Vote for your 2012 Monaco GP driver of the weekend

122 comments on “Vote for your 2012 Monaco GP driver of the weekend”

1. 

   Deurmat (@deurmat)
   28th May 2012, 15:42

   Fernando, Felipe is faster than you.
   1. 

      Eric (@fletch)
      28th May 2012, 15:48

      +1
   2. 

      Todfod (@todfod)
      28th May 2012, 16:47

      I knew I was going to see that comment sometime
   3. 

      AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
      28th May 2012, 17:22

      He wasn’t though; Fernando was just taking better care of his tyres than anyone else, except possibly Vettel.
      1. 

         Clark Finlay (@ck2000)
         28th May 2012, 20:57

         +1

         Totally agree I think Alonso played a very clever game allowing Hamilton to get just far enough in front to avoid the negative aero effect on the tires early on and come the time the pitstops he was able to push harder than anyone expected.
         1. 

            suka (@suka)
            29th May 2012, 7:42

            Same here. It would have been more obvious had he stayed a couple of laps longer in the first stint.
      2. 

         sorin (@)
         28th May 2012, 22:00

         I tell you guys, nobody could avoid Perez and Grosjean like Raikkonen, did.
         1. 

            Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
            29th May 2012, 4:55

            Haha
            +1
      3. 

         Mike (@mike)
         29th May 2012, 8:36

         Yeah… But it’s still funny :D
   4. 

      Santiago Ontanon (@santiontanon)
      29th May 2012, 1:30

      Except he wasn’t :)
      1. 

         Hamilton (@hamiltonjp)
         29th May 2012, 21:29

         Felipe is going fast. Despite Ferrari and Santander sabotage. Why don’t we discuss this fact? “Felipe, Alonso is cheating on you”.
   5. 

      Fixy (@)
      29th May 2012, 21:45

      Fernando was slow when Felipe was fast, so Felipe couldn’t pass ahead and reach the leaders, then when he started controlling his tyres Fernando went faster and Felipe lost touch… damn!
2. 

   carbon_fibre (@carbon_fibre)
   28th May 2012, 15:47

   This is a tough one ,because nobody dominated the weekend. I playing it safe and voted for Alonso.
   1. 

      Bigbadderboom (@bigbadderboom)
      28th May 2012, 16:42

      Playing it safe is voting for Webber :). Thats what i did, as you say no stand out performances and even Webbers pole to win performance was controlled and kept well within the performance parameters. Difficult to really justify giving it to anyone else though!
   2. 

      1 of the 3
      28th May 2012, 17:03

      Yet “playing it safe” would objectively be Webber wouldn’t it.

      I think (for the entire weekend) it’s got to be Webber, Rosberg and then Kovalainen. I’d put Alonso in 4th – afterall his car is just dandy and his team are very intelligent from the pits.
      1. 

         AJ (@ascar2000us)
         28th May 2012, 17:12

         Massa deserves a mention here… It wasn’t an outstanding result in normal terms..
         But to fight back after all that criticism and put up a good show.. few points for him too.
         1. 

            minnis (@minnis)
            28th May 2012, 21:04

            I still don’t think Massa can even be considered for a mention. Yes, he did better than he normally does – but when his norm is absolutely appalling, being better than that isn’t anything special. Alonso showed just what that Ferrari is capable of. It’s driver of the weekend, not driver that isn’t as bad as he normally is. If he wants mentioning as driver of the weekend, he needs to start beating his teammate.
            1. 

               suka (@suka)
               29th May 2012, 7:45

               But he did, at least in Q2 :)
         2. 

            Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
            29th May 2012, 4:59

            Agreed. To bounce back like he did was very impressive. Momentum is everything in racing, just as it is easy to keep doing well, after a good result, it is hard to bounce back after a string of bad races. Through qualifying and most of the race Massa was stuck to Alonso’s gearbox like glue. Considering Alonso has been the most impressive driver of the season thus far and Massa one of the least, it is an achievement that deserves recognition.
            1. 

               Mike (@mike)
               29th May 2012, 8:37

               Agreed.
            2. 

               MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
               29th May 2012, 9:09

               Felipe was outraced by his teammate every race and every qualifying session this season. This weekend wasn’t that different. Massa didn’t bounce back.
            3. 

               1 of the 3
               29th May 2012, 9:37

               I think Massa was great as well and yes agreed on his deserving a mention. I take issue, however, with Alonso being ‘the most impressive driver of the season’.

               Will Ferrari tell Massa to move over if he’s ahead of FA? Yes. Will the other teams do the same with their drivers? mainly No (Red Bull might tell Webber but he’ll refuse the order). So for me FA is not the most impressive, but rather the most privileged because he gets ‘free’ points.
   3. 

