Race suspension blunts Button’s charge

2011 Monaco GP analysis

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Would Jenson Button or Fernando Alonso have been able to pass Sebastian Vettel had the race not been suspended?

Take a look at all the data from the Monaco Grand Prix and judge for yourself.

Lap 1

Lap 1 position change

Neither Red Bull made a particularly good start but, owing to the short run to the first corner, damage was limited to Alonso taking third off Webber.

Michael Schumacher bogged down badly, nudged Lewis Hamilton at the first corner, then passed the McLaren at the hairpin.

Pit stops

Pit stops

The suspension and re-starting of the race with six laps to go gave everyone the chance to change tyres. This drastically changed the complexion of the race and effectively killed off the battle for the lead.

Sebastian Vettel was defending first place on a set of soft tyres that had done 56 laps when the race was stopped.

Whether he would have been able to fend off Alonso and Button for those final few laps remains one of those tantalising questions we’ll never know the answer to.

Tyre compounds

Stint 1 Stint 2 Stint 3 Stint 4 Stint 5
Sebastian Vettel Super-soft Soft Super-soft
Jenson Button Super-soft Super-soft Super-soft Soft Soft
Mark Webber Super-soft Soft Soft Super-soft
Fernando Alonso Super-soft Soft Soft Super-soft
Michael Schumacher Super-soft Super-soft
Felipe Massa Super-soft Soft
Nico Rosberg Super-soft Soft Soft Super-soft Super-soft
Pastor Maldonado Super-soft Soft Super-soft Soft
Lewis Hamilton Soft Super-soft Soft Super-soft
Vitaly Petrov Super-soft Soft
Rubens Barrichello Super-soft Soft Super-soft Super-soft
Kamui Kobayashi Soft Super-soft Super-soft
Paul di Resta Super-soft Super-soft Soft Super-soft
Adrian Sutil Soft Super-soft Super-soft
Nick Heidfeld Soft Super-soft Super-soft Super-soft
Sebastien Buemi Soft Soft Super-soft Super-soft
Heikki Kovalainen Super-soft Soft Soft Super-soft
Jarno Trulli Super-soft Super-soft Soft Super-soft
Jaime Alguersuari Soft Soft Super-soft
Timo Glock Super-soft Soft
Jerome d’Ambrosio Soft Super-soft Soft Soft
Narain Karthikeyan Super-soft Soft Super-soft Soft
Vitantonio Liuzzi Soft Super-soft Super-soft

Race progress

The struggling Mercedes played a big part in defining the shape of the race.

First Hamilton and then Rubens Barrichello were able to pass Schumacher. Then Nico Rosberg held up Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado, Sergio Perez and the recovering Hamilton.

That left a sizeable gap behind Vettel, Button, Alonso and Webber.

A similar scenario developed after the first safety car period, with Adrian Sutil dropping back and holding up Kamui Kobayashi, among others.

It was because of this that McLaren had clear air to drop Button into on fresh tyres in an attempt to attack Vettel.

This chart shows how far each driver was behind the leader (in seconds) on each lap (some gaps have been omitted to preserve the read-ability of the chart).

