Driver Performance Analysis - The Sleeping Dogs
- Published on May 31st, 2011 by Jack LamureLet sleeping dogs lie, or so the phrase goes. Not in this Sett and not on our watch - this is the final part of our Monaco Grand Prix driver analysis.
Mercedes
- Qualifying: Schumacher (5th) Rosberg (7th)
- Race: Rosberg (11th) Schumacher (DNF)
The Nightmare On… Monaco Street. Yep, this race was an utter disaster for the Brackley-based outfit, despite having looked rather promising on Saturday afternoon.
Qualifying was the high point for Michael Schumacher, who took a season-best fifth on the grid thanks to the Perez red flag drama. Rosberg meanwhile was seventh - not too shabby.
But it all went wrong for Michael at the lights. Having been one of the best starters this season he bogged down on his particular getaway and dropped to tenth (with Nico among those to speed past). There was then a bold move on Lewis Hamilton but as the laps ticked down it was clear his car wasn't up to keeping the McLaren at bay. Lewis got past, Michael stopped and plummeted down the order. As the safety car arrived on lap 30 Michael's day ended with a cooked engine.
Rosberg meanwhile also dropped down the order following his first pitstop. From there he made up little ground, coming home 11th largely thanks to several cars in front of his dropping out. Following solid points in Spain this was a real step backwards.
Badger's Best: Rosberg
Team Lotus
- Qualifying: Kovalainen (18th) Trulli (19th)
- Race: Trulli (13th) Kovalainen (14th)
The Lotus Position: too fast for their 2010 rivals Virgin but too slow to genuinely challenge the established teams. As it has been for much of this season so it was again in Monaco.
It's not all limbo-enduced gloom though. Team Tony's week got off to a good start when they were given the go-ahead to keep using the Lotus name, so long as they put 'Team' in front of it at all times and the Malaysian entrepreneur doesn't start impersonating Colin Chapman in the paddock. A shame, that second one.
Jarno Trulli hadn't been out-qualified in Monaco since his F3 days until Heikki got one over on his twelve months ago, and the Finn added to Jarno's misery by doing it again this year. The Italian seems a bit fed up of this F1 lark at times, but he actually came home ahead of Heikki in 13th (equalling the team's best finish of the season, set by Jarno in Australia). That's got to be worth something, and it nets the Italian Badger's Best for Monaco. Still, it's not 2004, is it Jarno?
Badger's Best: Trulli
Virgin
- Qualifying: Glock (21) d'Ambrosio (22)
- Race: d'Ambrosio (15) Glock (DNF)
Chirpy Germany Chappy Timo Glock was impressively close to the Lotus cars in qualifying (just six-tenths shy, in fact) but his race lasted only 30 laps before suspension issues forced him from proceedings. His team-mate meanwhile was 0.8 off the sister Virgin, which isn't really good enough from a driver who took a GP2 race win here twelve months ago. Jerome then came home 15th, ahead of the Hispanias but on the same lap as Liuzzi.
It's hard to gauge how Virgin are doing, being as we see them so little. What seems clear is that they are relatively comfortable in their battle to stay ahead of Hispania but quite a way off the Team Lotus boys. Positions 21 and 22 are theirs, for what that's worth.
Badger's Best: Glock
Hispania
- Qualifying: Liuzzi (24) Karthikeyan (23) *
- Race: Liuzzi (16) Karthikeyan (17)
If it's tough gauging where the Virgin cars are at keeping tabs on the grid-propping Hispanias is near impossible.
Though it's probably not as tough as driving the Spanish squads cars on a street circuit. It would probably have been easier to pilot Red Bull's floating gin palace around Monte Carlo than the 2011 Hispania, and that's perhaps why they simply didn't bother in qualy (that and a smattering of crash damage/technical issues). They were allowed to race and, to their credit both Liuzzi and Karthikeyan finished. Several laps down and with their drivers in quite a lot of discomfort, we'd have to assume, but they got there.
Liuzzi now 5-0 up in the qualifying battle) finished ahead of Karthikeyan in the race and you have to wonder whether the Indian racer is enjoying this. It must be pretty tough for Tonio, but at least he's emerging from the weekends as his team's best driver; Karthikeyan is, more than anyone else, just making up the numbers.
Badger's Best: Liuzzi
* Neither Hispania driver set a time during qualifying
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Comments and Discussion
How have you come to the conclusion that rosberg is badgers best and glock is badgers best let's stat this up.
Qualy msc out does rosberg by a second. has a dnf in the race due to engine over heating also made two of the only, easily best, certainly cleanest overtakes of the race during the 30 odd laps he's running.
Qualy glock out does ambrosia rice by 8 tenths also has a dnf team m8 also fails to score points both him and team m8 also fail to make any overtakes.
msc had a better weekend in comparison to his team m8 than glock did. He was running ahead of rosberg after the pits untill his break down. The only bad point of the whole weekend was the start which could have easily seen him onto the podium. He's been lightning on those ever since his come back so he was always going to get a bad one at some point so i'm really not with you on that one. Just what does go on in a badgers mind?
I feel silly for asking already but.... Is fernandes really banned from doing colin chapman impersonations? Props to jarno for not running over an indian again.
As for hispania i wonder if the back of their racing suits say "lotion here"
Yes, but MSC made a terrible start, hit Hamilton (he's always losing his front wing) and then went backwards on his worn tyres. Fair play for the overtake at the hairpin though. Rosberg did actually finish with no dramas.
I would have put Rosberg/Schumacher as equal, but this ain't my column so I didn't want to start changing the rules! I don't think it either was significantly better or worse, but Nico went the distance and basically wins in on endurance.
Glock on the other hand was close to a second quicker than JdA in qualy and was just plain faster than him. Also Timo's picked his game up in general of late.
And no, Tony Fernandes is not banned from doing Champman impersonations, as far as I know, but that could yet change - watch this space.
I will say this for the umpteenth time: Put Senna in the JPS Lotus
Renault. Renault needs some funds and the idea is marketing gold, as
they say around here. Plus it would give Senna a chance to prove
himself.