Hamilton had to be both lucky and good to win in Monaco. (LAT photo)
History told us coming into Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix that a little rainfall would guarantee action and drama, and the elements did not disappoint as the race ran to the two-hour limit for the first time since 1997.
Lewis Hamilton smacked the barrier at Tabac on lap 6, puncturing his rear tire, but the early pit stop ended up working in his favor, and his pace as the track dried made him the first English winner of this race since Graham Hill took the last of his 5 Monaco GP victories (and his last F1 win overall), in 1969.
It gave Hamilton his first win from lower than pole position, and he was the first winner in Monte Carlo from below pole since Juan-Pablo Montoya won the 2003 edition. McLaren took its record-extending 15th victory on the streets of the Principality, 7 more than second-placed Ferrari on that table, and it gave Hamilton the championship lead once more.
BMW’s Robert Kubica led 9 laps early in the race, the most laps that a Sauber driver has ever led in any Grand Prix, and in tying his career best finish (achieved earlier this year in Sepang), he put a Peter Sauber car on the podium in Monaco for the first time Johnny Herbert was third (and the last man to finish!) in the chaotic 1996 wet/dry race. He had already given Sauber their first ever top 6 start in Monaco, so it was a good weekend overall for the Polish driver.
Third-placed Felipe Massa took Ferrari’s first pole position on this track since Michael Schumacher in 2000, but no Ferrari driver has won from pole here since Jody Scheckter’s victory in 1979 – Michael never did it, despite his five Monaco wins, although he did achieve a “grand slam” with Benetton in 1994.
In fourth place, Red Bull’s Mark Webber has scored in 5 straight races for the first time in his career, and he has scored all of his teams points so far in 2008. The joy within the Red Bull family will be further augmented by Sebastian Vettel’s terrific drive from the last row of the grid to finish 5th, on the debut of the new Toro Rosso STR3 chassis.
After failing to finish the first four races of the year, and then receiving a five-place gearbox change penalty simply because he did finish in Istanbul (!), it was just desserts for the talented German. Ironically, Webber and Vettel’s respective teammates were both eliminated in identical accidents at the same corner, and on the same lap! Both David Coulthard and Sebastien Bourdais crashed out at Massenet after 6 laps, as the rain fell more heavily.
