days and there was nothing kept in secret.”
Source: Autosport.com
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso has commented that the car lacked speed around the streets of Monaco. The Spaniard finished the 78-lap race down in seventh position. Autosport.com has the details.
Fernando Alonso says his Ferrari simply lacked the necessary pace to fight for a podium place in the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Spaniard, who won his home Grand Prix at Barcelona just a fortnight ago, qualified sixth, before slipping back to seventh during the race.
While Alonso did spend a portion of the race with reduced aero thanks to having a piece of Sergio Perez’s McLaren stuck to his Ferrari’s floor, he said the main problem was a general lack of pace.
“The main problem was the pace,” he explained.
“We didn’t have the pace. Normally on Sunday we have the pace, but today we didn’t.
“Apart from that, yes, we did have different problems. The team told me that we had a plastic bag stuck in the front wing for 10 laps, that took away performance from the front. And we had a piece of Sergio’s front wing under the floor, and lost around 30 or 40 points of performance.
“But in the first 30 laps, before the red flag, we didn’t have a [specific] problem. We were too slow.”
Alonso also explained that he was thinking of the championship during the race, which led to him taking less risks while battling other drivers for position.
“When you fight for positions with people who have two or three points in the championship, there is a risk.
“I did the same in 2008 and 2009, when I had nothing to lose. I was overtaking in some strange positions, and it sometimes works. And if you have a broken front wing, you don’t lose anything.
“[But] we’re fighting for the championship, so we look in the mirror if someone tries to overtake us.
“Why did we find ourselves in that position? Because we didn’t have the pace today and we didn’t have the pace in qualifying.
“If you start at the front, you fight with the top guys. If you start in seventh or eighth, you fight with guys who have nothing to lose.”
Nico Rosberg’s victory in the Monaco Grand Prix is safe – despite the ongoing discussions regarding a protest about his Mercedes team’s secret tyre test.
Mercedes was engulfed in controversy ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix when rivals Red Bull and Ferrari lodged protests about a test the team conducted for Pirelli with its 2013 car at Barcelona last week.
Stewards met with representatives of all the teams involved in the matter, as well as Pirelli, after the race on Sunday night to work out whether or not a regulatory breach had taken place.
But although the outcome of that matter has yet to be decided, the FIA made the results of the Monaco GP official – meaning Rosberg’s victory cannot now be overturned.
One potential outcome is that the Monaco GP stewards will decide that they are not qualified enough to rule on the matter, and it gets deferred to the next meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council.
Source: Autosport.com
After making contact with the Williams approaching Tabac which resulted in a red flag, Max Chilton has apologised to Pastor Maldonado for causing the crash. Autosport.com has the news story.
Max Chilton has apologised to Pastor Maldonado for his part in the collision that led to the Williams driver crashing heavily during the Monaco Grand Prix.
Maldonado’s car plunged headfirst into the barrier at Tabac, registering an impact believed to be of around 9g, after Chilton drifted into the Williams on the approach to the corner.
This led to the Venezuelan describing Chilton’s driving as “dangerous”.
Chilton said he believed he was driving in a straight line, but accepted the decision of the stewards to blame him for the incident and give him a drive-through penalty.
“I’ve been to see Pastor because I wanted to see that he was OK and he was really nice about it,” said Chilton when asked by AUTOSPORT about the incident.
“He said I was coming across on him and I did say if I did, I’m sorry, it wasn’t intentional.
“The stewards thought it was my fault and when you are in the car you can’t see as much as you can with a camera view.
“That was the incident, we’ve got to apologise and move on.”
Chilton explained that he was slow on the run from the chicane to Tabac after having to cut the corner to avoid the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez.
“The incident started when Esteban did a lunge into the chicane,” said Chilton.
“If you turn in, it’s going to end badly and he was locked up so the best thing to do was to let him go round the corner and then join in behind him.
