Vote for your Monaco Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend

2011 Monaco Grand Prix

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Start, Monaco, 2011

Who was the most impressive driver throughout the Monaco Grand Prix weekend?

See below for my pick of the best drivers in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Review each driver’s race weekend in detail below and vote for who you thought was the most impressive driver.

For your consideration

Here are some of the drivers who impressed me during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend:

Sebastian Vettel – Terrific under pressure and eked out extraordinary longevity from his tyres. Both lucky and unlucky with the race stoppage and his slow pit stop.

Fernando Alonso – Tenacious as ever in a sub-par car. Gave away nothing in qualifying, quick off the line, dogged in pursuit of Vettel.

Jenson Button – Made a race of it with an unlikely strategy that came close to working.

Pastor Maldonado – Easily his best F1 performance so far, particularly impressive in qualifying and deserved points. Could have avoided the collision that put him out, though.

Timo Glock – Justifiably pleased with a strong qualifying performance and he clung on to the Lotuses in the race until his car broke.

Compare all the drivers

Review what happened to each driver over the race weekend and compare their performances with their team mates using the links below:

Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
McLaren: Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari: Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher
Renault: Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov
Williams: Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado
Force India: Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta
Sauber: Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez
Toro Rosso: Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari
Lotus: Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen
HRT: Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi
Virgin: Timo Glock and Jerome d’Ambrosio

Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver impressed you the most throughout the Monaco Grand Prix weekend? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend?

  • Jerome d'Ambrosio (0%)
  • Timo Glock (1%)
  • Vitantonio Liuzzi (0%)
  • Narain Karthikeyan (0%)
  • Jarno Trulli (0%)
  • Heikki Kovalainen (0%)
  • Jaime Alguersuari (0%)
  • Sebastien Buemi (0%)
  • Sergio Perez (0%)
  • Kamui Kobayashi (9%)
  • Paul di Resta (0%)
  • Adrian Sutil (0%)
  • Pastor Maldonado (8%)
  • Rubens Barrichello (0%)
  • Vitaly Petrov (0%)
  • Nick Heidfeld (0%)
  • Nico Rosberg (0%)
  • Michael Schumacher (1%)
  • Felipe Massa (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (19%)
  • Jenson Button (33%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (11%)
  • Mark Webber (1%)
  • Sebastian Vettel (17%)

Total Voters: 553

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Spanish Grand Prix result

Lewis Hamilton was voted the best driver of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend:

1. Lewis Hamilton – 39.6%
2. Sebastian Vettel – 23.9%
3. Fernando Alonso – 13.3%

Rate the Race: Monaco Grand Prix

Don’t forget to cast your vote in the ‘rate the race’ poll as well:

2011 Monaco Grand Prix

    Browse all 2011 Monaco Grand Prix articles

    Author information

    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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    181 comments on “Vote for your Monaco Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend”

    1. beckenlima (@)
      30th May 2011, 19:25

      Two words: Fernando Alonso. The man dragged his rubbish Ferrari to the podium beating Button — who had the fastest car in this weekend — in the process.

      But what caught my eye was this statement after the race:

      “…“I had nothing to lose, I’m not leading the championship. I had two places in mind to pass and if we crash we crash!…

      — Alonso”

      Yeah, thats the spirit, Fernando. That´s why big cry babies like Massa will not win anything in F1.

      Salve, Fernando!

      1. I have to agree that Alonso put a very strong race on sunday. Flawless driving.
        But to see an Alonso fan calling another driver a “cry baby” is just way too funny…

        1. beckenlima (@)
          30th May 2011, 21:24

          Funny is you calling me an Alonso fan. ;D

          1. Funny is you not calling yourself an Alonso fan. :D

      2. It’s close between Vettel Alonso and Button but I went with Fernando Alonso. I know Button will win because “he should have won” but fact is he never made a single attempt to get passed Alonso or Vettel despite being on the better tyres.

        1. Considering the criticism his team-mate received for trying to pass other cars, is that so bad!

          I think Jenson was just biding his time, what’s the point going for a move when someone’s tyres will be dead in ten laps and you’ll get the win? Though I doubt Alonso’s would have, but they did.

          1. While I don’t think that Jenson would have got past Fernando it doesn’t detract from the fact that I thought he drove the best during the weekend. His qualifying lap was magic – and his race performance was fantastic.

            1. A driver who starts in second place and finish in third and is the driver of the race? Hard this one.

            2. well according to your logic the driver of the weekend can only ever be the polesitter or winner. In this instance, it can only be Vettel thus rendering the whole discussion void. However, it clearly isn’t so simple because otherwise there wouldn’t be a variety of opinions and a debate happening.

              If you disagree, use a bit of intelligence in your argument.

          2. I think Jenson was just biding his time, what’s the point going for a move when someone’s tyres will be dead in ten laps and you’ll get the win?

            Exactly. There was no point in trying to pass until perhaps two laps from the end. Jenson wasn’t to know a red flag was just around the corner.

            Anyway, I voted for Alonso, because he was undoubtedly the best driver over the entire Grand Prix weekend. He arguably could have been first in every practice session (but for Rosberg), qualifying (but for the red flag) and the race (but for the red flag, again). Fernando was super impressive. I have an enormous amount of respect for that man.

          3. I mean of course that they believed Alonso’s tyres would go!

      3. massive +1. brilliant drive. brilliant driver.

      4. That Ferrari is rubbish on high downforce circuits but in Monaco it showed it had superb mechanical grip. For once it was not “rubbish” or a “dog of a car”. Not to take anything away from Alonso’s great drive, but its not like he was out matched as he usually is.

      5. Agree that Fred is working wonders with the Red Dog, but my vote goes to Kamikaze-san. He showed me that he has what it takes to be a front line driver. I hope he can get in a front line car one day (soon).

      6. Brilliant comment, couldn’t agree more.

        1. Who, RIISE? :P

    2. Button, all his bad luck was summed up in Vettel’s good luck. Close second Alonso and Maldonado. Try your heart out award and giving us a classic interview to remember award goes to Hamilton.

    3. I think I am going to give this one a bit of time, just like last week.

      As you write Keith, there were quite some guys doing very good drives this weekend again.

      1. GoToNascarAlready
        30th May 2011, 19:35

        Not really decided who was the best driver at Montecarlo, the first three were very good. But I know for sure who was the absolute worst. No points for guessing.

        1. Alguersuari, presumably.

          1. Who in the world is giving Hamilton 36 votes. Ridiculous.

            1. That is what people are up against when try to make make reasonable, valid criticisms of Hamilton. Seriously how is Hamilton 4th in the vote at the moment?

