Rate the race: 2015 Monaco Grand Prix

2015 Monaco Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

What did you think of 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.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (4%)
  • 9 (3%)
  • 8 (14%)
  • 7 (22%)
  • 6 (18%)
  • 5 (12%)
  • 4 (7%)
  • 3 (6%)
  • 2 (4%)
  • 1 (10%)

Total Voters: 705

 Loading ...

1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

You need an F1 Fanatic account to vote. Register an account here or read more about registering here. When this poll is closed the result will be displayed instead of the voting form.

See the results for past seasons here:

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...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

245 comments on “Rate the race: 2015 Monaco Grand Prix”

  1. Typical Monaco procession I’m afraid.

    1. But a very un-typical pitstop call. Surely the worst we’ve ever seen. The worst strategic move since starting on dries on a wet track at Monaco 1997 by Williams or fitting wet tyres on a dry track on Kimi’s car at Malaysia 2009.

    2. Mercedes pathetic decision didn’t save it. Monaco is a big challenge for both drivers and viewers. Drivers have to try keep their cars in one piece dodging the narrow streets of Monte Carlo while viewers must fight this boredom not to fall asleep.

      1. Either Toto, Paddy or Nikki should take responsibility and resign

        1. Typical overreaction

        2. Resign? Not for that.

        3. I wouldn’t say resign but this decision is level with Ferrari’s decision to pit Alonso after being goaded by Webber (Abu Dhabi 2010)

          1. @peartree As I’ve said elsewhere, it only looked bad in hindsight in 2010. Ferrari were covering off Webber, Webber was on a strategy that worked the previous time he tried it (Singapore ’10).

        4. They have apologised, and moved on. Lewis makes mistakes and doesn’t resign.

        5. RP (@slotopen)
          25th May 2015, 0:59

          I don’t enjoy calling for people’s jobs, but Mercedes strategy has been horrible too many times. This blunder was so baffling. They need to make changes.

          1. I dunno, I can’t remember that many real mistakes.

    3. @fer-no65 @jcost I think there was a virtual safety car for a short amount of time and then a full safety car. I wonder if they pitted Lewis thinking that all drivers would be racing at 80 kph all around the circuit, but then with a real safety car I’m not sure the same rule apply anymore?

      1. @spoutnik maybe, but the actual Safety Car was already out when he entered the pits. In fact, he catched it, he saw it before pitting. The team knew already that the real Safety Car was out… so it’s still a MASSIVE mistake.

        1. Mercedes will supply a slower safety car next year :)

        2. It’s because he caught it (which they didn’t factor for) that he lost out.

        3. @fer-no65 true, I watched it again, and indeed he pitted the lap after. Pure mistake.

      2. Toto said they were trying to cover Ferrari… even with fresh tyres Seb beating Merc in narrow streets was a long shot. It was a poor call.

  2. 6/10

    Was nearly 2, but the end there really brought it up.

    1. 5/10 that was because of the overtaking of Max 3 and Ricciardo 2

      I hope Gros wasn’t complaining while stepping on his brake way to early as it looked that way

    2. @strontium, I had a totally opposite view to yours, I was enjoying a race where there were so many cars actually racing in close company and the safety car just spoiled the natural rhythm of the race for me, I deducted 1 point for the safety car being deployed where the VSC was working fine.

      1. @hohum They needed the proper SC as cars needed to travel on the pit lane exit, otherwise it would have been unsafe.

  3. 7/10. The Safety Car saved the race, but what the hell were Mercedes thinking?! I’m not a Hamilton fan but I can sympathize with him being angry with Mercedes. I wonder if Mercedes will receive a letter with charred bits of contract.

    1. I disagree. It was utterly boring. Something needs to change, soon.

      As for the bad strategy call, I’m guessing all those in favor of conspiracy have not watched enough NFL games; plenty of bad playcalling from the strategists in that sport.

      1. The thing needs to change is: Stop racing at Monaco.

    2. Good for the championship. Good for The Show. Completely fake, unsatisfying staged finish – why change the Virtual Safety Car to a real one? Hey, let’s close the field up. Why not have a fake staged fake restart with sprinklers as well? Load of rubbish. 2/10 as a protest vote.
      Shame as it was a decent race. Enjoyed Max using Vettel as a battering ram through the midfield. Thank goodness he’s ok – not many years ago that would’ve been smashed legs. Good efforts by Button, Nasr and the Red Bulls.

      1. Certainly it crossed my mind that Bernie had decided to spice up the show and told Charlie to send out the safety car, even though he could not have foreseen Mercedes bringing Lewis in and closing up the WDC. I was actually enjoying the cars racing so close together, obviously there is not enough room for 2 second gaps at Monaco.

    3. I usually rate races higher than the averages as I’m more positive than most. But that was not remotely a 7. Pathetic parade, as usual with Monaco. Then a fake finish because of a safety car with no chance for any passing. Almost any other track and at least the safety car would have led to some interesting passes in the last couple of laps.
      I gave it a 3.

  4. Christmas comes early for Rosberg this year, but Hamilton should share the fault. I wouldn’t have come in and he shouldn’t have either.

    1. Rather easy to say whilst sitting in front of the TV. The drivers don’t have the real-time overview that even we have as a situation like that unfolds.

      The team has ALL the data. The only risk Hamilton had to consider was if something went wrong during the pit stop and lost him time, so if you were being extra critical maybe you can attribute 1% of the blame to him. He could not reasonably have expected the team to get the gap completely wrong and make an idiotic call like they did.

      I think it’s very easy to forget that the drivers don’t have the information we or the team do. They are sitting there driving the car, not looking at where everyone is on the race track (as you were).

    2. He probably thought his team couldn’t be as stupid as they turned out to be.

    3. A strong character is sometimes needed to call it from the field. And yet people went for Vettel’s throat every time he stood against team decisions.

      1. At least Kvyat knows he can trust his team mate not to double cross him.

    4. Lewis had no idea how big the gap was. If the gap was 25 sec instead of 21 he would have got out just fine and even safer with new super-soft tyres. You have to trust that then team can at least read a gap for a pit-stop.
      This was very amateurish of them and the worst is that this is the worst track this can happen because you basically need a small miracle to overtake and because Lewis wanted so much to take a win here after so many unlucky things happening in Monaco but it happened again. His probably a lot more gutted about this that if it happened at any other track.

  5. Rosberg will be smiling with glee. Not only did he beat Hamilton in a race which he should have been dominating, but Hamilton will be fuming which might affect his mentality for the next few races.

