MONACO: McLARENS DILEMMA

So with the Monaco fiasco now sorted out and the FIA finding nothing wrong with Mclarens "Team Strategy" was it worth all the fuss and what exactly did happen during the race?

As Alonso took the scheduled flag after seemingly beating his teammate Lewis Hamilton the rookie that had been a pain in his side all season with ease it became obvious that something wasn't right. As the cars came back around on there slowing down lap towards the podium the cameras were on Lewis's dad Anthony. The past races he was a happy man seeing his son on the podium yet again, but there was no smile on is face his look was one of an unpleased man. But why? Did he know something the rest of didn't? Well, possibly. So the cars pulled up the drivers got out and there was celebrating and smiles that go with dominating a race. The only car that hadn’t been lapped by the Mclarens was 3rd place Felipe Massa. Yet come the press conference the drivers sat there, Lewis looking disappointed. He talked about the team telling him to take it easy and that he wasn't allowed to use his extra laps of fuel to jump Alonso. Then after a lot of different questions he said.

"At the end of the day, I am a rookie. I am in my first season in Formula One and I have finished second in only my first Monaco Grand Prix so I really can’t complain, but to see that I am of a similar pace to Fernando is a positive for me. But it is something I have to live with. I’ve got number two on my car. I am the number two driver."

Mclaren team boss Ron Dennis later said that the decision had been made that Alonso would win the race. This caused a massive backlash with the media. Mainly from the British side who were slamming the team for ruining Lewis's chances and the fact that it wasn't really a race. Whilst it seems that it was "racing strategy" The team also said the fear of the safety car coming out also made them take the decision.

Lewis's best chance of winning the race went in qualifying when setting the fastest sector times he got badly blocked passing the Red Bull of Mark Webber. This put him p2 on the grid behind Alonso. But Lewis was able to be in the comfort zone of he had a lot more fuel on board. Enough that he could of managed a one-stop strategy around the tight a twisty circuit. Alonso had seen through free practice and qualifying that Lewis was quicker and went for a two-stop strategy. This is where for me things get sketchy. Alonso says he was able to save around 2 laps of fuel on his first stint. This meant he was able to come in and rejoin in the lead without Lewis exploiting his extra fuel. But Alonso's stop was 7.5 seconds and Lewis's was 8.9 but took on more fuel. It worked out that Lewis could go 10 laps longer than Alonso. Also it meant Alonso would have to do 10 laps more on the super soft tires. This tire was defiantly slower as Massa had fitted them on his first stop and was nowhere near the pace. This would of easily give Lewis the lead of the race after the stops were completed. But all of this didn't matter as just after the first stops Dennis had told both his drivers to back off on lap 34. Lewis did, dropping around half a second a lap to Alonso. Now Alonso not wanting to let Lewis close and unsure he would back off continued to push backing off on lap 40. But he then got back on it setting the fastest lap on lap 44. This then set Lewis to do a lap just 0.2 seconds off the fastest lap Alonso had just set. Impressive as he had and extra 10 laps that should cost him 0.5 a lap compared to his teammate. But also an indicator that Lewis felt something was up as he could see Alonso pulling away and not holding like he was. Then Alonso was brought in early on lap 48 and surprisingly Lewis was brought in two laps later. Never being able to use his extra fuel or tire advantage. Around this time the Mclaren pit to car radio exchanged some interesting words between the team and the number 2 Mclaren. The airwaves were apparently "blue" as Lewis voiced his dissatisfaction. He pushed hard to get right up on the back of Alonso only 0.7 behind. But with it being Monaco impossible to pass almost the game was over and Mclaren cruised to a 1-2 finish.

Now the team has been cleared of any wrongdoing but questions still remain. Why if they were so worried about the safety car ruining the race did they even bother to plan different strategies only for them to not be used? They feared a safety car that never came. If they feared this so much why did they not just give a one-lap difference in fuel and let them fight them out that way. Even with the extra fuel Lewis was carrying and the red bull in the way of his fast lap he was only 0.2 seconds off pole. At least this way both drivers would of known whats what. I think the fact is Lewis may feel cheated a bit by his team. Its not as if he is a clear number 2 driver. He led the world championship (and still does tied with Alonso) on pure speed not luck. He had beaten his teammate in the past two races and been on his pace in the first two. This probably wasn’t in Mclarens plan. They may of hoped that Alonso lead the way and Lewis being the rookie would learn from him. This hasn’t happened and it’s made Alonso not look like the golden boy he was at Renault, His move on Massa at Spain seemed to be rather optimistic and almost desperate. A sign maybe the pressure from his teammate is getting at him? The problem being is that while Lewis is still fast he’s still an unknown quantity. It’s not known if he can sustain this form all season and his trip into the barriers on Thursdays practice maybe highlighted this point. It is still odd to see Mclaren having a problem with one of its drivers being too fast. Alonso is still unlearning all the traits of what the Michelin tires used to do and getting used to the new Bridgestone’s. Alonso's former team Renault said he was the most moody when his teammate beat him. Mclaren have to hope that if it is tires that is the problem Alonso gets on top of this soon so that he can use his experience to win the title.

As for the Mclaren drivers and team within itself how will this affect the drivers’ relationship? The fact Alonso didn’t slow down when first told to then Lewis sped back up because he didn’t trust Alonso is a small glimpse in how much these two drivers want to beat each other. Lewis said he hadn't come into F1 to finish second and Alonso is a double world champion who will not want a rookie to get the better of him. Now over the next few races we will see these two push each other. Lewis will want to get one up on his teammate for Monaco Alonso will try and make sure that Lewis stays in second. As for the Mclaren team whilst team orders weren’t used but it didn’t really ensure a fair fight ether. They can use the safety car and the other driver pushing another into a mistake on this one maybe. But the eyes will be on the team for the rest of the season. And they can’t tell Lewis to settle for p2 every time otherwise his motivation will go and it will hurt the team more. To be fair to Ron Denis though he has given Lewis the chance to race having a hand in his career since he was 13. There's no way Lewis would have got 5 podiums in a row otherwise. And if there is going to be a war between teammates Dennis is the best one to handle it. This is the man who has Senna and Prost in the same team after all.

Finally though what about the fans. Call it team strategy or orders it still leaves a sour taste in the mouth. People watch a sport to be wowed by teams and competitors pushing each other to the limit. Not to see cold pre-planned staged events. While that maybe a harsh description of the race it’s hard to get excited when what you were watching wasn't what you thought it was. It would of been interesting to see what would of happened if Ferrari and the other teams had been more competitive. The fact that Mclaren was so far in front at this race allowed them to control it. If they could of seen that Massa was close enough to jump Alonso then there's no doubt they would of stuck with the plan and let the faster driver go for it. Its the same as in 2002 when Ferrari were so far in front they began playing around with the results like trying to stage a dead heat at usgp for instance. Maybe something better may of come out of this. Maybe Lewis can turn his disappointment and channel it into his driving in order to create an even more intense conflict between the two drivers. But also events like this ultimately backfire on the team. After all is aid and done when people look back to this race how many people are going to think "That was Mclarens 150th race win" because it was.