Rate the race: 2013 Monaco Grand Prix

2013 Monaco Grand Prix

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What did you think of the today’s race? Share your verdict on the Monaco Grand Prix.

F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought of every race during the season.

Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

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

Rate the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (3%)
  • 9 (9%)
  • 8 (19%)
  • 7 (22%)
  • 6 (15%)
  • 5 (10%)
  • 4 (8%)
  • 3 (5%)
  • 2 (3%)
  • 1 (6%)

Total Voters: 759

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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See the results for past seasons here:

2013 Monaco Grand Prix

Browse all 2013 Monaco Grand Prix articles

Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo

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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287 comments on “Rate the race: 2013 Monaco Grand Prix”

  1. thats what i call RACE Piralli!!!….wheel to wheel racing!!!….loved it!!!!!

    1. I don’t call much wheel to wheel racing at all except when Hamilton failed to overtake Webber. Gave the race a 1. I don’t care if it’s Monaco, it was not exciting at all all. It should not be judged based on past even more boring Monaco races, it should be judged vs. all other gps. To say Brazil 2012 is 9/10 and Monaco 2013 is 8 or 9 is insane. Only good pass was Perez on Button. Lots of crashes if you like that kind of stuff but Crashes are not exciting to me, that’s not what racing is about. Everybody was going so slow, at one point van de garde had the fastest lap and vettel showed on his second last lap how much everyone at the front was holding back. I don’t understand why anybody would give more than a 6 or 7, perhaps vettel or Mercedes fans are happy with the result but the racing was boring.

      1. Archimedas (@)
        26th May 2013, 16:41

        I bet you missed diResta’s overtakes at the beginning as well

        1. He missed Sutil on Alonso and But as well

          1. Sergio Perez on Button/Alonso/Raikonnen (almost)???? Hamilton vs Webber was a joy to watch, and the quality of the overtakes showed that actually, F1 needs less overtaking not more, the solution: remove DRS, which would stop the dull motorway style overtakes and reveal who has real overtaking skill/bravery

      2. My humble vote is 2.
        Monaco should stop hosting F1 GP and do some classic retro cars rallies. Absolutely boring race, looking forward to a real race track.

    2. I think you’re confusing wheel-to-wheel racing with nose-to-tail precession. The only wheel-to-wheel anything was when one car hit another car.

      1. yah..sorry!..but what I meant was the race wasn’t boaring as they usually are at Monaco..enjoyed the overtaking done by Sutil,Parez and Kimi..

      2. Haha..that’s a good correction. Only wheel-to-wheel, or better, wheel-over-wheel today was the incident involving Grosjean and Ricciardo.

    3. Someone kick that Tv Director’s winkie.. Utter ********..
      Did not show Kimi’s Last 5 Lap..

      1. Exciting nose to tail action, but frustating cover for TV viewers. We missed some good move like Button overtaking Perez in the first part of the race and Raikkonen recovering drive to point finish position.

      2. The worst was for the Maldonado shunt. There was a yellow flag for 20 seconds, then they show a Marussia with a broken front wing crawling to the pits. Another 20 seconds later they show the crash – how the hell could they have missed this? The barriers were strewn allover the track!

        1. @mike-dee

          So they picked up an indecent within 40 seconds? I dunno, that sounds impressive! haha

    4. @sushant008 Seriously if this was a sarcastic comment and supposed to be Joke I am fine.

      If you really meant this was Wheel to Wheel racing. Well No comments.

      Just an Okay Race. Good to See Rosberg win. he deserved it. Otherwise other than Perez and Sutil’s pass nothing much in the race. IT was just a tire procession. Even Alonso had lost a lot of pace altogether. Mark Webber summed it at best.

      I must say Yesterday’s Qualifying can be rated higher than the race today.

      Still I gave it 6 Just for the fact that it is Monaco.

    5. @sushant008, you must be referring to the second race, the no pit-stop 30 lapper with less tyre-management than the 40+- laps of time-trial style tyre management that preceeded it.

      Or perhaps you just like crashes.

  2. Best Monaco GP in a while: the red flag was a godsend for allowing racing towards the end and of the few faults I can find the driving standards were not particularly great and the first safety car period was prolonged too much unnecessarily. Overall great race though, I’d give it an 8 or a 9!

    1. no not really, the red flag dampened the racing a bit as they all got fresh tyres. They would of been more on the limit without the red flag.

      Romain shouldnt be allowed out the house let alone near an f1 car

      1. Without the red flag, they would have all been on a tyre conservation exercise towards the end and I highly doubt we’d have had as much overtaking. They’d have been far less on the limit without it.

        Grosjean was pretty terrible though, he should’ve committed to the inside far earlier than he did – it was a completely unnecessary mistake and one that shouldn’t have happened. Räikkönen also caused a collision with Perez IMO, of course nowhere near as drastic as the other Lotus driver though!

        1. As opposed to having them all on the same age tyres? Can you imagine Webber hanging on for what 55 laps on his tyres? We’d have seen more action I think without that free change!

          1. +1 @lights out

            there would of been a point where the tyres would of gone and created racing. The red flag just put us back 15laps again therefore not much racing.

            and just as it looked like it was coming good again we had the final S/C.

            so imo it took away from the racing, but only a little bit

          2. @lightsout I disagree, as that would have not been racing in my opinion. If they’d passed him that would’ve been not through skill but through Webber’s inability to defend, which is what marred the Spanish Grand Prix for me.

          3. I’ll reply to myself as I can’t reply to @vettel1 directly. :P

            I disliked the Spanish GP – however Webber did stop first, so he should have to pay the downside of that. 55 laps on a set of tyres is plenty for me, and they should wear out eventually! Putting everyone back onto the same reset was bad this year and it was bad in 2011 (when Vettel got a free stop ahead of Alonso/Button).

          4. @lightsout it ruined it in 2011 primarily because there were very little laps to go though. It was fine now I think because it was early on.

        2. @vettel1 Most of the overtaking was before the red flag though wasn’t it? The red flag had no real effect, as everyone got a reset. When everyone has the same advantage it’s the same as nobody having an advantage. I would have rather seen everyone trailing with no grip than everyone driving around as normal. There was a bit of fighting from Hamilton but he still got told to stop, all the other moves were from accident opportunities and also Alonso suffering from narcalepsy at the hairpin.

          1. Not really @nick-uk, the only major thing that happened before then in overtaking terms was Perez on Alonso if I remember correctly. I liked that element because we had overtaking, not passes because somebody’s tyres were spent!

        3. So you agree, Monaco Grands Prix of the future need to be only about 30 laps long?

          1. @ajokay, either that or tyres that last 78 laps.

    2. Figures why ‘@vettel1‘ would give this race a 8 or a 9… An 8 or a 9?? please man, a solid 6 is more than enough here. If you think yellow flags, red flags, safety cars, incredibly ambitious (read:stupid) passing moves, etc… are worth an 8or9, you don’t like racing in my opinion!
      Would it still have been an 8or9 if Perez would’ve hit Vettel in the back?

      1. @gwdewilde we didn’t have a tyre conservation exercise, which probably exemplified why I liked the race as much as I did. I have acknowledged though the poor driving standards in my comment, which I shall draw your attention to.

        Why would that matter though? The whole point is that you rate the races objectively as an F1 fan…

        1. Best example for that was Vettel. He gave everything to overtake Rosberg and didn’t think a minute on conserving tires. Just didn’t have the pace. Oh wait! But then he did a 1’16 on lap 77 ;)

        2. Sorry, Max, @vettel1 , I totally disagree with you here. The whole race was tyre conservation. Vettel tried to overtake in the first lap and then backed off for the rest of the race because he knew he couldn’t overtake without taking crazy risks. We were robbed of a proper pit stop “overtake”, which would have meant at two laps of full on racing at least. Vettel and Webber lucked into P2 and P3 due to Hamiltons mistake, and that was it for the top 4.

        3. @vettell1, “we didn’t have a tyre conservation exercise” that explains it, you obviously fell asleep and didn’t wake up until the re-start.

          1. @hohum

            It was exactly the same after as well?

          2. @hohum yea pretty much, I zoned out for a whilst “the spring was being coiled” ;)

    3. Yeah I adjusted my score to reflect the fact that it was Monaco. I gave it an 8.

      The only thing that brought it down for me was that Vettel did not appear to be fighting for the lead and Webber didn’t seem to be fighting against him. Of course they are entitled to run their own race, but it was a shame to see them driving in their own little bubble. That said I doubt they would have made it passed Rosberg, and from looking at the chaos for everyone else who was trying to overtake (bar Sutil – who was amazing today), it was sensible to just take a 2-3.

      I also docked a point for the FIA not amending the red flag rules. Tyres should only be allowed to be changed where the weather changes in my opinion.

      Overall it was a fantastic race I thought. Flawless from Rosberg & Sutil. I was very annoyed Perez didn’t manage to captitalise on what had been an epic performance until the last 1/4 of the race. Likeiwse VDG… how.. how did you screw that up so badly?! You had a great starting position on a track where you cuold have fought to hold it easier AND a dozen cars in front all retired and STILL he did not improve his postion. It might match his best result, but that was Caterham’s best chance for a point down the toilet.

      I really want to see Kimi’s last lap…

    4. @vettel1 Yeah I agree. I voted it in the context of it being a “Monaco GP”, so I rated it pretty high.
      I liked seeing the midfield drivers really fight for it: Perez, Sutil (who was brilliant today), di Resta etc.
      Seeing wheel to wheel racing at Monaco is fairly uncommon, and the reason I didn’t vote it higher was because of no real challenge for the lead. As much as I love and respect good racing, a little bit of recklessness spices it up a bit..
      There were many occasions in this race that I actually yelled out in excitement.

      1. @nackavich me too with the yelling, particularly with the overtakes on Alonso (but that’s me just being evil)! ;) Agreed though, there was plenty of good racing if not a bit too reckless on occasion, which is what prevents me from giving it a perfect score. The safety car had a little too much of an influence as well because of that.

    5. +1.
      Just because it is Monaco, awesomeness is doubled. And there was plenty of it. Some proper overtakes, crashes, red flag ….. altogether, a very exciting race.

    6. @vettel1 really? I will think that 2011 Monaco with Vettel, Alonso and Button fighting for 30 or so laps was better…

      Drivers still getting the order not to race (Vettel, Webber, Hamilton) this was BORING. I gave it a 1. If it wasn´t because the accidents the race would have being worst…

      1. @celeste the red flag ruined it on that occasion. I think drivers were actually pushing rather a lot: apart from Vettel up front, Hamilton was hounding Webber, Perez Raikkonen and so on.

