Monaco Grand Prix Review

But in hindsight, this was always going to be a weekend where McLaren was going to do well. Not that anyone would have known this before the meeting started, but for the first time all year the Michelin tyres had the advantage over the Bridgestones and Ferrari were on the back foot. And Monaco being Monaco, it allowed those cars with a power deficit but good aerodynamics and skilful drivers to shine - witness the sparkling performances all weekend, not only of DC, but also Jarno Trulli and Mark Webber.

In fact Trulli was so impressive his Renault topped free practice times on both Thursday and Saturday. Webber had similarly taken his Minardi into uncharted territory by finishing 8th fastest on Thursday, ahead of Michael Schumacher even. And for the first time all year, Coulthard appeared as though he was driving with purpose, taking advantage of the superb aerodynamics of the McLaren MP4/17 to overwhelm and dominate team-mate Kimi Raikkonen all weekend.

Coulthard looked as though pole would be his for the second year in a row, until one of the great qualifying laps of all time from Juan-Pablo Montoya's Williams snatched the top spot after the chequered flag had come out. DC had to settle for second, but a front row spot was still miles better than anything McLaren had achieved all year. Surprisingly, Schumacher (Michael) never topped the times at any stage, a combination of blocked laps, average Bridgestones and mysterious eye irritations thwarting his efforts.

With his brother in 4th and Rubens Barrichello 5th, Raikkonen pipped an unlucky Trulli for 6th with Jenson Button in the other Renault 8th, the first time this year that he has been consistently outpaced by his team-mate. The Toyotas rounded out the top 10, a sensational result for Mika Salo and Allan McNish, a Monaco specialist and a Monaco rookie respectively, driving a car renowned for being quick in a straight line but not as strong when it came to curvy bits, of which Monte Carlo has plenty.

Webber would start 19th, but he could well have been as high as 14th or 15th had Minardi not have to resort to some creative car-juggling after the maladroit Alex Yoong crashed on his first hot lap and couldn't get the spare to work properly. But at least it was still better than the shocking Jaguars, Pedro de la Rosa only managing 20th, ahead of supposed Monaco specialist Eddie Irvine, who plumbed new depths in starting 21st. Last year, in the R2, he had qualified 6th, some 2 seconds faster than in this year's R3...

Come the race, the start would prove to be all-important, and McLaren made amends for last year's mishap when Coulthard on pole couldn't get away on the parade lap, by giving him this year a launch control superior enough to catapult him past Montoya into Ste Devote. Contrast that to Villeneuve, whose race was destroyed as soon as he stalled on the line, and also to Button, who crept forward, thus incurring a drive-through penalty, and then missed the start proper. The Englishman would never recover all race.

This drive was on par with his efforts in France in 2000 and in Brazil and Austria last year, if not better, and had shades of Gilles Villeneuve's victory at Jarama in 1981. Having said that, he could thank the McLaren boffins for making the start he did, for without it he probably would not have been in a position to win. If he had been trapped behind Montoya up until the stops, even when JPM started to slow down with his engine problem, then most likely Michael would have passed him in the pits.

As it was, DC pulled out a vital lead when JPM started dropping back, enough to stay in front of Michael, who was probably the fastest driver on the track in race trim. By the end of the race, the World Champion would probably have been sick of following people without being able to get past them. Suffice to say that the nature of Monaco made for some of the best battles that we've seen in a long time, and it went some way to restoring a little faith in the racing element of Formula One.

You have to credit the Ferrari driver for driving forcefully and aggressively but not doing anything rash all race. So often he got a tow on the Williams through the tunnel, only for the Colombian to stay in the centre of the track and not allow the German to pull alongside for the pass into the port chicane. Then, towards the end, he put relentless pressure on DC's McLaren without ever resorting to a desperado move, and in so doing found it impossible to get by.

Nigel Mansell found that out trying to get past Ayrton Senna in the late stages of the 1992 race, and Giancarlo Fisichella also discovered it as he tried to pass Trulli for 4th towards the end of this race, the Jordan driver taking his second points haul in as many races, and Trulli opening his 2002 account. Barrichello was another one who ended up frustrated at the end, unable to pass Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Arrows for 6th, although the Brazilian had also shown his measure of impatience earlier in the race.

Rubens rightly received a stop-go penalty for his troubles but he had not been the first. Earlier on, Massa had been passed by Enrique Bernoldi's Arrows down the front straight, only for the Sauber driver to lock up his brakes and shove his countryman off the road in one of the more amateurish incidents you'll see this year. The rookie then repeated the dose later, all on his own, when he again locked up and speared head first into the wall at Ste Devote.

Any racing driver worth his salt knows that once you lock up your brakes you don't slow down particularly quickly, and worse still you lose steering control. On both occasions Massa forgot this most basic of driving principles, and appeared as though he had panicked. Add to that his antics in qualifying, and one could well conclude that the young Brazilian had simply been overawed by the challenge that is Monte Carlo. As a result, he receives our 'Reject of the Race' award this time around.

REJECT OF THE RACE
Felipe Massa
Blocking, punting, crashing: Massa Master of Disaster in Monaco

And the litany of broken machinery wouldn't be complete without mention of the man who is the runaway favourite for 'Reject of the Year' currently, Jordan pilot Takuma Sato. You'd hate to be one of his mechanics at the moment, so much damage has he inflicted. Here, he was actually trying to let team-mate Fisichella past in the tunnel when he lost control and tore the left side off his car. Instead of letting Giancarlo through, he nearly took the Italian out!

We've said it before and we'll say it again now. It doesn't take a NASA scientist to work out that Takuma is simply trying too hard. Including the crash he had in the Historic Monaco GP, that's three big shunts he's had in three weeks. Early in their F1 careers, Ralf Schumacher and Montoya both had the same problem of over-driving. Quite simply, right at this moment Sato needs to finish some races, even if it means he drives at the pace of the Minardis and Jaguars. I think even Eddie Jordan would prefer it that way.

Webber drove a fantastic race, battling early with the likes of Panis, Heidfeld and the Jordans, and if not for a poor two-stop strategy ought to have finished in the top 10. Considering the fact that he is still yet to spin off the track in a race this year, unlike other hot-shot rookies like Massa and Sato, he is undoubtedly the rookie of the year so far, following in Fernando Alonso's footsteps from last year. Meanwhile, Bernoldi recovered from Massa's assault but eventually finished a distant 12th.

It is ironic that McLaren's win this time around came just after Ron Dennis admitted that they were already looking towards 2003. Undoubtedly this result won't change that fact. McLaren are honest enough to know that the characteristics of Monaco plus Coulthard's great driving was what brought them to the forefront this weekend. Come the next race in Canada, where raw power will come into its own again, the silver cars will once again find themselves trailing in the wake of the Ferraris and Williams.