    1. @mashiat It will be very interesting to see now if Hamilton has another dip in Canada and Austria like he did last year. It could really bring things alive again.

    2. Anger can be an interesting thing, will Lewis lose it or will it help him focus even more at the next race? Personally I think it will be the latter.

    3. Especially important now that Canada’s coming up. Strange things happen in that land.

  6. 1/10 because of the stewards.

    1. @huhhii Why? Because of them not giving a penalty to Ricciardo? It was a perfectly fair move.

      1. @mashiat Fair move? How? RIC crashed into Kimi, simple as that. Also ALO got way too mild penalty for colliding with HUL. Plus fixed result for the winner. This is ridicilous.

        1. @huhhii I agree in terms of Alonso, who basically took a driver out, but Kimi squeezed Ricciardo. I think, all in all, the right decision was made to leave it.

          And hats off to Ricciardo for giving that 4th place back at the end, very fair and honest of him.

        2. @huhhii no he didn’t. Kimi realized Daniel was there halfway round the corner…

          1. @fer-no65 @mashiat This. RIC was clearly behind Kimi when they approached the corner, RIC dived in while Kimi kept the line. RIC’s fault. Kimi didn’t have any reason to keep the door open for RIC, since he was clearly behind.

            @velocityboy Didn’t see any action on track, and when there was some action and possibilities for a thriller of a race, it got ruined by the stewards, hence 1/10.

        3. @huhhii Absolutely a fair move. Alonso barged Hulkenberg out of the way despite Hulkenberg giving him space, but Kimi left Ricciardo no space at all.

          1. If your front tire hits the rear tire of the car your trying to overtake you got it wrong. Simple. The stewards not penalizing him when they penalized Alonso for something that was far closer to a racing incident is questionable. But that being said, I don’t see why you would down grade the race over two decision that had no bearing on the outcome or the entertainment value of the race.

        4. @huhhii – Alonso did nothing wrong, he was on the inner line, while Hulk touched with his right front wheel Alonso’s car. It was a move from Hulk, and I would call that a racing incident.

        5. LotsOfControl (@for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge)
          24th May 2015, 16:25

          Agreed!

      2. In fairness, I’d rather let Alonso go away with that move than Ricciardo…

        1. Sean (@mightyfitz)
          24th May 2015, 15:28

          Alonso was right in there with Hulkenburg. Thought the same thing.

          1. Yeah agree with this. Alonso seemed to have made a decent move. A lot more than Ricciardo who was barely in touch with Kimi’s rear tyre.
            It seems the stewards in Monaco have a thing about listening too much at Martin Brundle.
            Don’t know if anyone noticed that they seem to almost follow Martin Brundle’s views. It happened in 2011 with Lewis and Maldonado when Lewis did nothing wrong and it happened again with Alonso this time with Martin saying Alonso lost the car and all that. Also he never blamed Grosjean much and the stewards didn’t even investigate etc.

    2. Alonso is hated by Charlie Whiting since 2006. It´s simple

      1. Hated? Explain why he doesn’t was disqualified of 2010 German Grand Prix?

      2. No, Monaco stewards just listen to Martin Brundle in deciding to investigate and give penalties.

  7. Reject of the race: Mercedes Pitwall.
    2/10

    1. I miss F1 Rejects

  8. Graham (@guitargraham)
    24th May 2015, 14:52

    1. beyond angry

    1. @guitargraham The results of your favorite driver don’t count.

      1. @guitargraham @mashiat agreed that it shouldn’t affect your rating, that said, I can understand. If I weren’t a Ferrari supporter I might not have enjoyed that ending very much. Outcomes like this can affect how much you enjoyed watching it, and I think a 1 is too extreme, but if the pit stop changes your feeling towards the race then a small difference is justified.

        1. @strontium I’m an Alonso fan, yet I rated races like Brazil 2012 10/10.

          1. @mashiat Yes, of course, I agree, but I can understand the frustration, and it is a little different as Rosberg was basically gifted the win.

      2. @mashiat – I do not like Hamilton and was happy seeing that Rosberg won. I hate the race. 1 point.

    2. @guitargraham

      beyond angry

      If you are angry, it means the race affected you emotionally. If it affected you emotionally, it was entertaining and thus, good. Yes, Merc´s mistake was unfair to Hamilton, but exactly this is what saved the race from forgettable boringness.

  9. A clear 1 from me. Boring, processional and a win handed by pitwall. Yuck.

    1. I gave it a 2. Came very close to changing channels numerous times.

    2. People complaining that the race was gifted by a pit stop all probably rave daily about Senna’s win in 92 that also had little to do with his speed that weekend but more due to a mistake in the pits by Williams.

      Someone explain to me the difference?

  10. Nico is such a LOOSER.

    Celebrating like he earned that.

    1. Trenthamfolk (@)
      24th May 2015, 14:55

      +1000

      Can’t blame him for being happy, but this is not a win he deserved…

    2. @supremacy Why wouldn’t he celebrate? He has every right to. If you were playing a video game and losing badly, then find out that all of a sudden your opponent gets handicapped and you win, you wouldn’t celebrate? From the evidence I’ve seen, quite the contrary.

      1. It’s not a video game though is it?

        1. @alan77 No, but I’ve seen people more upset over a video game.

    3. Do you think Nico wouldn’t rub it in the face of Hamilton? It’s all about the psychological game.

    4. @supremacy He won the grand prix. He didn’t plant it in a wall and had pace at the end, so why not celebrate?

      If I’m honest, you seem a little sour.

      1. He didn’t win the race he was gifted it, there is a huge difference.

        1. @alan77 Probably made it all the more sweeter. And of course you will never look at the number of time Rosberg lauded Hamilton for his pace.

        2. A lot of drivers get “gifted” wins. Hamilton has been gifted a few in his time. It is not typically something which results in a mass emotional meltdown.

    5. Why he shouldn’t celebrate? Last year in Hungary he lead race until safety car s*rewed his race.These things happen and Hamilton has only to blame his team for miscalculating gap he had + he had to wait in pit for Sauber to pass his pit box.It was really maybe a 1 second miss and wait for Sauber.

      1. Ok more then 1 sec blunder but still Niko has every right to be happy for this turn around in luck.

        1. @dex022

          every right to be happy

          Yes
          But running around celebrating like he’s done an amazing job, just reveals his LOOSER mentality.