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78
Sebastian Vettel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15.656 4.139 6.288 7.595 8.899 9.783 10.658 10.607 11.654 13.184 14.96 14.697 13.366 13.658 14.141 13.796 13.358 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jenson Button 2.449 3.214 3.732 4.36 4.668 4.631 4.416 4.571 4.286 4.358 4.181 4.176 3.475 3.775 21.057 15.781 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.887 9.902 3.881 4.435 3.92 3.306 4.081 2.333 0.812 0.548 0.692 1.192 0.954 0.832 0.84 17.944 19.905 18.485 16.492 14.586 12.889 10.69 9.419 7.543 7.011 5.707 4.786 3.474 1.978 0.727 0.766 0.68 0.641 0.747 0.687 0.899 1.843 1.475 1.771 2.566 1.44 2.218 1.968 2.15 2.182 2.378
Mark Webber 3.955 5.583 6.599 7.155 7.77 7.73 7.941 8.791 9.24 10.056 10.679 11.352 12.005 13.461 14.926 42.479 33.126 36.833 39.151 41.515 44.38 46.802 49.43 52.837 56.529 60.105 62.351 63.755 67.146 70.7 73.048 76.429 70.344 122.134 85.698 50.062 17.244 12.857 15.694 18.672 21.992 24.573 26.168 28.249 30.33 32.392 34.96 37.107 38.535 39.857 40.746 41.929 43.172 43.53 63.506 65.622 64.908 64.127 64.14 63.321 62.857 62.178 61.041 61.491 63.55 66.892 64.389 62.747 82.618 56.717 28.667 14.544 9.862 16.329 18.915 20.354 23.134 23.101
Fernando Alonso 2.723 4.068 4.517 5.38 6.247 6.193 6.257 6.196 6.262 5.966 5.631 5.531 4.969 5.089 5.108 0 3.75 9.197 10.823 12.633 13.855 14.081 13.717 15.021 16.143 17.512 17.032 16.087 16.654 17.174 16.793 16.6 3.944 33.741 12.298 7.454 7.161 6.259 8.193 8.106 7.437 7.674 7.591 7.194 7.139 6.845 6.624 6.278 5.903 5.197 4.311 3.275 2.468 1.714 2.148 1.001 0.779 0.407 0.504 0.838 0.281 0.312 0.3 0.253 0.297 0.174 0.309 0.638 0.899 0.849 0.734 0.648 0.5 1.434 0.952 0.944 0.858 1.138
Michael Schumacher 8.564 10.808 13.014 15.293 17.397 19.303 21.081 24.056 26.522 30.817 33.794 65.444 68.384 69.358 69.052 64.562 50.583 52.738 54.656 57.38 62.269 67.313 69.306 72.469 76.058 80.556 83.606 86.07 88.794 89.968 90.382 92.835
Felipe Massa 5.762 7.63 9.011 10.46 11.835 13.096 14.045 15.788 17.389 19.407 21.856 24.595 27.722 31.744 30.946 24.766 10.786 13.587 16.366 19.434 22.536 25.201 27.748 31.129 35.216 58.55 64.191 64.979 67.812 71.281 73.622 76.824
Nico Rosberg 5.152 6.978 8.431 9.953 11.428 12.476 13.592 15.383 16.962 19.038 21.539 24.348 27.583 34.198 57.463 57.335 43.908 47.977 52.096 56.427 62.045 66.855 68.636 72.059 75.76 80.371 83.252 85.713 90.597 95.098 99.206 104.024 118.584 140.768 128.497 124.188 121.045 92.912 95.343 97.657 99.907 102.578 104.332 106.907 109.425 112.299 113.833 115.045 116.052 117.132 118.319 119.714 139.577 142.757 143.023 141.759 141.643 141.806 143.113 143.74 144.799 144.672 144.822 146.167 149.705 156.509 169.037 217.178 255.887 208.041 162.106 162.799 163.352 168.511
Pastor Maldonado 6.985 8.836 10.507 12.055 13.34 14.455 15.327 17.338 18.548 20.529 22.868 25.271 28.342 32.821 32.702 27.819 14.198 17.316 21.228 24.851 28.5 32.102 35.508 41.439 66.159 72.108 73.33 73.786 76.366 79.498 81.786 84.176 76.691 123.558 87.147 51.928 19.38 14.334 17.699 20.707 24.303 27.22 28.753 30.474 32.494 34.056 36.504 38.855 40.362 42.051 43.185 44.607 45.659 65.203 68.91 68.35 68.667 68.523 68.467 68.438 68.487 67.764 67.469 67.264 67.461 70.646 73.757 77.28 96.638 63.943 34.206 16.889 13.2
Lewis Hamilton 9.268 11.344 13.665 15.872 17.819 19.575 21.232 24.304 26.742 27.834 28.152 28.633 29.238 34.828 37.201 31.506 17.092 19.414 22.137 25.664 29.456 57.011 63.181 63.526 63.335 63.53 64.43 65.185 68.086 71.448 73.82 77.196 75.464 122.437 86.022 50.551 17.63 13.188 16.552 18.824 22.398 24.769 38.953 41.873 43.023 43.947 45.421 47.304 69.532 72.811 72.249 71.288 71.223 69.243 69.527 68.835 68.897 68.998 69.033 69.573 69.501 69.31 69.649 68.888 68.227 70.916 73.995 82.882 98.414 64.469 35.128 18.145 13.287 18.953 19.185 20.994 24.353 27.21
Vitaly Petrov 8.115 10.405 12.374 14.078 15.719 16.865 18.183 19.328 20.066 21.851 23.783 27.126 29.026 34.608 36.416 30.686 16.282 18.677 21.98 25.422 29.233 32.67 36.118 41.804 47.598 51.474 53.786 77.771 83.375 85.357 86.18 88.574 81.749 126.55 88.367 54.295 22.426 14.934 19.318 22.108 26.785 29.912 30.862 31.887 33.769 35.859 38.508 40.603 42.29 43.802 45.353 46.55 47.723 48.449 49.306 49.937 50.65 51.761 52.757 53.835 55.221 55.792 56.648 58.991 63.163 69.268 73.429
Rubens Barrichello 10.025 12.656 14.984 17.373 19.162 21.015 22.505 25.283 27.698 31.248 34.278 35.993 36.483 37.594 39.978 34.828 21.133 24.273 27.529 30.873 34.852 37.84 40.193 43.923 48.522 52.329 55.413 57.715 61.473 64.835 67.393 89.937 91.265 131.637 124.768 120.31 118.277 89.342 92.135 94.238 96.422 98.916 100.753 102.535 104.241 106.046 108.031 111.014 111.878 112.873 113.901 115.075 115.784 116.375 117.168 117.445 118.431 119.622 121.886 123.233 124.384 125.343 127.472 130.153 131.032 132.164 132.563 167.6 187.473 153.862 136.454 96.659 100.942 102.804 104.449 107.029
Kamui Kobayashi 11.633 15.238 18.283 21.412 24.097 26.179 28.217 30.49 32.084 34.537 36.693 38.942 40.44 42.022 42.778 38.348 24.987 28.22 31.437 35.187 38.922 41.539 43.577 46.971 51.153 54.312 56.659 58.355 62.024 65.76 68.285 72.249 61.55 94.667 71.462 38.43 12.717 11.667 15.325 18.368 21.631 24.15 25.782 28.069 30.027 31.923 34.27 36.275 37.781 39.016 40.013 41.433 42.295 43.054 43.887 44.385 45.32 46.449 47.709 49.606 51.995 53.604 55.278 58.578 59.738 60.707 60.756 60.89 80.105 52.78 24.367 13.73 9.612 16.166 18.593 19.962 24.223 26.916
