UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Mclaren pair on front row

Kimi crashes/DC relegated

Kimi Raikkonen came to Monte Carlo confident that he had finally put any tyre problems behind him, and showed the pace on Thursday and this morning that seemed to confirm his claims.

2007 does not look to be the Finn’s year, however, as a strange collision with the unforgiving barriers at the exit of the swimming pool section, during the second segment of the session, knocked his steering awry.

For the second year in succession we witnessed a Ferrari parked gently against the Armco at the exit of the Rascasse, but this time the car was unable to do anything other. Raikkonen’s day was over, and his place on the grid – 16th – secured.

The first fifteen minutes had been a frantic affair following a few heavy drops of rain in the minutes prior to the green light, but ultimately there were no surprises as we dropped both Spykers – Albers with a problem that put paid to his running, and Sutil after a valiant effort that put him 19th, ahead of Ralf Schumacher who continued to look lost in the Toyota, and Takuma Sato in the Super Aguri.

Anthony Davidson put the second Aguri in 17th position, just ahead of Scott Speed in the Toro Rosso.

Toro Rosso had provided one of the surprises of the first fifteen minutes as Tonio Liuzzi put in a superb effort to take fourth fastest, but he struggled to repeat the feat in the second session and would ultimately finish twelfth.

Alex Wurz missed out on progressing to the final shoot out by a couple of tenths and will start eleventh, albeit with a choice of fuel load.

Apart from Raikkonens untimely exit, the talking point of this session came when Heikki Kovalainen, on a last ditch fast lap in the Renault, came up behind David Coulthard in the Red Bull, the Scot about to start his run up to the line. David did not move aside, and at one point cut across the bows of the Renault and, quite rightly at a place where traffic is a major problem, was subsequently disqualified from the final shoot out for which he had comfortably qualified.

From eleventh down to the back of the grid is, therefore, subject to confirmation as to where Coulthard will ultimately be permitted to line up on the grid – the likelihood is he will start 16th.

With a disappointing Jarno Trulli – so fast on Thursday but lacking today – also missing the cut, we went into the final shoot put with all pointers indicating a tremendous fight between the two McLaren drivers.

And that we got. Hamilton was looking absolutely mighty when a few drops of rain sprinkled across the tarmac, but his World Champion team mate was not taking this lying down. Both were utterly breathtaking to watch, the McLaren absolutely on the limit through the swimming pool complex, and it came down to a final minute attack from both men. The advantage – a little under two tenths – went to Alonso, the Spaniard and the Englishman locking out the front row with ease.

The weight of the Ferrari challenge – not quite the force we had expected this weekend – shifted onto the shoulders of Felipe Massa, whom it is not unfair to say has been in the shade of Raikkonen up until now. He took third with a fantastic late effort, eclipsing the Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella by quarter of a second.

Fisichella must rank as a serious outsider in a race where strategy is something of a black art, and so must Nico Rosberg who absolutely superb in the Williams FW29 all afternoon. The Williams looked nimble and precise, and a third row position is a great opportunity for a team who have not managed to get the pace out of the car in qualifying so far this season.

Rosberg lines up alongside Mark Webber, his old team mate at Williams, who wrung the neck of the Red Bull RB3 and extracted the very maximum from it. The Australian was stunning here last year, and should he repeat that performance will certainly be one to watch tomorrow.

Row four is an all-BMW affair and, as such, is something a disappointment. Notably the two white cars were slower only than the Mclarens in the light-fuel second session, so it could be that they are fuelled to the limit. In theory they should have the legs of the Williams, Red Bull and Renault on sheer pace, and the feeling is they may come good in the race.

While row four may be a disappointment for BMW-Sauber, row five is something of a bonus for the Honda team. Gifted both cars in the final ten by Coulthards relegation, Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button were conspicuous by their pedestrian pace in the final session, a sure indication that only one pit stop is on the cards for the RA107’s.

Should the grid be an indicator this race will be a Mclaren benefit, but it would be a brave man who was willing to bet on which of the two will take the chequered flag. With some interesting runners lining up at the sharp end of the grid a true surprise result is far from out of the question, and the main interest will be in second guessing the varying strategies of the front runners.

Add to that the relish of Kimi Raikkonen coming from the back half of the grid in a very fast Ferrari, and we have all the ingredients for an exciting and intriguing race.

UpdateSport will bring you full coverage, with live commentary and in-race updates, followed by a full report and analysis after the race.

Written: Sat, 26 May 2007 15:39:24