          1. @supremacy – Can you just stop trying to type the word “loser” instead of spelling it wrong and putting it in capitals?

    6. Nico should avoid that kind of celebration… I think his engineer did warm him to refrain his celebrations but he didn’t.

      On the other hand, Lewis was gracious on the podium: “we win and lose together”, that’s the spirit that can’t be trashed for a mistake (maybe we should count two with Malaysia).

      1. Watch Lewis chat with Henry and you will understand why your comment is delusional.

        They don’t care, the aim is to win, not to be best mates.

    7. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
      24th May 2015, 15:21

      @supremacy a looser? I have some tight clothes I can’t wear anymore, maybe Nico can fix them?

    8. If I were Nico, I would be celebrating like no end….just to mess with Lewis’s mind. :)

      1. @blutto
        Which would somewhat ruin your reputation / likability.
        If Nico wanted to mess with Lewis’ mind, last season was an opportunity missed. It’ll very to achieve that this season.

    9. As if Hamilton would have been sulking if the tables were turned.
      Get real!

  11. I don’t know what to rate this…

    My only response is: “Blimey!”

    1. I have to agree. Nico get’s handed the win because his team shafted his team mate with a stupid decision. My heart goes out to LH, a great drive get destroyed by your team.

      What can you do?

      1. At least better than letting Ferrari win

  12. Hard to say what think about this. Most of the race was 0/10 material, but the twist in the end was pretty entertaining. Shame it lead into a undeserved result. Let’s say 3/10, one point comes from Verstappen’s epic overtakes.

  13. Rated it a 1. What’s the point of a race track where passing is nearly impossible. If i was Hamilton i would have thrown that Mercedes into the wall after finishing.

    1. And that’s the difference to a professional racing driver ;p

  14. 4/10, atleast there some action after the safety car.

    1. Yeah, you might as well vote for double points and artificial wet tracks from sprinklers. If you’re more entertained by gimmicks than someone who deserves a win, there are other forms of entertainment for that. Professional “wrestling” comes to mind.

  15. Mercedes lost half of their fan base in an evening…nice achievement.

  16. Oh my, Ham caught something in his eye…again. And again in Monaco! LOL

    1. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
      24th May 2015, 15:25

      @yes-master that’s why he is seeing red now (and by that I don’t mean just Ferrari’s rearwing).

  17. I can understand Hamilton fans, but I’m sure if all the raters were neutrals, the race would be rated at least 1 or 2 higher than it will be.

    1. Regardless of who you support, giving a rating should be about the race as a whole not beacuse your upset about the result

  18. Great race. A lot of excitement and a surprising result.

    It should get a high rating, but the angry Hamilton fans will probably vote it down.

    1. +1000 Not a Hamilton disliker, but rather a disliker of people who are so clouded by emotion that they will probably give Rosberg death threats.

      1. Just an exaggeration.

      2. @mashiat You are right though. People will use this to criticise Rosberg, as well as the Mercedes team.

    2. I’m a Hamilton supporter, and I’m irritated by the result.

      It’s not so much for the fact that Hamilton lost P1, but more for the fact that the race result was decided off the track effectively – I want to see Nico racing Hamilton to take the place! The race leader being decided by who pits and who doesn’t is not exciting.

      For Monaco, it was otherwise a pretty decent race.

      1. I get what you’re saying and I agree with you – Rosberg overtaking Hamilton on track for the win would have been a thousand times better than this.

        But really, what did you expect? It’s the Monaco Grand Prix, of course pit stops are important. If pit stops, safety car, right timing, coincidences and strategies were not part of the game, there would be no point in racing on Sundays in Monaco. Qualifying would then mean 99% instead of 80%.

        I’m happy that we got a surprising and controversial result. It spices things up and it made the race a lot better overall. I would have felt the same way if it was Rosberg or Vettel losing the win and Hamilton taking it.

        As Mashiat is saying – some people are too clouded by emotion and they cannot see things clearly in a situation like this. It was a good enough race. Not a 10/10 but definitely 7+.

  19. I gave it a 6 just because I love watching F1 cars racing around Monaco, One of the highlights of the year for me.

    Now ready for work, For anyone watching Indy I’ll be on the super-slow-mo camera in turn 1.

  20. This is going to be really boring now with claims of conspiracy theories about Mercedes favouring Rosberg. But Mercedes displayed a staggering level of incompetence there. Monaco races are never particularly interesting but that ending has left a real sour taste in my mouth.

    1. Never ascribe to conspiracy that which can be as easily explained by stupidity. I don’t remember where the quote comes from but I think it’s apt in this situation. I’m just amazed that in a sport that spends millions shaving fractions of a second off lap times that they can blunder so badly with the human factors. If I was Lewis I would have insisted on having my own strategist as part of my contract negotiations.

  21. Mercedes just don’t learn do they.

    SAFETY CAR =/= AUTOMATIC PITSTOP

    1. Rightly said, at least they split strategies this time, unlike malaysia, else another win for forza ferrari

  22. Stupid place to race. Was there one legal pass on track?

    This is one place that seriously needs sprinklers.

    1. Maybe they should move the race to the beginning or end of the european string of races to encourage more rain.

  23. For the first time ever I turned the TV off before the end of a race. I was just so disgusted with the way the pit stop was used to manipulate the result, F1 is becoming more and more like wrestling every year.

  24. Rosberg should celebrate, but like someone who won a race on merit. Your teammate was 20sec ahead of you for petes sake. This is the same way he celebrated last year when his convenient “mistake” gave him pole. He really has no shame!

    1. @kbdavies

      Yes, that was deeply embarrassing………

    2. Was it Rosberg’s fault tht he won.. He was ready for any opportunities, and this is monaco for god’s sake.. Similar to Riccardo, who happened to make most out of the chances he got last year

      1. Hamilton fans should really stop coming to the forum when their driver loses. Their pettishness has no limits.

        Rosberg didn’t have any control over what Hamilton does in the race and it is not ‘his work to look after Hamilton’s race as well’.

        He was running second until Hamilton and his team did a hare-brained pitstop to hand the win to him. He gladly accepted it. He raced 78 laps and kept Vettel’s pressure all race long. He should celebrate it any way he sees it fit.

        Tough luck for Hamilton but he has got a very good car with him and will certainly be able to gain wins in the coming rounds.

        1. If i’d been gifted a win like that i would have been jumping around

  25. Fell asleep. Woke up when Verstappen crashed and then it got a little more interesting – just.

  26. petebaldwin (@)
    24th May 2015, 15:04

    I gave it a 2. There was little interest throughout with nothing in regards to overtaking. The safety car spiced things up but in reality, even that only change positions around – it didn’t bring us excitement!