Paul di Resta 10.678 13.271 15.891 18.156 20.358 22.2 23.83 26.147 28.498 31.683 34.729 37.938 38.615 39.831 40.771 36.276 23.113 26.625 30.103 52.143 58.373 60.239 63.796 70.237 73.769 77.701 94.42 99.818 104.86 109.052 112.942 158.961 207.913 213.621 170.687 133.842 127.562 97.889 101.206 105.574 110.756 114.516 117.182 120.993 126.171 129.225 132.847 135.422 136.612 138.957 139.9 140.967 141.656 143.668 147.166 150.061 151.462 153.188 154.927 156.329 161.709 162.922 163.978 166.002 167.735 169.591 178.003 220.006 258.066 213.294 167.504 168.129 168.321 170.301
Adrian Sutil 12.238 15.775 18.787 22.31 25.102 27.663 29.553 31.978 33.554 35.696 37.811 40.096 41.286 43.185 44.071 39.498 26.351 29.919 33.091 36.551 40.082 43.083 45.358 48.687 52.404 56.327 58.559 60.425 63.935 67.239 69.762 73.363 64.591 93.923 70.853 37.136 12.165 11.149 14.442 17.715 21.155 23.641 25.172 27.484 29.506 31.378 33.817 35.808 37.351 38.468 39.48 40.686 41.595 42.3 43.13 43.662 44.638 45.788 47.197 49.013 51.659 53.192 54.892 58.177 62.946 69.081 73.34 107.666 135.048 129.364 130.125 86.647 88.139 88.501 90.489 92.804
Nick Heidfeld 13.168 17.388 20.688 23.825 26.626 29.427 31.501 33.801 36.094 38.072 39.598 42.021 43.057 44.658 45.457 40.951 27.884 31.49 34.657 38.137 41.642 44.919 48.425 51.448 54.58 58.545 60.224 61.759 65.707 68.999 71.435 75.521 84.398 129.688 122.259 118.299 116.131 83.165 84.796 87.34 89.858 91.595 93.026 94.015 94.741 95.437 96.452 97.66 100.632 101.436 101.607 101.979 102.617 102.871 103.299 103.897 105.967 107.319 109.534 112.023 113.515 116.464 116.926 117.425 117.718 117.883 117.034 128.249 160.946 134.651 132.42 90.928 94.205 94.14 95.293 96.593
Sebastien Buemi 13.877 17.986 21.239 24.601 27.26 29.856 32.245 34.673 36.912 39.179 40.788 42.835 44.159 45.587 46.456 41.951 29.014 32.527 35.778 39.145 42.479 45.885 48.799 52.225 55.505 59.392 61.623 63.231 66.817 70.257 72.671 76.189 85.801 130.637 123.313 119.201 117.432 87.211 89.791 90.641 91.822 93.384 94.514 95.892 96.884 98.089 99.142 101.903 103.107 104.175 104.896 105.374 105.667 105.74 106.533 107.533 108.401 109.573 110.982 113.636 115.093 135.632 140.319 143.942 149.027 155.995 164.166 187.533 194.895 159.77 139.061 99.026 101.909 103.304 105.256 107.531
Heikki Kovalainen 16.235 20.568 24.571 27.784 31.156 33.837 36.589 39.464 42.405 45.067 47.277 49.349 50.728 52.702 54.002 50.221 38.515 43.702 68.601 76.042 82.237 85.147 88.061 96.415 101.142 106.282 110.117 111.802 115.093 118.768 120.824 125.327 124.205 143.067 129.845 126.063 122.661 94.17 96.924 103.582 108.726 113.209 115.976 118.848 121.455 126.348 129.529 132.413 135.411 138.964 142.703 164.711 173.037 173.888 175.523 177.582 179.011 180.708 184.75 190.378 198.169 202.487 204.612 207.124 208.801 210.772 228.387 264.271 273.608 224.236 182.674 186.178 189.504 194.335
Jarno Trulli 14.552 18.792 22.636 26.128 29.224 31.74 34.069 36.698 39.182 41.788 44.051 45.975 47.407 49.223 50.202 45.931 34.641 39.496 43.938 48.498 53.287 58.032 62.698 87.7 98.801 103.453 106.274 108.209 111.532 115.16 117.056 120.736 119.819 139.578 127.997 123.549 120.227 91.978 93.835 96.114 98.324 100.94 102.996 105.773 108.441 130.082 138.711 142.051 144.439 146.452 148.794 153.547 156.801 163.071 166.462 170.761 174.913 179.563 184.384 190.038 195.523 202.106 204.147 206.752 208.379 210.174 227.479 262.326 272.164 221.409 181.656 185.437 188.922 193.896
Jaime Alguersuari 15.772 19.919 23.366 26.865 30.058 32.836 35.288 37.824 40.203 42.976 45.471 47.476 48.863 50.652 51.433 47.091 35.339 40.134 44.656 49.153 54.013 58.593 63.19 71.335 74.791 78.473 83.028 84.889 106.974 113.129 114.559 119.533 118.205 137.95 126.68 122.487 119.577 90.422 92.526 94.666 96.92 99.381 101.211 103.701 105.259 106.834 108.743 111.519 112.919 113.958 114.828 115.748 116.861 117.433 118.423 139.708 144.815 144.701 144.238 144.466 145.339 145.281 145.396 146.586 151.064 155.359
Timo Glock 16.842 21.377 25.161 28.674 31.895 34.97 37.937 41.506 44.444 47.465 50.412 53.417 55.236 57.673 59.451 55.846 43.503 47.633 51.86 56.153 61.876 85.828 97.267 102.284 106.919 111.123 114.431 117.423 121.631 125.106
Jerome dAmbrosio 17.89 23.168 27.839 32.119 35.95 39.351 42.514 46.197 49.619 53.134 56.361 59.311 61.724 64.939 67.572 64.457 53.39 58.488 63.424 69.491 74.974 80.561 85.44 92.634 100.062 106.112 113.168 118.852 124.976 130.687 136.107 142.632 170.477 186.793 148.524 128.304 124.438 95.013 97.939 105.383 110.501 114.312 116.91 120.769 125.91 128.979 132.755 137.228 140.631 144 147.472 152.116 155.788 159.55 165.466 170.299 174.314 178.938 184.103 189.628 195.427 205.361 234.27 244.123 245.797 254.201 298.595 342.628 303.21 263.309 266.666 269.525
Narain Karthikeyan 19.024 24.725 30.063 35.022 39.343 44.216 48.776 53.6 57.832 62.689 67.333 71.43 75.527 82.237 87.793 86.993 76.154 83.166 91.933 98.166 106.756 112.65 117.865 130.392 164.351 177.276 183.923 187.844 198.347 204.386 210.099 231.335 271.823 278.49 250.631 244.462 219.241 188.347 191.213 195.753 199.627 204.771 208.019 211.524 215.339 220.161 224.675 228.985 235.169 242.198 247.276 255.236 260.393 268.165 272.538 277.291 284.479 295.56 304.924 312.692 317.605 327.605 334.13 339.768 355.406 383.014 425.786 401.907 359.93 364.446
Vitantonio Liuzzi 20.184 27.363 33.52 39.774 45.183 50.887 55.712 60.663 65.981 71.023 75.336 81.695 88.473 93.454 97.438 98.341 90.936 101.925 108.662 118.001 129.493 135.389 140.78 147.936 154.206 161.081 169.494 177.873 183.663 189.528 195.279 226.707 239.763 260.498 248.553 241.367 213.562 185.441 189.19 192.894 196.635 200.495 204.794 208.631 212.192 218.772 223.267 227.259 230.514 234.667 240.037 245.822 251.149 254.307 260.101 263.007 267.513 274.011 277.723 281.678 285.33 293.534 296.701 299.897 304.722 333.623 357.114 372.408 309.686 266.395 269.746 272.79

