Button did it again. And this time in Monaco.
On a day we see BMW and Toyota could not catch up the Force India, and the day we see McLaren crumbles while Ferrari took the second best, Jenson Button simply outpaced everybody, his teammate included.
While most of the team chooses to start with the prime hard tyres, the Brawns start the race with soft tyre sets. In a mastery of tactinal analysis, Ross Brawn shines the best by making the right decision for his drivers. In spite the expectation of an early safety car period, they have managed to acknowledge the importance of pulling away at the start as Monte Carlo Street Circuit is not any other circuit where you'll have a lot of overtaking opportunities.
The anticipated safety car period never came, eventhough there are few accidents and kisses with the wall of Monaco. Unusual, yes. Cars that are fitted with the prime should plan to run longer but this doesn't seem to be the case last weekend.
RACE RESULT
Although starting from second and the fact that he run on KERS, Kimi Raikkonen failed to take advantage in the run to the first corner. Both he and his teammate Felipe Massa suffer a wheelspin at the start, causing them to lose half a second during the start. And this caused Raikkonen to lose second place to Barichello and Massa failed to overtake Vettel.
Since only the Ferrari and McLaren run on KERS, the wheelspin therefore is not foreseen. Maybe the street is too slippery for the hard Bridgestone compound and pushing KERS button on the start might aggravate the situation by causing wheelspin. No indication whether the McLarens are having the same issue upon starting the race.
Kimi Raikkonen at one time seems good to take the second spot but on his second pit stop his left front tyre had some difficulties to put on and lose him a few crucial seconds.
Vettel retired after hitting the barrier at Sainte Devote, the same spot where Hamilton crashed during Q1. Massa was promoted to fourth, sealing the best Ferrari finishes combined this season.
Kazuki Nakajima also suffered a crash late in the race. He could have finished in points. Nelsinho Piquet got hit at the back when Sebastien Buemi crashed into his car, retiring both contenders.
Kovalainen suffered another DNF. If we put his DNFs into perspective relative to the number of races so far, he would be Nelson Piquet personafied. Hamilton finished in a lowly 12th after starting from the worst grid position of his career. Steve Slater really feel for this guy, and in his words, "it is better to retire than having to suffer the misery of an underperforming car".
Alonso again finished in points. He really got the hang of monstering the R29. If this is the Champ Car or Indy 500, he could be leading the championship with such consistency.
Monaco Grand Prix signalled the return of form for Ferrari and the dominance of Brawns. In Turkey where we head for a normal race circuit in two weeks time, we might see a different pecking order. Toyota, BMW and McLaren might be going to challenge the midfielders in Monaco.
Hopefully Ferrari can continue to better their current form and fight for the win in Turkey. The championship could never get more exciting!
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