    Qualifying was great seeing cars pushed to the limits but this race just doesn’t give us much of a spectacle with the current regs.

    1. I think the controversy should be taken into account, I think the mix of the crash and the crazy pit call was very exciting and enough to raise it to a 6 or very generous 7. You have to have low expectations with a dry Monaco, perhaps the rate the race system should be separate to the other tracks.

  27. Obviously it’s never nice to see the driver who spent most of the race at the front lose the race for something not his fault. It leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth, BUT the last 10 laps had my heart pounding, and there was some other enjoyable fights further down the field. I’d consider that worth a decent rating, so I give it a 6.

    1. Go tell that to Vettel for Valencia, Montreal and Silverstone

      1. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
        24th May 2015, 15:28

        @jackysteeg and remember that race in Valencia got some of the highest scores of the Rate the Race poll ever. I wonder if it was just a coincidence, or because of Vettel’s retirement (and his anti-fans voting the race high)?

  28. 6/10. I was going to vote 3 or 4 until Verstapen’s crash changed everything. The big mess in Mercedes has really stunned me, and the result is shocking!
    Overall, I’m very happy with the result, McLaren has finally scored points! And the championship situation is now more interested!

  29. 6 only because of the end. I’m sure if it wasn’t for the safety car having to let past the back markers, hamilton could of got vettel. I hope that rule is changed in the future. It made it incredibly frustrating to watch.

  30. Exciting… reminded me of the Senna/Mansell finish… good race but typical Monaco problems.

    BUT why did RIC have to give a place back ?

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      24th May 2015, 15:16

      @marlarkey – He only got the position because Red Bull told Kvyat to move over and let Ricciardo attack Hamilton but as he couldn’t get round him, there was no reason for him to have the position over Kvyat.

      1. @petebaldwin So it was the team that ordered it rather than the stewards ? ie KVY gave the position so RIC could have a go, on the proviso that if he wasn’t successful KVY got the place back….

        If that was all internal to the team then it was very civilised teamwork :)

        If it was ordered by the stewards then I don’t understand it.

        1. @marlarkey It’s very likely an internal team agreement. You can see Kvyat clearly let him pass in the chicane right after he passed Raikonnen.

          1. The team have now confirmed it was an internal team agreement with the drivers so fair play to them for the good teamwork and honouring the agreement.

  31. Some brilliant racing and lots of drama, happy that Max is safe, gutted for Lewis. Grosjean was brilliant with his tactic to save his place, totally unexpected results overall.

  32. Awful race, really, and then a really unfair result as well.

    Hamilton very impressive and dignified. Must be LIVID!

    Pathological move by VES. Very glad he is okay.

    1. Any idea why Lewis stopped in Portier at the end

      1. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
        24th May 2015, 15:31

        To throw his anger to the sea and behave decently on the podium. Today Lewis’s act on the podium proves why these guys are pros. I would have slammed my 3rd place trophy on my engineer’s face.

        1. @omarr-pepper Can a driver excuse himself from the podium ceremony, or is it mandatory

          1. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
            24th May 2015, 15:41

            By I don’t mean “to escape the podium”. I mean he at least shook hands with Nico, and looked more controlled than Schum – Barrichello at Indy 2005.

          2. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
            24th May 2015, 15:42

            Not sure, but Hamilton was respectful.

          3. AFAIK, the top 3 winner must be attending the whole podium ceremony unless something really bad happening (force majeure). Failure to do so will have the offending driver given a fine by FIA.

  33. 6/10. Would have been a bit lower without the SC at the end, as it spiced things up nicely. Otherwise typical Monaco with nothing happening.

  34. A 5 from me. Boring race until the last 15ish laps, then a lot of tension without any results. That said, without the promise of a wild finish which woke me up a bit, this would’ve been a 3 probably, this coming from a Hamilton fan. A boring race is boring no matter who wins it.

  35. Gave it 5 since there nothing really happening, could be 6 if the TV director shows more what happening in the mid pack. Was going to say Ferrari pit was really dumb today until Mercedes makes a much, much dumber move.

    The best highlight for me is when Grosjean defend himself from Verstappen taking advantage of Vettel blue flag, and Verstappen passing Bottas on Vettel blue flag again.

  36. 6/10 for the last 15 laps..

    Lewis can still be content that he is the only driver in the last 10 yrs to have won not from pole…

    1. Very good joke.

  37. 4/10.

    I live in a 120 squire metre appartment and can see my big TV from almost everywhere. When I’m watching races and need something from my kitchen, a beverage or so, I walk backwards so I can keep watching at all times. I don’t do that anymore nowadays. Races don’t succeed in pulling me in like they used to.

    Then Verstappen happend and it gradually I’m standing in the kitchen again turning around once or twice to see what’s going on. He was the only thing worth watching in this race. Shame he had to cause a SC like this though.

    I would have rated it higher for the drama on the last ten or so laps but I did not for this simple reason. Why was the real SC called out? Why could they not stay under VSC? What was the need to call out the Mercedes GT and let the whole field drive by the top 6? Wasting precious laps (that would have gone to waste anyway). Had the VSC stayed out, Hamilton would have won, Rosberg would have finished second and I would have voted it a 5/10 for being the boring race it was always going to be.

    I don’t know what I’m expecting from Formula One races anymore. Again though I’m saddened I missed a Blancpain Endurace race. Onto Canada, a race that hopefully can lit flames again which I’m sure many people, like me, urgently need.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      24th May 2015, 15:19

      @xtwl – The worry is that they’ll get the DRS zones wrong again and it’ll be too easy to overtake. I used to love the days without DRS when you had battles into the final chicane…

  38. If RIC had to give a place back then Merc should have made ROS give a place back….but I guess with VET in the middle that was never gonna happen. Typical Monaco race, with one or 2 risky moves by the red bull sponsored cars to add excitement. Disgusted with Merc, but the one time HAM should have ignored the team was now. I’m sure ALO or VET would have ignored them!

    1. Hah, interesting thought.. Wonder wht Rosberg might have done, after Hungary last year

  39. It’s a 1 from me because I’m a Lewis fan. Nah, just kidding it’s a 5.

  40. Looking at the overproportional amount of “1” compared to already more boring races, it’s fair to say the “Rate the race” is coming too early after the race. Certainly a lot of Lewis fans are emotionally compromised right now and let their emotions decide.