Lap chart

This chart shows the drivers’ positions on each lap.

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78
Sebastian Vettel 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Jenson Button 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Mark Webber 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 14 14 14 14 13 13 12 12 12 11 11 10 9 9 9 9 8 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4
Fernando Alonso 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Michael Schumacher 5 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 10 21 21 21 21 21 20 20 19 19 19 18 18 17 17 17 16 16 14 14 14 14
Felipe Massa 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 9 11 10 10 10 10 9
Nico Rosberg 7 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 18 19 19 19 18 18 18 17 17 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 14 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11
Pastor Maldonado 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 11 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 6 6 6 6 6 6
Lewis Hamilton 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 13 14 13 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 10 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 6
Vitaly Petrov 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 4 4 13 13 13 13 12 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7
Rubens Barrichello 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9
Kamui Kobayashi 12 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12 11 10 10 10 10 9 9 8 8 8 7 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5
Paul di Resta 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 10 9 9 9 9 16 16 16 16 14 14 14 17 17 16 16 16 20 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12
Adrian Sutil 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 12 11 11 11 11 10 10 9 9 9 8 7 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 7
Nick Heidfeld 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 13 12 12 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 9 8 8 7 7 7 7 6 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8
Sebastien Buemi 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 15 14 13 13 13 13 12 12 11 11 11 10 10 9 8 8 8 8 7 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 13 12 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10
Heikki Kovalainen 17 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 17 17 17 17 21 21 21 20 20 20 20 20 19 19 19 19 19 18 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 16 16 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 17 17 17 17 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14
Jarno Trulli 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 13 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 16 16 16 16 16 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 13 13 13
Jaime Alguersuari 19 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17 17 17 16 16 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 14 14 17 17 17 16 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 12
Timo Glock 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 19 19 19 19 18 18 18 17 17 17 21 21 21 21 21 21 20 20 20
Jerome dAmbrosio 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 20 20 20 20 20 21 21 20 20 20 19 19 19 19 19 20 21 21 21 20 19 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 16 16 17 17 17 17 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 18 18 18 18 18 17 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 15
Narain Karthikeyan 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 22 22 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 19 18 18 18 18 18 18 17
Vitantonio Liuzzi 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 22 22 22 22 22 22 21 21 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 17 17 17 17 17 17 16 16

Fastest laps

Mark Webber set the fastest lap for the fourth time this year, and did it on the last lap of the race.

