Rate the race: 2011 Monaco Grand Prix

2011 Monaco Grand Prix

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What did you think of the Monaco Grand Prix?

Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (10%)
  • 9 (31%)
  • 8 (25%)
  • 7 (16%)
  • 6 (7%)
  • 5 (3%)
  • 4 (3%)
  • 3 (1%)
  • 2 (1%)
  • 1 (4%)

Total Voters: 548

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2011 Monaco Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    233 comments on “Rate the race: 2011 Monaco Grand Prix”

    1. 5/10

      That was a four part race:

      First part – okay
      Second part – pretty good
      Third part – amazing
      Fourth part – utterly awful

      That second safety car completely ruined it.

      1. Hamilton about to get overtaken for wins by the younger, less seasoned-Vettel, must be a pretty bad feeling.

        1. It wasn’t that, I was disappointed that the 0.6 gap between the top 3 had to be dampened by the safety car. I was expecting Vettel to hit that cliff in his tyre wear right at the end and for Button and Alonso to get right in there.

          1. Yeah SC completely ruined the finish. We will never know if Vettel’s tyres could have last or not….

            :(

            1. Alonso and Button both deserved the win more

            2. So what, scrap the safety car?

              It wasn’t for a lot of us ideal, but it’s the rules, and it was fair.

            3. not so much the safety car but the ability to change tires during red flag

          2. I was expecting Vettel to hit that cliff in his tyre wear

            It wouldn’t have happened anyway. Alonso’s tyres were starting to die out also. I believe Vettel would have made it to the end and won anyway.

            1. Whatever we individually think would or wouldn’t have happened, the point is the race was less exciting because we were robbed of the chance to ever find out.

              No doubt Vettel would have tried to hang on and without doubt Alonso and especially Button would have pushed to get past in the final laps. Regardless of the actual winner, it’s the uncertainty and excitement of watching how it plays out that makes a race exciting. For that reason the final safety car/red flag period did reduce the race’s rating, could have been anywhere from 7 to 9 for me but in the end I’ve given it a 6.

              @Mike – suggesting the SC spoiled what would have been a cracking finish isn’t the same as saying they should scrap the safety car. They were right to deploy SC and red flag, it’s just a shame that it happened to spoil a potentially great race.

          3. shame Mclaren threw a likely Button win away…

            1. How on earth did McLaren have anything to do with button not winning?! Sorry but that is just a stupid comment! Either Button should have got past, or it was just simply unlucky with red flags.

            2. they should have put him on the soft tyres for his second (?) stop. just in case a sc came out. it’d have given him the option to 2stop or even 1 stop like vettel if it was the first stop

            3. You must be physic to know what events were unfolding. Mclaren made their decisions based on that moment in the race.

            4. Actually from the log, McLaren asked Button to stay out, but Button opted to box in. It indeed gave him stronger laptime, but then ruined by the SC situation.

            5. Button was fast enough to make a 3 stop work against a 2 stop for Vettel and Alonso. If the 3 stop was planned then Button’s second stop in anticipation of the first safety car would have actually helped him because it brought him back to the leading pair quicker than he would have otherwise.

              Did anyone really think Vettel could finish the race with only that one early tyre change? I was amazed that they tried that and the fact is that he didn’t make it to the end with only one tyre change (albeit he was given a free tyre change which it would have been silly not to take).

          4. Yeah, I was disappointed by that as well, might have been an epic finish.

            And I did not like the penalties given to Di Resta and then the rest, I would have put them down as racing incidents. Di Resta punished himself by having to come in for a new wing.
            Voted it a 7/10 for we actually had some real passing in Monaco and it had a lot of action.
            Good to see both Perez and Petrov seem to be fine, shows the cars are up to being raced even in Monaco.

        2. you must be Hamilton hater :)) and what you have to say about Button or Weber or Massa and so on

        3. But when Hamilton has won, his car was about 1 or 2 tenths per lap faster than the guy in second. Seb has a car that is usually a full second faster and has had that type of advantage over the others for the vast majority of his wins.

          1. that is pure and utter nonsense. McLaren had the faster car last week and this weekend, they even admitted it. C’mon!

        4. Yeah, bad feeling knowing its the car.

        5. Why….Hamilton more seasoned….really?? They both started thir F1 career’s in 2007.

          1. hamilton started his f1 career at the opening round. vettel started his f1 career about half-way through the 2007 season.

            1. so they both started their career in 2007

        6. Tom you are clearly anti-hamilton. Nothing wrong with not liking a particular driver but that is just pathetic: he’s had a car that is 1s per lap faster than any other in qualifying and his teammate is hideously unluckly, and he still needs to prove he can overtake.

        7. Both drivers started back in 07 and have nearly the same experience driving cars. SV is only three years younger and would have had more wins possibly if not for the drive with Toro Rosso early in his career.

      2. Completely agree. Come lap 5 I was ready to tape my first race since 2004. Then the Red Bull pitstops hit and I felt foolish. In hindsight I feel foolish for feeling foolish. Anti-climax of the year already.

      3. Agreed, still don’t understand why you can change tyres under a red flag. Free pitstop for Vettel won him this race.

        1. Nigelstash (@)
          29th May 2011, 15:45

          Agreed. The changes to tyre spec were to make racing more exciting. This loophole in the rules gave us an anticlimax just when the most fascinating 3 way fight was hotting up. Shame.

          1. roasted_ground (@)
            29th May 2011, 20:17

            The fans lost out on what would have been a great finish

      4. Third part – One of the most exciting, if not the most exciting laps in a Grand Prix I’ve ever seen.

        I gave it 8/10 but if it wasn’t for the Safety Car and tyre rules it would have been the most incredible 1-2-3 finish and worthy of a 9 or 10.

      5. FOurth part was the best with Webber overtaking Koby. Anyway, great race. I really like these new tyres, they seem to make the races worth watching from a neutral point of view. One thing I want to point out is they didnt need to make 4 stops for it to be an exciting race. Only 1-3 stops. I dont like 4 stop races, they seem a bit ridiculous.

        1. Fourth part was the worst because of the red flag. Webber’s pass was good, but the fight between the top three was ruined in the fourth part.