    1. Not really. I filled in the F1 survey recently and Monaco was one of the races I definitely didn’t want to carry on with. It’s always been an anachronism, exciting for the drivers and boring for the spectators. It cannot disappear from the calendar soon enough for me.

  41. Banter/10

  42. Boring race, great final part. Quite reminiscent of 1992 race, when Mansell decided to make a late pitstop and Williams totally botched it. So Senna, who was trailing behind miles behind, got the lead and held on to it despite Mansell was all over him like crazy during final laps (unlike LH who didn’t put any pressure on Vettel despite having tremendous car and tyre advantage). And I don’t recall people calling that race fixed and Senna an undeserved winner. It looks like fans were more appreciative of true talent those days.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      24th May 2015, 15:21

      That’s the difference though – you can’t put pressure on like that with these cars. They can’t follow closely enough anymore.

      1. although verstappen seemed to be able to do it at times

      2. If there’s a place they still can, then Monaco is definitely it. Ask Ricciardo.

      3. Verstappen seemed to be able to follow Vettel pretty closely. @petebaldwin

        Martin Brundle made the point in the commentary that dirty air isn’t a problem at Monaco because the speeds are so low.

  43. As the pundits say, “it ain’t over till the chequered flag drops!”

  44. Nigelstash (@)
    24th May 2015, 15:18

    I stopped enjoying this venue years ago. It’s just an exhibition, not really a ‘race’.
    At any other track those last few laps could have been exciting, but if the best car on the fastest rubber can’t even challenge for an overtake, then what’s the point?

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      24th May 2015, 15:22

      It’d make more sense for Monaco to just be an extended qualifying session with points given at the end of that. I love qualifying at Monaco with drivers on the absolute limit but races are terrible. It’s just a procession of cars managing tyres/fuel/engine/brakes.

      1. that is a good idea, but i will extent the idea, and say put each driver in the same car, because even in qualifying it is so boring and predictable, there isnt much challenge there anymore if a 17 year old can do as well there as f1 veterans.

  45. 7/10 Yeah that was a bit of a weird one. I still think the Pirelli tyres are ruining F1, with the Monaco races being the clearest evidence. Cars can overtake around here, the Formula Renault 3.5 race this morning clearly showed that with Oliver Rowland overtaking left right and centre. But because the tyres are so sensitive, a car cannot run behind another car without it hurting the tyres. Of course the turbulence wake is part of the issue, but it would be far less of an issue if the tyres would actually perform like tyres should perform.

    As a result, most of the passing happened during the pit stops (can’t wait to see more of that in 2017). Verstappen was on fresh tyres at one point, passed a number of cars and then binned it. That completely changed the race. Ricciardo and Hamilton stopping provided some entertainment for the final 10 laps. But yeah, the post-race drama and the Twitter popcorn definitely made this race more worthwhile. So 7/10, but if Verstappen hadn’t crashed it would have probably been 5 or 6.

    One more thing, the local director is just not up to the job. There are some things I enjoy, like more onboard shots and replays in normal speed with natural sound, but in general the coverage simply isn’t logical. FOM has a director that does this on a bi-weekly basis, I do not understand why Monaco is too stubborn to let him take over.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      24th May 2015, 15:24

      I particularly liked “HAS LEWIS COME OUT INFRONT OF NICO? HERE THEY COME” and the director cuts to the onboard from Vestappen’s car being craned away so you couldn’t see the one exciting thing that happened in the race!

      1. yeah… it applied to GP2 as well.. Like when they were showing Markelov and Binder fight fro so long, but when Markelov actually passed him they missed it and didn’t even bother to show a replay.

      2. It was so stupid at times. Especially at the end when DR and LH were so close that the feed cut to Rosberg’s cam and there was nothing to see. How stupid. Although I know it was a fluke but the director got the perfect shot Verstappens clash with Grosjean somehow.

  46. It is a long time since I haven’t so much excitement in a race. I put in my prediction:
    Pol: Ham

    Race:
    1) Ros
    2) Vet
    3) Ham
    4) Ric
    5) Rai

    After the safety car I was getting 31 points! Even with Daniel in forth I was still getting the same points until he gave back this position to Kyv. Cést la vie.

    1. Well done mate

  47. Great place to see a race! Monaco is beautiful and to see race in that streets those cars at hat speed is marvelous. Yes, no much overtaking, but that not matter at all. Great race for Hamilton but bad luck for him because Mercedes pit call. Great race for Rosberg too, he was there when it was the moment to take de flag. Also great race for Vettel, Kyat, Perez, Button, Grosjean. 9/10

    1. and Sainz!

  48. 7/10. It was a usual Monaco race. I really love this place even if there are not a lot of overtakes. The result was quite interesting and the late pitstop from Lewis spiced things up. Finally, we have a bit of drama in our hands, Monaco never disappints!

  49. I loved it even before the safety car. I like watching the cars lapping and not really tyre or fuel saving. Some overtakes one went very wrong. More on boards would be good so viewers can better appreciate the challenge here.

  50. For me it was most of what Monaco needed to be. As Keith mentioned at the start of the race it’s never going to be the overtaking bonanza most people want. But you have to watch this one in a different frame of mind, just marvelling at the challenge of the track. But I think every good Monaco race needs to include some sort of dramatic twist, whether you like what it is or not. This one had it.
    Though I was quite smugly pleased with the result but I’ll leave that out of it. 7.

  51. 2. dreadful except for Max Verstappen. his passes bought the race to life, and moreso his mistake bought it to life! Verstappen driver of the race also.

    1. Crasher of the race you mean surely

  52. 8/10…

    I can clearly feel for Hamilton’s fan, but as a general F1 fan, the last few laps and the after-race drama is the best I’ve seen this season.

  53. Brilliant thing is that the race showed us formula 1 magicians are also just only humans. Last part of the race was very good.

  54. Was going to rate this borefest 1/10, but the drama at the end bumped it up to 5, and the stewarding brought down to 4. So 4/10

  55. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    24th May 2015, 15:36

    7.
    Nothing much happened at the start of the race, but there was some part that Vettel had a closer gap to Rosberg that could make him overtake Rosberg.
    Until Verstappen crashed, that was NOT how I wanted the race to happen with Verstappen.
    In the final lap it was amazing with the Vettel-Hamilton-Ricciardo train but nothing happened and Ricciardo handed the position back to Kvyat following a freaking teamorder from Red Bull.