      RACERNORRISKI (@racernorriski)
      28th May 2012, 19:03

      Interesting that you say, no one dominated??? Did not Mark Weber constantly come back into the lead and then the win with a hard fought race?? Thanks, Racer PS Massa should get an honorable mention, as wall as Nico Rosberg as these drivers qualified well and managed to stay in the fray….
      1. 

         babis1980 (@babis1980)
         29th May 2012, 8:11

         IMO whoever from the first 6th was in front would win the race. They all had the pace to stay ahead because it is very easy to manage the tyres if you are not in dirty air. Fernado took it veeeeryyyyy easy at the start so he had life in the tyres in the pit stop phase so he went purple and purple when Hamilton pitted.

         For me the driver of the gp was Felipe. Don’t get me wrong, I am a Massa fan, but what he did at Monaco was impressive (jugging from his form this year). In all FPs was very quick, in qualy was really quick as well. In Canada he will be ever better. He has unfinished business from last year!!!

         Great race for Vettel, the different strategy work again for him. Webber had great qualy, but he was really lucky for Michaels penalty. Nico had a average gp, because I am sure that he was quicker than Mark.
3. 

   Abuelo Paul (@abuello-paul)
   28th May 2012, 15:50

   I’ve gone for Heikki, the only driver who apparently actually had to race for his finish. Brought the Caterham home for a good result. All the other drivers were just involved in the traditional follow the leader procession.
   1. 

      AJ (@aj13)
      28th May 2012, 18:26

      Say What? No Schumacher votes yet?

      I’m no fan after the Damon Hill incidents etc, but after all the **** he’s taken about coming back and not being good enough any more – to go and stick it on pole – AT MONACO – the most technical circuit around – Simply stunning.

      Kimi couldn’t hack Monaco because he’s too rusty – car was obviously fine from Grow John’s qualiy efforts. (he’s pretty tall thought anyway).
      1. 

         AJ (@aj13)
         28th May 2012, 18:32

         Plus no one cares what happens in the Sunday procession. Pole sitter wins – 2nd comes 2nd….. In fact, in the last deacde it looks as though F1 has outgrown Monaco. At least car, driver, tyre unreliability used to add some edge but now…..its a bore fest.

         The cars are too quick (in acceleration) so no one can overtake. Maybe its time to wave bye to the old girl.
      2. 

         Kimi4WC
         29th May 2012, 3:00

         Thanks to Lotus, they should get an award for worst race calls this season.
         1. 

            babis1980 (@babis1980)
            29th May 2012, 8:15

            +1
   2. 

      Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
      29th May 2012, 10:14

      I was surprised to have to go down that much to see a mention for Heikki, he hold up Button for so long … Not loosing his car on Button attempt to overtake even if he had to change that wing.
      (At least the vote result are quite good for him, but probably too many people are conservative and vote for the easy win of Webber but without the manner)

      For the rest nobody really did what we can call a great race as that was almost static and just passing through pit stops …
4. 

   sumedhvidwans (@sumedhvidwans)
   28th May 2012, 15:54

   I will go for Heikki.

   Everyone else seemed to be nursing tyres throughout the race. Perez’s fastest lap was 1.5 seconds quicker than Webber’s. Now, I won’t believe that Webber actually won in a car slower than Sauber. I will believe that Webber was conserving rubber so much that he couldn’t do one lap out of 78 which was good enough to be atleast closer to Perez’s time. Not on supersofts, not on softs, not on low fuel, not on high fuel. Never!!

   And this holds true for all the top 6! Conservation, conservation, conservation.

   I am sure Heikki was not into conservation mode because he had to keep a Mclaren behind him. And he did that brilliantly on the track and also in the pits. Full marks to Heikki.
   And yes, i vote him for the WEEKEND because his qualifying lap compared to Petrov was nine-tenths quicker in Q1.
   1. 

      xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
      28th May 2012, 22:13

      and he would have got into Q2 had a Marussia not (unintentially) held him up
      1. 

         Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
         29th May 2012, 5:00

         Yes, Heikki was on fire! To hold up Button in that McLaren for so long was incredible.
5. 

   Victor_RO (@victor_ro)
   28th May 2012, 15:56

   Takuma Sato. :))

   In all seriousness, Massa was far more impressive this time around than the last 20-odd races, let’s see if this is a blip or a re-emerging trend of competitiveness.
   1. 

      ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
      28th May 2012, 16:08

      Not sure about that, it’s the third time in four races Massa’s been within 7 seconds of Alonso at the end of the race.

      His qualifying certainly improved a lot this weekend though.
   2. 

      BasCB (@bascb)
      28th May 2012, 16:39

      Oh, YES!
      1. 

         Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
         29th May 2012, 5:03

         Yes indeed! Hopefully a return to competitiveness in both qualifying and the races.

         Great stat from @ed24f1

         It’s about time someone pointed that out! Everyone seems to notice Massa’s bad races, but in half of the races this season he’s been right behind Alonso! It can’t be too long before he is the first Ferrari at the checkers.
         1. 

            MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
            29th May 2012, 9:02

            Did I miss something? Did Massa qualified or finished the race ahead of Alonso? No he didn’t. He was his usual mediocre self. Driver of the weekend? Massa didn’t even come close.
         2. 

            ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
            29th May 2012, 13:48

            Thanks @Adam-Tate
   3. 