      2. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        26th May 2013, 19:04

        @celeste were you watching a re run? the race was great, except for the red flag. gave a 8

        1. @omarr-pepper yes I was, I got so bored I turned off my tv and went to cook waffles, they turned out delicious if I said so myself… borin race…

          @vettel1 This doesn´t seem to me like they were allowed to push

          Radio Hamilton: “Trying to get past man.” Radio Mercedes: “Yeah, we need the tyres at the end.”

          Rocky “Alright that’s enough, you’re not getting any points for that” n Vettel “But satisfaction of not driving 77 laps slow”

          Webber radio “Look after the tyres more where Hamilton is not a threat”

          So boring race, 1 point for me, still have waffles if anyone wants…

          1. @celeste I’d take up your offer of waffles if it weren’t for some massive geographical distance between me and you I presume!

            Of course it’s all relative: they weren’t pushing by 2010 standards, but they were by 2013 which is why I liked this race. It’s still not absolutely ideal but I enjoyed seeing proper overtakes for once!

          2. @vettel1 sadly I never had like to rate on a curve system…

          3. Rocky “Alright that’s enough, you’re not getting any points for that” n Vettel “But satisfaction of not driving 77 laps slow”

            They say that to Vettel almost every race. He always pushes in a fast one near the end.

            If anything, it’s indicative of Red Bull not pushing as hard as the tyres would have let them.

      3. @celeste, I gave it 2 more than you because race 2 (re-start to finish) was pretty good.

  3. You know what? that was one of the most enjoyable races I’ve seen this year. Ten from me.

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      26th May 2013, 19:06

      @bendana under Monaco standards, you are right. Kudos for Perez and Sutil or entertaining us… and a kick for Grosjean, Chllton and Kimi for their irresponsible drives.

      1. if you’re sarcastic, I don’t get you. Kimi irresponsible drive? Really?

      2. Omar kidding, right? Just read the other comments, cba explaining same thing over and over to all blind people.

    2. I personally didn’t find it that amazing (but then again I was working this afternoon so have only just watched the BBC highlights), although had I been watching the race live I’d probably given more than the 6 I gave it.

      And @omarr-pepper I agree with you kinda on the kimi bit. Great come back drive tbf, I love how the commentators were saying how he’d lost his consecutive points record and he makes back the places in the final few laps. But he should have left Perez more room. Yes it was a late move, but even so he started to move to the inside when Perez started to go and kept closing the door until there was half a cars width left. Anywhere else, okay, but Monaco with a handful of laps left, use your common sense and either try outbrake him and maybe cut the chicane worst comes to worst, or just let him by. Don’t put both of you in a situation that will hurt both of you (as it did)

      1. Thats fair enough – I honestly enjoyed ti enough to rate it that high.

  4. 7. For Monte Carlo, it wasn’t thaaaaaat bad.

    Sure it was tedious at times. But what else do you expect around here?

    1. Same. The first half wasn’t all that great but it started to pick up after the first Safety Car. Some good overtakes and the race wasn’t all about tyre wear or DRS. Not a classic but not terrible either.

      1. it was all about tyres but was a good race.

    2. I expect higher quality celebrity representatio, that’s what. There was a serious celebrity deficit. Minus 3 for that. According to the NBC promos, which showed Will Smith about 10X, I expected to see more than David Hasselhoff and Cameron Diaz. Hasselhof is barely a celebrity so that was really scraping the barrel. Diaz is past her professional prime. We can usually at least count on the Jamiroquai guys to show up.

      Next year we must have at least Bieber, the Dalai Lama, Vladimir Putin, or a celebrity roster of equivalent aggregate fame.

      1. Excellent comment!

      2. What was Bernie thinking.

  5. Boring.

    1. What race were u watching? Porsche Supercup?

    2. I really don’t get that: there wasn’t much tyre conservation, there were plenty of proper overtakes and a good strategic element. Bad driving standards for some but that was how F1 should be otherwise!

      1. there wasn’t much tyre conservation

        You’re kidding, aren’t you? The whole race was an exercise in it (perhaps the universality of it made it less noticeable).

        1. Only at the start: relatively speaking, the rest of the race was pretty flat-out! If we look at last race this was far better in the tyre conservation respect.

          1. ‘The start’? You mean up until the first safety car? And then at the restart until 3 laps from the end?

        2. @ajokay start as in the first 25-odd laps yes. We only had a few laps of it though after each respective safety car, so it was fine.

    3. Same. It was extremely boring and tedious. We were lucky to see several manoeuvres.
      Secondly, there are 3 racers that I would not like to see anymore in F1: Pastor Maldonado (even if it wasn’t all his fault, he is always in position to make a mess), Romaine Grosjean (a crushguy) and Sergio Perez (the less we say about him – the better).

      1. and Sergio Perez (the less we say about him – the better). Indeed, what an idiot. There is a difference between racing on the limit and racing like an idiot…

      1. Watching cars follow eachother for 70 odd laps is boring. I literally fell asleep for the first time during a GP in the last 5 years.

        1. The first 20-odd laps were a bit lazy, but like Martin said, it was like a spring being pulled. And when the spring was released (after the first stops) it was hard to turn away.

          1. @nackavich that was a great analogy I though from Brundle, and summarised it perfectly. So rating it down for the start isn’t completely just, but I can see where the point is coming from.

          2. the spring wasnt really released sadly. The red flag + s/c put pay to that. Buts thats racing

          3. I was not referring to only the start.

        2. @joshua-mesh

          So you didn’t fall sleep during Monaco in 2012, 2010, 2009 then? great ! well done !

          This always happens here… what do people expect from such a track?

          1. I dont rate tracks based on what I expect from the track itself. I rate it in comparison to the tracks it shares the calendar with.

          2. @joshua-mesh my point is that this wasn’t the biggest snorefest in the last 5 years… for a Grand Prix it was average, I admit. Maybe even on the boring side, but there’s been worse and you’re overreacting saying that it was the first time you fell asleep. Maybe you didn’t sleep well at night :P? (kidding, don’t take it wrong)

            I do rate tracks based on what I expect from them. I know that at Monaco it’s difficult to overtake. Hoping something else it’s just lying to myself… you should do that too. You can expect the racing we see at Canada, maybe, at a track like Monaco.

            There’s some surprises, like Valencia last year, but you can’t expect that to happen everytime.

      2. Why?

        Did any meaningful action happen at the front? One could have literally strip positions 1-4 from the race and lose nothing. It was manage, manage, manage… to race, well, they forgot about that.

        That the young and rash in the midfield created some carnage (quite predictably) should be enough for this to be considererd good racing?

        1. I was asking for his opinion, I wasn’t contradicting him.

        2. You have to justify your ratings IMO, so Keith was right to question.

    4. I totally agree. The most boring race this year.

      1. I agree. It was monotonous.

        Good overtakes from Perez and Sutil added some interest, as did the crashes, but the rest of it was the most predictable and tedious race I’ve seen this year (if not for a couple of years).

        1. Agreed, very boring. Monaco shouldn’t be part of today’s F1 calendar. The history and glamour feeling shouldn’t be enough to keep it in. Time to update the calendar and actually go to tracks that suit the set safety regulations and measurements for F1 track.

      2. Boring race. I also believe Monaco should not longer be in F1’s calendar. The drivers can handle the race to their limits but it’s no good to watch 10-12 cars follow its other for 80% of the race. I know it is “prestigious” grand prix but we’re not here for the prince and the movie-“stars”.

    5. Very. Dull first have of the race. Second part only spiced by moves from those that didn’t care about scoring points. No attacks from the guys leading the championship apart from Ham’s couple of shy tries on Webber.

    6. Ben (@scuderia29)
      26th May 2013, 19:27

      @joshua-mesh
      i completely agree…cars driving slowly to make a strategy work with the odd (sometime often) amateur mistakes. Perez was a joke, at first i was enjoying his driving but then it got silly, how he thinks everybody should just move out the way for him when he attacks a corner like a raging bull was stupid, and when someone did avoid an inevitable collision (alonso) he was told to give the position to him! how can the stewards favour anyone that makes a mad dive up the inside, avoiding a collision with a mad man is now punished, ridiculous.

  6. My rate: 0 or -1

    Monaco should not be part of F1 seasson any more. This GP is just awful, disgusting and boring. A chain of yellow flags, safety cars, red flags, slow motion cars/ race, an unsafe circuit.

    Not even the start is good enough.

    1. My thoughts too, the few dry race overtaking opportunities often end in disaster so what’s the point of racing there ?
      Perhaps Bernie’s ‘soak the track with sprinklers’ idea isn’t so bonkers…
      Gave it a 5, nothing to see at the sharp end.

  7. And today Perez officially joined the crash-club (aka Crazy-GP2-club) with Maldonado (3 crashes this weekend) and chairman of the club Grosjean (4 crashes this weekend).

    Kimi was on team radio that Perez would have crashed with him if he didn’t avoid it and couple of laps lated Perez finally managed to do it.

    Perez – do the GP2 style :(

    1. @f1lauri I thought Perez’s driving was rather good. He forced none other than Alonso into submission, he was a bit touch-and-go with Button but still fair and Räikkönen didn’t give him the space in my view – that was his fault, not Perez’s.

      1. It wasnt bad driving. But neither was it good. He really didnt give Alonso any space there, went forced Kimi to go straight through the chicane and a few laps later, hit the wall because he tried to pass Kimi, who was already turning.

      2. What space? he wasn’t even next to raikkonen at that point!

        1. yes. he was. Raikonen closed that door too late. Perez had nowhere else to go except that wall.

          1. Perez was already too late and would’ve forced them both *again* in the run off area. See my comment below for more.

          2. Raikkonens REAR wheels bumped into Perez’ FRONT wheels, how on earth did Perez even think about trying to be alongside into that corner.
            Its the same kind of “overtaking” I always disliked in Kobayashi, putting yourself in a place with great force so the other one can only decide to crash or not get the corner anymore is not racing in my eyes (drivers like Kimi, Alonso, Hamilton or others are able to do it differently) but I’ll have to accept if other people enjoy it. I hope Perez will get reasonable (he has been like this all season) or join Kobayashi as an ex-F1 driver.

        2. @gdewilde respectfully, were you actually watching the race? They had both committed in the braking zone, so you can’t return with Perez should’ve backed out. He had the front of his car alongside Räikkönen, then he turned in. Perez had absolutely nowhere to go and couldn’t do anything about it, so he hit the barrier and Räikkönen. It’s pretty clearly his fault, or a racing incident, in my view.