            2. Just perhaps some people voted for him because they liked that he had an aggressive race and tried to make up a bad quali, rather then deciding not to bother risking anything and spending the afternoon following slower cars and picking up 9th or 10th place.

            3. Just perhaps some people voted for him because they liked that he had an aggressive race and tried to make up a bad quali, rather then deciding not to bother risking anything and spending the afternoon following slower cars and picking up 9th or 10th place.

              Well if he was the best driver of the weekend then he wouldn’t have had to follow slower cars.

              It’s also nice double standards. When Webber comes through from the back people say that he wasn’t the best of the weekend because of his quali performance but when Hamilton does it he is the best driver because he is coming through the field.

              I’m not saying these were your comments, just a general observation of double standers.

            4. because he actually tried.

            5. @ megaman – tried and failed.

    4. I got stuck between Button and Alonso. In the end I went for Alonso but I somewhat regret it now ha.

      1. I went for Button as he was clearly fastest all the race, had an excellent qualifying and with two stops more than Vettel was just seconds away. Alonso and Vettel were obviously good too but they weren’t perfect I’d say.
        Button was right in being enthusiastic about his podium.

        1. He was quicker because he had newer, super soft tyres almost the entire race lol.

          1. He pitted two times more than Vettel and was faster even ater Vettel’s stop when he pulled away.

          2. So he should be penalized for choosing a wiser strategy that clearly made him faster?

            1. A wiser strategy that placed him in third… right.

      2. I think you could make a good case for both Button and Alonso, but when it comes down to it, Alonso was the best over the entire weekend.

    5. Kobayashi! Didn’t see him much, but he had a brilliant push up the field for his best finish ever.

      1. Exactly. Webber said in the post race interview something about there not being a wall he didn’t touch, as he kept the much faster Red Bull behind him for a bunch of laps.

        Epic epic driving. God I hope they give him Webber’s seat when he hangs up the helmet later this year.

        1. Agreed. And he does that in almost every race.

          But I kind of have a hunch that RBR won’t take him and he’ll end up replacing Schumacher in Mercedes for 2013.

          1. Interesting. I always thought di Resta was in line for that seat.

            Anyway, voted for Kobayashi too. :D

          2. I would expect Di Resta to take that Merc seat too. However there a few other Germans that could be in line for that seat.

    6. 4 votes for Hamilton? Were people watch Monaco 2008?

      1. I voted Hamilton, and I’m not ashamed.

        I believe he had the best pass of the weekend, and raced hard from start to finish. Yeah he hit Maldonado, but when watching a side by side comparison between his Maldonado and Schumacher moves, Maldonado clearly turns in and leaves no other possible outcome than a collision. Same for the Massa move. Massa, while trying to avoid Webber turned in to Hamilton. What else could Hamilton have done?

        As for Massa’s off in the tunnel, Hamilton was past before Massa got on the Marbles. Despite the understandable frustration post GP, he’s my driver of the day. And I couldn’t care what anyone thinks about it.

        1. Commendatore
          30th May 2011, 19:56

          Yeah! That’s the spirit!!! :palmface:

        2. So by that logic did you vote for Vettel at Spa last year and Sutil at Korea?

          1. You have all my respect.

        3. I agree SkinBintin, luck is not a factor in my Driver Of The Weekend decision and it never will be.

          1. There is calculated risk and then there is risk.

        4. it wasnt the tunnel incident that got lewis all the stick, it was the botched attempt at barging past at the hairpin.

          1. But if the tunnel hadn’t happened, it might not have done, or maybe both Massa and he would have gotten a drive-through for hitting the driver in front of them.

            1. After Di Restas penalty, Hamilton had to get one. I don’t think the stewards had much choice.

        5. Watch the replay, Hamilton’s attempt on Massa at the hairpin was overly optimistic at best, and Massa did not turn into him, he had nowhere else to go. A driver the quality of Hamilton, who had earlier pulled off such a brilliant pass on Schumacher should have known better, and his hot headed remarks about the incident after the race only prove that he momentarily let his frustration take precedence over his talent. I imagine he is just as upset with himself for the incident as he is with the stewards for the penalty that they justly handed out to him.

          1. If Massa didnt turn in, he would have hit the barrier.

          2. He seems to think if he puts his car there then the victim should move out the way. Which is not the way modern F1 should be.

            1. Fantastic, thats exactly what I was thinking for years but never found better words for it than you just did! Finally a good way to describe it.

      2. Either that, or they were voting out of sympathy.

      3. He has more votes than Kobayashi :evil:

        1. They vote for Lewis because I think they’re in love with his beard or something… I know I can’t resist it.

          Something that’s been bothering me… when they red flagged, and then all the pit crews and engineers were running out to the grid, why was Nicole running down there with a radio on??? Is she an engineer at McLaren, or did he need some other form of assistance?

          1. Maybe they sent here there to calm his mind. It did look like overheating, so that was a very nessicary bit of engineering :-)

            1. Didn’t help, unfortunately (for him and Pastor).

          2. It would appear she’s in charge of race strategy.

          3. She is in charge when it comes to the ups and downs of the weekend.

    7. Kamui Kobayashi

    8. How does Vettel win five out of six races and not once is voted the best driver of the weekend? I mean guys, at least once? Like here in Monaco – gutsy strategy, made it work. And a historical lap in qualifying – come on!!!

      1. Well.. he has the best car and he’s been lucky. He has only done whats expected from him, but others have shined.

        1. that definatley sums up vettel in monaco, he made a few mistakes in his qualy lap but had the best car, and he got all the luck in the race!

          1. He hasn’t had the best car, it was the outright best for the first few laps of a stint, and then his pace slowed so it didn’t even compare to the Mclaren’s or even Alonso.

            After that, you don’t win so many races by being lucky. Panis was lucky when he won in Monaco, because half the grid fell of the track ahead of him.

      2. I agree. Although Alonso is my driver of the day in Monaco, I do think that he deserves more credit, especially for all the other races. I think it’s all because people assume that because he has the fastest car, a win is a given but we all know that that isn’t really the case on race day.

        1. It’s really sad that then Alonso, Hamilton wins it is just because of their huge talent. So if Vetel has such a better car then anyone elses what’s happening to Webber. Vettel is very talented and he’s really underrated. Did he had a fastest car in 2008 and 2009 seasons? I don’t understand why all the credit for Sebs work goes to the car and not to him. He’s really good and it’s not just fastest car. I think he proven that a several time this year now.

          1. Guilherme (@the_philosopher)
            30th May 2011, 20:56

            Agreed. I wish everyone who say his wins are all due to the car could read your post.

            If he indeed had the best car then Webber should at least be finishing right behind him in every race, and that happened only twice. Otherwise, it means that either Vettel is really talented or Webber is really mediocre, which I think Mark has proven wrong last year.