      Pelican (@pelican)
      29th May 2012, 17:59

      I’d second the vote for Sato, easily the raciest drive I saw all weekend.
      Since he’s not on the list, I voted for Kovalianen.
6. 

   Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
   28th May 2012, 15:58

   Had he finished, I’d have voted for Schumacher. His quick time in qualifying was impressive, even more when you see him adjusting the brake bias in the middle of the fast esse at the Swiming Pool!

   But he didn’t finish, so it’s Webber for me… He was short of being quickest on saturday and he got it right when it mattered on Sunday: the start.
   1. 

      Robbie (@robbie)
      28th May 2012, 17:49

      I voted for MW for the same reason, and then here I am bemoaning NR’s low rating when I in fact didn’t vote for him either. I think this shows the ‘flaw’ in this poll. Not really a flaw, but the fact that people vote for someone who either was a no-brainer, or who gained the most spots or did something in a car that didn’t belong there. But my point being, NR missed poll by a hair, started on the front row, held that spot all day long, and didn’t crack under the pressure…and yet 1%. 1% for a near pole and a 2nd place and 18 points toward the WDC. There must be a better way of rating these drivers…or maybe this is just the way it is…I’ve talked up NR and yet admit to voting for MW because he did the weekend a notch better than NR both on Saturday and Sunday…I guess to me a notch shouldn’t mean 30% vs. 1% though. NR surely wouldn’t rate his own race as having a 1% approval rating. I think this weekend was almost as good as a win for him, and he and MS proved the potential of the car again. So NR is likely thrilled with how it is going…and yet…1%.
      1. 

         Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
         28th May 2012, 19:05

         @robbie there’s one problem with that, which quite spoils your views about Nico being one of the drivers of the weekend: Schumacher outqualified him, and at a place like Monaco, that makes a huge difference.

         It’s not like NR’s race has 1% approval rating either, you’re looking at it the wrong way. It’s how many people think he was the driver of the weekend.
         1. 

            Matty No 2 (@mattynotwo)
            28th May 2012, 20:04

            I think, ROS and WEB had fairly similar weekends, except WEB won and ROS did,nt, so I vote WEB.
         2. 

            Robbie (@robbie)
            29th May 2012, 17:17

            Yeah I hear you but I guess I just find it a bit odd that NR did so well and was only outqualified by a hair, ie. was not trounced, and went on to convert that to some great points in a car that has obviously struggled with tire some days, and shown pace on others. I agree that it’s not really an ‘approval rating’ and I know it is about driver of the weekend, but it just seems to me that there isn’t always a ton of consistancy or logic placed on the DotW…that said, there can only be one winner of DotW, or I guess it could be a tie but usually isn’t. I guess if we had a poll saying rate this driver or rate that driver NR would have received let’s say 8 or 9 out of 10 for his weekend which is a far cry from 1 to 3% for DotW.
7. 

   verstappen (@verstappen)
   28th May 2012, 16:00

   I went for … Felipe Massa.

   Maybe this seems strange, but despite of all the questions which he no doubt had to answer about his performance, despite him being unhappy with the car and tyres, despite of his contract runnig out… despite all that he managed to be close to his teammate in both qualifying and the race, for the first time of the year, on a track that is all about the driver and commitment.

   For sure Felipe got it all right between the ears!
   1. 

      minnis (@minnis)
      28th May 2012, 21:08

      How can you even consider voting for Felipe Massa when he was outperformed by his teammate in both qualifying and the race? Sure he had a good weekend by his standards, but saying he is driver of the weekend implies he is better than Alonso. Clearly not true.
      1. 

         verstappen (@verstappen)
         28th May 2012, 22:10

         Massa didn’t hit Grosjean.
         1. 

            suka (@suka)
            29th May 2012, 8:13

            No he didn’t, Grosjean hit MS.
            Grosjean has been making start crashes ever since his comeback…Surely, he will make a couple more by the end of the season.
            1. 

               BasCB (@bascb)
               29th May 2012, 8:24

               After first having been bumped to the wheel by Alonso who jumped for a gap that really was not there to jump into. Only then did Grosjean go to the side, and (likely still looking at Alonso on the other side) failed to notice Schumacher in time.
               A classic for what can happen on a tight track at the start really.
            2. 

               suka (@suka)
               29th May 2012, 9:53

               Alonso who jumped for a gap that really was not there to jump into

               It was Alonso’s rear bumbping Grosjean’s front tyres. If there was no gap it’d be reversed tyre order bumping sort of. Grosjean started to close the door too late the way I see it.
            3. 

               BasCB (@bascb)
               29th May 2012, 9:58

               @suka, I do not want to get into a fight of who was dong what wrong or right here, but from Alonso’s onboard camera Grosjeans front wing was right next (20 cm?) to Alonso’s front tyre when he decided to go for that gap. It was a bit of a chance taken by Alonso, and it might have backfired for him. Instead it backfired for Grosjean, and a lot of guys behind.
               I had the impression it was rather that Grosjean had not expected that move (because they were as close as they were) and overreacted after the small contact.
            4. 

               suka (@suka)
               29th May 2012, 13:05

               Fair enough might be but take a look at here:
               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cgFB_eai9E
      2. 

         Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
         29th May 2012, 5:18

         It is not a prerequisite that a driver beat his team mate on track to be considered driver of the weekend.
8. 

   Asanator (@asanator)
   28th May 2012, 16:00

   I’ve gone for Alonso.

   He backed off Hamilton in the early stages, knowing he was faster, to conserve his tyres for the end of the first stint and closed up to the back of him at the end knowing pitstops (By that stage) were inevitable and pumped in the times to jump him in the pitstop phase.

   I just wish Felipe had backed off Alonso in the same manner and maybe he too would have jumped Hamilton had he saved some tyre. But I suppose he had a point to prove, which I can understand.
9. 

   MahavirShah (@mahavirshah)
   28th May 2012, 16:02

   A tough race to pick a driver better than the rest. I voted for Webber on the basis of the fact that he kept his cool and drove a sound race even when for a while it seemed that Rosberg would soon overtake him. He was helped a lot by Monaco itself where passing is rare. On any other track it would have been tough to say the least. Yet, he did his job which was to start well and then to not make any mistakes. Also for a driver who spent last year in the shadow of his team mate and pressurized by a lot of people for his lack of performance against his team mate, he has done a great bounce back job.

   That being said, it was not a mind blowing performance by him or any driver for that matter. I said in an earlier post for a different article that Karthikeyan probably did the best racing by managing to not impede anyone. When that becomes the case, it seems hard to pick anyone for a top drive.
   1. 

      Thecollaroyboys (@thecollaroyboys)
      28th May 2012, 23:30

      +1
10. 

    Tango (@tango)
    28th May 2012, 16:15

    Jean Eric Vergne. Great comeback, killed by wrong decision from TR (he could’ve gone against it, but I don’t believe TR drivers are allowed to be against the team’s ideas).
    1. 

       Kévin (@the13iceman)
       28th May 2012, 18:53

       +1 good week for the french driver. He deserved some points.
    2. 

       Jake (@jleigh)
       28th May 2012, 21:59

       he actually had to pit for a second time anyway as he had run soft-soft according to Ted Kravitz.
    3. 

       @HoHum (@hohum)
       29th May 2012, 2:15

       Sorry but he only looked good until he ran out of tyre, it was a strategy that looked good mid-race but was doomed to fail without rain.
11. 

    Mauri (@erioni)
    28th May 2012, 16:19

    I’m voting Michael, although he DNF, mainly because of his stellar Saturday performance and his coolness before the race. A real pity that Grossjean ruined (again) his race, because I believe that he would have ended up in podium (should the fuel issue not have been there). I guess we have to wait some more for his luck to change.
    1. 

       Robbie (@robbie)
       28th May 2012, 16:35

       Grosjean didn’t do anything on purpose other than to avoid FA who was trying to avoid LH. MS had gone wide to try to gain spots at the start that way…not unusual for him…but then he found himself in a 4-wide situation with nowhere to go which doesn’t even work in Nascar on a big oval, let alone in Monaco. To me MS was unimpressive in the race and if he couldn’t get by KR other than through pitting I don’t see how he would have gotten a podium from 6th on the grid even without the contact with Grosjean.
       1. 

          CX9
          28th May 2012, 19:41

          To me Schumacher was impressive in the race if not the squeeze from Grosjean, there was a possibility he would gain some places maybe 5th or 4th since Grosjean really had a slow start and it’s hard to pass in Monaco even Vettel with supersoft and Rosberg which has quicker car and quicker than Webber at the end of the laps but couldn’t make a pass and Schumacher was catching the front runners very fast untill the fuel pressure problem not t mention he got faster lap time than Rosberg.
    2. 

       Jorge Lardone (@jorgelardone)
       28th May 2012, 18:22

       It was not Grosjean fault, he was beaten by Alonso!
12. 

    Nick.UK (@)
    28th May 2012, 16:23

    How does Jenson have more than Lewis? I voted for Kovalainin. Was great to see a Caterham fight with a McLaren, even if it was a little artificial due to the nature of the track.
    1. 

       Todfod (@todfod)
       28th May 2012, 16:51

       Well..I’m sure the voter was being sarcastic
       Maldonado and his ridiculous antics put him at the worst driver of the weekend for me… but if it wasn’t for him, I thought Button was hands down the poorest driver on Saturday & Sunday
13. 

    Robbie (@robbie)
    28th May 2012, 16:25

    I voted for MW…second fastest on Saturday, promoted to poll due to MS’s penalty…took the win with pressure from NR all the way. Don’t understand NR’s 2% to MS’s 10% in the voting…NR clearly was only a tenth off MS’s best time on Saturday, then NR got just as good a start as MW and shadowed him the whole way to take a big chunk of points, a first and a second so far for him in 6 races. Meanwhile MS was unimpressive up until the point he had a technical issue. And it was unimpressive of him to put himself in the penalty to begin with. He was his own worst enemy for this race and yet somehow scores higher than NR? Don’t get it.
    1. 