“I knew there was other cars near and I could see another car to the right and behind, with probably a 10 metre gap [to it] so I stayed in the middle of the road.
“Turn 12 comes up pretty fast so I was fixated on that apex.”
Chilton, who finished a career-best 14th in the race, was pleased with his performance despite the incident.
“That was the best race of the year, we had good pace all race compared to the cars around us,” said Chilton.
The cause of Felipe Massa’s crash was due to a technical problem on his Ferrari. Autosport.com has the details.
Felipe Massa’s violent crash in the Monaco Grand Prix was caused by a technical problem on his Ferrari.
The Brazilian was taken to hospital for precautionary checks, having suffered neck pain after slamming into the saine Devote barriers on lap 29 of the Monte Carlo race.
Although the crash was almost identical to Massa’s accident at the same corner in Saturday morning practice, which was put down to a driver error, Ferrari technical chief Pat Fry underlined that this time the car was to blame.
“Today’s accident looked very similar to what happened in the third free practice session, but in fact the two incidents are very different,” said Fry.
“Unlike yesterday, it seems that today’s incident can be attributed to a problem on the left front corner of the car.
“It’s too early to say precisely what happened and in the next few days, we will try and ascertain the exact cause back in Maranello.”
Team boss Stefano Domenicali added that Massa’s participation in the next Formula 1 race in Canada in a fortnight was not in doubt.
“Fortunately, despite the violence of the impact, he is fine and has already gone home and I believe that in the space of a few days he will back in perfect shape and ready to race in Montreal,” said Domenicali.
Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen has blamed Serio Perez that he “has no idea what he’s talking about” after the pair clashed in the Monaco Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the story.
Kimi Raikkonen has slammed Sergio Perez for blaming him for their collision during the Monaco Grand Prix, claiming the McLaren driver “has no idea what he’s talking about”.
Raikkonen was in fifth position when the Mexican tried to pass him on the entry to the chicane and the pair made contact, resulting in a left-rear puncture for the Lotus and dropping him down the field.
Perez, who later retired, claimed after the race that the Finn should have left him more room, but Raikkonen left no doubt as to where he felt the blame lie.
“He hit me from behind and that’s about all there is to it,” said Raikkonen, who recovered from the incident to claim a solitary point, having passed Nico Hulkenburg’s Sauber for 10th on the final lap.
“If he thinks it’s my fault that he came into the corner too fast then he obviously has no idea what he’s talking about.
“It’s not the first time he’s hit someone in the race. He seems to expect people to be always looking at what he might do, then move over or go straight on if he comes into the corner too quick and isn’t going to make it without running into someone.”
With championship rival Sebastian Vettel finishing second to Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes, Raikkonen concedes he has lost valuable ground to the German in the title fight – although 10th did extend his run of consecutive points finishes to 23.
“It was a really disappointing day,” Raikkonen said. “Because of one stupid move from Sergio we’ve lost a lot of points to Sebastian in the championship and you can’t afford to lose ground like that.
“Not the ideal weekend but there’s nothing we can do about it. At least we got one point back at the end.”
Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel likened Nico Rosberg’s Monaco Grand Prix-winning Mercedes to a silver bus on Sunday.
Red Bull’s championship leader came second behind his fellow German in a race that ran like a procession through the Monaco streets in the early stages as drivers sought to manage the tyres to make a one stop strategy work.
“I was a bit surprised by the slow pace in the opening laps,” Vettel, who had started behind the two Mercedes of Rosberg and 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton on the front row, told reporters.
“Usually you expect two silver arrows in front of you and there were two buses today going for a cruise – at least in the first couple of laps. But obviously the strategy was clear and they did a very good job.
“They were going quite slow and trying to obviously make the one stop happen. And fair play, they were in the lead, around here it’s very tricky to pass.”
Australian team mate Mark Webber agreed that the pace “wasn’t electric” and the race “not super-exciting” until crashes wrecked the pre-race planning by forcing the introduction of the safety car as well as halting the race for 25 minutes.