            If his car was indeed the fastest everytime, everywhere, then I think it is highly unlikely he would be winning races by only less than a second.

            This year he has been incredible: fast, consistent and reliable. He is on the same level as Alonso and Hamilton, as far as I am concerned.

            1. Well, Webber did have this even worse pitstop than Vettel this time, and there have been more – thing is, Red Bull do seem to have trouble at times to focus on two drivers if they both are fighting hard for positions.

              But anyway, not being the driver of the weekend doesn’t mean you are rubbish, just that one of the other 23 drivers did a better job with the tools they were given over that weekend. Since they are all supposed to be the best in the world, that seems to not be entirely unlikely.

            2. This year he has been incredible: fast, consistent and reliable. He is on the same level as Alonso and Hamilton, as far as I am concerned

              +1

              I could not agree more with you Sir. If anything I feel that Vettel is currently the best driver in the world. He now has as many wins as Hamilton, from even fewer races, and more poles than even Alonso! He makes it look easy like Schumacher did at the height of his dominance, but that does not mean that it truly is easy.

      3. I think if we were voting for the best driver across these 6 races then Vettel should be the clear winner. He has been excellent throughout, certainly right up there vying for best driver in each race without being clearly ahead in any. Other drivers have not had the same level of consistency as Vettel – add in a consistant fast car and it’s not surprising he has such a championship lead – compare to Webber.

        1. Umm, I think that’s something called ‘The Championship’

      4. He only made it work because of 2 things:

        1) It’s still incredibly hard to pass at Monaco (just ask Hamilton lol)

        2) The red flag allowed him to stick a new set of tyres on just as he was about to really suffer on the old set.

        As others have said, winning in the fastest car is a lot easier than the drives some others have had to put in to come far lower down the order.

        1. 1) That has been known for 80 years, people are considering it when choosing their strategies. Luck is definetely not a factor there
          2) Agreed. But he made it to that point and was also unlucky with his pit stop before.

          What exactly is vettel supposed to do? He is with the team for three years now, maybe he actually has had some input in the development of the car by now? And you can hardly criticize him for not overtaking if he is always driving in front (which, as Webber shows, is not only due to the car)

          I can’t believe I just wrote that, but sometimes you have to give credit where credit’s due.

          1. I agree sir. The whole “Vettel has the best car” argument is getting old. While it’s true the RedBull is one hell of a car, he’s still doing an incredible job of extracting the most out of that RB7. Look at the difference between him and Mark, which says a lot, because Mark is no slouch.

            1. Pink Pirelli
              31st May 2011, 12:57

              You’re right, Webber is no slouch, but we all know who has the support of the team.

      5. @magon4, I’m in total agreement. Vettel is without a doubt one of the best drivers the sport has seen and this is only the beginning.

        There are only three drivers that stand out right now.

        Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton. Everyone else just appears to be waiting for these 3 to screw up in some way (driver error, strategy, reliability.)

        Vettel has been utterly dominant because he gets the job done with the right equipment and makes the least mistakes. There’s no more to be said really…

      6. He’s German ……..

    9. This site is obviously biased, and thats fine, but the driver who actually wins the races while at the same time achieving career defining driving performances gets voted second. It’s funny stuff :D

      1. Career defining? Please. Career defining is the championship and the second one he has a solid chance of winning.

        If you’re really upset, use the drivers points on the results at the end of the season. Vettel’s consistently on the podium.

      2. The driver who sits in a car that’s half a second to a whole second faster and only manages to win by insane luck doesn;t get the vote. Wow, how odd.

        1. Guilherme (@the_philosopher)
          30th May 2011, 20:59

          You honestly believe that the Red Bull is one second per lap faster on race trim? I don’t think Vettel forgets how to drive from Saturday to Sunday.

        2. Instead the vote goes to Button – A driver who never looked capable of overtaking on track, and whose only hope to win was through a strategic gamble yet again.

        3. Cut Vettel some slack, his wins are definitely not down to just “insane luck”.

          1. This one was.

            1. But to say that, you’d be ignoring the fact that he made his tyres last 50 odd laps, and assuming that Button or Alonso would have made it past in the final 6 laps, which they could have done much earlier than lap 69.

              Vettel had to deal with a lot of pressure on the most unforgiving circuit on the calender, where the driver makes more of a difference than anywhere else.

      3. This site is obviously biased

        I’ve named five drivers I think are deserving of special mention – including the race winner who you’re referring to – and linked to loads of information on all the other drivers so you can make an informed decision. I don’t see how you can call the site “biased”.

        Unless you’re referring to the comments in response to the article, in which case you’re mistaking “bias” for a difference in opinion.

    10. I really want to vote for Vettel. And had the race not been red flagged and he still won, he would have gotten it for making the one stop work.

      Unfortunately, we were denied such excitement and therefore, he’s denied my vote. I like Alonso’s spirit and his pace too but I gave it to Button because he was on top of both Vettel and Alonso while running his three stopper.

    11. Kamui the best of the best hope he go to redbool or Ferrari next yiar!!!

    12. Commendatore
      30th May 2011, 19:58

      I don’t know which one was the best driver of the race (too many choices between Nando, Vettel, Kobayashi…), but I sure know which one was the worst:
      L.Hamilton!!! By FAR! :)

    13. Vettel will everything this year except for this poll.

      I don’t understand why people still think Red Bull is the fastest car. Red Bull is only optimzied for qualifying. In race trim Mclaren have the faster car. Hamilton and Button have challenged Vettel very easily in the last 2 races but Vettel has soaked the pressure brilliantly. But then again, whom am I trying to convince!

      1. And had all the luck along the way. But I suppose you make your own luck!!

        1. Not pitting in Monaco and staying out in track is common sense, not luck! I would say Mclaren were being idiots trying to pit Button that many times.
          And Button pitted just before the safety car that came out on lap 34. Thus, all the gap that Vettel had to Button was erased. So, from lap 39 to lap 48, Button was on tyres that were both softer AND fresher than Vettel’s tyres. Still, he couldn’t do anything to him. That is not luck for Vettel.

          Vettel’s championship now reminds me of Button’s in 2009. A car that is now slower than the opposition but a driver who is still winning.

          1. Very true, though I feel he will have a much stronger second half of the season than Button had in 2009.

          2. LOL next race people will start saying red bull has the worst car during the race but the best car for qualifying… Red Bull still has the best car.

    14. polishboy808
      30th May 2011, 20:05

      How did Lewis even manage 8 votes?

      1. If we all voted for one driver it would be a bit boring. I think several drivers are worthy of getting our votes. Vettel for his consistent pace on his second set of tyres, Alonso for getting his Ferrari in amongst a Red Bull and McLaren and Jenson for his pure pace. I also think Maldonado and Kobayashi did a good job.

