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A unique and special Grand Prix, as such, is always highly anticipated by the entire Formula 1 circus. After all, when one thinks of Monte Carlo, the mind races to everything that this event represents: history, difficulty, and prestige, but also media attention and social glamour. Kimi Raikkonen is no exception, and like many other drivers in the World Championship, he eagerly awaits the chance to hit the track for one of the most unique races of the year.
"Especially this season, with the new generation cars, the competition promises to be very exciting. These new single-seaters tend to slide easily, and in Monaco, there isn't much room for errors".
The car is crucial, but on the city streets of Monaco, the driver also has to contribute.
"It's a unique track where you have to give your best from the first to the 78th lap. Much is also decided in qualifying, where we will try to do our best to improve. After the last race, we stayed in Barcelona for a test that was quite positive: there were some problems at the beginning, but in the end, I can say I'm satisfied with the work we've been able to do. The F14T is improving, and step by step, I'm convinced that the results will come, but we will need to push harder than ever to achieve them".
Raikkonen talks about the upcoming race on the calendar, an event with a very suggestive atmosphere.
"The Monaco Grand Prix is a challenging race from Thursday morning. It will be crucial not to waste time in free practice, trying to get as much track time as possible to find the right sensations among the barriers. Doing well here is difficult, but the satisfaction when everything goes well is enormous".
The uniqueness of the Monaco Grand Prix is confirmed by the technicians as well. For a Formula 1 engineer, the fact of having the cars run on such an urban track makes this weekend almost a break in the calendar. The Deputy Chief Designer of Scuderia Ferrari, Simone Resta, confirms:
"The demands of this race are different from all the others. Consequently, this Sunday's race is outside the general development program that we are carrying out, which involves a tailor-made approach for each race. For the races that will follow Monaco, such as Canada, Austria, Great Britain, and so on, in Maranello, we are working very hard to introduce many updates that will raise the performance of the F14T to a level that allows us to reduce the gap with the fastest cars".
In other words, the streets of the Principality are unique from a technical point of view.
"In Monaco, it is necessary to do specific setup work so that the driver can have the maximum grip despite the unevenness of the track. In order to provide the cars with as much mechanical grip as possible, Pirelli has decided to bring the Soft and Supersoft compounds to a race weekend for the first time this season. This choice will also help in terms of traction and braking. The softer compound, moreover, heats up easily and will be particularly valuable in qualifying".
There are small signs of optimism in Ferrari. Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen talks about the car development program:
"We are growing. We want to solve the problems, but there is a lot of work to do".
However, according to Kimi Raikkonen, it is too early to say if Ferrari can return to high levels in Monte Carlo:
"The 2014 cars are very different from last year's. If your car is good, this element doesn't weigh too much because you can predict how it will behave. It's true that there is a bit less grip, and the cars are more challenging to drive, but before worrying, let's see what happens in the first free practices".
It's normal that once again, Mercedes are the favorites. But in the Monaco race, anything can happen:
"Sometimes something happens outside that can influence your result. In the past, it didn't go very well; we hope to do better and bring home good points".
Finally, on the differences between V8 and V10:
"It's hard to say, but I don't think it changes much in how the car behaves. There may be a bit less grip, perhaps some cars will be more challenging to drive; we'll see from the first practices, but we have improved a lot compared to winter".
Mattiacci has not changed anything at Ferrari yet. Among the depressed, the fatalistic, and the resigned, Fernando Alonso debuts with a statement that doesn't promise anything good at the darkest Monaco Grand Prix in recent years. The Maranello team arrives in Monte Carlo with the burden of a couple of seconds behind Mercedes, and its people struggle to hide the weight of the situation. They speak, everyone, as if oppressed by a cap of pessimism, which, perhaps, on Sunday will be redeemed by a superb performance, but meanwhile, it allows us to say with certainty that at the end of the year, there will only be the damage assessment (a significant amount of money). Someone, to be honest, expected that the arrival of the Italian manager would transmit that jolt to the environment that some observers deemed essential. But it didn't happen. In Formula 1, there's little to be done. It's not football: if the engine doesn't work, there's nothing that can be done. The fact is that Marco Mattiacci, so far, has stood out only for his communication choices: initial press conference with gaffes, megalomaniacal statement after the unexpected third place in the Chinese Grand Prix, silent scene during Montezemolo's press conference in Spain, fleeing from the microphones after the dubbing suffered in Barcelona. In short, more than by the motto with which he presented himself - "Execute, execute, execute" - at the moment, his management is better summarized by Kimi Raikkonen's favorite psalm:
"Wait and see".