  56. Trenthamfolk (@)
    24th May 2015, 15:37

    8/10 – I love F1, love it… this was a very entertaining race even though the result was a long way from what was ten laps from the end. If anything, given how cross I am about the Mercedes mess, it has reaffirmed my love for the sport.

  57. Best things for me, McLaren in points, career best for Kvyat, also outscoring his team mate..

  58. I had predicted a Lewis-Nico-Vettel podium. Not much change in the Podium except the order. I was not planning to watch the race live either. I woke up and switched on the TV with 4 laps remaining to hear the NBCSN Commentators shouting at the top of their voice as to how Lewis lost the race. Looks like I watched the most interesting part of the race then.

    I don’t think it is fair for me to vote in rate the race without watching it fully. So i did not. But Going by all the tweets and other reports it was probably a 5 , maybe the last 10 laps made it 6 !!!

  59. Thank you Toto Wolff, you made my day. I had been sweating on my forcast this race, waiting for Lewis to make a cock up and Kvyat to drop off, as it turned out I got the top five correct with the exception of RAI / KYV. Kimi let me down for a full house. As yet unclear why Ricciardo had to concede his position… but hey it helped me out. As far as the Monaco Merry-go-round, well it starts and it finishes 2 hours later more or less the same apart from tactical errors. Usual boring stuff.

  60. 2/10 – A rather processional race with a final twist that left a thoroughly bad taste in the mouth. Competition is about rewarding excellence, but unfortunately Lewis’ unofficial victory only scored him fifteen points.

  61. I don’t know but for the first time I felt that the race had a feeling of tension. It was like I almost expected something to happen throughout. Sure, it was a procession and Monaco always is but there was something, I can’t place my finger on that kept me watching till the end. The safety car ruined it obviously but then I found it entertaining. Even though Rosberg was handed a win, you want to see unpredictable moments in every race which today’s grand prix, had. 7/10 for me. The highest I have ever rated Monaco.

  62. Who is giving 7/8 and even 10 points for the race? It was disgusting. I played Cut the Rope 2, because the race, as usual, was boring.
    You can’t give 10 points for a stupid team decision and one stupid overtaking manoeuvre (Verstappen on Grosjean)!
    Gave it 1 because you cannot give less. Monaco race should be abandoned.
    PS: in Singapour Hamilton would have won easily with this strategy.

  63. FELONY ROBBERY.
    Can’t call it anything else.

    1. You mean LH robbed himself? Coz it was his call to pit. He admitted that much himself in a post race interview, saying the team told him to stay out, yet he was afraid he would fall prey to the guys on supersofts so he asked to pit.

  64. 4/10, with two extra points thanks to entertaining final laps, so 6/10 in the end. Didn’t expect much more though, would be unreasonable to do so at Monaco, so I will say it was an okay race.

    I’m far from being a Hamilton fan, but it’s a damn shame a pitwall mistake cost him a well-deserved victory.

  65. Boring race. Only move I liked was Grosjean blocking Verstappen when he tried to tag along with the lapping Vettel. That was some brilliant driving from Grosjean. Verstappen was like an ambulance chaser tagging along Vettel with everyone moving along for Vettel.

  66. Was going to rate a 2, then the safety car came and I was expecting to see a rise to a 5, maybe 6, but then nothing happened after anyway.

    Therefore 3.

  67. I gave it a 6/10. Though I found it an interesting race, I did find myself planning the rest of my day after 23 laps and even tweeted about a driver who wasn’t involved in the thing I was tweeting about. I do feel somewhat ‘spoiled’ when it comes to on track action after seasons like 2012 and 2014, since this would have been a mega race for a season like 2004 or something.

    That being said, Verstappen’s crash certainly did cause a lot of chaos and led to a very interesting end. Though I can’t rate it that highly, since a race ‘shouldn’t’ be brought back to life because of crashes like that.

  68. A far more enjoyable spectacle.
    8/10 for me.
    Nice to see the drivers with the most skill and not just a Mercedes engine shine.
    Go Max!!!!!

  69. Unusually big spread in the ratings today, makes me want to do some statistics with the full data set. I’m always fascinated by Monaco so I maybe went high relative to the amount of racing action with an 8, but I can see how the last few laps could change ratings of various fans groups from high to low or vice versa. Maybe that’s what has broadened the distribution today.

  70. Although I’m a Rosberg fan, I can’t help but feeling hugely sorry for Hamilton who drove beautifully all race long and who obviously deserved the win most.. It’s also good to see him gracious in defeat despite all the frustration. That said I don’t think it’s fair to blame Nico for celebrating, today the team messed up.

  71. I rated this race to 6, because it was usual boring, but there were some exciting points in this race right now.
    Otherwise…

    I advise to FIA that they should allow usage of different weapons on the cars. From now on every driver can push out and shoot out second car from the track getting with this him position without penalty.

    Next time if the FIA will use penalty in same case as happened between Kimi and Ricciardo, it will be very very very ridiculous and very shame.

  72. went from a 1 to a 4 because of the Verstappen crash and what happened afterwards

  73. Hammertime4404
    24th May 2015, 16:35

    Hamilton should take the positives from this race, he was so much faster than Rosberg, like 21 seconds I think. This should boost his moral into Canada, a track he is good at! Hamilton was faster and Hamilton is the true winner so take it as a positive

  74. Neil (@neilosjames)
    24th May 2015, 16:39

    Thought it was poor even for Monaco, despite Mercedes’ best efforts to make it interesting. Gave it a four.

  75. 5. Because it was not good but it wasn’t horrible either. Verstappen however should not have been given a penalty.

  76. I find it hard to get excited by this race, yes I was disappointed with the Mercedes pit blunder but my score of 3 was reflective of what is always a bore to watch. But of course every year I watch it and will continue to because of my loyalty to the sport I love.

  77. money (@carlos-danger)
    24th May 2015, 17:09

    Rosberg is a loser through and through today just reinforced that FACT. no wonder that the TV numbers are down dramatically in Germany. Like Bernie said rosberg is BAD for f1.

    1. @carlos-danger Can you post the link to the article in which Bernie states this?
      + Why is he a loser? He won by no fault of his own = he celebrates. They are still fighting for the championship, you know

      1. money (@carlos-danger)
        24th May 2015, 18:13

        http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/11627053/Bernie-Ecclestone-humiliates-Nico-Rosberg-in-excruciating-interview.html

        In “conversation” with Rosberg, Ecclestone said: “When it comes to F1 I am a huge Lewis fan because he is a super promoter of the sport. From a pure business aspect – sorry Nico if I have to say this – you are not so good for my business.” When Rosberg replied by saying, “wait a minute – that’s a hard call”, Formula One’s ringmaster went on: “It sounds harder than it is meant.

        why is he loser?
        because he is.