          1. I think people are unfair to say that the stewards OR the red flag unjustly ruined the race. If it wasnt red-flagged it wouldve simply been substituted for a safety-car finish. Considering the time it took to clean up the mess and remove Petrov, seven laps would have simply gone by and Vettel wouldve triumphed under safety car.

            Stewards really had three options. 1) Redflag the race and restart it (which is what they did); 2) Redflagit and stop it; 3) run the safety car finish.

            Anyone can see which is the best option here.Though the rule allowing a change of tyres during redflag was pretty inhibiting.

            1. Perfect summary of the situation. It was the most sensible option to red flag, clear the mess up and restart the race as it completed the full distance of the race. The real problem here was the loophole effectively allowing a free tyre change.

            2. The change of tyres is what screwed it up. The red flag situation was definitely better than ending the race under a safety car again.

              I would have rated the race a 9, but could only give it 8 because of the tyre changes at the last restart.

            3. Jared404 (@)
              30th May 2011, 4:27

              What about fixing rear wings? I thought that was even more extreme than the tires.

      6. completely agree, although the race rate should allegedly be unbiased by result, I hated it that we did not get to see the battle between the first 3…

      7. That second safety car completely ruined it.

        Not really. The race was 10/10 up to then and that mess at Piscine on lap 72 was wonderful, but it wasn’t the Safety Car that ruined it, it would have been even closer if it wasn’t for the red flags. The chaos on lap 72 was incredible to see but red flagging, although mandatory, ruined the last laps because the new tyres helped Vettel get away. It was perfect to have the top three ordered by the older the tyres, and neutralising it spoilt what could have been a three-way battle for the win.
        9/10 is what I gave it because 72 laps were wonderful and 5 laps were predictable but not dull, as there was plenty of action (Kobayashi and Webber, Maldonado and Hamilton).
        If there had been the Safety Car Kobayashi could have attacked immediately Button and Alonso could have attacked Vettel, but once all cars were even on tyres the Red Bull dominated as usual.

        1. The fact that they were allowed to change tyres ruined it. Change that rule.

          1. Maybe more specific. Ban tyre change on Red Flag condition, except for Red Flag caused by sudden hard raining/monsoon.

        2. agreed. The Red flag incident cheated the viewers, and handed Vettel an easy win.

      8. Ruined by the red flag. Gifted the win Vettel :/

        1. 5/10 is a bit harsh. I gave it an 8. Heaps of action and overtaking at a track renowned for boring races. The red flag was the sensible thing to do, but surely that tyre rule has to be reviewed! That is the single factor that cost us what could have been an amazing battle for the lead. I’m disappointed, because it could and should have been a 9 or a 10, but we were robbed by a rule. I’m almost certain that Vettel (and possibly Alonso) would have had to pit before the end. The tyres must have been on their last legs before the red flag!

          Sebastian drove well, but he didn’t deserve the victory more than the two guys behind him.

      9. They shouldn’t be allowed to change tired during the red flag stop

      10. +1 driftin, the fight for the top three cruelly cut short by the multi car pile up, which they only just avoided. 6/10 for me.

        1. Only 1 bad rule… changing tyres under red flag. Otherwise would have been great. Vettels tyres gone and defending hard. Can Alonso get past? Will his tyres go? Can Button get past both?

          Will Vettel defend too hard hit ALonso, BUtton just making it through for a Button Webber Kobayashi Podium?

          As for driftin saying Vettel is less seasoned…. hardly…

          Hamilton started at the start of 2007.

          Vettel drover the BMW Sauber practice in the later parts of 2006. He did two more in 2007 and drove in 8 out of the 17 GP’s that year.

          He drove full time from them onwards.

          the less seasoned Vettel drove on GP weekends prior to Hamilton AND even if you count only the races, Vettel has barely more than half a dozen less than Hamilton. Which equates to about 8% or so of Hamiltons races… hardly less seasoned.

          oh, and Hamilton’s cars, despite being brilliant for someone who has only been in F1 for 4 and abit years are still worse than Vettels.

          2010 RBR was unbelievably fast. Even as a WEbber fan I have t say it was extremely fast and the mere fact it kept winning is truly a testiment to Newey and the RBR6

    2. If they had started on the same tyres as before the red flag, I think it would have been a more exciting race

      1. But the laps 72-78 were not the whole race, duh?

        1. It’s like having amazing sex and suffering a hearth attack just before the climax. I guess that overall experience wouldn’t be great…

          1. +25points, Best Explanation ever.

          2. No, it’s like having a friend who’s helped you hundreds of times, but that one time he couldn’t help you and you say he sucks as a friend.

            1. I think you could give each other thousands of analogies and still, it could work both ways. A red flag so late in the race, with such tyres as we have this year is unprecedented – so the rulebook obviously wasn’t up to date. I think the red flag was sensible, but the tyre rule ruined all of the build-up.

            2. Rather like having a “friend” who was nice to you for about two hours just to stab you in the back afterwards.

              We can exchange those back and forth. The fact of the matter is, that for many people ending of this race pretty much overshadowed the whole event. I can relate to that.

              If you think that the race was amazing – good for you. Now let us have a different opinion.

            3. Ninja’d by Damon Smedley!

            4. Ninja’d by Damon Smedley!

              It’s just what I do. ;)

            5. IT WAS THE GREATEST RACE OF ALL TIME!.

              I think the red flag was sensible, but the tyre rule ruined all of the build-up.

              That red flag was kinda like finding out your girlfriend has a peen.

              Analogies are fun, your not going to be looking at a red flag again without thinking about that now are you?.

    3. 5/10 Great racing, ruined by the stewards and the anticlimax at the end.

      1. Agree, ruined by the stupid rule that alows you to change your tyres under the red flag!!!

        1. 8/10, thrilling for 70-ish laps, completely ruined by the absurd decision to allow the tyre change under the red flag.

        2. completely agreed

        3. Agreed

          1. Spot on. Seeing Vettel keep Alonso & Button behind with this tyres destined to ‘fall off the cliff’ would have been fun to see.

    4. 9/10 would have been perfect without the end of the race. And those Pirellis working like Bridgestones.

      1. Couldn’t be helped. The lack of lateral load and low speed corners are why the tires last. If they made the tires so that the teams needed 3 stops, those same tires would last like 4 laps on any other track. Pirelli does not deserve any criticism, but the tire change rule under red flag should be reviewed.