Rank Driver Car Fastest lap Gap On lap
1 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1’16.234 78
2 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1’16.267 0.033 78
3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1’16.463 0.229 78
4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1’16.471 0.237 77
5 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1’17.847 1.613 54
6 Nick Heidfeld Renault 1’17.857 1.623 77
7 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1’18.308 2.074 76
8 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1’18.584 2.350 76
9 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1’18.608 2.374 59
10 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1’18.699 2.465 56
11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1’18.724 2.490 75
12 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1’18.832 2.598 77
13 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1’18.872 2.638 77
14 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1’18.904 2.670 62
15 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1’19.801 3.567 30
16 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1’20.058 3.824 57
17 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1’20.202 3.968 16
18 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1’20.678 4.444 54
19 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1’21.277 5.043 66
20 Jerome d’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1’21.391 5.157 75
21 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1’21.566 5.332 74
22 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1’22.102 5.868 30
23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1’22.731 6.497 74
24 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari

All lap times

Looking at Vettel’s lap times between the two safety car periods, they seem very consistent and give little indication that he was about to start lapping so slowly he couldn’t have kept Alonso and Button behind.

But when the tyres do go off, they tend to do so very quickly, so it’s hard to be certain. Vettel may have been very fortunate, or he might have been robbed of the chance to score a famous win with an impressive feat of tyre preservation.

Either way it was an anti-climax, and one might reasonably ask why teams are allowed to change tyres during race suspensions.

This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times (in seconds) on each lap (excluding lap 72 when the race was suspended).