On Thursday, May 22, 2014, Marco Mattiacci will speak - forced by the FIA - at the official press conference. Therefore, minimalist statements are expected. But Fernando Alonso justifies it, saying:
"After all, he is still trying to understand the team's situation, to get to know our environment, the dynamics of the weekends. We drivers, but also the engineers and mechanics, have a lot of meetings, and we haven't noticed significant differences. Nor when I was in Maranello to work did I notice any particular changes. And honestly, I don't think there will be any soon".
A situation of gloomy immobility, which highlights, once again, how the issue of the change of leadership has been approached in an approximate manner (not so much for the choice of the person, but for the ways and timing).
And things could even get worse since Ferrari, instead of gaining ground, is actually losing to its rivals and is now in Felipe Massa's sights. The Brazilian reveals what the real goal of Williams (powered by Mercedes) is:
"We have passed McLaren, but Ferrari is also a possible target. If we believe it, we can do it".
"The only news coming from Marco Mattiacci's first official press conference as the new team principal of Ferrari, if true, would be very unsettling: Ferrari did not attempt to lure Adrian Newey away from Red Bull. Mattiacci states this quite emphatically to reporters in what can be considered the only real response of the entire conference, which otherwise resembles a special slalom, a desperate race to the finish while avoiding answering anything, saying nothing, and getting into trouble. The audience reacts only when Mattiacci firmly answers "no" to the Brazilian journalist who politely asks if he tried to bring the design genius to Maranello this month. Many expected this attempt, considering it both inevitable and obligatory. The pursuit of Newey by Ferrari has always been one of the few certainties in the paddock. Domenicali tried in every way, but the English engineer never agreed, citing increasingly less credible reasons each time (the latest being the enrollment of his children in school). Therefore, the idea that Mattiacci would present the coveted prey to Ferrari fans, perhaps at a high cost, was one of the great hopes of these days, fueled by Montezemolo's words ('we will not spare anything that is needed to win'). But no: Newey stays where he is, and the cars from Maranello will continue to be designed by the group of minds that has produced the series of cars in recent years.
"We have a lot of valuable people, as well as excellent drivers, and we will work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to reduce the gap from those ahead".
So, all the more reason, Mercedes leaves nothing to others, not even in the free practice sessions held in Monaco on Thursday, May 22, 2014: the two Anglo-German cars dominate the first free practice session in the Principality. With a time of 1'18"271, Lewis Hamilton is 0.032 seconds ahead of his teammate, Nico Rosberg. Behind the two Silver Arrows is the Red Bull of Australian Daniel Ricciardo, about 0.2 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton. Fourth time for Fernando Alonso, who, aboard the Ferrari, finishes over 0.6 seconds behind the British driver and ahead of the other Red Bull of the World Champion, Sebastian Vettel. The other Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikkonen, finishes the practice with the sixth time, over a second behind Lewis Hamilton. However, in the early afternoon, it's Fernando Alonso who sets the best time in the second session. On a track conditioned by wet asphalt, which gradually dries only towards the end of the practice (drivers push to the maximum only in the last ten minutes when the track conditions allow for the use of Supersoft tires), the Spaniard goes faster than everyone and sets a time of 1'18"482, ahead of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull. Alonso's time, under completely different track conditions than in the morning, is 0.2 seconds slower than Hamilton's best time of the day. In the end, the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg finishes twentieth, and Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari finishes twenty-second and last, with only four laps completed. Meanwhile, Montezemolo denies some rumors about Fernando Alonso:
"He is the strongest driver in the world, giving 200% in every race. He knows how much I count on him even outside the track for the contribution and the charge he gives to the team. I find it incredible that there are still some supposed experts who haven't understood it and always look for a controversy that isn't there".
Says the president of Ferrari, talking to Australian journalist Peter Robinson, who is present in Maranello to test LaFerrari.
"The truth is that he and Kimi, another extraordinary driver, must have a competitive Ferrari; that is our only goal. We are all working intensely, starting with Marco Mattiacci, who knows how many things need to be done and will bring many changes in terms of technology, organization, and decision-making speed. But that's what I want, our drivers and our fans want, the rest is just talk".