      2. The Pirellis were finally different in performance and allowed a great variation in strategy, with the top 3 having different numbers of stops and still being within 6 tenths. Kobayashi would have got nowhere if he hadn’t been able to drive so well on the tyres, something that anyone could do with the Bridgestones.

    5. Well that was a great race, but a bit anticlimactic at the end. Allowing the teams to change tires under the red flag made the difference. If only Sutil’s bad Monaco luck hadn’t hit we would have been in for a legendary finish. The top three all within 1 second, the leader on older tires, it sure would have been great to see that play out. Ah well I’m still going to rewatch it, 9/10.

    6. vettel did not put the soft. He needs to be penalised

      1. Rubbish, he put on softs after his first pitstop.

        1. Yep, Lies. Sainaa, did you even watch the race? he did over 50 laps on them.

    7. Close to being GP2 in tetms of events.

    8. Hamilton drove a terrible race
      Maldonado drove a good race
      Kobayashi drove a good race
      Vettel drove a good race
      Alonso drove a better race
      Button drove the best race

      Vettel won due to luck. Its so hard to rate this race – as it was sensational until the red flag. The rules ruined the end. The problem is that Vettel had driven a good race until the red flag. Had he hung on to the win he would have deserved it. The red flag really took something away from his win though.

      A 9 for the first part of the race. A 4 or 5 for the second part. An average of 7. Without the red flag, it would have been one of the best races i’ve seen.

      1. Button drove the best race

        Yep. And I think his teammate was the worst driver of the day. Shocking performance from the person I usually consider the best on the grid.

        1. also ruining other drivers’ race

          1. I felt Button was simply puttin on a show. He looked like he was driving well simply because he was on super softs while the others were on normal softs. Later in the race he was on newer tyres and so once again it was almost impossible for him to go slower. He didnt really do any overtaking, and he had an inferior strategy (that was bound to backfire at some point due to the safety car factor at Monaco).

            The real loser here was Alonso. He had put himself in a very good position and he had tyres that were an odd 20 laps newer than Vettels. He was much closer to winning the race than Button ever was.

            So for me. The best driver of the day was the one in the third slowest car, who finished second (without the red flag, first).

        2. I can barely wait for Hamilton’s post-race snivel … he needs a Nomex crying towel.

          1. Did you watch the forum? He was almost crying about how he’d been to the stewards 5 times out of 6 and that the other drivers are fricken ridiculous. But infinitely better than spouting PR

        3. I agree, I think Hamilton was impatient.. of course he was unlucky to be stuck in midfield due to qualifying, but there is nothing you can do in Monaco. Certainly, you can not drive into other cars and expect them to move over.. in fact, it seems he wants everyone to move over… :/

          Either way, taking Maldonado out was just bad.

      2. Agree.

        +
        There is no way those tyres would of lasted he was already 2 sec a lap slower than Button, I didn’t think he would of held either ALO or BUT but we will never know which is very sad and took the gloss off a great race until the last part.

        1. If Mclaren didn’t bring button in for his 2nd set of prime tyres, he could have been 1st when the red flags came out.

          1. Coulda woulda shooulda. Irrelevant.

          2. Yep, and if Red Bull hadn’t inadvertibly put the yellow tyres on Vettels car instead of the reds, as they had intended to do, he would never have won.

            But that’s real life.

      3. Totally agree. Though I can’t bring myself to post a rating as the result overshadows everything in my book :(

        1. Yep, massively dissapointed by the last 6 laps. I was on the edge of my seat until the massive pile up. Really though, both Button and Alonso had a pile of laps on better tires to do something, and neither one even came close (barring alonso’s look up ste devote which was well covered). Still a pity we’ll never know what would’ve happened.

          Also, Hamilton was the suck this weekend. He should shut his mouth about people holding him up and drive the damn car. Too bad they fixed his car, Maldonado drove a great race.

      4. Agree with all of your ratings, but would also say Webber had a race almost as good as Buttons. He made a great job coming back from that awful pitstop to salvage 4th

        1. true that. I wouldn’t quite say as good as Button, but as good as Alonso probably. Webber was quite anonymous for the first part of the grand prix

      5. Agree completely on your driver votes.

      6. Button was on the soft tyres for the most part. Naturally he was faster. Alonso made a lot of that Ferrari, staying ahead of Button due to a better strategy. And Vettel keeping his tyres together so brilliantly for such a long time deserves best driver of the race by a mile.

        I found that race hugely enjoyable, ‘especially’ the end. Reminded me a lot of ’92’s Monaco race, only this time with three drivers.

    9. Trenthamfolk (@)
      29th May 2011, 15:18

      Great race… surprised Hamilton repeatedly lost his head, disappointed for Button, great drive from Alonso and all round, a cracking spectacle!!! Monaco never disappoints :-)

      1. Ham annoyances: first being passed by Schumacher (who he thinks has been blocking him in Vettel’s favour), second Massa (for blocking him in quali), third the stewards for penalizing him for the collision with Massa… I think by that point he’d totally lost it! Still, added to the show.

        1. you have no idea what you say

          1. that ^

          2. Maybe not emil! but how so?

        2. and he might still be penalized for the collision with Maldonado (though I don’t think he should in this instance).

          1. Can’t see why he shouldn’t.
            He started with criticizing his team yesterday for no good reason. Today he rammed Massa, then ruined a potentially excellent result for Maldonaldo.
            And right now in a BBC interview he is saying everyone else is just nasty to him, stewards included – while he is nice and fluffy.
            Should get real, this man!

          2. Sure, he only threw maldonado out of the race and shared red paint with massa in a place when he could never pass him…. Hamilton needs to calm down, he thinks he can do whatever he wants because he is super cool and drives a McLaren… What a joke he was today, very unprofessional

    10. the rules spoiled the end of the race. why to disadvantage the drivers who pitted more in the race. The souldnt be allowed to change the tyres after the red flag.As I found out that they can I knew that is no point to wait for the last 6 laps because Everybody had got the same tyres. Shame.

    11. I thought 10. Vettel Alonso battle Amazing. The three car crash Amazing. Lewis Hamilton Penalites and Investigations Perfect. Great race.