https://www.racefans.net/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78
Sebastian Vettel 84.839 80.269 79.811 79.485 79.537 79.756 79.795 79.388 79.688 79.558 79.696 79.732 80.446 80.049 81.288 102.038 83.336 80.24 79.655 79.507 79.083 79.701 79.083 79.267 79.815 80.228 79.166 78.871 78.598 79.11 79.207 78.733 79.513 86.283 128.925 121.496 117.606 115.216 81.036 80.203 79.66 79.245 79.747 79.275 79.224 79.316 79.039 79.191 79.456 79.314 79.471 79.399 79.587 79.827 79.508 79.963 79.345 79.218 79.071 79.046 79.189 79.627 79.747 79.323 79.811 79.482 80.411 79.779 85.712 129.529 123.655 125.402 78.215 78.532 76.939 76.557 76.267
Jenson Button 87.288 81.034 80.329 80.113 79.845 79.719 79.58 79.543 79.403 79.63 79.519 79.727 79.745 80.349 98.57 81.106 79.072 78.091 78.348 78.203 78.199 78.826 79.134 78.22 78.285 78.452 79.429 80.202 78.306 78.627 79.552 79.171 99.758 89.298 122.904 122.05 117.091 114.602 81.811 78.455 78.139 78.981 79.891 79.775 78.986 79.194 79.047 96.295 81.417 77.894 77.478 77.493 77.89 77.628 78.237 78.087 78.813 77.914 78.15 77.734 77.693 78.376 79.786 79.237 79.772 79.588 80.351 79.991 86.656 129.161 123.951 124.276 78.993 78.282 77.121 76.589 76.463
Mark Webber 88.794 81.897 80.827 80.041 80.152 79.716 80.006 80.238 80.137 80.374 80.319 80.405 81.099 81.505 82.753 113.935 85.5 81.798 80.666 80.567 81.064 81.248 81.762 81.627 81.977 82.028 81.675 81.606 81.697 82.181 81.9 82.552 86.786 138.073 92.489 85.86 84.788 110.829 83.873 83.181 82.98 81.826 81.342 81.356 81.305 81.378 81.607 81.338 80.884 80.636 80.36 80.582 80.83 80.185 99.484 82.079 78.631 78.437 79.084 78.227 78.725 78.948 78.61 79.773 81.87 82.824 77.908 78.137 105.583 103.628 95.605 120.72 84.682 81.118 78.378 79.337 76.234
Fernando Alonso 87.562 81.614 80.26 80.348 80.404 79.702 79.859 79.327 79.754 79.262 79.361 79.632 79.884 80.169 81.307 81.274 98.603 83.538 79.974 80.013 79.421 79.052 78.77 79.524 79.407 79.821 78.949 79.257 78.873 79.147 79.171 78.978 80.215 116.08 107.482 116.652 117.313 114.314 82.97 80.116 78.991 79.482 79.664 78.878 79.169 79.022 78.818 78.845 79.081 78.608 78.585 78.363 78.78 79.073 79.942 78.816 79.123 78.846 79.168 79.38 78.632 79.658 79.735 79.276 79.855 79.359 80.546 80.108 85.973 129.479 123.54 125.254 79.149 78.05 76.931 76.471 76.547
Michael Schumacher 93.403 82.513 82.017 81.764 81.641 81.662 81.573 82.363 82.154 83.853 82.673 111.382 83.386 81.023 80.982 81.892 80.874 80.246 80.266 80.927 83.088 83.87 81.127 81.383 81.874 82.95 82.479 82.666 81.03 79.801 79.966 81.624
Felipe Massa 90.601 82.137 81.192 80.934 80.912 81.017 80.744 81.131 81.289 81.576 82.145 82.471 83.573 84.071 80.49 80.202 80.873 80.892 81.127 81.271 81.301 81.491 81.681 81.601 82.372 101.786 85.07 80.99 81.139 82.096 81.893 82.373
Nico Rosberg 89.991 82.095 81.264 81.007 81.012 80.804 80.911 81.179 81.267 81.634 82.197 82.541 83.681 86.664 104.553 86.254 81.426 82.16 82.467 82.534 83.817 83.636 80.915 81.643 81.986 83.063 82.31 82.663 83.19 83.128 83.66 83.989 107.431 108.467 116.654 117.187 114.463 87.083 83.467 82.517 81.91 81.916 81.501 81.85 81.742 82.19 80.573 80.403 80.463 80.394 80.658 80.794 99.45 83.007 79.774 78.699 79.229 79.381 80.378 79.673 80.248 79.5 79.897 80.668 83.349 86.286 92.939 127.92 124.421 123.478 80.377 79.467 78.908 79.085 82.098
Pastor Maldonado 91.824 82.12 81.482 81.033 80.822 80.871 80.667 81.399 80.898 81.539 82.035 82.135 83.517 84.528 81.169 81.499 81.232 81.209 82.26 81.826 81.848 82.428 82.54 84.151 103.005 84.401 80.651 80.658 80.886 81.759 81.84 81.561 85.386 133.15 92.514 86.277 85.058 110.17 84.401 83.211 83.256 82.162 81.28 80.996 81.244 80.878 81.487 81.542 80.963 81.003 80.605 80.821 80.639 99.371 83.215 79.403 79.662 79.074 79.015 79.017 79.238 78.904 79.452 79.118 80.008 82.667 83.522 83.302 105.07 96.834 93.918 121.713
Lewis Hamilton 94.107 82.345 82.132 81.692 81.484 81.512 81.452 82.46 82.126 80.65 80.014 80.213 81.051 85.639 83.661 80.687 80.439 80.413 81.071 81.73 81.991 106.381 85.304 78.565 78.094 78.647 80.329 80.957 81.207 81.989 81.924 82.547 91.139 133.256 92.51 86.025 84.685 110.774 84.4 82.475 83.234 81.616 93.931 82.195 80.374 80.24 80.513 81.074 101.684 82.593 78.909 78.438 79.522 77.847 79.792 79.271 79.407 79.319 79.106 79.586 79.117 79.436 80.086 78.562 79.15 82.171 83.49 88.666 101.244 95.584 94.314 120.544 83.881 78.764 78.748 79.916 79.124
Vitaly Petrov 92.954 82.559 81.78 81.189 81.178 80.902 81.113 80.533 80.426 81.343 81.628 83.075 82.346 85.631 83.096 80.652 80.449 80.486 81.651 81.645 82.01 82.263 82.582 83.906 84.079 82.328 81.741 104.187 83.91 80.609 80.375 81.565 86.046 131.084 90.742 87.424 85.737 107.724 85.42 82.993 84.337 82.372 80.697 80.3 81.106 81.406 81.688 81.286 81.143 80.826 81.022 80.596 80.76 80.553 80.365 80.594 80.058 80.329 80.067 80.124 80.575 80.198 80.603 81.666 83.983 85.587 84.572
Rubens Barrichello 94.864 82.9 82.139 81.874 81.326 81.609 81.285 82.166 82.103 83.108 82.726 81.447 80.936 81.16 83.672 81.232 81.158 81.231 81.604 81.547 82.178 81.814 81.487 81.95 82.884 82.259 82.513 82.504 82.064 81.989 82.11 101.715 94.199 126.655 122.056 117.038 115.573 86.281 83.829 82.306 81.844 81.739 81.584 81.057 80.93 81.121 81.024 82.174 80.32 80.309 80.499 80.573 80.296 80.418 80.301 80.24 80.331 80.409 81.335 80.393 80.34 80.586 81.876 82.004 80.69 80.614 80.81 114.816 105.585 95.918 121.009 85.607 82.498 80.394 78.584 79.137
Kamui Kobayashi 96.472 83.874 82.856 82.614 82.222 81.838 81.833 81.661 81.282 82.011 81.852 81.981 81.944 81.631 82.044 81.952 81.492 81.324 81.565 81.953 81.934 81.443 81.172 81.614 82.467 81.611 81.776 81.898 81.975 82.363 82.077 83.135 82.172 119.4 105.72 88.464 91.893 114.166 84.694 83.246 82.923 81.764 81.379 81.562 81.182 81.212 81.386 81.196 80.962 80.549 80.468 80.819 80.449 80.586 80.341 80.461 80.28 80.347 80.331 80.943 81.578 81.236 81.421 82.623 80.971 80.451 80.46 79.913 104.927 102.204 95.242 121.284 84.769 80.959 78.308 80.818 78.96