          1. Quoting Richyb since he said it all:

            Disagree with that strongly sadly.

            The only reason some are weirdly trying to place blame at Raikkonen’s door is because we as viewers KNEW Perez would be up for it – Raikkonen is under no obligation to stay further right PREDICTING Perez might try the move and be accepting to it – and indeed when it came down to it Perez barely even had a wheel alongside Raikkonen by the corner. It is down to Perez to decide the appropriateness of an attempt – the problem for him is he has to commit so early to the lunge, that it leaves him no time to react to what the car in front is perfectly entitled to do: until Perez has actually shown any ability to pull alongside, Raikkonen can drift across where he likes towards the braking zone.

            Perez begun using that move to intimidate other drivers, it became pre-meditated nearly to the point that it didn’t matter when he utilized it; and the Raikkonen attempt was proof of that, he got far too carried away eventually. In the same way analysts criticise drivers conceding positions for using run-off areas, drivers these days can seemingly launch out of nowhere too knowing that they, AND the overtaken driver can flee across a run-off. Had Perez tried such an ill-timed moves before 1998 at that chicane, he would have been launched up in the air by the raised kerbs that were once there – and might we remember that crane barrier at the exit, has already been pushed further back because of an accident was in…

            There’s a worrying ‘computer-game’ culture emerging with some of these young drivers – Marco Marquez did a similar move in a MotoGP race recently on Jorge Lorenzo – in that it doesn’t seemingly matter anymore if you can’t stop the vehicle, and equally use your opponent as the brake, as long as you lunged you nose ahead of the other driver, that somehow gives one an automatic moral high-ground as a ‘valid’ overtake.

            Motorsport in my mind has never worked like that, ever. And heaven forbid should it start to.”

          2. @vettel1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g80-CFe7_Ko
            Look at the incident from Perez’ onboard camera at the end of the video and tell me where he was close enough to make the move? Nowhere..
            He was aiming to do a kamikaze Kobayashi move on Kimi’s inside but he was waaay to optimistic and Kimi closed the door (which he is allowed to do at that point)

            Recap:
            1) He performed a brilliant move on Button there
            2) He did a half-move on Alonso (It is very simple to put a driver in a position where he is going to have an accident if he turns in = Alonso)
            3) He was nowhere near Kimi before the breaking point…

          3. The only way in which I see it being Perez’s fault is if he was too opportune on the brakes, but I don’t think he was going ridiculously fast. Raikkonen simply shouldn’t have turned in on him: if he was indeed going too fast then Perez wouldn’t have made the corner and would’ve had to give the place back anyway.

            As it stands though, Perez had his car alongside Raikkonen’s when he turned in, hence causing the collision. It was probably a racing incident, but I think that fact is unavoidable.

            @bananarama

            Its the same kind of “overtaking” I always disliked in Kobayashi, putting yourself in a place with great force so the other one can only decide to crash or not get the corner

            I think that’s perfectly legitimate: as long as they afterwards make the corner it is actually a very good move as it virtually guarantees you the position. I don’t see any problems with it personally, but it’s not something I would try on someone like Maldonado!

          4. So @vettel1 if Perez was to do that every single lap until he actually got it stick, would you say that it would be right thing to do for Raikkonen (or Alonso or any other driver) to drive to the run off area to avoid collision? That would mean “Please, Perez, break always later than me and give me back the position if you can’t keep it in track, if you can, the position is yours”. That kind of behaviour isn’t something that should be encouraged at all in F1, deliberately making a move knowing the other car HAS to drive off the track to avoid collision. If that would be encouraged, then everyone would do it and we would have a demolishion derby in our hands instead of Formula 1. And to your first line, yes, he was too late on breaks and too opportunistic with his chances.

      3. firstLapNutcaseGrosjean (@)
        26th May 2013, 15:55

        Perez fault. He is just another kamikaze. No mind at all.

      4. Raikkonen didn’t give him space? So everytime he wants to break late, force the other driver (and most likely himsef too) to run off area, shoud mean they should give him space and let that happen every single time? He was WAY TOO LATE with breaking there, that was just hazardous move.

        1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
          26th May 2013, 19:29

          @lari… in Monaco, of course, because there’s not more to do in so narrow space. Kimi could have cut the chicane because Perez was a little behind him, so Kimi wouldn’t have been penalized, however he make honor to his “hunt the shunt” helmet and did it the hard way, which in the end only damaged his own fight for the WDC

          1. That’s exactly what Alonso did and he was penalised having to give back positiono

        2. @omarr-pepper if Perez was to do that every single lap until he actually got it stick, would you say that it would be right thing to do for Raikkonen (or Alonso or any other driver) to drive to the run off area to avoid collision? That would mean “Please, Perez, break always later than me and give me back the position if you can’t keep it in track, if you can, the position is yours”. That kind of behaviour isn’t something that should be encouraged at all in F1, deliberately making a move knowing the other car HAS to drive off the track to avoid collision. If that would be encouraged, then everyone would do it and we would have a demolishion derby in our hands instead of Formula 1.

        3. Why should the driver front in cut the chicane so that the driver behind him can overtake him? Monaco has the same rules as any other circuit.

          If you cut the chicane you are leaving the circuit, so you saying it is okay for Perez to push other drivers off the track because it is Monaco.

      5. Disagree with that strongly sadly.

        The only reason some are weirdly trying to place blame at Raikkonen’s door is because we as viewers KNEW Perez would be up for it – Raikkonen is under no obligation to stay further right PREDICTING Perez might try the move and be accepting to it – and indeed when it came down to it Perez barely even had a wheel alongside Raikkonen by the corner. It is down to Perez to decide the appropriateness of an attempt – the problem for him is he has to commit so early to the lunge, that it leaves him no time to react to what the car in front is perfectly entitled to do: until Perez has actually shown any ability to pull alongside, Raikkonen can drift across where he likes towards the braking zone.

        Perez begun using that move to intimidate other drivers, it became pre-meditated nearly to the point that it didn’t matter when he utilized it; and the Raikkonen attempt was proof of that, he got far too carried away eventually. In the same way analysts criticise drivers conceding positions for using run-off areas, drivers these days can seemingly launch out of nowhere too knowing that they, AND the overtaken driver can flee across a run-off. Had Perez tried such an ill-timed moves before 1998 at that chicane, he would have been launched up in the air by the raised kerbs that were once there – and might we remember that crane barrier at the exit, has already been pushed further back because of an accident was in…

        There’s a worrying ‘computer-game’ culture emerging with some of these young drivers – Marco Marquez did a similar move in a MotoGP race recently on Jorge Lorenzo – in that it doesn’t seemingly matter anymore if you can’t stop the vehicle, and equally use your opponent as the brake, as long as you lunged you nose ahead of the other driver, that somehow gives one an automatic moral high-ground as a ‘valid’ overtake.

        Motorsport in my mind has never worked like that, ever. And heaven forbid should it start to.

      6. It was an unfair ultimatum. Either you crash or you go over the chicane and give the place over. Thats not racing! That was a poor precedent set by the FIA. I’m surprised more cars didnt just dive down the inside for the free position.

      7. Only reason why Alonso took to the escape road is because he knew Perez is driving like an idiot and that’s why I think stewards shouldn’t have punished Alonso – his fear and intention to avoid an incident was justified.
        Needless to say, he proved it more than once in the next few laps by driving Kimi off the road and then nearly taking them both out of the race.
        When you take an evasive action with someone who has a record like Perez, I think you should be cleared by stewards since it’s obvious that Perez was going like around pushing people off the road and outbraking himself.

        1. YES ..I agree with you it was pre meditated .Perez just put the car in the place where other driver have to yield or to drive straight into run off area in case of alonso.After two successful overtaking moves he just got way too over ambitious and messed it up.But its a racing incident I dont like to see any stupid penalties on that

          1. Yep. The only way Alonso would have made that corner was if he and Parez merged their cars together into one. The FIA should be thanking Alonso for avoiding an incident, not penalising him for avoiding an incident.

          2. @joshua-mesh completely disagree. He had to run off the track, so therefore gained an advantage. It was pretty clear he had to give that place up IMO.

          3. @vettel1 and what do you suggest he should have done instead?

          4. Braked and let him passed? Perez was ahead of him so handing the place back was completely fair. If Alonso had done some of Perez’s moves people would be praising them as brilliant. The one on Raikkonen was a bit ambitious, but Raikkonen could’ve helped himself there by allowing some room. Did he think Perez was going to disappear when turning in?

          5. @deej92 Raikkonen gave space to Perez already on two different occasions in the very same place before already. Not really the idea of F1 to do that every single lap just because Perez is doing hit-or-runoff move on people.

          6. @lari I know Perez’s move on Raikkonen was too ambitious and he has to learn to cut that sort of move out. Perez could’ve braked to avoid but Raikkonen knew Perez wasn’t budging so I feel he ran a risk when turning in like that, and it duly cost him a good amount of points.

          7. @joshua-mesh it’s pretty simple: run off the road (if Perez really was that kamikaze) and then if Perez didn’t make the chicane he would’ve had to give the place back anyway. Instead, he needlessly turned in on him. I don’t get why you’re trying to justify a driver turning in on somebody, whatever the circumstances. That’s just not what you do! Imagine if he’d done the same into spoon or another fast corner (which still requires braking): that would not have ended well.

        2. @vettel1 Imagine yourself everyone breaking deliberately late on every corner just to force an overtake attempt. That’s just not what you do imo.

          1. @lari and the stewards would agree with you entirely if he persistently cut the chicane – that would merit a drive-through penalty. He didn’t though, and the only really ambitious move was on Räikkönen (and here we go back to what I’ve been saying all along).

          2. Raikkonen already gave Perez two times the room for his kamikaze attempt, how many times you think he needs to do that, all 78 laps if that’s the case? Nothing ambitious keeping the normal racing line. Perez’s lack of judgment was the cause of this ambitious move. Kimi was only among many of the other drivers critizising Perez and that is not coincidence. Don’t get me wrong, I like drivers who overtake and got balls but I don’t like drivers who do that without properly setting up the move. Perez did properly set up some previous moves but not the last one. I am so glad he didn’t get to keep that ill-earned 5th place in the end.

      8. Did everybody completely lose it in here??

        That means; if you can manage to stick your nose into someones racing line he is to blame? Are you serious? Imagine what racing would be like if everybody drove like Perez did yesterday: Only on rare occasions there would be two finishers of a race.