    12. That race was, compared to most Monaco Grand Prix, epic.

      However, it left a very sour taste in my mouth. The stupid antics of Hamilton (and I’m usually one to praise the guy) managed to take some very promising intrigue out of it, and Alguersuari’s moment has hardly endeared himself to me.

      I’m not one to usually begrudge a driver or team for having good luck, but it should have been a Ferrari, or a McLaren on that top step, not a Red Bull.

      1. and you say ok we will just cruzing with no overtaking…racing its all about overtaking …..if there was not Hamilton i will get a sleep half true the race ….. Hamilton and Kobayashi best racing drivers to watch just keep going this way mates that is all about racing

    13. 5/10 without the Red flag might of been an 8.

    14. 4/10

      Man… unbelievably retarded rules… I am steaming with anger right now!!! Such a good race until the red flags… retarded FIA rules! Why the hell are they allowed to change tyres during restart!! That is the dumbest and most idiotic thing I have ever seen. Vettel did not deserve this win…

      PS: Hamilton should be suspended from next race, was he trying to kill everybody?

      1. Bad race from Hamilton, but that’s a tad harsh. He caused two collisions, but then Di Resta had a lot of contact as well. And Lewis did pull nice moves like the one on MSC early on.

        1. Trenthamfolk (@)
          29th May 2011, 15:27

          Agreed David A… Hammy lost his head a little this time out. We can put Di Resta’s contact down to inexperience, but Hamilton’s? Bad anger management…

          1. I was going to say that because they are allowed to work on the cars, they can change tires, and que sera sera and what not, but not being able to work on cars would’ve gotten Hamilton off the track which would’ve been a double win, so actually, I changed my mind. Why the hell are they allowed to work on the cars during a red flag? Maybe if they can work on the cars, then a standing start is in order? If not, no touching.

            1. Because the rules haven’t been sufficiently updated in that area to take account of other changes. In days gone they were treated as two races and then aggregated.

              Clearly it would be better with the current overall rules that cars should not have work permitted on the grid, conversely I don’t see why there should be a ban on them being worked on in the pit, as long as they come out after the restarted grid has gone.

              6/10 for me, would’ve been more without the red flag, which was fully justified, robbing us of a grandstand finish on differing tyre strategies. Either way it’s better than Monaco has given us most of the time.

          2. but Hamilton’s? Bad anger management…

            it certainly seems that way…

      2. I think everyone is steaming with anger after that! However, suspending Hamilton seems extremely over the top

        1. Stewards should just take the points out of this race from him, he caused 2 collisions and still getting points? That’s not fair at all…

      3. @ Antranik

        Total over-reaction to say Hamilton was trying to kill someone, both collisions were in low-speed corners. Both attempts were over-ambitious, but we’ve seen the same before put down as racing incidents.

        I actually loved seeing Hamilton angry and bad again today, even if he does end up worse for it. Down in 10th off the gird at Monaco in the dry, he didn’t have that much to lose being aggressive.

        1. I didn’t mean that he was literally trying to kill sombody lol…

          1. Okay! But then no reason for a race ban surely? That would be basically giving a post-race black flag – not even Schumacher got that for his high-speed wall squeeze on Barrichello last year.

    15. 8.5/10, a thrilling race for the win until the red flag.

      The sight of the three leaders threading their way through the carnage was phenomenal.

      1. When they met the late group it was so epic, it all turned into a crowded 150 mph mess.

      2. Agree.. Luckily, Vettel, Alonso and Button got through that area unscathed. It would have been too heartbreaking for any of the top 3 drivers to get knocked out of a race like that.

    16. A certain 10/10 ruined towards the end by silly red-flag rules following some rookie argie-bargie. Changing tyres on the grid? The racing may have improved, but the rule book hasn’t, and the championship will be over by the time the circus leaves Europe. 8/10

    17. It was a good race, i gave it a 7 however it would of been higher if the ending of the race wasn’t so poor. Vettel lucked into the win.

    18. Great race. So dissapointed that luck played into Vettels hands, again… Hamilton also lucky to get points
      I dont get it? Why can you change tyres after a red flag? It just makes the race rather pointless to me…

    19. Red flag ruined everything. We were about to see exciting last laps and after they changed the tyres it was all for nothing. That rule needs to get suspended.

    20. Before everyone complains, I’d just like to say this about the changing tyres situation.

      I know it’s frustrating but the rules are there because Red Flags are caused by big accidents, so they allow teams to change tyres to make sure there’s no punctures caused by debris on the restart. Remember, safety first – racing second.

      Vettel just got another massive break at the best possible time.

      At least we had another unbelievably exciting Grand Prix.

      1. They should only be allowed when they had a puncture before they come to the grid. When drivers get to the grid without any damage, no-one should change something on their cars. I wished there was a rule that forces drivers to stay on their tyres when the race reached 75% of the distance.

        1. I see what you mean, but then we’re just compromising safety rules to suit a particular racing scenario and I honestly don’t think that’s right.

          I’m also annoyed that we missed out on a grandstand finish but remember, throwing a Red Flag is a BIG DEAL. You have to give safety a priority over everything in a situation like that and if that means letting them make repairs, change tyres, add fuel or whatever, so be it. I don’t like the idea of changing the rules just in case of a very rare situation like we had today occurring.

          1. Totally with you on this one. We have to respect the rules. If you start putting cool, extensively worn tyres on tarmac you’re asking for trouble. Couple that with the nature of a race situation post-safety car and any debris and it really would be foolish.

            Of course, that doesn’t stop Maldonado sticking it in the wall ;)

          2. Yes, you are right, and good point about the puncture issue – also, teams fixing up cars, like that rear wing of Hamilton, easy to argue it is for safety.

            Still sucks that it affected the race this way though. It’s better than the alternatives, I guess.

    21. The end of the race could have been so good. Fortunately Hamilton was out there shoving people off the road to keep the thing interesting.