On Wednesday, Fernando Alonso had let slip a phrase that seemed to be directed at Ferrari, expressing appreciation for the praise received from the Mercedes president, Dieter Zetsche:
"Sometimes it's strange to notice that certain positive comments come from outside, while there are opposing ones from those around you".
If someone hadn't noticed the deep motivational crisis that Fernando Alonso is going through in this disastrous start to the season, President Luca Montezemolo emphasizes it. On Wednesday, the driver, taking inspiration from the compliments from the Mercedes boss, had pointed out that such kind words come more from opponents than from those close to him. Montezemolo, the next day, immediately after reading the newspapers, issued a press release reassuring his driver, calling him - also - the best in the world. Now, without getting into the debate about who really is the best driver in the world, what matters here is Montezemolo's blatant responsiveness to his driver's requests (where that means Alonso still has two years left on his contract, and with all the millions he earns, in the absence of results, there would be no need for so many compliments). As soon as the note was read, many in the paddock wondered about its real meaning since Alonso's phrase was addressed more to Italian journalists than to team members. It is no secret to anyone, in fact, that Alonso would pay out of his own pocket to leave Ferrari. Not long ago, the team principal of a top team confirmed to the Anglo-Saxon press - off the record - an anecdote that had been circulating in the paddock as an urban legend for several months:
"At the end of last season, Alonso spent several hours trying to convince me to hire him as a second driver. And in the end, I had even accepted only that we didn't reach an economic agreement".
Having stayed at Ferrari, the Spaniard found himself with the F14T, one of the least competitive cars in the recent history of the Maranello team, and he has developed the conviction that they will not win for several years. However, he has no valid alternatives because, aside from Red Bull and Mercedes, whose drivers seem secured, the grid does not offer great opportunities. It is in this context that Montezemolo's statement comes in, immediately echoed by Marco Mattiacci's words:
"Alonso is a great driver, and all great drivers dream of winning with Ferrari".
And even Flavio Briatore, a friend of the Spanish driver, says:
"I am sure that in the end, Fernando will stay in Ferrari. I hear from him often. Just last night, he was here at Twiga, the offshoot of the Forte dei Marmi venue that I opened in Monte Carlo. I am convinced that he will stay in Maranello because, despite moments of dismay and disappointment, I believe he is the most Ferrari-oriented driver Ferrari has ever had".
This means that Spanish has no other paths to take, and therefore it will remain where it is, albeit without much enthusiasm, waiting for Maranello to eventually find the right track and put it on a decent car. After a day of rest, on Saturday, May 24, 2014, we return to the track. And in the last practice session, the two Mercedes do not monopolize the top two positions on the leaderboard, thanks to the insertion, in second place, of Daniel Ricciardo, trailing Lewis Hamilton by 0.050 seconds. Sebastian Vettel closes in fourth place, ahead of the two Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. A few hours later, in Q1, Jean-Éric Vergne sets the fastest time, followed by the two Mercedes drivers, who, however, do not use the Supersoft tires. The other driver of Scuderia Toro Rosso, Daniil Kvyat, crashes at the Nouvelle Chicane but manages to return to the pits in time for the repair of the front wing and to qualify for the next phase.
At the end of the first phase, the two Sauber drivers, the two Caterham drivers, and the two Marussia drivers are excluded. During the session, Felipe Massa is hit by Marcus Ericsson, so he cannot participate in Q2. In the second phase, Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest time, ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. Excluded from the decisive phase, in addition to Massa, are his teammate Valtteri Bottas, the two Lotus drivers, Nico Hülkenberg, and Jenson Button. Nico Rosberg sets the fastest time in Q3, while during the second and decisive attempt, he misses the braking point at Mirabeau high, forcing the race stewards to display yellow flags. This prevents Lewis Hamilton, in the last attempt, from trying to take the pole position. The German's maneuver leads to an investigation by the FIA for a presumed intentionality in making this driving error to prevent other drivers from improving his time. At the end of the session, Nico Rosberg is summoned by the stewards, who, however, consider his error a normal driving mistake and decide not to cancel his times. At the end of the qualifications, the stewards decide instead to penalize Marcus Ericsson for the contact with Massa in Q1. The Caterham driver will have to start from the pit lane and, furthermore, is penalized with two points on the Superlicense. Daniil Kvyat receives only a reprimand for obstructing Pastor Maldonado. Jules Bianchi is penalized with a five-position grid penalty for having to replace the gearbox of his Marussia. This time, Rosberg makes it, but it's a poisoned pole. He puts the unleashed Hamilton behind him on the starting grid of the Monaco Grand Prix, but the German is under investigation, although in the end, he gets away without penalties. An important decision because here, as you know, starting in front is crucial: between the curbs of the principality, not only is there no overtaking, but at the start - if you're lucky and do well - at most, you gain one position: space is limited, and without space, there is no passing. So the fight for pole position is tough, so tough that there have been moments of tension between Rosberg and Hamilton. Rosberg, the fastest, closed the session by going long at Mirabeau. The German's mistake caused the display of yellow flags and effectively slowed down the other drivers, starting with Hamilton. The Englishman had to lift off the accelerator and had to give up the last assault on the pole position.
