Monaco Grand Prix: Ferrari Conquers Last Bastion of McLaren Resistance

Ener the dragon...against all odds and expectations, Ferrari has set a foot across the defense line of what seemed to be McLaren's impregnable fortress. The pranced horse squad has been supreme in qualifying for the Monaco GP.

The very track that was almost owned by the McLaren boys has been conquered by a red storm in the shape and form of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen locking out the front row!

So why is Ferrari's outpacing McLaren in this particular event so important in the championship? Well, the McLaren were clear favourites walking (I mean rolling) into the glamourous streets of Monaco. The silver arrows have won so many times there that no other team can boast such a rate of victory in Monte Carlo.

Moreover, the higher downforce at Monaco should have played in the hands of the Woking outfit as it did in past editions, yet it is Ferrari coming out on top and conquering one of the last outposts of McLaren's resistance!

On the other hand, it is payback time for the Italian outfit, as their last victory in the principality dates all the way back to 2001.

Regardless, the consequences for the manufacturers championship will be tantamount, especially if Ferrari keep things the way they are and make it a one-two this Sunday.

The manufacturer's championship crown will be within reach sooner rather than later, because if indeed Ferrari are now so good that they can outdo the McLarens on their favoured tracks, I just do not see how Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will be able to stop the Red storm.

Furthermore, I do not agree the manufacturer's championship is a two-horse race. By the looks of it, second place is where the two horse race is happening, as it stands, BMW, two points clear of McLaren, is second with 44 points despite not having recorded a single victory yet.

The German manufacturer gets more points out of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld. I doubt they will be able to challenge for the championship anyway. Nineteen points adrift of Ferrari is quite a gap. So what looks like a threesome on paper (without being rude) is actually a one-team demonstration of pace, power, speed and domination in Formula One.

I hate to say this, but Melbourne aside, Ferrari has claimed victory on every single GP they have entered in, and if that's not scary enough, then Sunday the scarlett team could take it to the next level and beat the silver arrows in their own promised lands!

Felipe Massa has been getting to grips with a very different face to what we've been witnessing in the start of the season. From two DNF's, the Brazilian hotshot came back with a vengeance with two victories. A third in Monaco would seal the fate of the manufacturer's championship as long as the Iceman finishes second.

If indeed Massa wins in the glamour-clad-champagne-flowing-yacht-cruising-babe-tanning streets of Monaco; a GP he himself labelled as one of his least favourites, we Formula One fans may be in for one very interesting battle for the world championship title. What more can we ask?

We could ask that the same would apply for the manufacturer's championship. Having said that and looking at the situation, this is all wishful thinking; i.e. considering the domineering potential of the F2008 and the dream pair of drivers at the wheels of this tremendous pace-setting machine.

We're only in round 6 of 18, a third of the way through the championship; it clearly is evident the F2008 is a mile above the rest; despite what Hamilton, Kovalainen and Kubica may think of it, the Maranello squad is well on the way to claiming the manufacturer's championship this year.

As for the driver's title, well, if everything holds equal, it is guaranteed a man in red will be world champion...again, or for the first time!

Or will a beacon of hope shine through the red storm and claim a first-ever drivers championship?