       CX9
       28th May 2012, 19:45

       “Don’t get it”
       Because you don’t get it everything about MS :D
    2. 

       SimBri (@f1addict)
       29th May 2012, 0:18

       MS qualified better. The incident at the start wasn’t his fault. The retirement wasn’t his fault. In between he at least made up a place, which is more than can be said for NR, and was beginning to push towards Massa. And to be honest, MS being able to show he can still be the fastest is a much better story than Rosberg having yet another bland race.

       I’m not voting for Schumi, but if I was going for one of the Mercs it would be him.
14. 

    Ciaran (@ciaran)
    28th May 2012, 16:26

    I don’t see why people are suddenly voting for Massa. It was good, for sure, but nothing spectacular. Just because it was an improvement over the last few races doesn’t mean he’s suddenly driver of the weekend.
    I voted for Webber, he kept his head at the start when I thought he’d lose it, and withstood pressure throughout, pretty faultless.
    1. 

       OEL F1 (@oel-f1)
       29th May 2012, 8:49

       Might be because he was faster than Alonso in qualy. Ok it was at the wrong moment, but his Q2 time was better than Alonos’s best in either of the sessions. In the end of the day Fernando still had the upper hand, but Felipe Massa showed that he can still be faster than the almighty Spaniard.
    2. 

       MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
       29th May 2012, 9:31

       @ciaran Exactly. At best Massa improved from “abysmal” to “mediocre”.
       @oel-f1 Alonso isn’t “almighty”.
       1. 

          OEL F1 (@oel-f1)
          30th May 2012, 9:10

          So setting a faster lap in qualifying than Alonso in Monaco is mediocre. I’d love to see you do that.
15. 

    disjunto (@disjunto)
    28th May 2012, 16:28

    The most exciting moment of the race was provided by Grosjean.
    The most exciting moment of qualifying was provided by Schumacher.

    Guess I could vote for Heikki, qualified close to the pack, gained positions at the start and didn’t look like losing a position (although no one else on the track really looked like a losing a position either). So hard to pick a best driver when the race was so dull
    1. 

       Mauri (@erioni)
       29th May 2012, 0:10

       +1
       (said but true)
    2. 

       OEL F1 (@oel-f1)
       29th May 2012, 8:52

       Come on it’s Monaco, and watching F1 cars going around a circuit can never be dull! :D
16. 

    melkurion (@melkurion)
    28th May 2012, 16:29

    Voted HEikki, Mark did nothing special, all he did was use the nature of the track to keep rosberg behind him, big whoop
    1. 

       infy (@infy)
       28th May 2012, 16:38

       I’m not normally a fan of Heikki’s work, but holding back a MCL with a that frog of a car was good to see. He got my vote.

       Other special mention has to go to Alonso for being smart enough to manipulate those around him on track. He went forward while the others went backwards.
    2. 

       Robbie (@robbie)
       28th May 2012, 16:42

       Use the nature of the track? As in…one mistake and you are toast. I think you are underestimating the pressure these guys are under, and the fact that a bit of rain occured probably made it an absolute nail-biter for them. Huge kudos to MW for keeping it together, and NR for keeping the pressure on in a mistake free manner, all the while being pressured by FA from behind, too. Don’t understand NR’s low rating in this poll for his weekend.
       1. 

          aka_robyn (@)
          28th May 2012, 16:52

          Yeah, I really agree with @robbie, which is why I voted for Webber. It might not have looked spectacular from where we were sitting, but pulling off that win without making any mistakes, especially with the rain and with Rosberg (and Alonso and Vettel and Hamilton right behind) breathing down his neck for so much of that last stint, could not have been easy. Plus, good job from him on Saturday.
    3. 

       Thecollaroyboys (@thecollaroyboys)
       28th May 2012, 23:34

       Nothing special!? MW had 6 WDCs behind him and a the very quick Mercedes of NR. Nothing special about that at all (not). Let us all know when you see that “special” moment.
17. 

    andae23 (@andae23)
    28th May 2012, 16:44

    Very difficult choice: I think the entire top six drove a superb race without a single mistake, this may have been the best ‘race’ I have seen in a long time. Schumacher did superb on Saturday and did well on sunday before resigning. Vergne actually drove his best race so far this year before the team made a mistake which cost him points. Solid race from the Force India guys, and congratulations to Karthikeyan for finishing :).

    I think I’m gonna go with Webber: he hasn’t put a foot wrong this weekend and thoroughly deserved this win. Is Webber a title candidate? Well, he has shown some remarkable consistincy in the first 6 races, so I would say so!
18. 

    Jarv F150 (@jarvf150)
    28th May 2012, 16:47

    Probably should vote for Alonso but KK getting his car airborne was the highlight of the race so I voted accordingly.
19. 

