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| Hamilton can't believe it... |
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| Vettel: "Hey, I'm happy!" FTW |
Verstappen and Grosjean came together (big cheer for the effectiveness of TecPro barriers) bringing out the Safety Car when Hamilton had a comfortable lead over his teammate Rosberg. Hamilton pits for a new set of tires but comes out behind Nico and Vettel who had made the very obvious choice of staying out.
OK, maybe Bjorn Wirdheim's cock up in GP2 was worse but GP2 does not have hundreds of strategists working out every possible angle, nor a two time World Champion behind the wheel.
Mercedes was hallucinating but Hamilton himself should have had the presence of mind to question such a ridiculous call from the team.
Anyway, that's racing, shit happens.
Chin up, don't pout.
| Pos | Driver | Car | Laps | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 78 | 1h49m18.420s |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 78 | -8'01.379 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 78 | -7'59.812 |
| 4 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull/Renault | 78 | -7'53.900 |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 78 | -7'52.257 |
| 6 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 78 | -7'51.519 |
| 7 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 78 | -7'50.852 |
| 8 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | 78 | -7'49.802 |
| 9 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber/Ferrari | 78 | -7'42.245 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Renault | 78 | -7'40.809 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India/Mercedes | 78 | -7'39.633 |
| 12 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus/Mercedes | 78 | -7'37.450 |
| 13 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 78 | -7'34.706 |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Mercedes | 78 | -7'20.076 |
| 15 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 77 | 1 Lap |
| 16 | Roberto Merhi | Marussia/Ferrari | 76 | 2 Laps |
| 17 | Will Stevens | Marussia/Ferrari | 76 | 2 Laps |
| - | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso/Renault | 62 | Collision |
| - | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 41 | Gearbox |
| - | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus/Mercedes | 5 | Brakes |
Biggest blunder in the history of F1, no. Worst pitlane call by a team at Monaco, yes. The biggest blunder in the history of F1 at Monaco was the decision in 1984 to stop the race and preserve a win for Prost over Senna.
ReplyDeleteI can't replay the commentary by Sky right now, but I thought Blundell talked about the concern to cover Vettel if he comes in for fresh rubber. If Hamilton didn't pit, there was a strong chance that Vettel could have and then pose a chance to overtake one or both Mercedes.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm thrilled Hamilton came in third, even though a fourth place would have been sweeter.
so idiotic of all involved, Hamilton especially, new tires, in Monaco?/ c'mob, what did Hamilton do on brand new tires vs Vettel's 30 + lap old primes? Nothing. Even my 12 year old can tell you you never give track position in Monaco
ReplyDeleteThis one's gonna hurt. Kendall Jenner was in attendance - so you know Lewis really wanted to show out. After the race it was Roscoe, who get the hug, a kiss, and a tug from Kendall. Not Lewis. Lewis was left high and dry to ponder the possibilities and opportunities of a Monaco win for another year.
ReplyDeleteBut on a serious note, Seb is having a killer year. If Lewis has a problem or putz Nico makes a mistake he's right there to snatch some points. This year for Seb at Ferrari is tantamount to Senna's '93 season when he took on the two Williams cars of Prost and Hill. The only difference is Seb is taking on the two Mercs.
I think Hamilton has to accept some of the blame for this too:
ReplyDelete"I thought the guys behind were pitting, so when the team said stay out, I said the tyres were dropping temperature, and I was assuming that these guys would be on options and I would be on the harder tyre, so they said to pit."
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/119149
Team said stay out, he complained about the tyres, so they let him pit. Still, it saved the race from being a terrible snoozefest, and I'm finding myself in the weird position of cheering for Vettel more and more often.
You had to love the "hey, I'm happy" from Seb :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy this one guys. Moments like these are great for the Ham haters. But just remember this is all temporary. The big prize is the Championship. Mercedes was doing a lot of apologizing last year, looks like they are trying to start that trend again. Anybody know where Paddy Lowe is? Strange that he's been MIA and the radio communication between the team and Hamilton was not aired. I wonder if we'll even get a transcript.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess if the team gives Hamilton "advice" in the future, you guys won't jump down his throat for questing it? Last I check this was a team sport and the pit wall was suppose to look at the big picture and guide the driver, not the other way around. If Ham assumed Ros and Vet had pitted, all the team had to do was tell him they didn't and he would continue in P1 to checker flag.
Quite the collective blunder from all at Mercedes, Lewis included. This one is going to haunt Lewis forever.
ReplyDeleteMy jaw literally dropped when I saw him peel off into the pits. I could not believe they would make that call, ever. IDFC how fresh your tires are, you're just not going to make up those positions in less than 10-15 laps. Why two people on the pit wall didn't look at each and go 'Really? We're doing this?' is beyond me. Millions of people around the world knew instantly that was a bad call, and we don't get paid nearly as well lol.
ReplyDeleteWell, I have to say... the blame here is to the team.. I don't think you can blame HAM on this. He is in the car with no idea what is going on around...
ReplyDeleteThe only explanation is that after the restart they think he will not be able to hold them...
It will be awesome to hear the radio comms
Still I have to say... this bring so much speculation that is almost fun... not to mention great for Bernie.
BTW... best part of the race.... Vettel comments on post race on the podium and on the conference.
https://vimeo.com/128723431
Doesn't explain why Merc. were even thinking of pitting. If they saw
ReplyDeleteFerrari out, may be, but they didn't. Or if they pitted both, but they
didn't.