        Whilst I didn’t vote for him I can totally understand why some fanatics voted for Lewis, he was the one really trying to make a race of it and not simply hoping that luck would come his way.

        I think some of the commenters here should focus on why they voted for their preferred driver rather than trying to rubbish the legitimate views of others.

      2. He has got 37 by now, even more than both Maldonado and Kobayashi.

        Hamilton was fast and did give us a lot to see during the race and even more entertainment after. So maybe people voted for him on that basis.

        1. Younger Hamii
          31st May 2011, 13:54

          I Would have voted Lewis!!! Oh Come on Driver of the Day is not actually about the Driver that has done no wrong and has done wonders for the Team,Besides despite Lewis’ Reckless,Unacceptable and Thoughtless Driving.He Must have thought about Senna’s Famous Quote which might have lead to him driving overly Aggressive

          If you no longer go for a gap that exist,you’re no longer a Racing Driver Ayrton Senna

          In the Interview he Spoke his Heart and Mind out with pure Honesty and gave us an insight of how Drivers Feel inside their heads after an Incident.

          Even Lee from the BBC F1 Team was surprise and somewhat delighted tha he spoke his mind and heart and as a Journalist,thats What she wants and im pretty sure at the end of the day what Formula 1 and other Motorsport Fans would want Honesty from their Favourite Drivers.

          Lewis or Jenson get my Vote this weekend and the race itself.Not Seb at all nor Fernando

          1. Not the first person this weekend to refer to that quote, but it’s a poor choice of words if you’re trying to defend Hamilton:

            https://www.racefans.net/2011/05/30/2011-monaco-grand-prix-mclaren/comment-page-1/#comment-700633

            1. Younger Hamii
              31st May 2011, 15:13

              Im not Intending to Defend nor be against Lewis,Keith im just stating Facts that people dont think about,Some Facts i didnt actually think about when Criticising Lewis about his Driving and his Interview.

    15. This weekend Button has my vote. Button did a great job to out qualify Alonso, who looked strong all weekend, and he ran a great race to haul himself up and close the gap to the leaders.

      I’m surprised to actually see Button leading the poll right now, as Vettel was pretty magnificent to overcome the tyre mix up and nearly win the race on some pretty old rubber. Glad to see some support for a fairly underrated, sometimes heavily criticized driver.

      1. I don’t think Button is heavily criticized, he’s just not as fast as lewis usually is. But of all the top teams he’s easily the closest matched to his teammate and he’s been really impressive in his racing lately. He made a different strategy from all the other drivers around him work very well and got to third in spain and now a solid third.

        But I think here he simply didn’t have the right strategy. Surely the lead he pulled out looked impressive during the race, with the assumption Vettel would have to pit again, but Vettel was simply making his strategy work better.

        If strategies would have been different and button would have come out we’d all be singing to the tune of ‘button is so nice on his tyres’, and he would have gottem my vote for it, but Vettel could probably just as easily have cruised up to the back and find himself being unable to overtake. Coulthard immediately recognised that track position was the desirable advantage over tyres when asked in which driver’s car he’d rather sit in.

        Button has been very good lately, but I think Vettel drove the better race around here. He’s really driving incredibly good.

    16. I have voted for Vettel on all races except China. He is on fire. Who cares if he isn´t passing other people. He´s so fast he doesn´t need to. The 5 pole positions are just a bonus in my opinion. Sure he has the best car, but tell that to Webber, whos is behind Hamilton and being followed closely by Button and Fernando.

      1. True. So far he’s been more consistent, and made lesser errors than Hamilton, Alonso, and Button. Vettel might have a machinery advantage, but hes capitalised on that advantage perfectly as well.

      2. Yes, same for me.

        I really don’t understand why people claim that he was lucky yesterday. He was a bit unlucky in his pit stop and the first safety car didn’t help him at all. At that point the only chance of victory was a one-stop strategy, because Fernando and Jenson were right behind him with fresher tyres. And he made it work, 60 laps with the same tyres. That was impressive.
        Of course, the red flags helped him a bit, but we can’t say that he won only because he was lucky.

    17. This weekend Button put in a stronger than expected performance, but again he opted for a different strategy instead of actually trying to overtake Vettel. Button never looked like he would actually be able to pass Vettel on track even when he had a significant tyre advantage. Alonso looked more menacing on the soft tyres than Jenson did on the supersofts. I picked Alonso for driver of the weekend.

    18. I picked Button, because I think he did everything right this weekend, and pushed hard. No he doesn’t have the attitude of Alonso “I’m not fighting for the championship, so if we crash, we crash” – some might see that as “racer’s spirit” – knowing Alonso’s history, I’d be equally certain it could be that he figures taking Seb out so he scores 0 points is just as good as gaining 8 points on him by coming first.

      Vettel, Alonso, and Button all did great jobs this weekend – Vettel was still untouchable in a single lap, and torched it in the first few laps. Alonso again took his car further than it deserved, and looked like a threat whenever he was close. But the fact is that without bad luck, Button would have dominated that race after the first pitstops, and that was down to a combination of relentless speed, cunning, and racecraft.

      What’s sad is that no doubt some commentators are going to believe that anyone who doesn’t agree with their own choice is blinkered, biased, a fanboy, or thick. It’s tiring. Pick a driver, make a logical argument, and if someone disagrees – look at their own argument and see if they’ve thought of something you didn’t. Simple, really.

      1. Trenthamfolk (@)
        30th May 2011, 21:17

        Nice comment dude…

        Just from me, I thought Alonso did well, but can not bring myself to vote for someone with his attitude. He may be a great racer, but he’s certainly no sportsman. Button gets my vote for the reasons you’ve already detailed so well.

        1. Nice comments from both of you, thankyou for the objectivity and frankness. You both have handily summed up why Button got my vote.

      2. Vettel had bad luck too. He had poor pit stop. He was for the longest time on that tyres, while maintaining his pace, and defending, knowing which part/section of the track he needs put more speed, from someone who was on fresher tyres, for so many laps, make his own decision about the tyre strategy. Just to name a few.

        In above short summary, it has the combination of qualities you mentioned and even more.

        Pick a driver, make a logical statement, apply that statement to other drivers.

    19. Guilherme (@the_philosopher)
      30th May 2011, 20:39

      I voted for Vettel, even though I know he has barely any chance of winning these polls.

      Yesterday he had a slower car for 60 laps, yet he won the race – one of the finest drives of his carrer if you ask me. He had enormous pressure for half the race but still didn’t put the car a single centimeter off the line. He was just flawless this race (actually he has been flawless since Japan last year).

