Hello and welcome all to coverage of the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix live from the streets of Monte Carlo. Last time out we saw a surprise winner in Nick Heidfeld as he took victory in the Toro Rosso, but even Heidfeld’s victory could do little to hide the dominance of the McLaren’s as Kubica fought his way back to 2nd place. Indeed the story was the much the same in qualifying yesterday as the McLarens locked out the front row, but the sunny skies of Thursday and Saturday are long gone as today we are presented with dark skies, heavy clouds and enough rain to last a life time.
So down to the grid, all five lights are on and we’re ready to go
And we’re underway, and Kubica leads out of turn one with Kimi and the Honda’s for close company
On the run up to Casino Square we can see just how wet it is as we ride onboard with Raikkonen
But that doesn’t seem to be troubling Kimi in the slightest as he’s fastest on lap 1
It looks as though at this early stage that Kubica is greatly holding up his team mate and even the Hondas
Which probably explains why Davidson is quicker than both McLaren’s at this early stage
However a lap later the Mclaren’s appear to be pulling away
Conditions seem to be worsening as Heidfeld misses his braking point for the Nouvelle Chicane
And as he rejoins the track he makes contact with Villeneuve behind
Putting the Canadian into a spin in the process
But as Frentzen tries to go around the outside of the exit off 11 there’s not enough room for the two of them and he gets airborne. Luckily however they both continue on their way
Up out front however it’s still Kubica leading the way from Kimi and Davidson
Meanwhile, whilst Kubica busy holding the front runners up, Lotterer sets the pace in the midfield
Massa is being caught quickly by Ralf
Alonso’s had a difficult start, he’s dropped back down to 13th
The top three seem to be pulling away from Leinders
And with a relatively quite opening few laps gone, let’s look at the standings
With little action on track, Kubica seems to be finding his groove as sets a new fastest lap
It seems like a lifetime since Heidfeld was leading the field in Barcelona with the two time winner down in 19th
Kubica still setting the pace out in front
With the action on track dwindling quickly, the first round of pitstops are underway as Ralf, Button and Montagny all take to the pit lane
They rejoin right at the back of the field
The first of the big guns are in as Raikkonen pits
He’s joined by Da Matta
Kimi rejoins in 13th and importantly with a clear bit of road ahead of him
Whilst Da Matta is back in 18th
Meanwhile Glock is starting to flex his muscles
As is his team mate Kovalainen
But Kimi quickly puts the Super Aguri’s back in their place
Lotterer is next in as he pits from tenth
Whilst Schumacher pops up with the fastest lap. It’s been quite a while since we’ve been able to say that
But it still seems as though Kimi is the quickest guy out there
Lotterer meanwhile has returned to the track in 20th
Leinders has had a solid race so far and he is currently sitting pretty in 3rd
As Kovalainen once again sets the pace, it looks as though the rain is beginning to stop
But still Kimi looks to have at least half a second on the rest of the field
Back at the front, Kubica is starting to pull out the gap to Davidson behind
Davidson is next into the pits
And he comes out well behind Raikkonen in 12th, that time running in clean air has certainly helped the Kimster
However, that clean air seems to have disappeared as the Finn has quickly caught up to the back of the slow moving Verstappen
Villeneuve has been in and returns to the track right to the back
Kubica meanwhile is still yet to pit and with Raikkonen stuck behind Verstappen that’s probably a wise idea
As Kovalainen comes into the pits, it looks as though it is starting to drizzle again
And he comes out just ahead of Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota in 13th
But Schumacher loses the rear of the kerbs and just manages to keep it out of the armco!
Kimi is still stuck behind Verstappen, this could quite severly hurt his chances of pipping his team mate this afternoon
And the longer he’s stuck behind the Ferrari, the easier it will be for Davidson to make up the time he lost in the first pit stops
Verstappen teammate meanwhile is next into the pits
And he’s back out just ahead of Kovalainen in the Super Aguri
As we ride onboard with Coulthard it’s very obvious that the rain is starting to get worse once again
Webber is in from 3rd
He rejoins just ahead of Davidson in 8th
Webber’ teammate is in next lap
But he rejoins down in 20th
We have yellow flags down at the Nouvelle Chicane as Villeneuve has pulled off the racing line
And he’s out with a loose wheel
Our leader is in
And that puts Bas Leinders into the lead of the Monaco Grand Prix
But he’s out behind Raikkonen!
And to make matters worse, Davidson also passes Kubica as he rejoins the track!
He rejoins the track down in 9th place
Schumacher again pops up with a new fastest lap
Just before Webber takes a tenth of Schumacher’s lap
And Da Matta also has a bite of the cherry as Coulthard pits
He rejoins in 21st
Up at the front Glock has closed the gap down to Leinders to less than a second
But there’s disaster for BMW as Coulthard is forced to pit on the very next lap with a throttle issue
Schumacher is sitting pretty in 3rd at the moment
Leinders is in from the lead
And as Massa sets a new fastest lap Leinders rejoins just behind Kubica
Coulthard is flying at the back of the field as he takes over a second out of Massa’s time and as a dry line is starting to form behind the pits
And also on the run down to turn 5
Coulthard is still flying at the back of the field, which to me suggests a couple of drivers in the top ten a severely slowing down their competitors
Glock peels into the pits which puts Michael Schumacher into the lead of a Grand Prix for the first time this season!