    Goodness Me (@goodness-me)
    28th May 2012, 16:47

    I plumped for Vettel as my driver of the weekend, for making an alternative strategy work (let’s not forget he was going to start on the prime regardless, read his comments after quali) and especially for keeping up, and even fighting, with cars in the first stint who were running on tyres that were meant to be worth up to a second per lap more. He could also have challenged for victory if Kimi’s slow pace hadn’t left such a huge gap for Webber, Rosberg et al to run in clean air.

    While I don’t agree with the whole ‘not running in Q3 to preserve tyres’ thing, that is hardly the fault of drivers and teams, and until that loophole is closed we are going to keep seeing it on a Saturday!
    1. 

       katederby (@katederby)
       28th May 2012, 19:13

       As I understood it, the idea to put Vettel on an alternative strategy was an enforced one, due to the amount of Super Soft tyres he’d used to get into Q3. For whatever reason, he struggled on Saturday and fell well short of his team mate.
    2. 

       SimBri (@f1addict)
       29th May 2012, 0:25

       Vettel got lucky at the start, though. Had he still been behind Raikkonen I’m not sure how high he would have finished – maybe behind Massa.
20. 

    PhilEReid (@philereid)
    28th May 2012, 16:59

    Voted for Di Resta, simply for the fact he moved up from 14th into a good points scoring position (7th). Had a good drive through the race in the end. Other shout outs are to Heikki, a very impressive run, and holding back Button was a good effort; Perez, due to being pretty much the only car to overtake on the track, and for moving up a huge amount of places; Webber, for doing a super job at the front, and being the first into the wet conditions having to be the person who judges the speed, a great effort from him; Alonso, playing the race out perfectly behind Hamilton, and then getting past in the stops after some stellar laps; Massa, who performed well this weekend, mainly the qualifying though being his strongest point for a good weekend, and then there’s Vettel, who whilst on the soft tyres was pulling some great lap times at the front to get ahead of Hamilton and Massa.
21. 

    Yoshisune (@yobo01)
    28th May 2012, 17:26

    Kovalainen. Good quali, but what convinced me was his race.
    It was incredible to see him racing, he was fighting from start to finish. I was really impressed, I wonder when he is going to get his secondo chance in a top team.
22. 

    AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
    28th May 2012, 17:35

    Not an easy choice, with not one standout driver during the weekend. My considerations were:

    Alonso: he had so much pace left in his car by the time the first stop came, though ultimately he did not get the most out of them by running longer. Also his qualifying was a little disappointing, struggling to stay ahead of Massa and just a little further behind than I had pegged him.
    Vettel: the driver of Sunday for me. I was very impressed by what he did on those old soft tyres, eking out a gap to those behind him who had 30 laps less on their tyres. However, the reason he started so far back, and was allowed to start on the primes, was that he had a very poor Saturday – especially by his standards.
    Webber: he wasn’t quite the quickest on Saturday, and he struggled in the second part of the race, but he did start the race on pole and won it, withstanding pressure from behind in slippery conditions. My vote is for him (alright, I like him better than the other two :-) )

    So far, it looks like it’s going to be close between Webber and Kovalainen for the DotW, but I was not that impressed with Heikki on Sunday. Sure, he held off a McLaren, but that McLaren wasn’t particularly quick yesterday and Jenson isn’t exactly the master of the balls-out overtaking moves. I was impressed with Kovalainen’s pace compared to the frontrunners, but then the Marussias were also able to do a similar pace (if I remember correctly). Most of all, though, I thought Heikki was doing a bit too much wheel-banging for my liking (which is not necessarily the same as your liking).
23. 

    Pedro Costa (@pnunocosta)
    28th May 2012, 17:40

    I´ll vote for Kovalainen for is combativeness. He really wanted to stick to that place and it was nice to see him on the final part of the race, with a broken wing fending off a Mclaren.
    Only in Monaco!
24. 

    bosyber (@bosyber)
    28th May 2012, 17:50

    Considered going for Heikki, he did a great job. But in the end Webber did the best job and came home in first.
25. 

    Alfred (@afya)
    28th May 2012, 17:57

    Voted for Webber, because of qualifying, unusual good start, P1.
26. 

    paulipedia (@paulipedia)
    28th May 2012, 18:07

    Paul Di Resta, made up 7 places more than anyone
    1. 

       KeeleyObsessed (@keeleyobsessed)
       29th May 2012, 9:13

       more than anyone

       Apart from Perez, who made up 13? (24th to 11th)
27. 

    AndrewT (@andrewt)
    28th May 2012, 18:28

    Heikki Kovalainen has been driving everything (or mabye more) out from his Lotus/Catheram for the last like two years, and under the circumstances Monaco provides, it was finally visible for everyone. Maybe a top team as McLaren was a bit too early for him in his second season, but now he could really capitalize on the experience he gained. Voted for him, although it’s clear, that many other guys have had a hell of a race. So although it could have looked like “nothing happened” yesterday during the race, of course it did, but maybe not in the most spectacular way.
    1. 

