Heart in mouth time
Whereas the bulk of the denizens of western Europe would look askance at anyone peddling a ridiculous tale about a chap being spirited up out of sight in a cloud, the Monegasque population takes the Ascension a little more seriously. Accordingly, there will be no Formula One practice sessions today so that people can enjoy their Pentecost feasting without the roar of motor cars interrupting the slide of caviar down gullets well lubricated with Krug or Cristal. You might argue that this does not quite accord with the ascetism Christianity seems to demand but I am unqualified to pass comment. Importantly, though, the drivers have a day of rest and reflection. This is particularly useful this weekend because I fear I may be in danger of regretting my decision to come out in open support of one driver over the rest.
Quick as a flash, Chipo wagered me a considerable sum of money that Lewis Hamilton would not win the Monaco Grand Prix. I was not unduly concerned until yesterday. But yesterday afternoon produced the lad's inevitable first mistake. Hamilton while driving his McLaren on the absolute limit - giving it as much welly as he could possibly muster - lost it at St Devote and crashed into the barriers. This is not surprising by any means - Monaco and Montreal are famously unforgiving circuits. The absence of run-off areas makes it very likely that the slightest error will result in a wrecked car. It has happened to the best of them and this cannot in any way be blamed on Hamilton's inexperience. Still, it is indicative of the fact that the lad is human after all. What is perhaps irritating is that the driver whose time Hamilton was attempting to beat was none other than his team-mate, Fernando Alonso.
I am grateful for Friday's rest day because it gives Hamilton a chance to refocus on the crucial task of getting on to pole position tomorrow afternoon. For those Hamilton fans out there consider this: Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso all have poor records at Monaco relative to other circuits. Each of them only has three finishes to his name. Massa has 1 dnf, Raikkonen 3 (including last year while running 2nd), and Alonso 2 (including 2004 while running 2nd). Massa's best finish was 5th in 2004. The other two were both 9th places. Raikkonen had a win in 2005, 2nd in 2003 and 10th in 2001. Clearly the best record of all of them. Alonso was 1st last year, 4th in 2005 and 5th in 2003.
There remain, I believe, reasons for optimism….
Gitau
25 May 2007
Quick as a flash, Chipo wagered me a considerable sum of money that Lewis Hamilton would not win the Monaco Grand Prix. I was not unduly concerned until yesterday. But yesterday afternoon produced the lad's inevitable first mistake. Hamilton while driving his McLaren on the absolute limit - giving it as much welly as he could possibly muster - lost it at St Devote and crashed into the barriers. This is not surprising by any means - Monaco and Montreal are famously unforgiving circuits. The absence of run-off areas makes it very likely that the slightest error will result in a wrecked car. It has happened to the best of them and this cannot in any way be blamed on Hamilton's inexperience. Still, it is indicative of the fact that the lad is human after all. What is perhaps irritating is that the driver whose time Hamilton was attempting to beat was none other than his team-mate, Fernando Alonso.
I am grateful for Friday's rest day because it gives Hamilton a chance to refocus on the crucial task of getting on to pole position tomorrow afternoon. For those Hamilton fans out there consider this: Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso all have poor records at Monaco relative to other circuits. Each of them only has three finishes to his name. Massa has 1 dnf, Raikkonen 3 (including last year while running 2nd), and Alonso 2 (including 2004 while running 2nd). Massa's best finish was 5th in 2004. The other two were both 9th places. Raikkonen had a win in 2005, 2nd in 2003 and 10th in 2001. Clearly the best record of all of them. Alonso was 1st last year, 4th in 2005 and 5th in 2003.
There remain, I believe, reasons for optimism….
Gitau
25 May 2007
posted by Gitau at 5:55 pm
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