Most drivers re-started the race on supersoft tyres and made them last for the remaining 32 laps.
“It was just basically saving tyres and making the one-stop work. It was completely predictable that if the race was going to stack up then the two-stop was not really an option to come back into traffic,” said Webber.
“So we had to go very long, all the drivers were nursing the cars very aggressively…it was measured, controlled aggression, if you like, trying to nurse the tyres as best you can.”
The quick-wearing Pirelli tyres have been a constant bone of contention this season, with the previous race in Spain won by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso after a four stop strategy that proved the norm.
Monaco, a tight and twisty track that is kinder on the tyres, is extremely difficult to pass on and puts a premium on pitting as little as possible so as not to lose position and get caught in traffic.
Rosberg, the first son of a Monaco winner to also win the glamour race, had been concerned about the tyres from the moment he qualified on pole position.
He had also started the last two races on pole without winning either as Mercedes failed to translate their one lap speed into long run performance, with the car particularly heavy on the tyres.
“In the last couple of races it was pole position and dropping back so much. There was always that a little bit in the back of my mind today in the race,” he said.
Source: Reuters
Lotus driver Romain Grosjean has blamed Daniel Ricciardo at fault in tangle during the Monaco Grand Prix. Autosport.com has the full story.
Romain Grosjean believes Daniel Ricciardo was at fault for the crash that put both out of the Monaco Grand Prix and earned the Lotus driver a penalty.
The Franco-Swiss driver had a difficult weekend in the Principality, crashing twice in practice, failing to make Q3 and then rear-ending Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso in the race.
That collision earned Grosjean a 10-place grid penalty for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix, but he believes the crash was a result of Ricciardo being very slow at that stage of the race.
When asked by AUTOSPORT for his take on the incident, Grosjean said: “I was following him for 61 laps and he was really struggling with his rear tyres with a lot of graining and no more grip.
“I was close in the tunnel and got caught out by the fact that he was braking early in the middle of the track.”
Grosjean added that he believes he can put a run of consistent performances together after an up-and-down start to the 2013 season.
“The first three races of the season were hard because we couldn’t find what was suiting me in the car,” he said.
“Now that we sorted that out, Bahrain was good, and in Barcelona the simulations said we were going for P3 in the race but then there was a mechanical failure.
“In Monaco, I missed out in qualifying and when you are running 14th you cannot do much.
“There were a few too many touches with the barriers, but we did improve the car a lot to make it predictable. [From Canada] it should be good.”
Sergio Perez has been given a vote of confidence by McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh, after he was labelled an “idiot” by Kimi Raikkonen.
The Mexican pulled off a number of aggressive overtaking moves during the Monaco Grand Prix before eventually coming together with Raikkonen and damaging his car.
Raikkonen was infuriated by Perez’s driving, and reckoned the only way that his rival would be taught a lesson was by being punched in the face.
Whitmarsh has backed his man though and suggested that top-line drivers have to take risks if they are going to be successful.
“I don’t think we should have too much to complain about there,” said Whitmarsh about Perez.
“That is what happens in Monaco occasionally. I am happy with his spirit and his challenge.
“You can over push sometimes but I think he did some great overtakes. I have got to be pleased that he is there, he is committed and racing.”
Whitmarsh reckoned that Raikkonen was not totally free of blame for the coming together with Perez.
“You can argue it different ways: Checo will feel he wasn’t given the space and he was crowded by Kimi, which I can understand.
“Kimi will say that he can defend his line and Checo was coming perhaps a bit too aggressively.
“It was certainly a charging attempt, but in motor racing you have to take a little bit of risk sometimes. If it comes off you are a hero and if it doesn’t you are disappointed.
“After that, Checo obviously damaged his front wing, which was difficult enough, but he also had debris in the brake ducts, so therefore they overheated and he lost his brakes.”
Source: Autosport.com