    22. UKfanatic (@)
      29th May 2011, 15:21

      1/10

      It was one of the most exciting races I have ever seen! but, likewise all races but china all the excitement dies on the last laps cause everything unfolds Vettels way when he has an problem still everybody elses gets even more troubled, he has a trouble early in the race he ends up winnig cause in the end something horrible happens to his opponents, funny to see that Ham ruined Button race twice and that FIA wouldnt lie and say 3min to restart not letting anyone change the tyres so we could see a proper monaco finnish no matter what the outcome it would have been a 10 rather than a 1

    23. desperate … this is not a race this is gambling, which won the happiest and not the best ….. miserable race

    24. Red flag played into the hands of vettel from the start of the weekend! Great luck for him, bad luck for us fans because we missed a great battle for pole and a great battle for the lead of the race! i feel very disapointed, and now the season is pretty much gone down the drain.

      the races may be very exciting, but if they keep being won by the same guy then alot of people are going to be turned off

    25. 9/10

      Only thing was the teams were allowed to change tires during the red flag. I love the idea of resuming the race, but the cars should be untouched.

      Nonetheless, I love how the decision on the race being restarted (of course it would have been the wrong move if Petrov was killed) because at Monaco, anything can happen.

    26. It should have been Button’s victory. Alonso and vettel just got plain lucky. If they had been forced to re-start the race on their existing tyres, Button would have had both of them.

      1. Button had his share of luck this weekend in qualifying though.

        Button couldn’t pass Alonso with fresh tyres and he messed up his restart. Ok, some luck was involved and the silly tyre rule arguably cost Fernando more than Jenson so I’m not best pleased but still Vettel deserved it.

        1. Atanu (@ilovevettel)
          29th May 2011, 15:50

          What a great drive from Vettel though….
          And PM,as the race was started under safety car, I can’t see any way Button could have overtaken Alonso.

          But what a mistake from Mclauren to do a three stopper for Button.

        2. I don’t think Alonso was going to cruise to victory to be honest. At first, yes, I thought Alonso would do him but once Button caught up that gave Alonso the headache of being the only one in that situation who had to attack and defend. Plus his tyres were starting to slip.

        3. Luck in qualifying???

          JB had to put on a new set of primes after the red flag as he had run out of options. SV and FA were both on options. Also, it had been obvious after pit stops earlier in the race that the primes took a couple of laps to get up to racing perfomance. I think it’s unfair to say that JB ‘messed up’ his restart.

      2. So Vettel keeping Alonso and Button behind for that long on one set of tyres had nothing to do with the outcome then?

        Come on.

        Yes he was lucky but he earned that by not pitting a second time and driving a very good defensive race.

        1. Totally agree with this one. Vettel held them off for at least a dozen laps, when the cars behind him were on better (in Button’s case, MUCH better) tyres, fully functioning KERS, and could use DRS. One of the best defensive races I’ve seen in a long, long time.

      3. Button should have been awake at the restart at least.

      4. Ignore PM. He is a troll who is simply trying to get a reaction out of you guys.

    27. How long before the conspiracy theories come flying in that the red flag was put in to help Vettel get new tyres and win the race?

      1. For the record, I don’t believe this, I just know that many people like to throw conspiracies around.

    28. georges10099
      29th May 2011, 15:24

      antranik – why should hamilton be suspended from teh next race? he was on the inside of maldonado and maldonado turned in on him, he slowed to avoid sutil getting hit, he went in on massa and massa turned in on him……….

      1. maldonado probs could of got out of the way just, but the move on massa was just frustration from hamilton.

      2. totaly agree…and if there was reverse order i think stewards will not penalise Massa stupid rules and once again shows that Hamilton is black ship in this F1 world its a shame because hi is realy exating driver to watch but all this penaltis against him is frustrating for him and spectators..

    29. I don’t think I’ve ever given a race a ten but I have today. Drama, wheel to wheel racing (although DRS did little but that’s fine as I don’t like it anyway), variation of strategies and controversy. The end felt a bit disjointed and as I was just getting back into the race it was over again but the red flag drama added another dimension. Silly tyre rule under red flags ruined my result though but never mind :P

    30. 6/10
      Could have been a 9 I guess. Changing tires on red flag regulation ruined it. Sad.

    31. Brilliant racing these days, but the fact Vettel is winning every week is strting to wear thin. Repeated classic races are being spoilled by a predictable result at the top.

      Can’t take that away from Vettel, he has the best car, and clerly has the ability to capitalise, and in all honesty is doing this year, what he should have last year but couldn’t do because of reliability!

      It pains me to say it, but RedBull are getting every thing they deserve.

    32. 8/10
      almost awesome race untill that second SC period ruined it

    33. Fantastic race until the red flag at he end. Such a disappointing and unfulfilling end to this. Add to the fact you end up with Christian Horners’ smug face at the end. Really unhappy in the LolaF1 household. Mrs LolaF1 is threatening to throw herself off the cooker!

    34. That’s the best race I’ve seen Button have for a long time. He was the driver of the day without a doubt, Mclaren’s strategy cost him the race. Why on earth did he three stop, if he’d mimicked Alonso’s strategy I think he would have won fairly comfortably.

      Hamilton was very poor, seemed hell bent on trying to stick moves that would be pulled off a small percentage of the time. Vettel drove well don’t get me wrong but Button deserved the victory today.

      1. Trenthamfolk (@)
        29th May 2011, 15:30

        Amen to that…

      2. Gaston (@golarrazabal)
        29th May 2011, 16:12

        I think McLaren’s strategy with Button was alright. He was unlucky with the first safety car appearance, and even with that he could have conceivably passed Alonso and Vettel during the last laps to win it.

      3. I’d say Alonso drove a better race than Button. A slower car yet he put himself in the position to win.

        Button was never in the position to win (either due to having still to use the softs, or because he had ALO and VET infront of him).

        1. Its also worth mentioning that Vettel was fighting Alonso not button. Button was just a distraction.

          It was shocking to listen to the commentators freak out about how quick Button is going and how well he is doing, when it was clear that in the real running of things he was a whole pitstop behind, and thus actually he was only in third.

          Lol it took Brundle around 20 laps to realise that Alonso and Vettel were obviously not going to stop again. Because of that, he honestly believed Button had it in the bag.

          1. Button was ahead of Alonso when he pitted for the second time for super softs. If he’d put the softs on instead he could have gone to the end instead of losing another 20 seconds to Alonso by pitting a third time.

            If he’d two stopped he definitely would have finished ahead of Alonso and I think he would have done Vettel as well

    35. JB and Alonso had a terrific race. Vettel did not, he just lucked out that his engineers didnt have him pit 2 times. JB and Alo set the fastest laps the whole race and probably could have overtaken vettel at the end had there not been a red flag. Great racing from Button and Alonso! Boo vettel

    36. 1/10
      Stupid rules ruined a what was looking to be a perfect finish. FIA may as well give Vettel the WC now. Not to mention Hamilton’s atrocious driving. My little cousin drives better on a peddle car.