        What makes it even more evident how much Perez was at fault is his first “attempt” at which he did get at bit further alongside Kimi but was extremely lucky that Kimi was reacting fast enough allow him to plow through the chicane and prevent both from crashing. The second try was just ludicrous. It looked like a bachelor party hitting the go-cart too late in the evening.

        Hard to believe he wasn’t punished at all, but actually rewarded for one of those dangerous manuevers.

    2. You forgot one: Felipe Massa oppan GP2 style too!

      1. lol I can’t believe the comments here! so u feel like Perez is entitled to a postion just because he brakes crazily late? Its like a ‘give me that position or crash’ mentality. How would u actually support that? If what Perez did today was okay then it would be so awesome, since every driver could just brake extremely late and expect everyone else to move away for him. Thats racing, yeah (*rolls eyes*)

        1. Couldn’t agree more. Perez should be penalized for reckless driving. Kimi said it ever better,”Maybe someone should punch him”.

      2. At the end of the day everyone knew that sooner or later Perez approach today was going to end in tears as soon as he started his charge. However much we all love an aggressive push by the drivers the reality is that successful overtakes at Monaco are generally the opportunistic ones where the opponent has made a mistake or been sleeping, rather than during a normal lap in a train.

  8. Few interesting moments, another completely boring Monaco GP. When 8 cars are running within half a second of each of the entire race with no real chance of overtakes where you don’t have to push the other driver off the corner to make it past there’s not much reason to watch.

    Still don’t know why people like this track as a race circuit, I’m sure it’s fun to drive, but it’s just not racing.

    1. And we’re the ones driving on it XD

  9. First half was boring as hell… second half was slightly better but nothing to shout about.

  10. Remove this boring rich folks track.I say that ever since famous Mansell/Senna fight and when Mansell wasn’t able to pass in 1+ second faster car.Useless race with no safety at all and safety car must go out for ever single thing.

    1. Totally agree

    2. @dex022 I like seeing drivers actually driving on a challenging track: it’s a rarity on the calendar! Only Spa, Monza and Suzuka can even compare I feel personally.

  11. I could only give that a 5. The first 32 laps just confused me. I’m just not sure what to make of it. The blast between the safety car and red flag was interesting. Then the post-red flag was everyone following each other, bar a few interesting lunges from certain drivers who tried to spark some interest, until 3 laps from the end, everyone bolted, but only after the driver in front had bolted. 100% average.

  12. Bob (@bobthevulcan)
    26th May 2013, 15:31

    Lots of tension that didn’t quite produce much action in the first half, but Massa’s crash, Chilton’s shunt and the resulting red flag certainly changed the complexion of the race entirely. We got plenty of carnage and twists as a consequence, which was certainly entertaining, but the iffy standard of the racing still left something to be desired. Taking into account the lackluster first phase, I give it a 7.

  13. First half of the race was boring the second half amazing. And for the people say monaco is dull you guys aren’t real f1 fans.

    1. If you think that any part of this race (there was no racing at all) was amazing then you know nothing about f1. 22 cars cruising half speed round n round is not racing. changing positions only when you take out the guy in front is not racing. this race was a big 0.

      1. so He doesn’t agree with your opinion, therefore he knows nothing about F1, Nice.

        1. I’ve been thinking exactly the same @bendana. I’ve been comparing it in my head to an argument about music taste. I don’t like your kind of music so you’re obviously stupid and know nothing.

          Do people not realise that about opinions? They are what a particular person feels about a given situation, you might differ but it doesn’t change their point of view. Granted if someone say had an opinion that the world would be better by exterminating all the jews then yeah I recon you could have your right to insult them (or start a justifiable World War)… but because they found an F1 race more exciting than you did, calm down. No need to berate them for it, just go about and live your own life without any of the un-needed nastiness.

          Personally it’s not a race that will stick in my mind for years to come (or weeks tbf), but hell, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it @f1-98.

  14. 7.
    good for monaco. good race in general
    safety car KILLED strategy. forced everyone onto 1 stop

  15. One of those great Monaco races.

  16. I’m very impressed with Sutil here.

    Overtook Button and Alonso at the same hairpin, twice.

    I think he will be my driver of the day.

  17. 6 from me. First half was extremely tedious as Monaco is always. Got better towards the end, but the director did his best to miss interesting bits. We saw none of Kimi’s overtakes during the final laps and instead we were shown the top four cruising around.

  18. Gave it a six for the excitement caused by the accidents, without them it would have put me to sleep almost. Strange desicion to award perez a position for a dangerous move that would have ended in an accident had Alonso not moved out of the way when perez locked up. And then, to not penalise him for an equally stupid move on raikkonen was odd to say the least. Rosberg for dotw hands down, flawless weekend for him

    1. Indeed! +1

    2. @fangio85 it’s a perfectly legitimate move to make: he forced him to back down through skilful driving, not by sheer luck. Senna used to do a very similar thing and he’s revered for it.

  19. From the responses so far it seemed people either loved it or hated it. Put me down for the hated camp. Vettel was racing just to finish ahead of Alonso and Kimi from lap 1, Rosberg came under no threat as a result and the one time Hamilton tries to press Webber he gets told to calm down to save his tyres. Perez might have spiced things up a bit but that last move on Kimi was stupid, basically just stick your car down the inside and hope the other guy moves. He was so far back coming up to the corner.

  20. That was boring, even for Monaco… They should just have 2 qualifying sessions instead of a race.
    Gave it 2

    But at least the tires were ok…

  21. Traverse (@)
    26th May 2013, 15:35

    2/10
    The Monaco GP should be removed from the calender.

  22. The sky pundits became McLaren tinted as the race went by, kamikaze moves and inane decisions by the marshalls, Pérez did spiced up the race though. The redbulls continue doing well in savings mode 21 points lead, how on earth did they pace so fast under safety car? Ferrari made many mistakes and had no pace.
    Race for race 7/10, this is if the result stands.

    1. @peartree
      They were not fast at all during the safety car. Webber had stopped a few laps before, and Vettel stopped just before the safety car came out (either by chance or after having seen the Massa crash expecting a safety car). They both got caught behind the safety car almost immediately (but then they were allower to pass after being held up for a few corners). Rosberg and Hamilton could have come in at the same time as Vettel, which would have been a much safer course of action. However, they then had to complete almost an entire lap at safety car speed. Had the safety car come out 10 seconds earlier, Vettel and Webber would have been able to go at a slightly faster pace for a while longer; had it come out 10 seconds later, Vettel and Webber would not have been caught behind the safety car at all. In both cases they would probably have passed Rosberg as well. So Rosberg was lucky to keep first place given the stupid decision my Mercedes to not pit immediately after Massa’s crash.

      1. @mike-dee I know that Rosberg was lucky to stay 1st but the only reason behing Rosberg’s luck was the fact that the redbulls, especially Seb pitted almost simultaneously to Massa’s failure, otherwise even with new tyres the softs were very slow for them to undercut the Mercedes.

  23. What a tedious race. Not sure I would even call it a race. How many times did we hear the word “tyres”. They might as well weight the tyres at the end and give the cup to the team with most rubber mass left. Sorry, but that was rubbish.

  24. Monaco is a crazy circuit and produces crazy races.

    Certainly never fails to get my heart pumping, that’s for sure…

  25. Grojean’s seat is getting increasingly shaky after that.

    I say 7. A few too many incidents for my liking.

  26. Dunno how you can rate this race badly, best of this year so far for me!

    1. Trenthamfolk (@)
      26th May 2013, 15:49

      agreed! No pleasing some people – overtaking, incidents, tactics, tyres, thisrace had the lot :-)

  27. A 7 for me. Not enough action on the top four.
    At least Perez put some spice to it.
    Unfortunately that las move on Kimi – though cookie – Raikonen was
    unfortunate for both.
    Tre will be some interesting discussions about Perez; Gutsy or reckless?

  28. The race for me was a 1 stop boring procession. Cars so close to each other and no chance to overtake.
    I think Perez should be given a penalty for the next race. He seemed to have a plan – to push drivers in front so those had to avoid him by cutting the corner and then to give away their position.
    If Alonso was forced to give the position to Perez why wasn’t Kimi asked to do the same? After the Alonso-Kubica incident at Silverstone 2010, Kimi should get a penalty.

    1. Because Perez also cut the chicane with Kimi.

  29. Monaco could be one of the best KART CIRCUITS but unsuitable for F1. S. Perez almost stoping the race for two laps with a damaged car impossible to overtake explains everything.

  30. No unpleasant DRS aftertaste, no finger in the air, good looking podium with actual flags.

    We had a classy Monaco Grand Prix.

    1. No finger in the air

      Actually, Nico Rosberg had his finger in the air when he crossed the line.

      1. Is that so?
        Then that was the most terrible, dull and disguisting piece of racing I’ve ever seen. Monaco should be removed from the calendar and Bernie should sue the Principality for damage to the reputation of the sport.

        And I also change my vote from 8 to 2.

        1. @xivizmath @david-a
          Can someone explain this dislike of the Vettel finger to me? It must be a cultural thing as I do not find it offensive in any way! He is not using his middle finger after all!

  31. Far too much tyre management yet again!

    Seeing Hamilton trying to race Webber only to be told to back off to watch the tyres, Hearing drivers been told to back off to maintain a gap to the car ahead to save tyres & hearing them all been told to hit these stupid delta times again.

    You can see just how much tyre management was going on by looking at the laptimes, They spent the whole race in the 1:21/1:22 range, Yet at the end of the 1st stint suddenly started lapping in the 1:19s then at the end Rosberg starts doing 1:18s & Vettel does a 1:16 before been told to slow down.

    There was some good bits of racing in there, Especially from Sutil & Perez but 95% or more of that race was pure tyre management & those big parts of the race were completely boring & because of that it turned out to be one of the most boring Monaco Gp’s that I’ve seen in the 36 or so years I’ve been following F1.

    Formula Pirelli tyre management ain’t racing!

    1. Tyre management? When? During the one and only lap without yellow flag, red flag, safety car or turtle damaged car slowing downg the race?

      1. Did you not watch the race?

        They mentioned in several times on commentary, They were all driving round managing the tyres lapping in the 1:21/1:22 range.

        We also heard tons of team radio both on the world feed & the pit lane channel in which drivers were been told to look after the tyres & in several cases they were been told to fall back from the car ahead to watch the tyres & to not push the car ahead because tyre management is too important.

