[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsqipJ2lSZs&spfreload=10[/youtube]
When you think of one of the all time Monaco greats, you have to think about Ayrton Senna, who won the race an astounding six times during his career. Now after today, we add another name to the list of Monaco greats. Find out all the going ons of this weekend after the break.
Ahh Monaco, playground of the rich and famous, and the principality was amazingly lovely for the race. But, going back, the teams were much curtailed on their practice running on Thursday, as a rain storm poured onto the track. Practice was mostly what you would expect, except for young Max Verstappen surprising the paddock by finishing second on the first of the free practice sessions. This is even more noteworthy because this was his first appearance ever on the streets of Monte Carlo. Nico Rosberg struggled all throughout practice, with an accident on Thursday, and a few lockups and other issues in the other sessions. Robert Mehri of Manor was the first real wreck of the weekend, taking the nose off his car after exiting the tunnel into the Chicane. The Manor continues to be the slowest car on the grid, even if it has been really reliable.
Qualifying was next, and no real surprises, except for Williams getting eliminated very early. The streets of Monaco caused the slippery, straight-line fast Williams grief all weekend long. Bottas, one of the better drivers in my opinion just didn’t have the car to get out of Q1. Nico Rosberg, who had struggled all weekend, ended up not being able to do anything to fend off Lewis Hamilton for pole. As important as pole has been in this race this sort of dashed Rosberg’s hopes to make it three wins in as many years. The Red Bull duo both impressed and were well within the top 10. Vettel started from third, and looked poised to have a good run for the podium.
The race itself was very much a Monaco Grand Prix. By that I mean it was a lot of people complaining on Twitter that the race was boring, and that Monaco is over hyped. These are the same people that would threaten to boycott the sport if Monaco was threatened to leave the calendar. The race is always a bit boring, but everything surrounding the race, and qualifying is what we watch for. The calendar wouldn’t be the same without Monaco, and it is the race that draws the most attention to the sport. So shut up, watch it, and it will always have something that is interesting. The race had relatively few retirements, especially after the battle royale that last year turned into. Alonso retired from the points with overheating issues, and  Pastor Maldanado once again retired from a race. I almost feel bad for him at this point, but then I remember he accused Williams of sabotaging his car. No hard feelings Pastor.

The race really only heated up with about 15 laps to go, with Max Verstappen on the tail of the experienced Frenchmen, Romain Grosjean. After a few laps of a hard fight, Max looked to be in position to make a pass on the front straight, when Romain braked early, causing the teenager to be launched into the air and then plowing straight onto the barrier. Now, this is where the race went red hot. The safety car was deployed, and the leader, Lewis Hamilton was instructed into the pits. This would be his undoing. After his stop for new tires, Nico Rosberg and Seb Vettel were both ahead of him, and without any passing under safety car conditions, any advantage the new tires would have was slowly disappearing.
Looking back on the video I started this post with, we see Aryton Senna defending against a car on much faster new tires, while he had clapped out, old rubber. This is exactly what Lewis Hamilton dealt with… but in reverse. Nico Rosberg walked away from Seb on the restart, and Sebastian made his car as wide as he could for the last nail biting laps. Nico made it three for three, and Lewis was left fuming at a strategy mistake that cost him an easy win. Toto Wolff was left apologizing to his driver, and Lewis left before the team photo, signaling his immense displeasure with the days events. Lewis must also hate the fact that Nico now joins his idol on the list of the all time Monaco Greats. Oh, and a bonus for McLaren fans like myself, Jenson came home in eighth to bring home the first points of the season. At least one Brit is happy
I honestly thought it was a pretty good race all told. The shock ending left my heart pounding, and just so excited for Canada. Let’s see if Lewis comes back with a vengeance, or if Nico can make it three wins in a row.
Another reason I am excited for Canada is that I will be there in person! That might make next weeks article a little late, but I will be sure to try to get as much info and access as I can to bring you guys the very best. Thank you all once again for reading, and remember that the season is just getting started.