F1 Monaco - 2008 Preview

With a week to go until the Monaco Grand Prix, the atmosphere seems a little more relaxed since events unfolded at the Istanbul Park, where Ferrari won their fourth race this season and underlined their current dominance in this early stage.

But the Turkish race also showed a new trend in racing, beginning with a McLaren starting on the front row and finishing by splitting Ferraris. You have to feel most for Heikki Kovalainen, as he bounced back from his big shunt in Spain producing his best qualifying result, only to be undone by a puncture caused by a collision with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.

The rest of the race for Kovalainen was basically a charge from the back of the grid to finish a disappointing twelveth place, one lap down.

Could Kovy have won that race? Possibly, especially with Lewis Hamilton on a blistering low fuel pace. Hamilton finshed 3.7 seconds behind race winner Felipe Massa and showed the determination to challenge for wins, which some critics had believed he'd lost.

Hamilton's bold three-stop strategy almost worked and gave Ferrari something to think about. But now as we move to the principality of Monaco, strategies will be particularly important in the tight and twisty streets of Monte Carlo. And Hamilton will be looking to continue his trend of third in Spain, second in Turkey up on to that top step.

Are McLaren up to the task? I think so, especially since this is a track which Hamilton excels at. He was twice a winner in 2006 in GP2 and runner up last year, although he definitely had the measure of teammate Fernando Alonso and was told by the team to come in earlier for a pit stop, which probably cost him the race.

Ferrari's recent track record in Monaco is less impressive. The team hasn't won there since 2001 with Michael Schumacher. The Ferrari has traditionally had the longest wheelbase in the paddock, which would make it more of a handful when dealing with those tight bends. But I think that has been changed for this year, so they may have more of a chance.

But as strong a package the Ferrari may be, it requires 100% concentration from both drivers. Raikkonen won with McLaren in 2005 and Massa has yet to achieve that. As they seem to be the form team at the moment, they had better be mindful of the other teams, particularly McLaren and BMW.

Monaco tends to be the track where the pecking order is shuffled and the other teams have more of a chance than in the rest of the season.

The other aspect to watch out for is Lewis Hamilton. He loves this track and knows it very well. He is going into this weekend to put a block on Ferrari's charge and dent Raikkonen's title challenge.

He currently sits joint 2nd with Massa and I think he is more than capable of winning on Sunday. I also think that Kovalainen may be a critical factor in Monaco, he is definitely getting to grips with the McLaren and could prove to be a thorn in Ferrari's side.