2008 Monaco Grand Prix Driver Review

Put aside all the debate on whether or not Monaco should be on the F1 calendar for a while. Maybe the race is not the most interesting one, but take away traction control and add rain, and you get an exciting spectacle on one of the most challenging circuits of the year.

Because of the lack of a long straight, Monaco encourages closer racing as engines and aerodynamic packages take a back seat to driver skills—at least as much as that is possible for Formula 1.

Certainly, mechanical grip and chassis setup remain large factors in performance on the streets of Monte Carlo, but I would be remiss not to take this opportunity to review who performed well at Monaco.

Without a doubt, the drive of the weekend goes to Adrian Sutil.

He drove an excellent race, and didn't make any meaningful mistakes on track. A little luck, a good race strategy, and a solid drive looked alright for a 4th-place finish on the tight streets of Monaco. Or, it would have been had he not been knocked out of the race by one Kimi Raikkonen.

Praises are pouring in for the younger driver for his performance, though. I cannot imagine a coherent argument against Sutil's drive this past weekend, but unlike some bloggers and commentators, I am going to shower him with a "cautious praise".

The Force India car is slow and off-pace, and I am nearly certain a handful to keep on the track. Furthermore, the small team has an atrocious time for getting both cars across the finish line, but even so, six races into the season, Sutil appears to be lagging behind Giancarlo Fisichella. Until Monaco, he had failed to outqualify Fisichella, and has spent almost all his time on track behind his teammate.

In my mind, Fisichella is not an exceptionally talented driver. I am honestly surprised he even has a ride.

Ralf Schumacher had in many ways proven himself to be a better driver, or at least have the more important last name, during his tenure in the sport. And, a quick scan of the team lists will show no Schumachers on track. Sutil is young, but when his teammate is one of the weakest drivers on the grid, he should be expected to outperform or match his teammate.

Monaco is a step in the right direction for Sutil, but don't jump to any conclusions based on one race.

The other big winner was none other than the revitalized Lewis Hamilton.

With his last two races in 2007 being unimpressive, and the first four races in 2008 being almost as disappointing, some were beginning to worry McLaren picked the wrong man for the job. Given his equipment last year, many drivers could have challenged him for the title, but these last two races are not typical driver performances.

For myself, I don't like to give undue honors to any Formula One driver in top equipment at least until their second year in the sport, but Lewis showed that his first year was no fluke.

One cannot review drives put in at Monaco without hitting the Raikkonen controversy.

He qualified well, but a team error gave him a drive-through penalty, and he then put the nose into a wall forcing another pit stop. Finally, he crashed while making contact with Adrian Sutil. 

Having reviewed his collision with Sutil many times on video, I have reached the following conclusions and observations.

This was a restart lap from the safety car, meaning that both Sutil and Raikkonen were on relatively cold tires. Furthermore, Raikkonen was on dry weather tires.

Both drivers exited the tunnel on different race lines, with Sutil taking a wider line and Raikkonen remaining closer to the wall. Raikkonen appeared to drive over a wetter patch with his right side tires, which sent the car sliding. He managed to keep the car on track traveling mostly straight, but the loss of traction caused him to hit Sutil's back, since he did not have the full command of his brakes.

Based on these observations, I feel it is safe to conclude that Raikkonen should not have suffered a penalty.

It can be argued that he made two mistakes during that lap—it is possible that he was pushing too hard on relatively cold tires, and his proximity to Sutil would likely affect his ability to see wet patches of pavement.

However, neither should be seen as intentional, reckless driving. Raikkonen wouldn't have been happy with a fifth place finish, but collecting points was a much better option than attempting a risky move that might knock him out of the point finish. Furthermore, Raikkonen had nothing to gain by intentionally hitting Sutil.

It can be concluded that the on-track crash was just a racing incident.

Watching teams like Jordan, Force India, or Arrows get any on-track success is fun and does warm one's heart. Furthermore these teams should not be intentionally robbed of points they earn.

But, one cannot confuse Formula 1 for a kind sport. Mistakes happen on track, and other driver’s mistakes often will affect your race, and they cannot be undone.