    2. Are you going to blame Vettel as well? Rosberg did nothing wrong, he was racing and hoped to win, it was gifted to him by the team. What would any other driver have done. Put the blame where it belongs; at the feet of the person(s) who called for the pit stop. Rosberg needed luck to win and he got a huge dollop.

  78. Dull as a usual monaco gp, bring on canada

  79. Michael Green
    24th May 2015, 18:00

    I’ve watched Stirling Moss, the great Jimmie Clarke and even Christabel Carlisle; these were all wonderful drivers who could captivate a crowd and have us sitting on the edge of our seats whether they drove race cars, Minis or Ford Galaxies. Lewis Hamilton fits that mould. He is an exciting driver who displays professionalism whether on the track or off. I cannot say the same for the Mercedes team principles. For Toto Wolff to consider Rosberg the equal of Hamilton suggests that he (Wolff) will do anything to promote Rosberg from being a second rate driver in a fast car, to something he is definitely not. Look at the slower pit times for Hamilton over Rosberg; see how the team took away two wins, one to Vettel and now another to Rosberg; consider the non-existent slap on the wrist to Rosberg from Wolff after Rosberg purposely hit Hamilton’s car and ruined Hamilton’s race. Rosberg got away with yellow flagging the track so that Hamilton couldn’t better his time last year at Monaco. Rosberg is a spoiled brat who is benefiting from Wolff’s protection; unfortunately, it’s the fans who lose. Hamilton should have signed with Ferrari, not Mercedes. Mercedes doesn’t deserve a driver of Hamilton’s caliber.

    1. ForzaFerrari
      25th May 2015, 0:45

      I wouldn’t want Hamilton at Ferrari any given Sunday, because I support the team then the driver. It would spoil F1 for me. Besides Ferrari didn’t want him and don’t want him. Today he talks about the team yet he can’t get along with his team mate… No correction, doesn’t get along with his team mates past and present. Hamilton Fan Boys. The race was brilliant and quoting Vettel. I’m very happy.

      If at all you are f1 veterans, didn’t matter how many laps you led or what the gap was to second…. Engines used to blow up (ask Juan Pablo Montoya, Vettel), cars developed faults Who ever crosses the line first wins and is justified in celebrating like a numpty.

      Face it Hamilton made a call stated his case and was pitted. He should have been concentrating on driving instead of watching TV screens. No sympathy what so ever.

      You should have seen the graveyard scene from the SKY F1 Hamilton Fan Boys. Distraught. Shattered. Dumbfound, Get used to the unpredictable nature of F1 and the turn of the tide in favour of drivers other than Hamilton. Do yourselves a favour and be impartial commentators because if it had been Rosberg. Headline would have been, Hamilton Triumphs as Roserf flounders and falters.

  80. Typical Monaco but I gave it an 8 just because of the suprising result

  81. 9. I had to watch the BBC repeat and knew it wasn’t the best when they skipped a lot of laps and thought it was only verstappens overtakes going to keep it interesting.
    After the crash though it turned into a classic unpredictable f1 finish, a lead change and 3 people including riccardo fighting for second.
    I’m not sure who asked for the tyre change but it was nice to see rosberg say he was just lucky and the sportsmanship between the red bulls.

    1. On a side note, this is the most spread out voting I’ve ever seen, I would guess it’s partly from how driver’s fans voted but also how entertaining it was vs the fairness of the pitstop and penalties.

      1. On a side note, this is the most spread out voting I’ve ever seen

        Right? This is crazy! I hope Keith says something about this when he publishes the results.

        Also only watched the BBC repeat, maybe that’s the raason why we gave it such high scores?

  82. Maybe half a dozen overtakes all race?! What an awful effort. Always the worst of the year, should be off the calendar soon as possible

  83. Rudyard Kipling said it best….

    “If you can keep your head when all about you
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
    If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too:
    If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
    Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

    If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
    If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same:.
    If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
    Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
    And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools;

    If you can make one heap of all your winnings
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
    And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
    And never breathe a word about your loss:
    If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,
    And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

    If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
    If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
    If all men count with you, but none too much:
    If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
    Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”

    1. Thanks fot this post!

  84. 4/10.
    This was a poor race. As much as I love to see the cars at Monaco, I can’t actually recall a clean overtaking maneuver in the entire race. Usually we get one or two into Lowes or into the chicane, but this time nothing.
    Pleased Max is ok though. Similar to a Schumacher-1999-style front on impact, but this is what front crash tests are all about.

    1. Ok, Verstappen on Bottas… But that’s about it!

  85. Great race – 8/10. Loved the grid boys too…. ;)

    1. @baron Seb doesn’t share your opinion. :)

      See the press conference. LOL he’s having so much fun this year.

  86. 2/10 … It might make been an error… but just remind me of the dirty tricks from the Schumacher era…
    Formula 1 is boring at the moment… but this race kind of makes reclaim the time I lost watching it…
    Too bad to swallow…

  87. It would of been a 4 or 5 BUT then a miracle for Nico and a mistake for Lewis suddenly made it a 10 for me!!! GO Nico any win is a win……………….. Thanks Norris PS yeah I know it was tough luck for Lewis and his fans BUT it was good luck for Nico and his fans so life goes on…………

  88. Sounds like Seb didn’t rate the race atmosphere very highly. His last line from the press conference:

    Why didn’t we have any grid girls today. What was that?

    Someone should email him a link to our grid girls poll. Looks like he would have a different opinion from many of us on all those girls clapping on the way to the podium. :D

  89. 6/10..
    4/10 for the first 30 laps.. very boring
    8/10 for the last part of the race

  90. 10/10

    Because Verstappen.

  91. A bit processional but improved towards the end. First race I’ve really enjoyed all season. 8/10.

  92. Matt (@hamiltonfan1705)
    24th May 2015, 21:55

    So angry, rated it a 2 in an act of rage

  93. If you expect watch football to see twenty goals, you’re going to be let down. If you watch F1, you must acknowledge that Monaco will always, always have less overtaking than any other track. I was entertained until the pit stops, which luckily came late in the race, but from then on I knew nothing else was going to happen. We saw less passes than in previos years as well. Verstappen was brilliant to watch, but in the end only made two moves. His crash was unfortunate, but Mercedes’ pit error gave the race a thrilling but undeserved ending. If we exclude this, the race was below par even for Monte Carlo, and that’s why I gave it 5.