        That race was dominated by tyre management just like every other race this season so far!

        Go back & watch the race, listen to the commentary & the team radio feeds. And go look at the lap charts to see what lap times they were running & it will all become blatently obvious how much tyre dominated that race was!

  32. Only excitement was the crashes Poor general entertainment this time.

  33. im surprised no questioned or thought about retiring alonso? Massa’s accident must of been some kind of car failure. Top level drivers dont make errors like that twice in row surely?

    and remember what happened to the ferrari in spain testing?

    1. They wouldn’t need to retire him, Alonso would still try to continue with three wheels I believe, such is the importance of points to his campaign after a shaky start to the season.

  34. Trenthamfolk (@)
    26th May 2013, 15:44

    I really enjoyed that race: Excellent drive from Nico, good luck for Vet and Webber, bad luck for Hammy, Button’s finishing position suprised me, but was welcome, Suitl was everything Perez was not… great drive from him! Coupled with the usual Grosjean/Maldanado smash and grab antics I thought it was highly entertaining! 8

  35. 7/10. Started out slow, picked up a little towards the end… nothing legendary, but Nico winning here 30 years after his father did the same was a happy conclusion.

  36. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    26th May 2013, 15:46

    Really Solid 7

    Considering how much of a procession Monaco can be sometimes, that was a really enjoyable race.
    So much action!

    Pros
    – Firstly, hat’s off to Rosberg, absolutely stellar drive, not just in the race, but all weekend. Perfection.
    – Incredible battle to end the race for 5th-10th place.
    – Lewis putting Mark under serious pressure after the red flag
    – Sutil did a terrific job with some amazing overtakes on Button and Alonso.
    MAJOR kudos to Mclaren for again letting their drivers race.
    – Loved the strategy.

    Cons:
    – Sorry for Massa crashing again, but surely just driver error. Almost identical crash to his FP3 crash.
    – Grosjean was just reckless. Yet again, why is he in Formula 1?
    – Dan getting taken out by Grosjean.
    – Kimi getting puncture ruined the battle for 5th.
    – “Massively” unlucky for Hamilton getting jumped in the pits under the first safety car. Would have loved to see a Merc 1-2.

    Note: Lotus SERIOUSLY need to pull Grosjean into line, or boot him. He’s quick, but you HAVE to be more than quick. He just doesn’t seem to be able to use his peripheral vision very well when racing.

    1. Funny how you choose to refer to certain drivers with their surnames and to thers by their first names… I always try to avoid doing that.

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        26th May 2013, 16:02

        umm… okay. lol

    2. @tophercheese21

      “Massively” unlucky for Hamilton getting jumped in the pits under the first safety car. Would have loved to see a Merc 1-2

      Not really unlucky. It was really Hamilton’s mistake. He would probably held on to at least third place had he not let the gap to Rosberg grow so much.

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        5th September 2013, 4:51

        He was told to create a 6 second gap when they stacked the pit stops.

        He did so accordingly and got undercut.
        That’s not his fault.

  37. First half extremely boring, second part a lot better.
    Rosberg were perfect, Sutil brilliant. Kimi deserves a mention too.
    Should be a Mercedes 1-2, they made a bad job on handling the situation on the SC.

  38. Proof that you don’t need dozens of overtakes to make an exciting race, with DRS being ineffective and the tyres being neutralised by the track and incidents. The passes that were pulled off were feantastic, there was incident, tension and a few talking points. It wasn’t epic like the best races are, but this was one of the best races so far this season. A solid 8.

  39. 5/10. The exciting bits were cancelled out by the boring bits.

    But yesterday’s qualifying was a thriller.

  40. Horrible, horrible race. I normally love Monaco but this was one of the most boring races there I can remember (counting out the “excitement” caused by crashes).

    The only thing that could’ve helped this race? Degrading tires and more pitstops.

  41. I don’t understand why anyone went on to options on the red flag restart. No one drove anywhere near the speed potential of the primes let alone the options. Why choose used options if you’re just going to drive 1:21?

    1. Thinking about this a bit more, these were the sort of times they were doing on the inters at the end of Q2. Seems a bit wrong.

  42. 5/10
    The first half earned a 3, the second an 8. However, the action was mostly provided by erratic driving (Grosjean, Chilton) and although some drivers tried to make it interesting (Sutil, Perez) the overtaking was minimal in normal conditions and accidents were the major talking point of the race. Raikkonen moving from 16th to 10th in the final lap was unseen so that does not help me give a precise rating.
    Overall, there was action but not what I expect from a Formula 1 race. Some drivers couldn’t tell they weren’t in go-karts anymore.

  43. I think it’s worth pointing out to those who are arguing about the GP2 graduate drivers, mainly Perez and Maldonado, being reckless and ruining the race, that not all GP2 drivers are like that.

    I mean, it’s definitely not like a graduate WON the race or anything…

    1. A previous GP2 generation winner won todays race. He has been in f1 since 2006

  44. Solid 6. Not the best race I’ve seen, but not terrible.

    All the secret tyre test drama aside, Rosberg still had a lot to prove and he did that by winning wire to wire with so many safety cars involved.

    Also laughing really hard at everyone mocking Checo for being squeezed by Kimi because he ran Kimi wide once. As much as the F1 fanbase screams and wishes for more drivers like Gilles, Ayrton, and such – they’re the loudest to scream that drivers like Checo and Pastor are “dangerous and unfit for F1” when they actually show that aggression.

  45. IMO Perez should get a penalty for the next race. Three times he set himself and his opponent up for a crash. Button and Alonso got out of it with their car still in one piece. RAI was not so lucky.

    1. Raikkonen got 2 times out of his way (both going trough run off area) but 3rd time was the charm it seems. Perez needs to learn to judge the move alot better before doing it. He can’t just think always that “oh well, they will move out if this overtake attempt goes south”, which seemed like his mindset today.

  46. 3.

    The first half of the race was mind numbing but that is to be expected at the Monaco Grand Prix. The second half was better but that is not saying much. Usually watch races over and over again when I have time but I am not going to do that with this one. Monaco is the worst Grand Prix on the calender and has been for some time.

  47. 6/10 – if Vettel can drive 3s faster in the penultimate lap than you know that no one ever drove close to his limit. I’m getting really tired/annoyed by F1 this year – but Rosberg drove excellent and we saw some good action in the 2nd half, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.

  48. Formula Pirelli sucks!

    All of this ridiculous tyre saving stuff is getting really tedious & is seriously hurting the racing now.

    After been quite supporting of Pirelli in 2011 Im not hoping they get kicked out of F1 & we have a tyre supplier come in who makes tyres that drivers can actually race on!

    1. Yeah that’s the key point today, tyres… and also the weather, snow is no for racing.

  49. 6. Boring as hell at the start but got better towards the end. However the only actual racing came from Perez and Sutil.

  50. I know a lot of people on here are decrying Monaco as a place that just doesn’t fit with F1, and has lost its place in Grand Prix racing. I disagree. Monaco may create processional racing with a healthy dose of crashes, safety cars and red flags, but that’s part of why it’s such a unique spectacle.
    Monaco has a setting and atmosphere that has been a part of motor-racing longer than anybody reading this comment has been alive. F1 wouldn’t be the same without it, and I got a great kick out of watching a huge train of cars separated from each other by a few feet drive around a windy street circuit. I don’t understand those that would say F1 would benefit from having Monaco removed from the calendar.

    1. Roman coliseum has more racing tradition than Monaco, but they used to race there with horses I would not try to drive an F1 car over there.

      1. Notice I said motor-racing. With motors. Not horses.

        1. What I tried to explain is that some places were suitable for for racing in the past but they are not anymore. Monaco was a good circuit in the past (till 1950s) as the roman coliseum was before Xist but nowdays nobody will organaize a race over there.
          .
          Monaco should disappear from F1 seasson inmediately it is just impossible to race there, just wachting todays GP everybody will conclude that.

          1. No, what you did was say that F1 cars can’t run on ancient Roman horse-racing course, as if that has anything to do with Monaco being suitable for Formula 1.

            It is also not ‘impossible’ to race in Monaco, it’s just that the racing in Monaco is different to almost anywhere else on the calendar. The drama in Monaco comes from elsewhere – from seeing cars dart between barriers at high speed (something that was more common in the 80’s and early 90’s and is now a rarity) and the incredible precision drivers use to negotiate the circuit. The difficulty in overtaking (and yes, there was overtaking, but maybe it’s not the DRS-a-thon that you’re used to) and the severe penalty for errors, coupled with the circuit’s history, and its importance to F1’s identity are all reasons to keep it on the calendar.

            Finally everybody clearly doesn’t agree with you, look at the rate the race figures in this very article. Most people gave the race a score of 7 or above.

    2. Chris (@tophercheese21)
      26th May 2013, 17:22

      @colossal-squid

      +1
      Monaco is a great circuit. Just because it doesn’t allow for 50 overtakes in a race doesn’t mean it doesn’t produce good racing.

      Personally I don’t really care for the glitz and glamour, but the history of the place makes it special. It should stay on the formula 1 calendar for as long as those streets exist.

  51. I gave it a 7, but it’s a 7 only as far as Monaco GP races go. Otherwise it would probably be a ‘passable’ 5. This race shouldn’t even be in F1 anymore. There are plenty of other historic circuits that can be part of F1, not this one. This Monaco GP is slow, boring and dangerous.

    The race was also a good example of how tire management is killing this sport. Except for 2 or 3 drivers near the end of the race, everyone was concerned with keeping a comfortable gap from the car in front, managing the tires and generally racing in ‘time-trial’ mode – aiming at keeping a certain lap time rather than actually racing the guy in front.

    The race also showed that classic overtakes are much more exciting and rewarding to watch than countless motorway overtakes. It’s the only good thing this race had: DRS was nearly useless. However this isn’t really something that has do with any merits the Monaco circuit may have; it has to do with the nature and limits of DRS as a technology (in that it works only if the straight lines are long enough).

    In the end, the Monaco GP was boring 10 years ago, it was boring 20 years ago and it’s still so boring to this day that not even artificial methods of bringing excitement, like DRS and designed to degrade tires, can make it any less of a chore to watch.