Glock is back out in 13th
That now leaves Verstappen in 2nd behind Schumacher, with a substantial train behind him
Coulthard is still lapping quickly out at the back of the pack, so there is still grip out there
However, whilst Coulthard is making the most of what grip there is on track, Verstappen certainly isn’t as Davidson joins the back of Verstappen train
And whilst this is going on, Schumacher is pulling out quite a gap at the front
But he’s not going to have that privledge for long as Verstappen pulls inot the pits
He’s back out in 20th
And next time round Schumacher is in from the lead
Which puts Kimi Raikkonen into the lead of the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of Webber and Davidson
He rejoins behind Montagny in 11th
Lotterer has also been in and he rejoins right at the back
Raikkonen is flying now that Verstappen is out of the way and already has a two second gap to Webber
After leading for the majority of this race, Kubica might be slightly surprised to find himself down in 4th and with Leinders for company
The two stoppers are now coming in for their final stops as Raikkonen is the first in
And he’s quickly followed by Da Matta, Montagny, Alonso and Montoya
Kimi’s back out in 13th
Meanwhile Mark Webber is now leading the Grand Prix
It’s is still very close at front as we pass the half way mark with 2nd to 7th all sharing the sma ebit of tarmac
Kovalainen is next into the pits
Along with Heidfeld
They rejoin 14th and 19th
Massa is having a look at Leinders on the run down to Tabac
But in this weather there’s no way that was ever going to work
Davidson is now in from 2nd
And he’s still in the pits as Raikkonen flies down the pit straight
And he’s back out in 10th ahead of Verstappen’s Ferrari
Frentzen, who’s had a quiet race so far, has just pitted and rejoins in 14th
Leinders is now in for stop number two
He’s back out in 13th just ahead of Ralf’s Toyota and just behind Da Matta’s Toyota
Schumacher, with one assumes with no stops left to make, is up in 4th place. It’s been a good days work
Coulthard is in the pits from 9th
Raikkonen is now stuck behind the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel which is very good news for any Kubica fans
Whilst, from the looks of things, Massa is starting to hold up Schumacher
Raikkonen has gotten up the inside of Vettel through Rascasse
But he can’t get the power down on the run to Anthony Noghes
Verstappen appears to be at it again as Kovalainen is stuck under his rear wing
Webber is in the pits from the lead
As is Massa
And that puts Kubica back into the lead
And Schumacher back into 2nd place in the Williams with Glock 3rd
Davidson will no doubt be disappointed to find himself in 7th having run in the top three for most of the afternoon with Webber now ahead of him on the road
Massa meanwhile rejoins in 15th
Raikkonen and Vettel are now really close together under braking for the Nouvelle Chicane
But he still can’t get passed
But there’s relief for Kimi as Vettel dives into the pits
Meanwhile out at the front Schumacher is all over the back of Kubica’s McLaren
Vettel however is back out in 19th
Verstappen meanwhile, despite being a nuisance for most of the afternoon somehow finds himself in the points for the first time since Imola
Whilst Schumacher looks to be on track for his first podium since last season’s Chinese Grand Prix
Right at the back, the once flying Coulthard is struggling to find a way past Lotterer
And the Scot is very close under braking
A little too close in fact as his collides with the rear of the Midland!
Coulthard manages to make the corner whilst Lotterer is left to trundle across the runoff
Raikkonen has now joined the group stuck behind Kubica but, as we’ve seen today, overtaking is almost impossible today
Whilst Verstappen has again built quite a sizeable train as well
Looks as though Montoya’s had a slight excursion down at turn 5
And from the replay it looks as though Coulthard’s been at it again as he gives his team mate a helpful nudge into the barriers
I’m sure there’ll be some very colourful words at BMW’s debrief this afternoon
Up at the front, things are becoming even cosier as Webber and Davidson join the fight for the podium
The two Renaults have had a very quiet afternoon as both sit well out of the points
We’ve got some drama on track finally as Kovalainen pulls off to the side, he’s out with transmission failure
That’s given Verstappen some breathing room behind
Schumacher is quickly running out of time
Whilst Verstappen is finally finding some pace
Still no change out at the front
More drama as Davidson also appears to have suffered a transmission failure as he pulls off at the Nouvelle Chicane
Just three to go now, time’s running out
Onto the final lap now, looks we’re not going to be seeing any more action
But Schumacher doesn’t seem to agree with that view as he takes two tenths out of Kubica in the first sector
But it’s not going to be enough as Kubica wins the Monaco GP!
DOTD: Driver of the day award this time goes to
Michael Schumacher for a superb drive to get himself on the podium for the first time this season.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2013 07:09PM by F1_Manager.