      1. you have no idea what you say probably you watch F1 from time to time ….. and maybe your cousin is wonderkid:)) hey i have idea call Ron Denis for sponsorship hu knows what is your cousin lack

    37. Did I mention that JB made up a 17 second deficit in less than 10 laps after his 3rd stop. KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS

      1. Yeah to a guy on 50 lap old tires…real quick.

    38. The New Pope
      29th May 2011, 15:32

      Best race I have ever seen. 10.

    39. first time i’ve turned a gp off in 25 years.as soon as i heard they could change tyres under a red flag it was artificial,and ruined what could have been such incredible final laps.

    40. I gave it a three. I was so hyped about end because it could have ended in so many ways. The moment I saw the red flag I knew the race was ruined. Allowing drivers to change tires during a red flag was one of the most retarding things I have seen considering the fact that it ruins the fun in watching. Once that happened I knew the line-up was written in stone. Absolutely horrible ending to an otherwise decent race.

    41. Fantastic race and a stunning performance of Vettel. I know, it’s his 5th win this season and it’s getting a bit bored for the win, but still… He kept Alonso and Button behind him on bad tyres. Too bad there was a crash with a red flag, otherwise it would have been a great final. Enjoyed the race, so 9/10 for me.

    42. bytorr2112 (@)
      29th May 2011, 15:36

      i agree guys jenson would have won if not for the red flag and why the hell do they allow a tyre change under a red flag vettel won by default he and alonso would have had to get new rubber megga race till the last 7 laps hamilton dangerious when under pressure

    43. A good race……..ruined.

    44. The New Pope
      29th May 2011, 15:36

      Excellent recovery by Sauber! Kobayashi did very well to finish 5th and Sauber really has made a great step forward this year.

    45. Why complain. The race ended under normal conditions and not under red flag. either way Vettel won. To me a very entertaining race. And a lot better to watch than Barcelona. But the most important thing is that Perez and Petrov will be ok after their accidents.

    46. After six races on a variety of circuits it appears conclusive. My compliments to Pirelli and the FIA. The racing this year has been absolutely brilliant.

    47. Lots of drama at some points, but the terrible anticlimax at the end of both qualifying and the race, all the terrible accidents have driven me to give it 1/10.

    48. 9/10 Was thinking during the closing stages it was going to be a 10 until the red flag which kind of ruined it a bit. But it was still a gripping race.

      1. Also I can’t understand how a not insignificant number have given it a 1, ok the end was a bit of an anti-climax but it was so dramatic before then I’m not too bothered

        1. I was thinking the same thing. If it is due to the ending, I don’t think that warrants a score as low as 1 at all. I do agree the ending was anticlimactic but as you said the rest of the race was excellent and to me made up for the ending.

        2. I was about to say the same.
          Yes the end was disappointing but that doesn’t write off the whole race! Some people need to calm down and think before they vote.

    49. i rated a 1 just because the drivers where able to change there tires which is crap and very unfair

      1. The change of tires did ruin my day. I just wasnt as harsh. I gave it a 3.

    50. 8/10. Shame about the end. Hamilton had a mare. Should have been Button’s win. Vettel’s luck must run out soon, he was SO fortunate today.

    51. Race itself was ok. But red flag ruined the finale. Anti-climax much.

      I agree with Webber, no idea why they restarted after the red flag. With new tyres, there was no way the fight that had been brewing up to that point, would actually come to fruition.

      Now to wait for the investigations. They didn’t show the whole overtake of Kobayashi on Sutil, but I hope he doesn’t get penalised for that. Hamilton on the other hand… He can be frustrated with how his weekend has gone all he wants, but he did his level best to take out not 1, but 2 other cars and I hope they come down on him as hard as possible within the rules. Massa was presumably just a bit shaken/annoyed and binned it himself, but the overtake on Maldonado surely wouldn’t have passed muster in GP2, let alone F1.

    52. Mediocre race finish. Too bad they allowed tire changes after red flag, the finish was looking promising at that point.

      Up to the red flag, this race showed some promise. While not a lot of overtaking, driver and pit errors at least kept it interesting. The red flag restart ruined the chance for an exciting finish – they should have just called it there.

      Only real chance for the other teams this year would be if Red Bull gets any kind of penalty from the pit stop confusion – and I doubt they will. It looked bad for the team, but in the end I don’t expect anything to change.

    53. Just as things were getting interesting……….They were allowed to change tires!!!?

      Could have been a 10, gave it a 6.

    54. 8/10

      This race could have been magnificent, but the red flag, Petrov being taken by an ambulance, and the climax with the battle Vettel-Alonso-Button not happening, have given me a disappointing feeling. That’s just too bad…

    55. Great race . 9/10. If it hadnt been for that red flag period that robbed us of Vettel-Alonso-Button battle it would have been clean 10/10.

      Oh man, what a shame. :(

    56. Worst race of the year easily. Ruined by the 2nd safety car period and allowing to change tyres under a red flag gifted Vettel the win, that rule should be changed. Overall a 4.

    57. I really don’t rate Monaco at all as there is no overtaking opportunities at all if the defending driver says so, all he as to do is close the door and that’s it game over. To top it off the drivers that attempt an overtake are punished, Imo the gp should be scrapped

    58. What a farce the end of this race became – a brilliant race ruined by allowing the teams to work on their cars and to change tyres whilst waiting to restart. A most disappointing finish.

    59. What a sorry joke that finish was. Why bother after the red flag. I am a die hard GP fan, but I am surely going to lose interest in a hurry if they continue with this kind of crap. Can’t go in to the pits during a red flag, but I can bring the whole damm pit out to the track and do what I want with the car. Just think what kind of finish we could have seen, and what it would have done for GP racing.

    60. edge of my seat for the whole race.

    61. 4/10

      Would’ve been 8 or 9 if they wouldn’t change the tyres under the red flag. I’ve almost forgotten the great race that it was before the red flag.