       Girts (@girts)
       28th May 2012, 18:52

       @AndrewT Couldn’t agree more. I voted for Heikki, too. What I admire most about him, is the fact he is hungrier than ever despite having spent more than two years at the back of the grid and still with no points (let alone wins) in sight. Several F1 drivers who have been winning races with top teams have later struggled to find motivation when driving for weaker teams. I hope Heikki gets a better car soon, I don’t want to wait until Le Mans 2022 for his next victory.
28. 

    Girts (@girts)
    28th May 2012, 19:04

    A great review. And this has to be one of the quotes of the year:

    Pedro de la Rosa – Said he doesn’t enjoy Monaco and doesn’t think it’s safe enough for F1, so was perhaps not too disappointed to be taken out by Maldonado on the first lap.
29. 

    cduk_mugello (@cduk_mugello)
    28th May 2012, 19:48

    Races like this show up the flaws in having a first past the post voting system for DOTW. A more proportional system, whereby we rank our top three, would perhaps give a fairer reflection of general opinion.
30. 

    Paul_2012
    28th May 2012, 20:07

    Considering the final result Alonso was the best driver, no question about it.
31. 

    Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
    28th May 2012, 20:11

    Went for Alonso. Don’t know exactly why, it was a strong performance but nothing spectacular. The only other two I would give the nod to are Webber and Kovalainen.
32. 

    evolutionut (@evolutionut)
    28th May 2012, 20:26

    alonso – qualified on place where car belongs, gained position on start due perfect start(again) …pushed purple hard when it mattered and overtook hamilton during pit stop..could not do more so settled for decent third and leading championship now
    1. 

       Mauri (@erioni)
       29th May 2012, 0:13

       Nope, it was Hamilton’s team who handed it over to Alonso (and Vettel).
33. 

    Dzi (@dzaci214sid)
    28th May 2012, 20:32

    Vergne was good until unnecessary last pitstop.
34. 

    James_mc (@james_mc)
    28th May 2012, 22:13

    I voted for Vettel. It’s nice to see him do something other than storm away at the start and sit 1.00000001 seconds away from the pursing pack. His strategy came very close to working incredibly well, and he didn’t need Webber to back up the pack – as was noted repeatedly on the live blog, Mercedes suspicions were unfounded as Nico was always at least 1.5 seconds behind Webber while Vettel was pursuing.
35. 

    xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
    28th May 2012, 22:22

    heikki kovalainen!!!!!!!
    The way he managed to hold back a train of 4 cars or so, which included Perez was captivating.
    His quali lap was 0.9s faster than vitaly. What a great drive by him
36. 

    Todd (@braketurnaccelerate)
    28th May 2012, 22:40

    I voted for Charles Pic for the heck of it and seems like someone else did as well :). No one driver’s performance really stood out that much. Sure Heikki did some decent driving, but it wasn’t that spectacular. I guess Kimi’s avoidance was intriguing as well. Massa drove decent…. Finally.

    In a mediocre race, nothing stood out to me… So Pic it is.
37. 

    schooner (@schooner)
    29th May 2012, 1:11

    For me, picking a standout driver for the weekend was a bit of a tossup. This was a pretty boring race. Webber (finally) got a decent start from his fortuitous pole position, and with his smart driving and good pit stops, he was always going to be difficult to get by. There was potential for some excitement when the rain started to spit down towards the end, but it never came to pass. Monaco, more than most circuits, really needs some rain to give us an exciting race. I wound up voting for Alonso, btw.
    1. 

       schooner (@schooner)
       29th May 2012, 1:15

       Make that pit stop.
38. 

    DaveW (@dmw)
    29th May 2012, 2:13

    Webber. First of all, he didn’t get this on a silver platter. The recent past has shown that having a quick car is not enough and one car up front does not prove that condition. Ask Button and Vettel. Second, his Q3 lap was heroic. That car never showed that edge to that point. He wrung it out of the car. (Schumacher was quicker Saturday, but he didn’t have to be the fourth car wide going into Ste. Devote. He knows better than that. That was a GP2 fail. In any case you can’t make a case for DOTW based on ifs and buts.) Third he was flawless in the race. Then there was the rain. It’s one thing when its pouring and you sort of know what the track will bear, but when its spitting or raining in some corners and dry in others, you have to be kind of a genius. If you pile into a corner 5kph too quick, you are in the barriers instantly. If you go too slow you have the man behind right on you looking for the wiggle that will allow the pass. The guys behind have the complete luxury of watching your apex and exits, looking at your wheel spin, and just shadowing your pace. He was perfect. He never had a “moment.”

    I’m not so thrilled with Kovalainen. He did a great job jamming up faster cars. Somehow I’m not impressed by that. Then he dinged his wing. Alonso and Vettel did well also.

    Goat of the weekend must be shared by Button and Maldonado. Button has lost his mojo but worse he lost his cool. If that were a Hamilton performance he would be back on the couch and we would all be talking about Rihanna and his management and whatever again. Another shocker from him. He’s falling down the points table like a rock now. Maldonado just showed his true colors again. Rogue roja.
39. 

    Kimi4WC
    29th May 2012, 3:18

    It is disappointing to see following from Lotus after race:
    “Conversely, the tyres had their part to play. Once their lifetime is run, the super soft compound seem to go further than merely ‘falling off the cliff’, they dive head first from it.”