Paul di Resta 95.517 82.862 82.431 81.75 81.739 81.598 81.425 81.705 82.039 82.743 82.742 82.941 81.123 81.265 82.228 81.887 81.69 81.603 81.826 100.243 84.429 80.692 82.691 84.661 81.817 82.384 96.148 85.6 83.348 82.819 83.442 125.19 141.823 91.991 85.991 84.651 111.326 85.543 84.353 84.571 84.842 83.005 82.413 83.086 84.402 82.37 82.661 81.766 80.646 81.659 80.414 80.466 80.276 81.839 83.006 82.858 80.746 80.944 80.81 80.448 84.569 80.84 80.803 81.347 81.544 81.338 88.823 121.782 123.772 123.484 83.954 79.612 78.84 78.724 78.919
Adrian Sutil 97.077 83.806 82.823 83.008 82.329 82.317 81.685 81.813 81.264 81.7 81.811 82.017 81.636 81.948 82.174 81.809 81.706 81.659 81.52 81.663 81.73 81.827 81.409 81.549 82.002 82.375 81.661 82.068 81.816 81.931 82.075 82.772 84.099 115.615 105.855 87.779 92.635 114.2 84.329 83.476 83.1 81.731 81.278 81.587 81.246 81.188 81.478 81.182 80.999 80.431 80.483 80.605 80.496 80.532 80.338 80.495 80.321 80.368 80.48 80.862 81.835 81.16 81.447 82.608 84.58 85.617 84.67 114.105 113.094 123.845 123.534 81.924 79.707 78.894 78.927 78.872
Nick Heidfeld 98.007 84.489 83.111 82.622 82.338 82.557 81.869 81.688 81.981 81.536 81.222 82.155 81.482 81.65 82.087 81.876 81.786 81.697 81.515 81.683 81.704 82.103 82.64 81.243 81.417 82.417 81.108 81.737 82.254 81.919 81.988 83.257 101.748 131.573 121.496 117.536 115.438 82.25 82.667 82.747 82.178 80.982 81.178 80.264 79.95 80.012 80.054 80.399 82.428 80.118 79.642 79.771 80.225 80.081 79.936 80.561 81.415 80.57 81.286 81.535 80.681 82.576 80.209 79.822 80.104 79.647 79.562 90.994 118.409 103.234 121.832 83.91 81.492 78.467 78.092 77.857
Sebastien Buemi 98.716 84.378 83.064 82.847 82.196 82.352 82.184 81.816 81.927 81.825 81.305 81.779 81.77 81.477 82.157 81.877 81.916 81.604 81.599 81.57 81.533 82.232 82.048 81.646 81.565 82.339 81.66 81.81 81.892 82.067 81.966 82.689 102.483 131.119 121.601 117.384 115.837 84.995 83.616 81.053 80.841 80.807 80.877 80.653 80.216 80.521 80.092 81.952 80.66 80.382 80.192 79.877 79.88 79.9 80.301 80.963 80.213 80.39 80.48 81.7 80.646 100.166 84.434 82.946 84.896 86.45 88.582 103.146 93.074 94.404 120.042 85.367 81.098 79.927 78.891 78.832
Heikki Kovalainen 101.074 84.602 83.814 82.698 82.909 82.437 82.547 82.263 82.629 82.22 81.906 81.804 81.825 82.023 82.588 82.601 83.147 83.278 103.247 85.644 84.394 81.736 82.048 86.574 83.012 83.592 83.264 81.887 81.597 82.302 81.608 83.674 91.749 105.145 115.703 117.714 114.204 86.725 83.79 86.861 84.804 83.728 82.514 82.147 81.831 84.209 82.22 82.075 82.454 82.867 83.21 101.407 87.913 80.678 81.143 82.022 80.774 80.915 83.113 84.674 86.98 83.945 81.872 81.835 81.488 81.453 98.026 115.663 95.049 122.799 89.488 83.84 81.719 81.858 81.77
Jarno Trulli 99.391 84.509 83.655 82.977 82.633 82.272 82.124 82.017 82.172 82.164 81.959 81.656 81.878 81.865 82.267 82.111 83.563 82.946 82.79 82.763 82.988 83.571 83.8 103.222 89.386 83.104 82.25 82.137 81.629 82.255 81.448 82.851 91.954 106.042 117.344 117.048 114.284 86.967 82.893 82.482 81.87 81.861 81.803 82.052 81.892 100.957 87.668 82.531 81.844 81.327 81.813 84.152 82.841 86.097 82.899 84.262 83.497 83.868 83.892 84.7 84.674 86.21 81.788 81.928 81.438 81.277 97.716 114.626 95.55 123.044 87.281 85.649 81.996 82.017 81.913
Jaime Alguersuari 100.611 84.416 83.258 82.984 82.73 82.534 82.247 81.924 82.067 82.331 82.191 81.737 81.833 81.838 82.069 82.04 83.101 82.886 82.87 82.7 83.059 83.406 83.731 86.365 81.741 82.134 83.984 82.063 100.391 84.782 80.982 84.145 91.543 106.028 117.655 117.303 114.696 86.061 83.14 82.343 81.914 81.706 81.577 81.765 80.782 80.891 80.948 81.967 80.856 80.353 80.341 80.319 80.7 80.399 80.498 101.248 84.452 79.104 78.608 79.274 80.062 79.569 79.862 80.513 84.289 83.777
Timo Glock 101.681 84.804 83.595 82.998 82.758 82.831 82.762 82.957 82.626 82.579 82.643 82.737 82.265 82.486 83.066 82.777 82.51 82.221 82.575 82.496 83.922 102.778 90.573 83.237 82.92 82.656 82.737 83.194 82.514 82.102
Jerome dAmbrosio 102.729 85.547 84.482 83.765 83.368 83.157 82.958 83.071 83.11 83.073 82.923 82.682 82.859 83.264 83.921 83.267 83.786 83.189 83.284 84.27 83.682 84.413 84.013 85.414 85.713 84.502 86.485 85.886 84.43 84.338 84.972 85.696 120.716 102.599 90.656 101.276 113.74 85.791 83.962 87.647 84.778 83.056 82.345 83.134 84.365 82.385 82.815 83.664 82.859 82.683 82.943 84.043 83.259 83.589 85.424 84.796 83.36 83.842 84.236 84.571 84.988 89.561 108.656 89.176 81.485 87.886 124.805 123.812 123.648 86.803 87.27 85.501 81.572 81.391
Narain Karthikeyan 103.863 85.97 85.149 84.444 83.858 84.629 84.355 84.212 83.92 84.415 84.34 83.829 84.543 86.759 86.844 85.582 84.014 85.103 87.115 84.436 86.789 84.72 84.349 90.747 112.244 91.377 86.076 84.123 88.809 84.666 85.265 100.407 133.359 92.95 101.066 115.327 92.385 84.322 83.902 84.743 83.534 84.389 82.995 82.78 83.039 84.138 83.553 83.501 85.64 86.343 84.549 87.359 84.744 87.599 83.881 84.716 86.533 90.299 88.435 86.814 84.102 89.627 86.272 84.961 95.449 107.09 123.183 124.323 97.679 86.857 84.597 83.425 82.731
Vitantonio Liuzzi 105.023 87.448 85.968 85.739 84.946 85.46 84.62 84.339 85.006 84.6 84.009 86.091 87.224 85.03 85.272 87.285 87.448 89.08 85.085 87.542 89.691 84.722 84.525 85.376 84.555 85.327 87.842 88.581 84.096 84.492 85.303 110.599 105.927 107.018 116.98 114.31 89.801 87.095 84.785 83.907 83.401 83.105 84.046 83.112 82.785 85.896 83.534 83.183 82.711 83.467 84.841 85.184 84.914 82.985 85.302 82.869 83.851 85.716 82.783 83.001 82.841 87.831 82.914 82.519 84.636 108.383 103.902 95.073 121.396 88.301 83.856 82.111 81.566 81.576