"I didn't see it; they informed me from the pits. Probably there will be an eventful evening...".
Alonso says, thinking about the atmosphere that will reign at Mercedes. The Mercedes seem clearly superior to the competition, and on a dry track, they are unlikely to be surprised on a circuit that does not offer overtaking opportunities. The situation could change if the Grand Prix were to take place on wet asphalt.
"According to the weather forecast, it could rain. In that case, we must remain absolutely focused. There is no room for mistakes here; the 78 laps will be high tension. I am happy with the two laps I put together; it's enough to be closer to the Red Bulls than we thought. Hopefully, we can overtake one at the start and the other with the strategy, so we can reach the podium. It would be a very good result here in Monaco".
Fernando Alonso is satisfied after the qualifying of the Monaco Grand Prix, which saw him finish in fifth place. The Spanish driver of Ferrari will start on the third row, completed by the Ferrari of his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen. The Maranello cars will start behind the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, who monopolized the second row in the qualifications dominated by the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
"So far, in qualifying, there was always someone like Bottas or Hulkenberg who finished ahead of us and complicated our race. In the end, the fifth time achieved here is very positive. I can't complain about anything, not even for the yellow flag shown at the end for Rosberg's mistake: it didn't affect me in any way".
Kimi Raikkonen, on the other hand, is disappointed, sixth on the starting grid:
"I can't be satisfied with this qualification because even though we worked a lot on the setup and made several changes, my feeling with the car hasn't improved. Since Thursday, I had to struggle to find the best solution, and the time lost in the second free practice session certainly didn't help. Moreover, here, we can't make the tires work well, and in these conditions, putting together a good lap is not easy, especially on a track that doesn't give a second chance. The sixth position is not ideal but not a disaster either, and tomorrow we will do our best to try to get the most out of it".
On Sunday, May 25, 2014, the weather at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix is dry and overcast with an air temperature between 20 °C and 21 °C and a track temperature ranging from 28 °C to 30 °C. A 20% chance of rain is forecasted. Rosberg's hand clutch is replaced when the one he used in qualifying burned out following his error at Mirabeau corner. After the problems with his car in qualifying, Red Bull changes parts of Vettel's energy recovery system. He does not incur a penalty but is not allowed to use the parts again until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Maldonado is unable to take the start because of a fuel pump failure on the grid. When the race begins at 2:00 p.m., Rosberg leads the field into the first corner with teammate Hamilton in second. Vettel remains in third while Räikkönen moves from sixth to fourth, ahead of Ricciardo and Alonso who are boxed in by Ricciardo. After hitting Button, Pérez spins leaving Mirabeau corner, and his car's suspension is damaged, and has further contact with Sutil, ending his race. The incident blocks the track and forces drivers to slow to allow them to pass Pérez's stranded car. The Safety car is deployed to allow marshals to move Pérez's car onto the run-off area. Grosjean's tire is punctured from contact by Sutil, and both drivers make pit stops. Swift work from the marshals allows the safety car to be withdrawn at the end of the third lap, and Rosberg leads. A mechanical problem stops Vettel's turbocharger, and the rest of the field overtakes him. He makes a pit stop and emerges among the leaders and complains he is stuck in first gear. Both Mercedes drivers pull away from the rest of the field, and Hamilton is six-tenths of a second behind Rosberg by being faster. Vettel's turbocharger restarts on lap six, but Red Bull instructs him to retire on the following lap. The stewards investigate the first lap incident between Pérez and Button. An exhaust issue forces Kvyat to retire in the pit lane on lap 11. As drivers struggle to keep heat in their tires, the time deficit between Rosberg and Hamilton varies but holds a larger lead over the rest of the field. Rosberg locks his tires into Mirabeau corner but avoids driving onto the turn's escape road on lap 18.
