Monaco: McLaren Vs Ferrari

As the Monaco Grand Prix fast approaches thoughts turn to who will take the chequered flag come Sunday afternoon?

 The recent races have shown the Mclaren are in the ascendancy and are fast closing the gap between them and the Ferarri's. Turkey was a prime example with the difference at the end of the race being less than a pit stop.

 Mclaren appear confident over for Monaco. Their car is more suited to the tighter twists and turns of the street circuit, while the Ferarri is more suited to the open circuits that we have had over the last few weeks.

 Hamilton is in a confident mood, although in his usual style is not being overly vocal about his chances. His second place to Massa in turkey has allowed him to start closing the points gap between him and Raikkonen and he will be looking to further close the gap by the end of Monaco. Hamilton's performance showed his commitment to the cause.

Tyre issues have saw Hamilton throw away the 2007 championship when he wasted valuable points, however experience shone through in Turkey when Hamilton used his tyres wisely, opting for the harder compound for the majority of the race to ensure his car remained balanced and controllable.

The laps that Hamilton had at the end of the race were less convincing with the soft tyre, but Hamilton's pace stayed firm and allowed him to finish strongly. If Hamilton and his race engineer can continue to make sound decisions for the remainder of the year the title race could well be taken down to the wire.

 Kovalainen was frustrated at the end of the Turkish GP. Despite ending up at the back of the field in 12th place, his finish showed that he was over the huge accident in Turkey, but to him 12th was far lower than he hoped to have achieved. "Not a lucky race for me" was an understatement from the Finn, who will surely be pushing hard to make amends in Monaco. Kovalianen will be looking to frustrate the Ferarri's by keeping them out of the top 2 come chequered flag, even more so given that the "bad luck" came in the guise of Raikkonen's front wing into his rear tyre!

 Both Hamilton and Kovalainen have shrugged off the penalties imposed from the spy scandal of last year and turned them into an advantage. Mclaren have learnt to live with the space restrictions of the pit lane, Ron Dennis highlighting that they have to endure the restrictions in places like Monaco at every race.

Mclaren also appear to have be making the pit lane position work for them, they have been able to let their drivers leave the pit box and not have to hit the rev limiter before the end of the pit lane. This has made a small difference in pit stop times, but with the battle with Ferrari looking like it's becoming a matter of hundreths of seconds this could be crucial in race for the championship.

 Raikkonen will be looking to try to re-establish the points barrier between himself and Hamilton. Raikkonen's performance in Turkey was another true sign that the title leader is pushing hard this season, coming through the race with damage to the front wing sustained in the first lap contact with Kovalainen.

Raikkonen is determined that the Prancing Horse will not suffer the same embarrassment that came with Monaco 2007. For a title winning car to come across the finish line 1 minute after silver and black of the Mclaren was a big shock, especially for the ever faithful Tifosi, who since the departure of Schumacher from the racing seat have been less of a force in Formula 1.

 Massa's victory in Turkey brought him level with Hamilton in the title race, just 8 points behind team mate Raikkonen. Massa will want to push forward and be in serious contention for a title win this year following his role as second driver in the team for so long. Massa has produced some confident drives this year but none more so than the total domination that he displayed in Turkey. If Massa can replicate that form in races to come then the title race will between 3 drivers this year!

Monaco has the potential to be a huge turning point in the season. If the Ferrari struggles like in 2007 then the BMW's could be well placed to pounce, especially the high qualifier Kubica. Renault are not confident about their pace at Monaco and believe they will fall behind, and with the other teams no-where near the front trio the weekend is looking like a Mclaren will have a spring in their step when the teams cross the Atlantic to take on the wall of champions in the Canadian Grand Prix.