      I think a close second goes to Alonso, thrid to Kobayashi and a long way behind comes Button. He was fast, but I wasn’t very impressed – his car was clearly faster because of his strategy, but that very strategy lost him the race. A bit of bad luck with the safety car timing, I know, but still he took a risky gamble and it didn’t pay off.

      1. slower car? You mean older tyres. Too bad we will never now what would have happened when he had hit the cliff with his tyres.
        As for Button, lol you give him no credits for his drive because he had better tyres??? lol biased much? And it is not his strategy that lost him the race. It was because off the red flag.

    20. For those of you who are complaining that Vettel never gets voted the driver of the weekend just needs to remember that everyone loves an underdog, and dislikes dominant performances.

      Those who triumph in the face of adversity evoke strong emotions…. This weekend Jenson Button is the peoples favourite, but rewind to 2009 and everybody was lamenting Jenson for only being able to win with a superior car.

      1. lamenting wasn’t the word I meant… Criticizing lol

      2. For those of you who are complaining that Vettel never gets voted the driver of the weekend just needs to remember that everyone loves an underdog, and dislikes dominant performances.

        Those who triumph in the face of adversity evoke strong emotions…. This weekend Jenson Button is the peoples favourite, but rewind to 2009 and everybody was lamenting Jenson for only being able to win with a superior car.

        COTD for Alex R!!

    21. JB again. Of the top three he gained the least and suffered the most from the Safety Cars coming out.

      1. Am I missing something? How did Jenson suffer the most from the safety cars coming out?

        1. The first came out just after his pit-stop, which gave Red Bull the idea to leave Vettel out. The second saved some life for Vettel’s tyres and then led to the race being stopped and Vettel getting new tyres.

          1. I guess the 1st stop can be viewed in 2 ways. I thought that Vettel’s 13 sec advantage was reduced to less than a second, and he had Jenson on a fresh set of SS tyres hounding him. The 2nd stop was more of a disadvantage to Fernando, who looked more capable of taking the race win than Jenson did.

            I think Red Bull would have left Vettel out either ways. I’m sure than unless Seb had a gap of 20 secs or so on Jenson, they wouldn’t bring Seb in anyways and lose track position.

    22. Of the three, the only driver who finished ahead of where his car should have been was Alonso. Vettel didnt really do much considering the speed of his car. Button had the fastest car and only finished third with no chance at a win at all.

      Alonso was the only one in a position to beat Vettel and in a car that had no place being anywhere higher than 5th.

      For that, Alonso gets my vote.

    23. I voted for Fernando Alonso. He dragged a car that was lapped last week to very nearly winning the Monaco Grand Prix. IMO, he was more likely to get the lead than Button was (and that’s assuming either was going to pass in the final 6 laps).

    24. I can’t choose between Vettel, Alonso and Button. Neither of them put a foot wrong all weekend. As much as I don’t like him being this lucky, Vettel gets my vote for nursing his tyres for so long while he maintained his pace.

      Keith, don’t be biased. ;) Maldonado could have avoided his accident with Lewis!? No way. He was in front, Lewis should have backed off when he saw he had gone for a non-existent gap. Same with Massa in Loews. Maldonado drove well.

      1. Pretty thin accusation of ‘bias’ without even bothering to say who or what I might be in favour of or against. Just goes to show what a baseless, knee-jerk response it is.

        I’ve watched the replays of Hamilton passing Schumacher and Maldonado several times and as far as I’m concerned there’s little to choose between them, other than that Maldonado turned in on Hamilton and Schumacher didn’t. Hamilton got about as far along side each time.

        What I did find odd about the whole Hamilton/Maldonado thing, as I mentioned in the Williams race review, was why they put him on soft tyres for the last stint when he should have had a set of super-softs left. That might have kept him out of Hamilton’s reach in the first place.

        1. Come on, I wasn’t meant to be rude or anything. So leave out the personal remarks. I’m even ashamed of making this point here because I’m very fond of your work with the site otherwise.

          I meant you were biased towards Hamilton, I just felt there’s no need to say it in an explicit way because it was evident from your words.

          Yes, nice comparison with the Schumacher case, and yes, Schumacher haven’t turned in on Hamilton. But I think we shouldn’t blame him if he did. Look, everybody was throwing everything at Schumacher after what he did in Jerez ’97, because he hadn’t let Jacques pass when the Canadian was in front. The unwritten rule was that whoever is in front has the advantage, he could make his move(s), and the driver behind should accomodate. Senna on Prost, Suzuka ’89, similar situation, in my opinion Senna was mistaken. So applying this to these two cases we see Schuey and Maldonado in front and Lewis behind on both occasion. I think Lewis would never ever gone through in any cases – Michael just ‘left the gate open’ for him, but Lewis should have only nodded if the gate would have remained close. It wasn’t like that: both of them would have been out of the race if Schumacher holds his line. The driver behind, after realizing he had been too adventurous, should make everything possible to avoid contact with the man in front who choses his line. In my opinion Hamilton failed this principle in both cases – as he did with Massa in the Loews as well. I don’t want to sound like a big head or something it’s just how I see it. I just apply a basic principle to the situations and it’s just so that now Lewis is on the wrong end of the rope according to this principle.

          As for the super-softs of Maldonado… Probably a strategic error. I wouldn’t have been the first on Sunday, would it.

          1. The unwritten rule was that whoever is in front has the advantage, he could make his move(s), and the driver behind should accomodate

            Your grasp of the rules is sketchy at best if you believe that Atticus.

            Article 16.1:

            – illegitimately prevented a legitimate overtaking manoeuvre by a driver.

            – illegitimately impeded another driver during overtaking.

            Article 20.2:

            Manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers, such as more than one change of direction to defend a position, deliberate crowding of a car beyond the edge of the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are not permitted.

            Link: Sporting Regulations – Driving protocol and penalties

            1. Your grasp of the actual rules are sketchy at best if you believe that Massa and Maldonado were illegitimately preventing a legitimate overtaking manoeuvre or crowding etc. The bottom line is that the stewards are experts at the rule book and aren’t biased. If they gave Hamilton two penalties then they were deserved.

            2. That’s why I wrote it’s unwritten. It’s not even a rule, more of a principle. I know the rules says completely otherwise.

              But based on the rules Maldonado & Co. should have been punished, not Hamilton, so it seems that the stewarts use more of a common sense in these cases: based on the rules – exaggerating a little bit – you could give a little knock to the rear left or rear right of the guy in front, and literally knock them out of the race, like you did in GP2 with F4 on in your early years.

              Of course stewarts would come up with arguments for their decision – and it’s likely they invoke those exact same lines you cited.