Soon after, the stewards impose five-second stop-and-go penalties on Chilton, Ericsson, and Gutiérrez for being out of position on the grid. Hamilton begins to lap faster than teammate Rosberg before the latter responds by going two-tenths of a second quicker than Hamilton to extend his lead. Ricciardo closes to within 1.1 seconds of Räikkönen by lap 22 by going one second faster than Räikkönen. Cresting a rise leaving the tunnel on lap 24, Sutil's car becomes light braking from 270 km/h, speared into the inside wall, and slides down the escape road at the Novelle chicane. A marshal ducks under the barrier to avoid debris hitting him. Sutil is unhurt, but the Safety car is deployed for debris removal. Every driver, except for Massa, elects to make pit stops for new tires. Hamilton radios his team on whether he should make a pit stop to which they respond no. He is annoyed, asking why he cannot make a pit stop the lap before and falls back from Rosberg to avoid waiting behind his teammate. Vergne is released directly in front of Magnussen, causing him to swerve to prevent contact, prompting the stewards to investigate Vergne. On lap 28, Räikkönen has to make a second pit stop for a punctured tire after Chilton's front wing hits his left-rear wheel at Mirabeau corner. Ricciardo and Alonso take over third and fourth. The Safety car enters the pit lane at the end of lap 30, and racing resumes with Rosberg leading Hamilton. As the race restarts, Magnussen passes Vergne into Rasacasse corner but returns it because he has done it before the second safety car line. Hülkenberg aggressively overtakes Magnussen on the inside at Portier corner for seventh. Räikkönen passes Kobayashi at the Novelle chicane for 12th place on lap 33 but runs wide and gives the position back to Kobayashi. Vergne is imposed a drive-through penalty for his unsafe pit stop release on the following lap and serves it four laps later. After Räikkönen passes Kobayashi, Bianchi and Kobayashi make contact three times and Bianchi overtakes on the outside at Rasacasse corner for 13th on lap 36. At the front, Rosberg continues to lead Hamilton, and the duo pulls away from the rest of the field.
Mercedes instructs Rosberg by radio to use longer gears at Sainte Dévote and Casino Square corners as a fuel-saving measure, causing him to defend from Hamilton over the following laps after slowing. Hamilton closes up to Rosberg but is unable to pass his teammate who is faster into the tunnel. Massa makes his only pit stop of the race on lap 45 and emerges in 11th place behind Räikkönen but ahead of Bianchi. While Rosberg is instructed to continue conserving fuel, Hamilton is told by radio that he does not need to do so. Rosberg is reassured that his fuel consumption levels are back on target and begins to lap faster than Hamilton. Vergne catches Bianchi, and the two make minor contact at the Loews hairpin. Leaving the tunnel, smoke billows from the rear of Vergne's car, but he is able to enter the pit lane and retire on lap 52. Gutiérrez catches Bottas along with Räikkönen and Massa - who is on new tires - and Gutiérrez attacks Bottas at the Novelle chicane but Bottas keeps eighth by cutting the corner. With smoke billowing from his car on lap 55, Bottas drives to the side of the track at the Loews hairpin to retire. The need for a safety car is avoided when a crane removes his car from the track and yellow flags are waved in the area. Gutiérrez in eighth is on course to score points when he hits the inside guardrail at La Rascasse on lap 59, damaging his car's rear suspension and necessitating his retirement. This promotes Bianchi into tenth, which puts him in position to score Marussia's first points in Formula 1, but he also has a five-second time penalty for illegally taking his earlier, five-second time penalty under the Safety car. After running closely behind teammate Rosberg and feeling the wind penetrating his visor, Hamilton gets some dirt in his left eye on lap 66 and slows in the circuit's low-speed turns as a result, allowing Ricciardo to close up to him. Hülkenberg has heavily worn rear super soft tires, and by the 69th lap, is caught by McLaren drivers Button and Magnussen. Bianchi is told that he needs to be five seconds ahead of Grosjean to cancel out the time penalty. Five laps later, Button overtakes teammate Magnussen on the main straight for sixth.