    62. This race was one of the best I’ve ever seen, up until the red flag.

      What’s the point in being allowed to change tyres? It’s ridiculous. Vettel didn’t deserve to win that race.

    63. red flag led to an anticlimax… but still one of the best races I’ve seen in monaco! 9/10.

    64. Anyone just heard Lewis Hamilton’s interview on BBC, there is a fine line between arrogance and confidence and I think he’s treading a tight rope at the minute in regards to this.

      He tried to put the blame on Massa and Maldonado for the crashes, sorry Lewis but you were completely in the wrong. They were entitled to turn in, where else were they meant to go?

      1. Yea, joking that the stewards are racist is going way too far. Whitmarsh, or even Ron Dennis, need to take him aside and tell him to suck it up.

        He’s going to regret that interview.

        1. i have not seen the interview but .. people who joke or comments about racism generally suggests that they themselves are racist… … anyway… beeep… ill wait and see what he actually said.

      2. Absolutely agree. Hamilton was driving straight into both Massa and Maldonado’s line: they had nowhere they could go. To try and blame them for that shows a complete lack of respect for the other drivers.

        The end of the race was a bit disappointing – but the rules were there before the race and are there for a very good reason (ie safety: to allow people to change tires that may have been punctured in the incident that actually caused the red flag). It’s unlikely that rule will be changed.

        Alonso drove a great race – I think at least as good as Button’s. Vettel also drive well to keep his lead with bad tired. Weber did well, but was hurt by a poor pit-stop.

    65. its all about politics in f1 money wins all the time i was really enjoying that race and then they allow them to change tires what a joke. if they wanted to make this sport competitive give each team the same car and let the drivers race.

    66. i think hamilton’s aggression would pay off in a normal circuit…but in a tight street circuit its just dangerous.

    67. Vettel was winning before the red flag.

      What makes you so sure that he would have lost but for the red flag.

    68. Guilherme (@the_philosopher)
      29th May 2011, 16:08

      Why are people saying Vettel “lucked in” or “didn’t deserve” this win? The team failed on his pitstop, yet he still made it, even with 50-lap old tyres! People always say he has such a car advantage, but with those tyres his car was at least 1 second slower than Alonso and 2 seconds slower than Button, yet he was managing his position pretty well against those two. There were some 7 laps to go but Seb was still likely to win. I can’t, and won’t, diminish the value of his race because of the red flag rules.

      I know that the red flag ruined the end of the race, and was specially unfair on drivers who had stopped for super-softs during the safety car period, but those 20 laps before still made it the best race I’ve seen in a long time!

      9/10

      1. even with fresh tyres its so difficult to overtake in monaco…thats why he could defend alonso all that time before red flag

    69. It might be true to say that the stewards shouldn’t have allowed the tyre change during the red flag, but I don’t think we can call it an easy win for Vettel.

      Before the red flag, he had lasted almost 50 laps with the same set of tyres and still doing reasonable lap times, at the same time defending the attacks from Alonso. Coupling his performance for this race with last week’s race, I thought he drove pretty well, worthy of a world champion. I mean, driving those final laps with another car breathing down your neck, and yet barely making any mistakes, it probably isn’t easy.

      Alonso did pretty good too, considering he didn’t have the fastest car on track.

    70. 8 to the race.
      -10 to the FIA Tire change decision

    71. 9/10 for me, probably the most exciting Monaco I have ever watched. I was quite literally on tenterhooks upto lap 72 before the big smash that red flagged the race. Fanastic drives from Vettel, Alonso and Button; utterly thrilling. Nice 5th for Kumi, pity Mark mugged him of 4th on the chicane out of the tunnel. Very annoyed at Hamilton’s “hot-headed Schumi” style antics, Maldonado/Williams must be seething.

      And I cannot believe the number of short sighted F1 fans who seemingly love to cut of their noses to spite their face just because of the allowed tyre changes under red flag conditions. At least the race finished under race conditions rather than being stopped completely. Jeez…

    72. Conclusion of this race : awesome race for alonso,button,n vettel, but endangerous of lewis(bad rating for him) . I hope Petrov will be ok…… I optimist alonso won at Canadian gp….!

    73. 7/10 for this one, for a dry monaco it was interesting, but not up to the standard of the rest of the season imo.

    74. It could be one of the best race ever. I don’t think because later RF and SC situation. It was almost perfect. not perfect. but I should give 10 of 10.

    75. Jenson deserved to win, but what Charlie did was complete mess. Last 6 laps were refuse in it’s entirety…
      However, I wish to congratulate Seb for doing an excellent job.
      I would rate this Monaco GP 5/10

    76. 9/10 It gave me a feeling that no race this season has given when Vettel, Alonso and Button were charging together. The red flag and late safety car stopped it being a 10. Awesome Drives from all of the top 5

    77. 9/10 so nearly perfect! The only thing that spoiled the party a little was the the red flag at the end. Otherwise the whole race i was at the edge of my seat (or well bed, but who cares)! One of the most exciting races i have ever seen, up until the red flag. But the 72 laps previously to that was just great racing.

    78. 9. Sorry but the red flag ruined both what would have been an amazing finale and my DVR not going past the allotted time.

    79. I just don’t like Monaco. Full stop. It’s clear that it’s one big jolly for everyone attending, and we’re told by the media what a fabulous place it is, and what a great atmosphere. But it’s a pathetic place to hold a race. Basically, we seem to be funding a party for the rich insiders, while watching substandard racing due to an out-of-date track that doesn’t provide adequate facilities for modern racing and modern fans. Perhaps we fans should have a whip round to buy the media a decent weekend away, out of season, in exchange for a decent race on the calendar.

      1. calm dwon mate, monaco is legendary and none of the tile-dromes will ever match it.

    80. A 9 from me. First race in the last 3 where I have agreed with the majority on the rating.

      Brilliant race. I would never encourage the deployment of a safety car but I do enjoy the chaos it creates. Although had it come back out after Maldonado I would have been a bit sick of it!

      I think it was a deserved victory for Vettel. Just like in Barcelona he managed to hold off those on better tyres. OK, on this occasion the red-flag gave him a helping hand but up to that point I believed he was going to do it anyway. Button closing the gap did Alonso no favours, taking the pressure off Vettel slightly.

      A shame Perez couldn’t take part but Kobabayshi did himself and his team proud.