  52. Best race of the season so far. 10 out of 10. But few people getting negative marks from me:

    The Red Bulls, especially Mark Webber: only 7 out of 10 for not pushing hard enough. Why didn’t Vettel unleash his speed earlier? And while I can sort of understand that for SV given his position in the championship, what was Webber doing? Why wasn’t he attacking Vettel? Surely he isn’t obliged to protect him from behind after Malaysia. Maybe he was fed up false info about his car on the radio to prevent the attack? Really, can’t understand it

    Chilton: 4 out of 10. A silly rookie mistake could’ve ended much worse than it did. IMO should’ve been black flagged for it

    Grosjean: 3 out of 10, really he needs to get himself together, otherwise come the end of November he’s history, and that would be a shame because he is fast

    Perez: 2 out of 10. Rubbish attitude really. Has to develop better judgement because at the moment he’s shaming Mclaren

    But worse of all: the TV coverage director: 0 out of 10. Was absolute and total rubbish the whole weekend, but in the race he somehow managed to do worse than that. Missed huge amounts of action and never even showed KR’s charge from 16th to 10th in the last 7 laps. What a moron!

    Now to the good stuff:

    Nico Rosberg-what a perfect drive! I always thought that his precise style is perfect for Monaco, even though I still prefer his father’s style :)

    Sutil-underrated Monaco specialist

    Vergne-I’m a big fan of the guy. His once a year Monaco special helmets are perfect, first Alesi and now Cevert-love it! For that only he deserved to have a good race and did. Great defense against Di Resta as well at the end

    Raikkonen-always races cleanly but never gives up. James Hunt would like him very much IMO

    1. I agree about the TV director. Kimi’s last two laps must have been electrifying!

      I’m in two minds about Perez, he had some great, daring moves that I really enjoyed. However I think he still has to get better about judging when to go for it. His lunges on Alonso and especially Kimi were seemingly without a huge amount of thought and more of a have-a-go attitude. That’s his main problem, if he can use a bit more intelligence in such situations he can be a great racer.

      1. @collosal-squid I agree about Perez. He has potential but is yet to find the balance. So as Grosjean, he needs to get his act together, even though the clock isn’t ticking for him at the same rate(=has more time but not unlimited)

        1. @colossal-squid Sorry for messing up your name :)

        2. @montreal95 No worries :)

          Perez, Grosjean, Maldonado… all with potential and all frustratingly crash prone! Like you said these guys have time to get their acts together but come next year I can’t see these three crash kids all being on the grid. I think it’s likely at least one of them won’t stop crashing and will be booted out (regardless of whether they bring in sponsorship or not). It’ll be interesting to see, and I like Perez and Grosjean enough to want to see them succeed!

          1. @colossal-squid Same as I. But I wouldn’t mind the other driver you’d mentioned being jettisoned into the distance

    2. @montreal95
      Not sure why you praise Rosberg and say the opposite about the Red Bulls. They, along with Hamilton, were all four driving a lot more slowly than they could have (probably 3-4 seconds or so) purely to achieve the aim of a one-stop race. It made total sense for all of them, but I found it incredibly annoying as a spectator.

      It did not make sense to Vettel to attack Hamilton or later Rosberg because Rosberg was just as fast, and there is no way to overtake easily. So the only way to do it is to drive very closely to the car in front, hoping for a slight error, and then pounce immediately (like Sutil did with Button and Alonso). However, if you are marginal on tyres, which Mercedes and Red Bull were probably, driving closely to the driver in front of you will destroy your tyres that you would be sure to need a second pit stop, which would have meant dropping 10 or so places.

      So it made no sense whatsoever for Vettel, Webber or Hamilton to attack.

      I blame the tyres for this race “drive as slowly as possible without being overtaken” and I will continue to do so until they are fixed.

      1. @mike-dee Because, Vettel should’ve pressurized Rosberg to try and force him to overheat the tires. Vettel did the fastest lap of the race, which was 2 seconds better than anything Rosberg did, on the penultimate lap. Imagine what a fight we would have if he unleashed such speed earlier. But he chose the conservative approach which isn’t surprising given his position in the WDC. But I’ll laugh my $$$ off if he loses the WDC by less than 8 points. By the same token, given Webber’s position in the WDC his circumspect approach isn’t understandable at all

        The supersofts were marginal but the softs were not and the second set of supersofts shouldn’t have been either since the fuel load was much reduced. As it was proved by FL of SV on lap 77/78

  53. 8
    I liked it, it was refreshing to have such a different race. I enjoyed seeing bold moves and risky overtakes. Obviously I don’t want to see 20 races in which overtaking is next to impossible, but I think that Monaco has to stay in the calendar.

  54. Monaco isn’t so much a race, as a test of skill. The gamblers spice up the race, but invariably don’t complete it. The sensible guys just go round and round and round and… finish more-or-less where they started.

    As entertainment, that makes it hard to rate, because without the likes of Perez, this GP would have been excruciatingly processional. Yet I’ve no desire to encourage that sort of over-aggressive driving.

    My highlight would only have been seen by those watching the timing screens: On lap 70 Kimi was forced into the pits and comes out dead last. He then proceeds to work his way up into a tenth place finish.

    That’s 5 overtakes in 7 laps. On a circuit famed for the difficulty of its overtakes, that’s some achievement, regardless of the calibre of the cars in front.

    1. @Tims It’s both a test of skill and courage. Hence the difference between where Perez and Sutil ended up. Both had courage but one had way more skill for a combat. Also Kimi drove from 16th to 10th in 7 laps and didn’t hit anyone in the process. Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton fought a few times during the race and did it cleanly.

  55. 7 because of Rosberg. It was exciting for me from start to finish. Finally. (my other favourite is Massa.)

  56. WHAT?! i assume you must have been watching something other than the Monaco GP.
    It was nothing but a Pireilli borefest.
    They should be ashamed.
    drivers at the back of the field were doing 3-4/secs/lap quicker than all the main field, because they were happy to just sit at a conservative pace to manage their tyres.
    is that F1 racing? NO
    BORING

  57. 6 for me. Being Monaco I was waiting until the pitstops for the teams to play out their strategies and see the race unfold, but the safety cars and red flag ruined that.
    Nico otherwise drove perfectly, he’s crushing Lewis so far this season.

  58. 7 for me. Second half was good, but the first 30 laps or so were very thin on the action. Safety car situations helped and so did the red flag, but I can’t help but feel that Perez and Chilton were let off lightly.

  59. Just boring. Horrible race even for Monaco. Gave it a 2. Dull first have of the race. Second part only spiced by moves from those that didn’t care about scoring points. No attacks from the guys leading the championship apart from Ham’s couple of shy tries on Webber.
    Not even strategies could play a role in this race. All did the same saving tires in the first half procession.
    Worst Monaco GP Ive ever seen

  60. I gave it a 5. To be honest, Monaco doesn’t rate very high in my book to start with. It was not THAT bad today though, so 5 is OK.
    To start with ,it is not a proper circuit. I understand that it is precisely that what gives it its character. But the fact that any minor contact has to be dealt with under SC is too big a nuisance. And that chicane after the tunnel ? Each year we see someone go straight. If they wanna have a chicane, make it impossible to go straight, please ! Put some gravel here, or a pond, or a hole, or a picture of Mr Ecclestone: something that makes it punishing if you abuse it !

    I am not a lover of that glamourous, glittery mood neither. OK this Charlotta or whatever she’s called is a rather pretty lady, but the city being an exception where only rich people are accepted and are allowed to escape every man’s tax duties is a bit sickening. If you ask me, I’d rather have a fantastic scenery with anonymous F1 lovers, like in Spa, than celebrities or Scheiks that don’t give a damn.

    And finally, where did the excitment come from today ? Hmm ??? Safety car periods. And shunts. Apart from that, we saw 1 nice move from Perez and … errr … let me think … crashes ? Oh, and yeah some more safety cars !

    I am glad this one is behind us. Bring on Silverstone, Spa, Monza, even Hungary !

    1. If they wanna have a chicane, make it impossible to go straight, please ! Put some gravel here, or a pond, or a hole, or a picture of Mr Ecclestone

      :DDD

  61. I always accept that you don’t get a lot of overtaking at Monaco & that the races can often be a bit processional so always look to the challenge of Monaco to provide the excitement. Watching the drivers mm from the armco pushing hard knowing that 1 mistake could end there race has always been the fun of watching the Monaco Gp.

    Today however we didn’t even get a lot of that. With everyone running 3-4 seconds a lap off what they could to look after the tyres we just had a dull procession in which most the field wasn’t pushing which took away the best part of watching the cars running around Monaco.
    You had big gaps between most the cars as they were been told to back off in order to watch there tyres, Don’t get too close to the car ahead to watch its tyres & as a result there wasn’t much racing going on.

    Lewis started pushing harder to have a go at Webber & was then told by his team to back off to watch his rear tyres.

    This tyre management stuff is getting stupidly out of hand now, Its gone from been a factor to been the biggest factor at every race.
    Its making the races really dull because were no longer really seeing any racing.

    Not sure i’ll be watching F1 for much longer unless the tyres are changed to make tyre management much less of a factor!

  62. I’d give the first half of the race a mark of maybe 3. The second half I’d give perhaps an 8.
    But it’s Monaco, and overall remains boring, boring, boring.

  63. Worse race, is time for F1 to leave Monaco…this track has nothing to do with F1

  64. Incredibly boring, as always with Monaco – 3/10.
    The little choo choo to the finish but even worse with tyre management. Good for Rosberg and Vettel, both ferraris were soo terrible and Perez below everything as he ruined both his and Raikonnen’s race.

  65. what a boring race that was, proves the fact that DRS does make f1 way more intresting!
    also the f1-tv-direction was absolutely awful, i want to see the cause of a yellow flag immediately and not 40 seconds after the incident, even i could direct races better…

    perfect drive from rosberg, definately driver of the weekend, kudos to perez and sutil for actually trying to make a move

  66. Not more than 6. Despite a thrilling race, the result is not worth embracing. Alonso drove half-mindedly, Raikkonen unfortunately involved in an unfortunate incident resulting in losing his position as well as aggressive Chico failing to finish. Luckiest driver on the grid today would be Sutil, having all the drama taking place infront and still came out undamaged and made every penny out of it. Funny to watch Massa go off the track at the same place as in practice.

  67. Yet again, more tyre conservation than full-on racing. So boring. At least Perez and Sutil livened things up a bit. I’m pleased for Rosberg, though. It will mean so much to him.

  68. A procession as usual at Monaco. Scored it a 2 and only because Checo had a go.

  69. This race wasn’t bad, but could have been amazing.

    The first part of the race (before the first SC) was absolutely boring : no one could pass, and we had the feeling that Mercedes was holding everybody up. It was as if we were watching a formation lap for more than 20 laps.