              And that’s the main problem, and all the source of our debates: the rules are not unambigous. What does it mean ‘illegitimately’, ‘deliberate crowding out’ and ‘abnormal change of direction’? Are they applied to the man overtaken, or to to one who overtakes? Etc.

              But I’m sorry I accused you Keith, ours are just different point of views, I really shouldn’t have done that.

    25. Alonso for me, he is driving a car which by all accounts should be battling Renault and Mercedes (look at Massa) and yet at Istanbul and here in Monaco he was pretty much the fastest guy out there. Red Bull is a superior car, you only have to look at Quali to realise this, but somehow Alonso managed to come very close to beating them.

      On the subject of the Red Bull being slower in race trim compared to Quali, I think the fuel tank must be higher than other teams, and therefore they have a higher centre of gravity which is making the car unstable.

    26. Fernando Alonso got my vote. Like always, he gives it all he’s got regardless of the car he’s driving.

      1. I think Alonso drove a superb race, and Massa was driving well too until the crash, but a lot of this is down to the unique characteristics of the circuit. The Ferrari thrives in slow speed environments due to its high traction and great mechanical grip. It’s the same car that suffered terribly in Spain, but on a track much better suited to its’ strengths.

        This doesn’t take anything away from Alonso’s podium finish, merely from many of the arguments that state he was in a dog of a car that did not deserve to finish so well. It did deserve to finish so well and it was instrumental in Alonso’s attempt to win the race.

    27. Petrov deserves some credit too for beating Heidfeld in qualifying by 0.4s on pure pace and strong race before accident.

      1. Indeed, although heidfeld really is uninspiring around Monaco… pretty much like most tracks to be honest.

    28. It’a got to be between Alonso and Button hasn’t it? On reflection, i’m going to give my vote to Alonso simply because i remember thinking during the race – wow, how is this guy dicing for the lead with the 3rd best car around here? Very impressive. Button had a really good drive too, but Alonso’s talent (painful as it is to say) was out there for all to see on Sunday.

      As for Hamilton, i’m a big fain of his and disagree with people saying he had a bad drive. It was only ever going to be one of two things: a quiet, non-eventful drive without incident to an average finishing position being stuck behind slower cars, or a firey risk taking afternoon with lots of aggression. And personally i’m so glad it was the latter. However, you’d have to be a pretty biased supporter to vote for Hamilton over Button or Alonso! It just wanted his weekend.

    29. UKfanatic (@)
      30th May 2011, 22:27

      Pastor Maldonado unfortunatly was rammed by Lewis, there was nothing he could do, horrible to see a true british racing team having such a bad season

    30. I voted for Hamilton. In my opinion he made two mistakes this weekend: the attempted pass on Maldonado and losing his cool in the interview. I thought he did a fine job making the most of a desperate situation after qualifying 9th, considering everything that went wrong.

      -A strategy gamble doing a single run in Q3 which obviously backfired.
      -Held up by Massa, ruining a hot lap.
      -Sent out to be first in line for track position for the Q3 restart, coming out with dreadful tire and brake condition.
      -As a result struggles on his last lap in Q3 and locks up at the swimming pool chicane, throwing away the 7th place lap to be 9th. Must be frustrating.
      -Ste Devote at the start of the race, rear ended by Schumacher which probably hurt his performance and confidence (suspected a right rear puncture).
      -An awful pitstop with no tires results in him behind Massa who is on Soft tires to Hamilton’s Super Softs. Is informed by the team that he has to pass Massa on track for the strategy to work.
      -In my opinion a racing incident at the hairpin when Massa turned in very early to close the door, hitting Webber in the process because of his now contrary line through the corner.
      -Penalized for a racing incident, serves a drive through.
      -Was running in the points again, making passes at Monaco, before being rear-ended by an inattentive Alguersuari and having his wing broken. Probably expected his race to be over, saved by the red flag.
      -7th after the race restart, and with little to lose, attempts a highly optimistic pass on Maldonado. He was clearly too far back at Ste Devote, and wrong to blame Maldonado for not yielding. But it’s easy to watch replays after the fact to gauge his closing speed to the Williams and the distance to the apex. Lewis was trying to salvage 5th place from a horrid weekend and went for a gap that might not have materialized.
      -Rightly penalized for causing an avoidable collision.

      I thought who was the best driver of the weekend. The top three did a fine job but drove largely uneventful races under little pressure (due to the anticlimatic tire change at the end). Vettel was on pole and was saved by the red flag. Alonso used the first safety car to come out in second. Button was fast and consistent but didn’t look like he could pass on track. I had to give my vote to Hamilton for driving a good race under the most difficult conditions and everything stacked against him.

    31. Voted for Lewis. He drove his heart out, took risks, made things happen, got penalties. I mean he was the most intresting and entertaining driver of the race. Certainly the bravest. Positive or negative depends on how you see it. I beleive he is the best racer and overtaker on the grid. Din’t care much about results just pushed himself and the machine to the maximum. Too bad his team didn’t push as much. First a difficult qualifying mainly team’s error, than a bad pitstop and also the stretegy was quite ordinary. Look at the winning car’s stretegy. You have to take risks, full stop.
      Take Lewis away and what is left is boring procession. People like Alonso and Button not going for the gaps and not trying any serious overtaking move despite being seconds quicker. Whatever…but i just love the way Lewis races. Remeber the saying of the gretest F1 driver and 6 time Monacco winner “if you don’t go for a gap, you are no longer a racing driver”. Hamilton just belives in it more than others and sometimes end result isn’t good but still he is a real RACING DDRIVER.

    32. Voted for Maldonado, as he started the season with the stigma of “Pay driver” over his head, yet has outperformed his experienced teammate over the last 2 races and was on course for a solid points finish before the Hamilton shunt.

      1. Same here. Maldonado is definitely stepping it up, and Williams is starting to get their act together, too.

    33. I would have voted if Maldonado would have finished where he needed to be but other then that I think it have to be Vettel for soaking up the pressure & I think he may have had ended winning the race if that would have finished under normal circumstances.

    34. Vettel hardly drove a great race and was awarded with luck, both in quali and race. Button was best followed closely by Alonso in a car that struggles to turn where it needs to. Hamilton should have won this race if thinhs had gone well in qauli.

      Everyone seems to also forget Red Bull completely stuffed Webber’s race with the pitstop as he was just behind the other three and lost 10 spots and still managed to go from 14th to 4th which is a good effort at a track like Monaco.

      If Webber is a slouch and nothing compared to Vettel according to some people’s view then why does he have the 4 of the 6 fastest laps in race pace this year. hmmmm.

      1. Webber setting a fastest lap means he was fast on one lap in a race. He was already slow enough to be behind Vettel, Alonso and Button before any pitstops. Vettel was better than Webber once again.

