Monaco Grand Prix Review

Qualifying was unusual. Unusual in the sense that it threw the 2000 form guide out the window (unless if you're Minardi), but actually not that unusual for Monte Carlo. It was not as bunched as we've seen this year, but then again hardly anyone ever gets a fully clear lap in which he can show his true potential. It's more about who's got the experience and the guile to pick a path through the traffic. In that sense, it's little wonder that Jean Alesi showed up so well for Prost, qualifying 7th, and why Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert in the Jaguars were showing signs of competitiveness.

The big news, without doubt, was Jordan, qualifying 2nd and 4th. Yet was this really a sign that they were on the up? Maybe, and maybe not. Judging by their race performances (and admittedly without having seen the qualifying session on TV), I do wonder if both Jarno Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frentzen were more than a little lucky.

Then the real action was at Loews hairpin. Mika Hakkinen must have been truly cheesed off, after pulling off the time-honoured move on Frentzen just as the red flags came out. Heinz-Harald would have been smart enough not to let it happen again at the third start. But what I really can't believe was the completely avoidable incident after the red flags were out. I know the radios don't work as well at Monaco because of the nature of the track, but surely the teams would have been screaming to Button, Pedro de la Rosa and co that the race was stopped.

The incident between the Williams and the Arrows was a racing incident, but they shouldn't have been racing, full stop. I'm not sure what the rules say exactly, but there seemed to be some confusion over how those drivers involved at Loews were to take the third start. Eventually they started from the pit lane, leaving a bizarrely empty grid. How I would have loved to have been that guy with about four empty spaces right in front of him!

So Schumi was left to decimate the field, and most of this race was utterly processional. Worse still, some drivers seemed content to leave it that way. I applaud David Coulthard for continuously pressuring Trulli. I don't think the same could be said, firstly for Rubens Barrichello, and more importantly for Mika Hakkinen. On the ITV commentary, Martin Brundle repeated what has been said before, that when the cards don't fall his way Hakkinen seems to lose interest. He certainly did this race, and it cost him points.

Up front, much of the drama happened at the same time, with Trulli retiring, Hakkinen pitting, and Ralf Schumacher crashing. Here in Australia we saw none of that, because we were in an ad break. At this stage I'd like to bag out Channel Nine's coverage in Australia. I know there's already a web-site devoted to this purpose - F1 Fans vs Channel Nine - but I'm going to add my two-cents worth. We'd had 30 laps of uninterrupted coverage, and ITV weren't throwing to a break at the time. After Aussie viewers returned from the break, all three major events had happened, and we only saw tiny snippets of Hakkinen slowing down, and Trulli pitting.

Anyway, back to the race itself. The next big event was, of course, Michael Schumacher's retirement. One of those things, one of those things, and Schumi had the good grace to acknowledge it as well. Considering his (effectively) mammoth lead, and his 5th Monaco victory in the bag, it must have been a bitter blow. It must have also been a bitter blow to Eddie Jordan when Frentzen stuffed up with only 8 laps to go, whilst running 2nd. A simple driving error, though one wonders why on earth he was pushing when Coulthard was 16 seconds up the road.

I've alluded to Ferrari's newfound unreliability in previous reviews, but this is becoming alarming. All of last year, Ferrari suffered three mechanical problems in races (Irvine's engine at Imola, Schumacher's brakes at Silverstone, Salo's brakes at the Nurburgring). In 7 races this year they've equalled that already, and now Schumi's suffering from it too. He's got the speed and the psychological advantage, but Ferrari really needs to learn from McLaren's lesson last year. It's almost as if last year's battle between Hakkinen and Irvine has been reversed, and it's a dog-fight between Schumacher and Coulthard this year. As for Rubens Barrichello, another lucky result after yet another very ordinary drive.

Jordan is in trouble. They started this year with hopes set too high. Jarno Trulli probably doesn't care too much, since he's higher up this year than he was last year in the Prost, but the pressure seems to be telling on the team as a whole, and on Frentzen especially. Last year he hardly made any mistakes. The 'oops' at Ste Devote seemed more like something from his Sauber and Williams days. There's speculation that he may be on the move to Jaguar next year, but I do hope he keeps up his 1999 confidence for the rest of this year.

Due to the attrition, Jaguar scored their first points, through a very unspectacular drive from Eddie Irvine, who for much of the first part of the race was behind Johnny Herbert. At least the team's got the reliability now, but it dearly needs more speed and grip. At least now they have points on the board, and they can relax a bit now. Maybe this is the shot in the arm they needed. I get a feeling Jaguar's finally on the up and up, although Johnny needs a stunning result in the next couple of races to save his skin.

Jean Alesi must feel gutted. Had it not been for his retirement, he would have finished 2nd. Think about that for a moment. And, worse still, he probably won't get another chance like Monaco this year. But a timely reminder that he's still 'got it'. Prost as a team are getting there, but slowly, and the alleged departure of Alan Jenkins may be a help in that it provides better team unity, but may be a hindrance, now that his valuable input is gone.

Mika Salo proved what a Monaco expert he really is. He's now scored points here for Tyrrell in 1996 and 1997, for Arrows in 1998, and now for Sauber in 2000. Sauber started the year promisingly, but, as I expected, they're rather standing still. Grip is a problem, and Pedro Diniz doesn't seem too confident. That tiny sparkle of promise he started to show in the past few seasons is dimming, and fast.

Arrows had a weekend they'd rather forget. A lot of panel-beating required now. All the orange cars had a love affair with the Tabac armco, from Mark Webber's car in the F3000 race, to De la Rosa in the warm-up, and Jos Verstappen in the race. BAR really struggled, and Jacques Villeneuve seems to have still not come to terms with Monaco yet. Minardi were also a touch disappointing. This was a track where their power disadvantage wouldn't be such a problem, but both cars were still stuck at the back.

And so, on to Canada - the past venue for wins by both Schumacher and Hakkinen and a low downforce, higher speed track. It's a chance for Couthard to show that he can continuosly outshine Hakkinen, and a chance for Ferrari to show that they're still dominant. But the more pertinent question in Canada, given recent transport union disputes, may be: will there be a crowd??