    Then, after the first SC, the race started getting thrilling : we at least had the feeling that overtaking were possible. All the cars were glued together, Hamilton looked like he could pass Webber, Perez looked like he could pass everyone. It was a real thriller, but unfortunately, it didn’t last very long. Like in 2011, a red flag ruined it. Everyone could put the tyres they want.

    The last part of the race could have delivered the same amount of thrills, but instead it became very furstrating. There were a couple of impressive passes, but also a lot of frustrating moments : Perez destroying his race (and Raïkkönen’s) with a contact, Alonso sinking in the field (after he showed promising pace in practice), and the top 4 having their positions frozen without anyone attacking any more.

    The victory of Rosberg might have been a nice moment (that guy really deserves to have more wins). But, what I didn’t like was that we’ve seen a lot of dangerous incidents. Grosjean has stupidly rammed Ricciardo : we don’t want to see that side of Grosjean’s driving in races. Perez was nice to see most of the time, the incident with kimi was dangerous and frustrating. His retirement was even more frustrating. And last but not least, Chilton’s driving was way too dangerous : the accident with Maldonado was scary. Chilton was driving as if he didn’t pay attention to what was going around him. A drive-through was way too nice for that accident.

    I rated the race 6. Could have been a great race, but too many issued prevented me to like this year’s Monaco Grand Prix.

  70. Let’s say 6. It was really a typical Monaco—fastest car on pole, manages gap, escapes a shuffle-back in the inevitable SC period, wins. I add a point for Sutil carving Button and Alonso into tasty schitzel at Lowes.

    Checo, Checo, Checo…now his move on Raikkonen was foolish but I still think he had a better race that Button, who spent the entire race either crying on the radio like a little girl or getting passed by people in places where you cannot let happen in Monaco unless you only have 6th gear in your car or shot tires. Oh he also hit Alonso for no reason. Weak. Neither of those guys put in a performance worthy of McLaren.

  71. I gave it a generous 7, the safety cars and accidents made it somewhat a race otherwise it would have been another follow the train bore fest.

    I don’t like this GP2’esque Perez driving. I think he was taking Raikkonen for granted too much.

  72. These GP2 guys are driving like complete tools. First VDG cut the first corner and slammed into one Williams and then proceeded with slamming into the back of the same car in the hairpin.
    Perez drove like a maniac who based his chances on the fact that other drivers are sensible, so he just went on like a maniac and made them move out of his way.
    Chilton and Ro Gro managed to cause safety car and a red flag each. It’s just complete disgrace.

  73. Formula Pirelli, board game. YAWN

  74. A typical Monaco race, pretty boring for me (nice images, but apart from that… the most thrilling part of the Monaco week-end for me is the qualifications).
    But what kind of race did we get? How come VET sets the fastest lap 2s faster than the pace he and the leader had been going throughout? Are we watching at taxi drivers or F1 pilot? It’s easy to reduce costs in F1 : with such tyres, forget about V10, V8 or V6 turbo; a V2 will do…

    1. throughout = throughout the end, when he did his fastest lap…

  75. George Nikolaou (@)
    26th May 2013, 17:04

    a 7 from me.. and i am a die hard fan of the Monaco gp..
    The only problem today was the Red Bull duo… Vettel did not even tried to take the first place and my fav pilot Webber did not even thought to claim a better position..
    Alonso was in another race and Kimi very unfortunate…

  76. 8/10

    Quite an excellent race I thought: this is Monaco, so you can expect most drivers will be waiting patiently for the leading car to a mistake. But that’s not what we saw today: several drivers, notably Perez, Sutil and Raikkonen, really gave overtaking a go. Perez’s initial passes into the new chicane were great, as were Sutil’s clever passes into Loews. And I just saw Raikkonen’s passes round the outside of both Ste Devote and the Loews hairpin to take that final point and keep his record of consecutively scoring points alive!

    Just some (obligatory) words on the tyres: I’m afraid the thing that made this race so great was Mercedes backing up the field, turning the race into a high-speed traffic jam. Watching the race it really felt exciting, but thinking about it after the race it probably was a bit less exciting for the drivers than I thought it was.

    All in all: not a great race, a lot of rookie errors (Grosjean, Chilton), but still one of the best Monaco races we’ve seen. A good Monaco race is a high-speed traffic jam dog fight and although the battle for the lead was far from that, it was still very entertaining!

    1. Sorry mate but that was nowhere near one of the best Monaco races I’ve seen, it was a joke

    2. Had some time to think about it and decided to give it a 7/10 instead.

  77. 3/10 Boring and to easy to predict, I prefer races like the last one in spain where the strategies made it all intresting over this any day!

    I actually expected it to be an intresting race beforehand but the safety car/ red flag put everyone on the same strategy…

  78. Mr win or lose
    26th May 2013, 18:05

    1.

    This race was a joke. The drivers were nursing their tyres all the way to the chequered flag, the race control was inconsistent and in the end the cheating Mercedes team won.

    1. Trenthamfolk (@)
      26th May 2013, 18:44

      Which ‘bad looser’ faction are you? Red Bull or Red Car?

      1. Mr win or lose
        26th May 2013, 19:49

        I’m not a bad “looser”. I think it’s highly suspicious when a tyre supplier allows one of the teams to run a secret tyre-test to sort out their tyre problems. Probably Mercedes would have won the race even without that test, as overtaking was almost impossible and they had the power to control the pace in order to save their tyres, but this has little to do with racing. Even Van der Garde was at some point the fastest man on the track. Please bring back refuelling. :(

        1. I don’t see what the big deal is about the tire test. None f the tires used in this test were current tires, so none of the information gathered about the tires would benefit them… until next year/whenever/if-ever those tires are actually used.

  79. Ok, Monaco is very picturesque and glamorous and all of that, but the races here (unless it rains) definitely lack excitement.
    It’s a track that essentially doesn’t allow overtaking. Now some of you will go ‘Ah, but Sutil and Perez passed people!’. Sure, because they have absolutely nothing to lose. When Hamilton was on Webber’s gearbox he couldn’t get past and couldn’t risk much, because he would lose a heap of points that may even prove crucial to the World Championship. Same thing when Alonso had Raikkonen in his sight following a restart (can’t remember which one).
    If you are a top guy who has a chance of fighting for the Championship, you are just not going to risk it. Monaco overtaking manoeuvres end up in disaster too often.
    And I think that’s not good enough. Motor racing is all about overtaking, racing wheel to wheel. That doesn’t exist in Monaco. Processions is what happens here.
    I find it outrageous that Mercedes could impose a ludicrously slow race pace – so that Van der Garde was a second quicker than Nico – and nobody could go past. It’s just not how F1 is supposed to be.
    If Tilke came up with a track as narrow and twisty as this, he’d probably be stabbed 46 times by angry fans, commentators and drivers.
    The bits that were worth noting were the crashes, which is surely not how it’s supposed to be. I can’t give it more than 4.

    Now let’s move on to a proper track.

    1. Motor racing is all about overtaking, racing wheel to wheel.

      @dragon88
      That’s only part of motor racing. Completing the set distance in the quickest time (by being the quickest car and driver combo) is what motor racing is about, overtaking may happen as a consequence. Monaco doesn’t allow for much overtaking, but as shown by some drivers, it isn’t impossible. Overtaking isn’t the be all and end all of F1 anyway- the unique challenge of being fast on a tough circuit for the drivers is what F1 is about.

      1. I’m sorry, but I don’t agree. F1 isn’t about finding out who would be fastest between the isles of a supermarket by qualifying first and then backing up by 4 or 5 seconds as the others can’t overtake him anyway. Racing is about driving on tough circuits (I agree there), but those tracks have to be suited to F1 racing. Monte Carlo clearly is not. And as you said, the fastest driver-car combination should win. On any other track, Rosberg would probably not have won today, as they were clearly not confident about their tyre wear. If Vettel could have overtaken them he would have pushed much harder than Rosberg did, and I believe the Mercs would have fallen back into the field. I think either Vettel or Raikkonen would have won.

        And as I said, the only people that even attempted overtaking manoeuvres this afternoon were drivers that had absolutely nothing to lose. Drivers that are into the Championship fight will never attempt overtaking here, because it’s too risky. And that’s not right.

  80. this is the most boring race ever..monaco should be removed from the f1 schedule and should be replaced with some good tracks ..same with bahrain ..monaco is just a 78 laps parade where cars maintain the position they start from ..**** load for a grand prix…looking forward to canada ..ps -wnt be seeing monaco grand prix from next year onwards ..the races are getting boring by the year

  81. Mexican pay driver freaks out and costs Kimi massive point loss.

    Agressive pay drivers need to be re-trained

  82. Yes! Nico! YES! YES! YES! and YES again. Brilliant all weekend and a deserved win. He was a cut above every one this weekend, he really is bringing it to Lewis. On the race I wouldnt say it was a joke, I give it a 6. There were good overtakes from Perez, Sutil, DiResta and scrapping in the midfield was ok. The first half was poor it picked up later. Perez was gutsy but he was never going to pass Kimi. The penalty on Alonso was harsh did they expect him to disappear. Seeing people say Monaco GP should not be on are ridicolous and it almost seems as if we cant please people. If there is a lot of overtakes e.g. Turkey 2011 guys complain, if theres not you say its dull if tyres create chances and there is drivers coasting your unhappy. Who actually has a solution? IMO the tyres were annoying today as well, theres managing a situation and just driving slowly. That makes me very annoyed. Nico drew a battle line today Hamilton loves Montreal if Rosberg outdoes him there we got to admit Nico is really stepping up. If Montreals dominated by tyres and the GP is dull then we have a problem. Montreal is never dull!

  83. Steve McGrath (@)
    26th May 2013, 19:34

    6/10
    Well done Nico!!

  84. Gazzaguru (@garygushbiz-com)
    26th May 2013, 19:51

    It’s difficult to give this RACE a decent rating when no-one at the front was racing. No denying there was lots of incidents including crashes and lots of laps behind 3 safety car period – that stopped the audience from nodding off from an otherwise dull and boring processional Monaco F1 GP.

  85. I think Kimi’s fan didn’t like Perez move, IMHO Perez create himself a chance a Kimi crash into him squezzing Perez front wheel first and the wing second getting himself a puncture, Kimi lock the tires trying to outbreak so he knew was there, of course he don’t like it but was beaten just as Alonso was, and stewards agree. Kimi haven’t say nothing and he is one that speaks his mind right away.