Räikkönen runs too deep in doing the same on the inside at the Loews hairpin on lap 7, putting himself and Magnussen in the barrier. Both Räikkönen and Magnussen reverse out of the barrier but lose a large amount of time, promoting Bianchi to eighth and Grosjean to ninth. Räikkönen has to make a third pit stop for a new front wing and the super soft tires. Rosberg opens the gap to 8.8 seconds and wins the 78-lap race. Hamilton finishes second, 9.2 seconds behind and holds off the hard-charging Ricciardo at the start/finish line. Alonso takes fourth, Hülkenberg fifth and Button sixth. He is followed by Massa in seventh, Grosjean eighth, Bianchi is ninth after his five-second time penalty is applied and Magnussen tenth. Ericsson misses out on scoring Caterham's first points in 11th, and Räikkönen, Kobayashi, and Chilton are the final classified finishers. Rosberg's victory is his second of the season and the fifth of his career. The Mercedes team continues their dominance of the season with their fifth consecutive one-two finish. Rosberg leads every lap from pole position but is denied his first career Grand Slam when Räikkönen sets the race's fastest lap of 1’18”479 on lap 75. The much-anticipated duel between the two Mercedes did not happen: Rosberg finished first, Hamilton second. The two contenders for the throne started and finished the race in the same order. There was no contact at the first corner, no overtaking. Rosberg, with record laps, always kept a respectable distance from Hamilton—respectable only in words, as in reality, the two were very close throughout the race. Until a few laps from the end, when, unbelievably, a tiny insect found its way into Hamilton's eye, forcing him to slow down. It was a nerve-wracking race for Mercedes, which secured another one-two finish, even with two Safety Cars on the track. Rosberg remained ahead, but Hamilton was visibly angered over the radio when his team prevented him from making an early pit stop. Intertwined race strategies and on-track controversies are normal in the world of racing, but now there's open warfare within the Mercedes team. A Monegasque insect was all it took to turn the epic Formula 1 into a parody. Legends of the sport were invoked on Saturday night, creating a star-studded spectacle:
"Rosberg, like Schumacher, or rather, like Prost in the 80s".
And Lewis Hamilton? Like Senna:
"I'll tear a page from his book and settle my scores with Rosberg, just like he did with Prost".
This was the promise from the Caribbean-born Englishman after his teammate ruined his qualifying session by simulating an incredible off-track excursion at Mirabeau - similar to Schumacher in 2006 at Rascasse—resulting in the session's premature end. However, just when everyone expected Hamilton to force Rosberg off the track, a tiny insect infiltrated his helmet, settling in his left eye. Considerably slowed by the insect, Hamilton followed Rosberg until the checkered flag. And so, the most glamorous Grand Prix of the year ended unglamorously, with little spectacle but many points for Mercedes, which, with six wins in six races, has already settled the Constructors' Championship. Now, the focus shifts to which of their drivers will win the Drivers' Championship. There's more uncertainty here because while Hamilton is undoubtedly more talented, the Rosberg seen in the Monaco race is proving to be a tough rival, now leading by two points. An internal battle is brewing within the team, with the English faction (the car is entirely built in England by mostly Anglo-Saxon engineers) supporting Lewis, and the German faction (the headquarters is in Stuttgart, the source of funding) pushing for Nico. Winning a World Championship with a German driver on a German car equipped with a hyper-technological engine would be an unprecedented marketing move. Hamilton, aware of certain dynamics in F1, will do everything to prevent it. Beyond the attention-grabbing statements and somewhat pathetic retractions ("Did I say I would do it like Senna? But I was joking"), the relationship between the two factions has quickly deteriorated. During Saturday's meeting, Hamilton refused to sit at the same table as his colleague. He went to the bathroom and stayed there until Rosberg left the meeting. Over the radio during the race, Hamilton essentially accused the team of sabotaging him by delaying the pit stop call during the first Safety Car. Will you go out for pizza to settle things after this challenging weekend?
"We've already sat around a table and sorted things out; now we know each other better".
The dual response alone speaks volumes about Rosberg's hypocrisy and Hamilton's anger:
"I really don't feel like answering that question".