        It’s 5-1 to Vettel in qualifying, 5-0 for wins, and 6-0 in the races.

        1. And 368-4 in terms of laps spent ahead.

          Ouch.

          Sebastian Vettel 2011 form guide

    35. Oh lordy, Jenson Button? As Keith put it, “came close to working.” Weak sauce is close to being good, but it’s not.
      Alonso, again.

      Much more of this and I will become a closet fan. He beats a Red Bull and a McLaren, albeit the one driven by Frozen Turkey, in a car that got lapped, I repeat, lapped a few days ago. His teammate, once again, left in the dust. Nice day’s work.

    36. It’s interesting to see the Alonso & Hamilton fans & critics go at each other and the occasional “what about Button” fan & the “I like Vettel NOW” fan as he’s starting to dominate and has now stopped acting like a kid and crashing into other drivers. Everyone appears to agree Kobayashi is someething special.

      Maybe we should have a favourite driver forum to see what the percentage is. (I was going to say best driver but that would allow too much bias).

      How about an order like this if they were all in the same car: Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Button,(Kubica), Rosberg,Kobayashi etc…

    37. Gotta be Kamui Kobayashi for me.

      Whether the Sauber is kinder on its tires then the rest or not, the car is still not quick in qualifying. Kamui has consistently moved up the grid during races to score at least a point in all five of the last grand prix. He drives aggressively, but stays out of trouble.

    38. My choice is Vettel. Look at poor old J R Hildebrand at Indy crashing whilst leading the race on the last lap! Dealing with pressure is a huge part of what makes a great race car driver and learning and dealing with that pressure. As Hildebrand learnt to his huge cost it only takes one small mistake and your history.
      In the last two grands prix Vettel has fended off Hamilton and Alonso for sustained periods with either worn tyres or an ineffective KERS system in his race car. That took guts and driving skill which should be appreciated but sadly is not by the majority. If Vettel had won in Spain and Monaco by a country mile I would have some sympathy with the naysayers but they were not easy victories. Both were supreme drives by a lad who is nowhere near reaching his full potential.

    39. Jake (@kraemerson88)
      31st May 2011, 5:25

      Vettel, if it wasnt for the tire mix up pit screw up he would have drove away from everyone.

    40. Hahaha. Massa has only 1 vote. No wonder he is complaining! someone should give him a lesson of how to drive!

    41. Poor Sebastian does not seem to endear himself with the F1fanatics. I voted for Vettel because he did a great job keeping Alonso and Button behind on the oldest tyres of anyone in the race (I think).

      For all those who voted Button, I agree he had an excellent weekend, but it never looked like he was going to get by Alonso or Vettel. Of course, if, without the red flag, Vettel’s tyres would have degraded much more he would have gotten by him (though not by Alonso, I think). It seems he was biding his time, but with only six laps remaining prior to the red flag, this did not seem the right strategy to me.

      I realise this is not the weekend to suggest Button should take a leaf from Hamilton’s book, but he ought to have been a little more aggressive here; he never even once had a look!

    42. I’m bored to death of my voting as it’s always either Vettel or Alonso and every weekend I find it very hard to choose between them. I went with Alonso this time. Best rookie and a mention to Pastor.

    43. Vettel was VERY VERY lucky. After this race all of us we can see that even luck is with the sidw of RedBull. McLaren has the best driving duo and Ferrari has one great driver but the RebBull car is unbelievable. It is not the drivers (Vettel-Webber), its the supercar they have. The best driver in this weekend was LEWIS HAMILTON and I vote for him!

      1. Haha, thanks. Haven’t laughed that much for years!

    44. For me Jenson Button did a great job. I think the red flag in qualifying did maybe flatter his starting position but still, I only think Hamilton could have improved his time.

      I put Alonso on pole after his performances in practice, and was surprised to see Button ahead of him, especially as Alonso seems to own this track.

      Button again went for a different strategy, and one that was looking like it was going to give him the win. The team did really well to put him in clear air everytime and the red flag at the end really made a great end to the race vanish.

    45. Certainly Alonso. I wonder why LH has any votes, besides the overtake of MSC ?

    46. I voted for jenson Button.

      As (some would say) Mclarens number 2 he was there to challenge at the front when Lewis had a bad weekend. But for the untimely safety car, red flag and Vettels luck with strategy he may have won the race. He was almost on Lewis’s pace all weekend and probably faster then Alonso and Vettel during the race.

      1. If Vettel’s strategy works it is considered to be ‘lucky’ whereas if Button had taken such a risky one-stop strategy, it would have been hailed as an ‘inspired move’.

    47. nakajima (@)
      31st May 2011, 12:17

      No human being can support Hamilton after watching this video – http://www.gpupdate.net/en/videos/1063/hamilton-versus-massa-on-board-monaco-2011/

      1. F1 needs to take some serious action. Like banning it to drive for the next million GPs.

      2. Cheers for that! That demonstrates clearly how Massa turned in on Hamilton.

        And then Massa hung himself out going into the tunnel, possibly due to the damage he picked up turning in on Hamilton?

        Haters gonna hate…

        1. The video shows that Hamilton had not won the corner. Any steward looking at that wouldn’t have to look at it for too long before making a no-brainer of a decision. The move was over ambitious to say the least. It’s possibly why he got a penalty for it?

          1. Just explain one thing. Why is Webber so far out to the right?

            Massa does connect with Webber as his car is rotated by the impact with Lewis’s car.

            Take this sequence of events from the top of the hill.

            Lewis is hard on Massa’s gearbox, they all storm down the hill. With the exception of Lewis, all begin the normal line out to the right for a wide turn-in at the hairpin. Initially then Massa is directly behind Webber. From what I can see, this is where Lewis decides he can put one up the inside as Massa is taking the racing line.

            Just as they hit their brake marker Massa see’s Lewis in his mirror and goes to close the door. You can see this in comparison with Webber who stayed on line.
            I’ve got not problem with that. Except Massa has realised this too late, Lewis is already commited to the inside attacking line and there’s no way out apart from over the kerb.

            I’m really with Lewis on this one…

      3. What was that gesture when he missed the chicane after he overtook… Was that a middle finger for Massa!?

    48. Hard to say

      Seb would have earned it if he had still managed to win without the red flag or the tyre change. As it was, there’s a big lucky factor in his win.

      Ferdy or Jenson could have rightly earned it by winning, or missing it by being unable to overtake Seb. As it was, they lost their fair chance, again by blind luck.

      So I won’t give it to any of the first three, though anyone of them who had got the win without the rubbish ending would have earned it for me.

