Results of the 2007 Monaco F1 Grand Prix
Under the intense media frenzy over title leader and rookie Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso quietly got on with letting everyone know that he is current world champion and has every intension of keeping it that way. At a circuit notoriously difficult for passing, he lead from pole for his second chequered flag of the season, while Hamilton had to settle for second for the fourth time in a row.
It was a victory for the Mercedes-McLaren team, as the two silver cars outclassed the rest of the field and lapped everyone except third placed Felipe Massa in his Ferrari. Even Giancarlo Fisichella, enjoying Renault’s best result of the season, was astonished to see the leaders overhaul him in the closing laps. He was followed home by another consistently strong finish for the BMW-Saubers, with Robert Kubica finishing ahead of Nick Heidfeld this time.
William’s also enjoyed some improved results as Alexander Wurz finished seventh ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the the other Ferrari who had stormed up from 16th but was ultimately held up on a day that proved to be a significant setback for his title hopes. Mechanical problems in qualifying and plenty of laps bottled in by slower cars meant he only scored a single point to compensate for retirement in Barcelona. He is now 15 points adrift of the leaders. His teammate, who’s been busy cementing himself as the Ferrari’s number one hope, is only five points adrift of the two McLaren co-leaders.
In an uneventful race that saw neither drama at the first corner nor any overtaking maneouvres, the two real losers were Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg, who suffered hydraulic failure and body damage respectively, while Jenson Button and Honda teammate Ruben’s Barrichello managed a more respectable 10th and 11th . The biggest result of the day however was for American driver Scott Speed who started in 18th and finished 9th for his Torro Rosso team, a best result of the season for them.
While the top four all drove to a two pitstop strategy, Wurz and Raikkonen benefitted from a single stop. Hamilton could be forgiven for looking rueful on the podium as his team gave tactical priority to Alonso, despite a fierce challenge throughout the race from the Briton. He continually drove some storming laps and eventually finished right behind his Spanish teammate.
McLaren now enjoy a convincing 20 point lead over rivals Ferrari for the Constructors’ Championship, on 76, while BMW-Sauber continue their strong showing in third on 30 points, almost double that of Renault. Alonso and Hamilton now share the Drivers’ lead on 38, although the reigning champ has the advantage of two victories. Massa trials on 33, with Raikkonen fourth on 23.
Monaco Grand Prix result after 78 laps:
1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes one hour 40 minutes 29.329 seconds
2 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 4.095 seconds behind
3 Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari at 1:09.114
4 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault one lap behind
5 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber at one lap
6 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber at one lap
7 Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-Toyota at one lap
8 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari at one lap
9 Scott Speed (USA) Toro Rosso-Ferrari at one lap
10 Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda at one lap
11 Jenson Button (GB) Honda at one lap
12 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota at one lap
13 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault at one laps
14 David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault at two laps
15 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota at two laps
16 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota at two laps
17 Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda at two laps
18 Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri at two laps
R Christijan Albers (Ned) Spyker-Ferrari 70 laps completed
R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Spyker-Ferrari 53 laps completed
R Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 17 laps completed
R Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 lap completed
Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso, one minute 15.284 seconds, lap 44