  94. It was a good race; 7 for me. Boring start but it really hotted up at the end.

  95. I’m still trying to figure out why Alonso was penalized even though he was fully alongside Hulkenberg when they touched, yet Riciardo was not penalized when he barely had a wheel in against Raikonnen. If it was me in the steward’s room, it would have been the reverse, with Dan getting a penalty and Alonso being called a racing incident.

    1. @k-l-waster Because Alonso lost control of his car and hit Hulkenberg, ruining his race, whereas the contact between Raikkonen and Ricciardo only occurred because Raikkonen turned in when Ricciardo was already alongside (and before the corner) and Raikkonen was able to continue.

  96. On it’s own the race was a fairly typical Monaco affair, although both Redbull teams added some interest in one way or another. The end added a bit of interest – or at least controversy. If you take into account quali (which is probably more important than the race itself in Monaco) it was a decent race weekend, and one that Lewis would probably like to forget.

    6/10

    ..Looking forward to Canada and perhaps something more from the Williams, the Scuderia and Renault.

  97. RP (@slotopen)
    25th May 2015, 1:07

    5. typical Monaco parade. only the spectacle of Monaco, the tight track, and the Mercedes drama redeemed an otherwise processional race.

  98. 3/10 only because the safety car at the end of the race. Without the safety car, 1/10.

  99. Voted 7, good race from verstappen up till the crash, loved seeing ricciardo step up after the safety car.

  100. The typically overrated Monaco race, living on due to legacy and what must be gobs of money, was saved from complete boredom by one of the worst strategy calls of recent years.

  101. A little shocked by all this low voting! What are you expecting from Monaco?!?! It’s been always been like this (at least since I start following F1 in 90). Got a 6 from me! Not awesome, but also not that bad considering the track. And better than Spain!

    1. I’m shocked too. The votes are supposed to be about entertainment value. The start was tight, Verstappen on Grosean was tense – you knew something was going to happen, and then there was shock and surprise over how the last phase of the race played out. Then you had Ricciardo on a charge. I was on the edge of my seat yelling at the TV. I have no idea how that warrants a 1 or 2 on an entertainment scale.

      1. A 1 or 2 in my book is a processional race where everyone manages and maintains the gaps and nothing out of the ordinary happens.

  102. love this race, just seeing them not crashing is good enough by me. 8/10

  103. It was fans complaining of processional races that led to DRS and built to fail tyres, two things we hear so much complaining about. We had a race that had impeccable tyre wear and nullified DRS, and everyone complains anyways. It’s hardly anything new, but it’s still obnoxious to read through the comments.

    Getting on topic, I appreciated the race for what it was and rated it 7. The safety car and Mercedes farce soured it a little, but it wasn’t a bad race.

  104. I was falling asleep until VES slingshotted.

    I’m spitting that RIC gave the P4 back. That’s a new twist on team orders. I’d picked RIC for P4 in the tipping comp and was in damage limitation after Lewis dropped down.

    It’s a bit of a drag the way the british based media turn one bad pit stop call into such a drama. I know there would’ve been talk if the situation had been reversed and Nico had been called in, but not nearly as much.

    That bit in the Sky build up with Lewis talking to the soccer guy about not understanding being a ‘gentlemanly loser’ pretty much sums up Lewis for me.

  105. A better race than normal at Monaco but it is well past the time when the circuit was suitable for F1. Monaco should be dropped from the calender.

  106. Is it too soon to start complaining about sexism in F1 for using boys as models and that boys shouldn’t be used as eye candy?

  107. The usual dull procession that is Monaco. I do wonder when F1 Management are going to come to terms with the fact that Monte Carlo is totally unsuitable for modern motorsports and has been for some time, yet it’s hailed as one of the jewels in the calendar, seemingly due to some outmoded sense of loyalty and tradition. Fact is though that it’s a waste of a weekend race slot that would be better taken up by even one of the bland Tilkedromes like Yeongham or Buddh, either of these would make for a more entertaining race.

  108. This is a chance to make it sound like F1 is still interesting with the drama of Lewis and Mercedes. Overall the race was boring IMHO. The gaps of cars were like a train in chain except for a few minor almost catch up with some drivers, not significant enough to be remembered at all except Max’s huge crash. Okok, I remember Ric touching wheels with Kimi and Kimi’s hilarious complaint ‘did you see that, he pushed me out’ and another classic Kimi ‘C’mon guys, where’s the blue flag?”.

  109. My rating for the 2015 Monaco GP was 3.5 to 4, and I was tempted to give it a lower rated but decided to stick with 4.

    The race wasn’t quite as processional and predictable as I feared it would be but that was really only down to the mistake Mercedes and Hamilton made with the needless late pit stop effectively throwing away the win, so it wasn’t something that I thought made the race better.

    History has shown us that unless a driver makes a mistake, has car problems or his tyres “fall off the cliff” then there is no way to get past them at Monaco, even with a quicker car, we saw it in 1992 with Mansell and Senna after Mansell had to make a late stop and in 2001 when Coulthard stalled and had to start at the back and was stuck behind Bernoldi for ages.

    I only saw the highlights and I can’t say I paid that much attention to the gap that Hamilton had at the time, but whilst watching I never thought Hamilton had a big enough lead so that he could make an extra stop.

    So when he pitted under the safety car I thought that he had lost the victory unless Rosberg and Vettel also stopped and the only reason I thought why he would stop would be if he had puncture, which as we later found out he did not.

    The main cause seems to be Mercedes incorrectly thinking Hamilton had a big enough gap to pit and retain the lead and also Hamilton thinking Rosberg and Vettel had already pitted.

    It was a big mistake that ultimately cost Hamilton a deserved victory.

    I must say that I didn’t understand some of the decisions from the stewards, I thought the Alonso penalty for colliding with Hulkenberg on the first lap was harsh as I thought it was just a racing incident and that more leeway was given for such things when they occur on the first lap.

    Given the penalty given to Alonso I thought Ricciardo would certainly get a penalty after he forced his way past Raikkonen after the restart, so I was very surprised when the stewards decided to take no action.

    Overall it was probably above average for a Monaco Grand Prix but it was still poor overall compared with most other Grand Prix.

Comments are closed.