      So my 0.02$ go to Kamui. He was terrific. Hope to see him in a top team ASAP. Maybe in a (seriously improved) Ferrari team. With a bit more polish and a decent car, this guy has what it takes to be the next WDC.

      And the worst, both in and out of the track, well, ’nuff said. Go to NASCAR (if they are moronic enough to accept you) and good riddance.

    49. that video shows some great action,and its one of the reasons why i voted for lewis.
      jenson was happy with third place.lewis would have been gutted with third place even if he finished there.he never looks truely happly unless he wins.thats how it should be.

    50. Kinda makes you wonder exactly what Vettel has to do to win one of these polls?

      1. And what does Hamilton have to do to get no votes as well…

      2. No matter how deserved they are, straight wins for pole to flag are boring. Maybe struggling for the win from the back of the pack would do it.
        But seriously, I think the only way for Seb to win a poll here is getting a Brit passport.

    51. For his practice and race performance, Fernando Alonso.

    52. Sergio Perez
      31st May 2011, 16:17

      My vote is split between Hamilton Kobayashi, and even Michael Schumacher. Why?

      First, Schumacher. I’m not a big fan of the man, but its great to see the old “fire” back on Schumacher. Those overtaking moves, that agressiveness, it was fantastic to watch. I want to see more of this Michael Schumacher. This is the Schumacher I respect as a motorsport fan, not the Turkey one.

      Then, Kobayashi. I must say I was a bit disappointed with his qualifying performance. He was trully outpaced by the driver with my name. However, in the race, he was outstanding. Again, a true racer shows his colors in places were people say you cannot overtake. May it be Suzuka, Turkey, Barcelona, Kamui Kobayashi is a joy to watch and trully deserves an opportunity at a top team. Sergio Perez looked really impressive, and I hope he can quickly overcome, like Kubica did in Canada a few years back, the trauma of a big crash.

      Last, but certainly not least, Lewis Hamilton. I’m a motorsport fan for more than 27 years now, and I have to say Hamilton is the most exciting driver to watch since Senna. In Monaco, Hamilton was The racing driver. Never settling for less, he always aimed for a better position, and tried. He took risks. And because of him, Schumacher, Kobayashi, Di Resta, this race was one of the most exciting of the last few years. This is racing, and we need racers.

      Now, if Hamilton just “grew up” a bit and trully concentrated in improving the Mclaren with the team, learning the know how and the intricacies of the machine and teamwork to make him more of a complete driver (these aspects are were Schumacher and Alonso excel) , Hamilton could have a go at becoming an all time great. However, Vettel really surprised me this year with the way he matured… All in all, its a new generation of F1, and a very exciting one!

    53. Could have avoided the collision that put him out, though.

      Yes, he could have pulled over for a meal at one of the many fine restaurants in the vicinity.

      Or maybe he did what you would expect Hamilton to do?

    54. I was going to go for Trulli, stellar drive from him although we hardly seen him all race. I went for Alonso in the end though.

      1. Alonso drove a fine race in a car that isn’t a patch on its rivals. Good choice.

    55. For me it is Lewis Hamilton without a doubt. To have not punched Sergio Perez in his guts for red flagging the qualifying session and ruining it for him; to turn into people from impossible positions and immediately announcing his innocence via radio messages(‘He did it intentionally’); to plunge into someone and hold his hands up in frustration because people up ahead didn’t see Sir Hammy(Not to be confused with Hammy from ‘Over the hedge’) coming on the inside hitting their rear tyres with their front tyres and still complaining how far ahead they were in that corner and still have to guts to call other drivers stupid, he must be one heck of a super hero single-handedly taking on the 24 drivers on the grid(him included for obvious reasons) and this is not counting his Ali G(This G does not stand for Good) joke which evoked laughter to the millions of F1 fans around the globe. I would also like to thank fellow 55 people who concurred with me about this obviously easy decision we had to make this weekend which would take Sir Hammy one step closer to the Oscars.
      Things that seemed to have lost in the background that people obviously should not be taken into consideration, a split second before Massa hits Webber he is hit from the side by Sir-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Also for the souls who provided in-depth footage/photographs/personal(very very personal) opinions should also close their eyes when viewing the on-board footage of Hammy hitting Maldanado because we are going to assume that Hamilton is side by side with Maldanado whereas the footage shows his front clipping the rears of Maldanado(no pun intended). Also we won’t talk about Lewis running around with a damaged Rear wing because it is not a safety issue, obviously when he is the one crashing into others.
      Let me ask a very frank question: do you have the same emotions if you replace Sir Hammy with The Finger-Kid? No way, he would have been guillotined by now. Growing up we see some people getting preferential treatment and we feel how unfair is this. But when it comes to ourselves to judge others we don’t want to play fair.

      1. Adrian Morse
        31st May 2011, 18:53

        You’re not making much sense, GameR_K. It looks like you took your time to write a lengthy rant against Hamilton, but are you saying he should have blamed Perez?

        In fact Hamilton’s praising of Perez’s driving this weekend was one of his more positive comments.

      2. To have not punched Sergio Perez in his guts for red flagging the qualifying session and ruining it for him

        How about everyone else punching Barrichello at Singapore, 2009?

    56. Vettel for me. It was close again though with Button and Alonso in the mix. He managed to cling on to his tyres as well as he did for as long as he did, superb. I can’t not vote for him on the basis that he MIGHT have been caught, I just have to go with what’s presented to me.

      Honourable mention to Kobayashi as well, fantastic stuff, keep it up Kamui!

    57. jenson.

      vettel had the win almost certainly gifted to him with the ‘free’ pitstop courtesy of the red flag. another weekend where, iirc, he didn’t make an overtake, on track, for position.

      1. And Button made how many last weekend?

    58. A tough one this time but I think I would have to go with Alonso.

      I think Vettel was very lucky with the safety cars and race restart and he wouldn’t have been able to hold off Alonso for the win otherwise.

      With the lead Vettel has established in the championship, the Red Bull still being the best car and the sort of good fortune he had at Monaco I think he has the title in the bag.

      I never thought Button would be able to get past both Alonso and Vettel if the race hadn’t been interrupted by the restart and new tyres, his only hope was for Alonso and Vettel to take each other off.

      Button’s main mistake was putting on another set of super softs at his second stop which meant he still had to stop again for the softs, even without the safety cars I think this probably would have cost him the victory.

      I like Hamilton but I am amazed at the number of votes he has got, I suppose you should never discount fanboys who vote for their favourite driver/team no matter what and also some of his fans may have felt the need to defend him more because of what when on over the weekend.

    59. I’m really starting to admire Jenson as a driver lately. I mean, he seems to be one of the few who can go toe to toe with Hamilton & not be taken off the road, that must require some skill right?

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