      Disappointed for Petrov but just after the safety car they need to just look after themselves a little more.

      I believe Hamilton got what he deserved this weekend. I’m not a vindictive person but I do believe in sticking to the rules. He took the mick a little this weekend. I will always respect a driver that wants to be one position higher but there has to be an element of sportsmanship about it. Cutting chicanes and ramming competitors is not the way to go about things. It’s petulant and he’s above it.

    81. Not a bad race by anyone’s standards, we got some brilliant overtakes, some good dogfights, and we very nearly had a 3-way battle for the last bit…

      Unfortunately though, because of Hamilton’s doggedness throughout the race, and the safety car putting a stop to what could have been one of the absolute classic chases, I can only warrant giving it a 7 myself…

    82. Best Monaco Grand Prix I’ve ever seen.

      But a big shame about the ending we were denied of, and there were too many drivers making mistakes and getting over optimistic. Di Resta and Hamilton namely, no one can deny. If you do you’re kidding yourself.

    83. As many others have said, the unfortunate anticlimax of the ending stopped this from being like a 11/10. What an absolute heart-stopper until then. Great race. Glad Petrov seems alright. We saw some of the best and worst of Hamilton today, though unfortunately much more of the latter. Really too bad we didn’t get to see that fight for first place play out; it probably would have made this one of the classic GPs of the modern era.

    84. As much as I love Monaco it is past it’s day, last year it was still ok but just ok, with new rules allowing for better passing providing more exciting racing Monaco is now antiquated. FIA rules allowing teams to work on cars during a red flag stoppage is ridicules. I rank this race as a total disappointment.

      1. When a driver adopts a strategy of staying out on tires that may well be down to the cords with the thinking they may not be able to pass me anyway, something’s wrong and then to be saved and rewarded by a track that produces to many safety car incidents, where by putting people’s lives at risk coupled with a stupid ruling by the FIA.
        Take the last quarter of that race with the three leaders nose to nose and put on a race track and oh boy do we have a race, but not Monaco. To be clear I love it too, when I was there a few years back two weeks before the race, I put a check mark on one of the must do’s in life.

        1. Can’t wait for Montreal I will be making the trip from Toronto
          Now that’s a race track!

    85. 6/10. If not for the last safety car would have been a 9 or 10.

      Nice to see the TV director did a solid job covering this race unlike the last two.

      Some nice passing from Schumacher and Webber, some hopeful passing from Hamilton, lots of different strategies.

    86. Vettel is startung to have the luck the Schumnacher used to have. He was lucky to grap pole and the win due to red flag incidents.

      He lost the race to Button with 1st safety car and was about to lose race to Alonso until 2nd safety car.

      Yes Alonso had 20 laps to do this until then but he’s not stupid. He won’t risk a move early until necessary which would be the last 5 laps or so to take the win.

      Webber 4 fastest laps out of 6 races. hmmmm
      Maybe he’s not getting Saturday’s right or the team are not allowing him to have the best package.

      He’s obviously quicker than Vettel in the race and also doing a lot more racing and overtaking.

      Yes some may say Vettel doesn’t need to go fast if in comfortable win, however Monaco just proved that wrong as he had the same new tyres as everyone esle with last 6 laps and couldn’t afford to cruise with Alonso and Button going for win as well.

    87. 4/10. I’m so annoyed by this whole GP weekend.

      It’s just this hopeless annoyance when you see championship leader winning everything even through pure luck. He can’t lose any this season. I will personally rate his 2010 WDC much higher than his 2011 one, just because i find entertaining wins that much more enjoyable.

      It’s in my opinion Vettel’s least deserved and worst win in his carreer. This race is a shame to show to other people who want to know what F1 is about. For me this was a weekend of worrying accidents abruptly ending the most exciting fights one can imagine, and luck handing it all to Vettel both in Qualifying and in the end of the race.

      Truly, emotions ranging from shock and fear, through anger at penalising racing incidents to bitter and hollow disappointment over the last 10 laps when you knew it’s over. The first weekend to forget since 2009, surely.

    88. 9/10 for me. I guess the rule 41.4 was in place to suit the condition that would be too wet to race (so that teams can resume the race in wet tyres when they had slicks on while being red-flagged… to avoid further accident during restart obviously), but when it applies late into the dry race it just doesn’t seem fair. I wouldn’t mind seeing Vettel win if they decided to stop the race after red flag, but to see midfielders getting shafted (Kobayashi, Maldonado) was too painful to watch.

    89. 6, I would have rated higher if the race would have finished under normal condition.

    90. great race before red flag comes out…

    91. I would have never thought that you can work on the car on during a red flag and not get any sort of penalty. That just ruined an awesome finish. Very disappointed.

    92. It was ramping up to be something stellar until the red flags. Then it was ruined. 7 For a disappointing anti-climax.

    93. Vettel has surely grown into a Total Package….it was a bit fortunate for him…but Fortune favors the Brave… :)

      1. very nice avatar you have Rahim.RG

    94. It had it all: great racing, lots of overtakings, suprises, drama, hurt and disbelieve. Very rare but this is a ten worth which i never gave before.

    95. Don’t give vettel such a hard time i thought that was great racing up to the red flag

    96. 9/10

      As the top three closed in on that pack of seven or eight cars my heart was pounding. I was expecting either the most dramatic finish for a race I’ve ever seen, or someone to be seriously injured. Unfortunately, and fortunately, neither of those happened. But the guys on the podium absolutely deserved to be the ones up there, regardless of which anthems were played.

    97. Gave it a 7. Would probably be a 9 if not for the ability to change tyres under a red flag ruining the end of it.

      Was set up beautifully for a fantastic showdown but it was somewhat tempered by that rule.

      Hope Pirelli get their way to stop that happening… in the slightly unlikely chance of it happening again some time soon.

    98. I gave a 7. Would have been a 9 but the fight to the flag being ruined and seeing Petrov being taken off in an ambulance left me with a bad feeling.

    99. 9/10 – Possibly the most action packed Monaco GP that I can remember, as year after year it is usually a formation race.

      Shame for Webbes.. he really needs to work on his starts.

    100. Only a 7 for me.

      Because of the crashes the phrase I would use to describe both qualifying and the race would be anti-climax. The important thing though is that Perez and Petrov are both okay after their accidents.

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