    I was biting my nails ever since lap 15-18 for Shummi not getting past Kimi, cause it was obvious Kimi started having traction problems every time he was exiting the corner. I think it’s insane all fact considering they choose to let him fall behind even more than if he did two stops, in addition they opened window for front runners, to whom they basically gave up, even thou they were close behind to start with.

    Some mediocre race decisions from Lotus this year, if they keep this up, it’s only right they didn’t win so far.

    Now Kimi must win in Canada to keep his WC hopes up. I’m sure Grosjean will turn around good, he is mega fast.

    Good job on Webber for keeping Vettel honest. And Alonso as usual made best out of circumstances.
40. 

    BasCB (@bascb)
    29th May 2012, 6:40

    Haven’t seen many people mention him for DOTW, although he has been talked about for setting the fastest lap of the race, showing to what extent the leaders were playing it save with the 1 stopper.
    And he made about 100% of the successfull on track passes I saw this weekend. Who you ask? Sergio Perez!
41. 

    OOliver
    29th May 2012, 7:43

    Heikki.
    He kept a much faster car behind him for 71 laps. Webber’s job was easy, none of the cars he raced against had a performance advantage.
    1. 

       Thecollaroyboys (@thecollaroyboys)
       29th May 2012, 9:55

       Yep, those 6 world champs behind him were just mucking about. So easy.
42. 

    Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
    29th May 2012, 8:19

    Mark, no contest.

    I also do not consider Heikki’s performance extraordinary. Accident in the first corner and the track itself made his result. If it was anywhere else, he would have been devoured by Button and several other drivers. Similarly Massa on any other track would have dropped behind the top group, given his difficulties to keep up with Alonso since about lap 16 (his bad tempo up to the pit stop resulted in dropping two positions while having one of the fastest pit stops).
43. 

    Sam B (@sb360)
    29th May 2012, 9:52

    I voted for Perez, he was quick all weekend and got unlucky in qualifying, I feel that the failure on the left front was quite possibly as a result of Maldonado but he still had a good race, quick when he was able to be, and unlike most (particularly Button) he made some passes on slower cars, it was all abit ragged but it at least showed a bit of ambition and made the race at least slightly interesting. I feel he was hard done by with the drive through as well, I didn’t see anyone else diving into the pits taking a tighter line.
    On a related note would it be possible to use the rain light as some sort of pit in indicator just before the final corner? to stop things like this happening again, I would say controlled by the team rather than the driver, and put on late enough to not give opposition teams time to get out into the pits etc, it could even be automated, IE if the team are in the pit lane ready, and one of their drivers goes past a marker on the final corner the light flashes just as a warning to the following driver that the car in front may be slow through the final corner and then peel off.
44. 

    Guy (@guyc)
    29th May 2012, 11:25

    Pretty dull race overall – Webber deserved the much overdue win, but he did nothing amazing – he was just consistent and didn’t put a foot wrong.

    Hekki really troubled some of the front runners in Q1, and went on to drive a great race, fending off drivers in much more competitive cars. Also he completely out-drove his team mate all weekend. So he got my vote.
45. 

    Sem (@05abrahamsemere)
    29th May 2012, 11:42

    Worst drive of the weekend: Jenson Button. Terrible qualifying and blames Heiki for being ‘too slow’, well Jenson..it was your quali that got you there in the first place. What I think is happening with JB’s performance is that all the cars are closely matched this year, meaning that a driver like JB, who can’t adapt to ‘balance’ issues, will often finish in the lower half of the points and can’t escape like last year with the performance difference between the cars. If this is so and JB does nothing about it…I think it will be a long, frustrating season for Button.
46. 

    TommyB (@tommyb89)
    29th May 2012, 12:32

    Got to be Button.

    Neh, Alonso. If he wins the championship this year it will be one of the best performances from a driver in a season ever.
47. 

    AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
    29th May 2012, 13:49

    I voted for Vettel. I think as a whole he and the team made brilliant choices over the course of the weekend. They maximised the situation they were left with after qualifying and looked completely in control of the race, regardless of Webber leading most of it.

    Vettel did a superb job of building up a gap on older 40+ lap tyres which is almost unheard of these days. He successfully managed to jump Hamilton and Massa as Keith said. A good, solid performance.
48. 

    PJA (@pja)
    29th May 2012, 18:46

    I wasn’t really that impressed by any driver, probably because I found the race itself rather dull.

    In the end I decided to vote for Webber with Kovalainen a close second.
49. 

    Fixy (@)
    29th May 2012, 21:48

    It was either Webber, Schumacher or Kovalainen.
    I picked the first, as taking a second Monaco victory is an achievement which shouldn’t be underrated. A stunning qualifying lap and a wisely-handled race brough a deserved win.
    Schumacher was amazing in qualifying and unfortunate in the race, although he could’ve passed Raikkonen earlier.
    Kovalainen was impressive but in Monaco once you’re ahead it easier to stay there rather than being overtaken.

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