The most concerned are those at Mercedes. In F1, anything can degenerate in an instant, as those at McLaren could attest. In 2007, a very similar situation arose in Woking. Hamilton was involved then too, but he was the team's protege, a role now occupied by Rosberg. On the other side was Alonso, not exactly a pushover, who didn't gracefully accept sacrificing himself in the name of Great Britain. In the end, Ferrari won the World Championship, while McLaren was devastated by the infamous spy story.
"On the podium, you always greet your teammate. Certain limits shouldn't be exceeded".
Niki Lauda criticizes Lewis Hamilton, in conflict with Nico Rosberg over decisions made during the Monaco Grand Prix: the German, by winning, returned to the top of the World Championship standings. The Englishman didn't appreciate it and ignored his teammate on the podium.
"Lewis wasn't happy with second place, and that's normal, but in the end, he has to accept that another driver was faster. That's how racing works. I don't like his attitude, and I'll tell him".
Lauda plans to meet with the two Mercedes drivers.
"This is not okay; on the contrary, Nico has always greeted his teammate. I'm not saying this because I'm a polite person, but I'm saying it for the Mercedes brand. I talked to the drivers before the race, and it's not over. I understand that I have to wait two or three days, but the issue will be easily resolved before going to Canada, even though I've never been worried until now. I'll talk to them as I always do—if they have problems, they call me. I think things will sort themselves out in the end".
A super-unlucky race for Kimi Raikkonen. It seemed to be a great weekend for Kimi Raikkonen, who immediately gained three positions at the start, moving behind the two Mercedes. However, a collision with Max Chilton's Marussia forced him to return to the pits to change the tire, slipping beyond the tenth position. He then recovered to eighth before a new contact with Magnussen's McLaren forced him back to the pits and ultimately finished in twelfth place.
"The result is awful, but not because of me. I could have finished eighth, but I wasn't interested in getting a couple of points. The race was ruined after a Marussia hit me and punctured the rear tire".
His sparse Baltic dialect is more eloquent than ever this time. In a five-minute press conference, Kimi Raikkonen manages to utter the word "puncture" fourteen times and the word "misfortune" eight times. Kimi Raikkonen says nothing else, just that the result is awful, but not his fault. Finally, after a disappointing start to the season, he had managed to put together all the factors, found the right setup for the race, started well, and had a pace that would likely have taken him to the podium. But just when everything seemed perfect, the kamikaze maneuver of a Marussia, Chilton's, ruined it all.
"There was a safety car, and he was lapped. He didn't give me space and punctured my tire. I had to return to the pits to change it, but my race was ruined".
Kimi Raikkonen returned to the track trying to gain as much as he could. From the back of the field, he started making overtakes, but he was betrayed by his own generosity: he attempted an impossible pass on Magnussen and collided with the guardrail. Game over, and another Sunday evening spent listening to Alonso's words, who, after a taxi-driver-like race, finds himself in the standings with almost quadruple the points (61 against 17). Marco Mattiacci consoles him, saying:
"Raikkonen has been exceptional. He's not depressed. He sees a team working flat out to bring Ferrari back to the top, and he is supportive of the project".
Much of the immediate future of the Maranello team will be revealed in Canada, where Montezemolo has announced the most significant development of the season, which should enable a leap forward in performance. In the end, things went better for Alonso, who, while never appearing as fast as Raikkonen, secured a good fourth place.
"We bring updates to every race, trying to improve, but the others also bring their own developments, so unfortunately, the gap from the top remains. But in Canada, we hope that everything we bring will help us improve and put us in a position closer to the podium, to have some fun ourselves in this season".
Third place, in fact, went to the very talented Ricciardo, who, in the end—thanking the insect—also tried to challenge Hamilton. And Vettel? No luck: the World Champion is suddenly experiencing all the misfortune he has avoided until now. His engine abandoned him at the beginning of the race, forcing him to retire. Christian Horner, Red Bull's team principal, tries to console Sebastian Vettel.
"There was a problem with the turbo; he's very unlucky at the moment, but he'll turn the page. He'll return to being favored by luck".
Horner assures, meanwhile enjoying Ricciardo's third-place finish.
"He had an extraordinary race; in the end, he was there, followed a sensible strategy, and was very close to Lewis, but in Monaco, you can't overtake even if you're two seconds faster. He's on a roll, doing better every race; it's remarkable what he's doing".