    1. Kimi actually said that Perez should be punched in the face for his move.

      Sergio Perez should be punched says Kimi Raikkonen

    2. And in Alonso’s case Perez was actually slightly ahead of Alonso when they were going off track. In Raikkonen’s case he had his front tyre next to Raikkonen’s rear tyre, so not even close to same situation. Also Raikkonen gave Perez room already on two different occasions before just to avoid collision. There’s a line between hit-or-runoff and actually overtake and Perez was doing the first here.

  86. I’d give it a 6 myself. If it weren’t for Sutil or Perez it would be a lot lower.

  87. Well, call me crazy but I liked it. It was the good kind of boring… And for a Monaco GP, compared to the ones we generally get, I think it had “character”. I was really expecting less overtakes and more conservative drives across the grid. Sure, some people got caught out but that’s what this circuit does to you… Sutil and Di Resta were delightful to watch, par example and they showed fighting for positions and overtaking are doable in Monte Carlo after all.

    Sure it wasn’t a classic all-in-all but I can’t remember more than 2 GPs here that were, in the post 90s era.
    I would have rated 6 if the action were to happen on a different track, but given the fact that it’s Monaco-standards, I’m gonna go ahead and give it an 8.

  88. I wonder if Alonso finished ahead people would be still complaining that much. Interesting to see that almost anybody talked about Alonso’s poor performance.

    1. Yes, Ferrari was well off the pace. And yes, Alonso definitely didn’t have a good day.
      Happy now?

  89. I gave it a 5. Good for Monaco, but really hard to pass at Monaco in general. I know that Monaco is all about tradition but I’m not enough of a traditionalist to appreciate it. I like the more wide open tracks for the actual racing.

    The fact that the guys managed some passing saved it for me or I would have given it a lower rating.

  90. Terrible race. boring processions and lots of amateur driving causing safety cars. On of the worst Monaco races I ve seen.

    1. agreed, so glad i didn’t pay to this year

  91. Disappointed Massa didn’t win.
    Perfect race for perez if his objective was to flatspot his tyres till they became octagonal.
    Good result for Alonso, he did a brilliant job of driving miss daisy.
    Excellent bunny hop by maldonado, though I am disappointed that he needed chiltons help.
    Nice attempted corkscrew by grosjean, but I’m not sure ricciardo was keen on his job as jump in the attempt.
    Massa did a flawless job… Of recreating his practice crash.
    And, it must be said, top job by the camera operators! There was a big risk of a small amount of excitement this year, its good to see they avoided showing us any of it, they’ve preserved that special Monaco feeling well*

    *special = boring as hell

    1. Seriously though, the bit that made me smile was vettels response to his team saying no points for fastest lap “but satisfaction”, Haha, one thing I admire him for is his sense of humour

    2. I agree 100%. A race track where almost the driver stays in the same place where they start is not a good race track. I also like all the glamour surrounding Monaco but at the top of all I like watching a race with several maneuvers and real overtaking opportunities and Monaco do not have anything of that. If I could, I eliminate Monaco from the calendar. This is not racing and I do not want to see scenes like that (Monaco races are very, very boring). I rated with a 1.

    3. @fangio85

      Disappointed Massa didn’t win.

      This must have been a tough 4 1/2 years for you then!

  92. Ron (@rcorporon)
    27th May 2013, 0:42

    Another boring Monaco parade with a few nice passes and a lot of silly crashes.

    2 / 10.

    Bring on Canada.

  93. +100
    utter Pirelli yawnfest

  94. agreed, so glad i didn’t pay to go this year

  95. soundscape (@)
    27th May 2013, 1:21

    5/10, an average race at best.

    A few exciting moments, with bold pass and pass-attempts, and a few dramatic crashes (thankfully no serious injury), but a very stop-start race with the majority of the time spent by drivers managing tyres. Again.

    I found myself spending a lot of the race wishing it would hurry up and end. The nose-to-tail procession was boring, and occupied most of the 78 laps.

  96. Voted a 7. Monaco has never been an easy place to pass at, and the first part of the race before the safety car was no exception. The racing behind the top 4 was pretty crazy all day. Lots of incidents, some decent racing (if the TV actually showed it), and a DRS that was barely noticeable. Seeing how close it was through the bottom half of the top 10 was good too. I’ll be looking forward to seeing what effect those tire changes will have when they get to Canada, though.

  97. Incredibly boring race. Not at all exciting, major tire conservation from start to finish. In post race interviews Vettel commented that the Mercedes were driving like buses in the first part of the race. Very minimal passing attempts by the same few drivers. Even Alonso said screw it and let Sutil past instead of getting run into.

    The chicane out of the tunnel is a joke. With cars not staying in the track and having to give the place back/arguing about giving the place back it, its really gimmicky.

    This race is nothing more than an exhibition, and they should treat it as suck and make all the drivers drive clown cars or something.

  98. 4/10. Most drivers cruising for 90% of the race.

  99. Nigelstash (@)
    27th May 2013, 7:30

    There was a bit of excitement but you can’t really call this a race. I do enjoy watching cars being pushed to the limit around this ridiculous circuit, and for that reason I would like to see it on the calendar, but it is time to accept that when you have the lead car driving deliberately slowly and still winning the race it doesn’t fit any reasonable definition of the word ‘race’ at all.
    The solution? Recognise that this is an exhibition race and award points accordingly. For this race only, award 3 points for pole position, 2 for second and 1 for third. Same for the race. The pole sitter will then most likely come out with 6 valuable championship points for leading the exhibition – useful for the championship and a fair reflection of this race’s relative value.
    To encourage drivers to show that they can drive at the limit of grip award 3 points for the fastest lap, 2 for the second fastest and 1 for third fastest. This wouldn’t encourage overtaking but would at least let the drivers show off a bit -this is Monaco after all.
    Finally, to give some purpose to the rest of the teams in the race let their relative finishing position be the decider in any tied points situation at the end of the season and let normal constructors points apply.
    This is a unique event so no harm in a unique points system. Just don’t let Bernie near the sprinklers!

  100. I admit here that, though I had had interest in F1 for quite long time, I started following it closely only since late last year. So I do not understand what is so special about the Monaco GP. Except for its narrow track coupled with the notoriously high chances of ending up in the barrier if you tried to make some passes, I feel there is nothing to it. I mean there is no racing in it.

    IMO the race here was worse than Spain 2013. Except for a very few patches of racing, Monaco GP in my opinion was simply a demonstration run of modern formula one cars, bringing to the fore the perils of too much reliance on aerodynamic grips. I do not think there is any need to add a premium to the score just because it is Monaco. It is inexplicable how people could rate this race with 9s and 10s? Was it good enough to compete with Brazil 2012? A clear No. Anything more than a 5 is way too much for this demonstration.

    1. Having said that I would give it only a 3 or a 4

  101. More of a procession than a race. I feel bad for Hamilton for losing out on his position under the safety car. Other than that I was just mad about Perez the entire race. McLaren needs to get him under control. Passing Button was the only good thing he did today. Pass on Alonso left him to either slip through the chicane or get hit by Perez. Terrible driving from him especially seen on his attempts on Raikkonen. The defending driver should not be the one who has to move out of the way of some idiot charging through with no intention to avoid the collision.

  102. Melchior (@)
    27th May 2013, 8:49

    Another generous 4 from me.A few exceptions to that rule but another tyre conservation exercise where drivers are expected to drive (not race) to a particular and consistent lap time.

  103. At least in Barcelona several teams try to save their tyres, and others did not. Yesterday in Monaco everybody was saving tyres in a precession. Saying that Barcelona was one of the most boring races and Monaco is a”ten” seems to be ilogical for me.

    1. Saying that Barcelona was one of the most boring races and Monaco is a”ten” seems to be ilogical for me.

      @oskar Exactly my thoughts

  104. I hate to admit it, but to be honest the Indy 500 last 20 laps were more exciting than the Monaco GP.

    It wasn’t Rosberg but Red Bull who controlled the pace. They were happy for Rosberg to take his win and did nothing whatsoever to attempt to overtake. Only Perez and Sutil were doing something interesting.

    Max Chilton in the Marussia was even faster than the Red Bulls!! Come on, this was a procession…

  105. Unfortunately, I can’t rate the race. I only watched the first part, until the red flag. Then, had to live for some other commitments. The first part was boring though, I see some of you had fun anyway with the second part. Glad it worked out for some.

  106. A race track where almost the driver stays in the same place where they start is not a good race track. I also like all the glamour surrounding Monaco but at the top of all I like watching a race with several maneuvers and real overtaking opportunities and Monaco do not have anything of that. If I could, I eliminate Monaco from the calendar. F1 had pit-stops, but if you had watch World Series 3.5 before de F1 race, where there weren’t pit-stops, all the drivers’ stays in the same place from first to last lap (44 minutes). This is not racing and I do not want to see scenes like that (Monaco races are very boring). I rated with a 1.

  107. worst race i think i have ever witnessed, a couple of clumsy overtakes aside the whole thing was a slow moving procession, i felt embarrassed for martin and crofty trying to find some kind of interest.

    Race was summed up by radio calls to the two merc drivers around lap 20-25 when being told precisely to what pace to drive and even others being told what gears to use where, I mean why even bother having racing drivers in the first place if you make them drive several seconds off the pace. They were going so slowly at the front that when they did push for a lap or two they were 5 seconds faster. They were so slow that even the caterhams and marussias could keep up with the train, just a shocking ‘race’.

    I’ll give the weekend as a whole a 3 purely because qualifying was good, although that too seemed determined by who can both turn on and keep the tyres in for ONE WHOLE LAP :O

  108. David not Coulthard (@)
    28th May 2013, 15:44

    9/10
    I love the lack of DRS influence. And the Monaco “processionalism” is something that every season needs – just not nearly as often as Canada 2011 (or, ironically, Monaco 1970).

    And Perez’ overtake on Button….was great.

  109. I rated it 3 which is probably a bit too positive compared to what a 10 would be like. The track is so unsuitable for modern Formula 1 cars that Nico was able stay in front even though his race engineer was designing his pace throughout the race. What is the point if any? For one it provides a boring “show” and secondly it is sad and discriminating to see the great sport reduced this: “OK Nico, now you can start to pick up your pace a little.”

    I’m with good old DC all the way: “It’s rubbish!”

  110. I only gave the race a 5 as I found it rather dull, there were a few moments of excitement which stopped me from giving it a lower score. It wasn’t helped by all the drivers driving so far below their limits.

    I only saw the BBC highlights show but even that seemed like a procession so watching the whole thing must have been worse.

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