2011 Monaco Grand Prix

    Browse all 2011 Monaco Grand Prix articles

    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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    62 comments on “Race suspension blunts Button’s charge”

    1. During the wet race which was red-flagged in Korea last year, Mercedes changed the setup of their cars completely on the grid – in that case, everyone was stoked because it looked like making the race a lot more exciting, as opposed to the Red Bull procession it was expected to become. Plaudits for Brawn being clever and thinking on his feet, and the rules for allowing this sneaky race-improving idea possible.

      Fast forward to today, and we all hate it.

      Same rule, different situations, different results.

      Button deserved that win today, though – good strategy calls, blinding pace, only to have his team-mate bring out a safety car for no good reason and make his life difficult.

      One McLaren driver had every right to be fuming after the race and slating one of his fellow drivers, but it wasn’t the one mouthing off to camera…

      1. Seems your forgetting about alonso. He deserved the win just as much as Button.

        1. I found it interesting that after the race, Alonso said, with respect to the red flag and changing tyres something like: without that it would certainly have been third for Vettel – but not a win for himself. I think he wasn’t all that certain he could have held Button (but had been looking forward to the fight).

          1. Alonso also said he would maximalise the degradation of Vettel’s tyres to his own advantage, and try to pass him on the last lap. It could have been almost as epic as Suzuka 2005. If he would succeed… He said he would try it because he had nothing to lose, or much less than Vettel.

            Whether it was just a word game afterwards or real intent we’ll never know.

            1. I’d love it if he did actually say “maximalise”

        2. I’m not forgetting about Alonso at all. I just think Button, of the 3 drivers, did the best job on the day – he was consistently fastest, pulled out a massive gap, and had it not been for bad luck, he would have won it with ease. Alonso did well, but he wasn’t second on merit.

          1. So he was handed out the 2nd position? and how exactly?

            1. Burny ekkelstone
              30th May 2011, 19:34

              duh!! The safety car mate!

              The safety car gave him second place.
              (1) He was never on the same pace as vettel/button.
              (2) If safety car had not interrupted, both vettel and alonso wud have pitted for the REDs, where effectively the ‘bull’ wud have kicked more dust into the horse and zoomed off.
              (3) But the ‘arrow’ could still have overtaken the ‘bull’

      2. I think it would be reasonable to not allow any changes to cars, including tyres, except for a possible change between the extreme compounds- e.g. wet to intermediate, dry to wet etc. That way in the event of a simple crash like yesterday the racing can resume from where it was before. I felt robbed of a thrilling conclusion when Vettel essentially got a free pitstop.

        1. I agree, the korea gp was different because there was different weather between qualifying and the race and it had barely started. Monaco only had 8 laps of proper racing at the end which was more like a glorified parade. Frankly they should have just called the race when they red flagged it.

          1. But then you’re essentially arguing “We want a rule that states you’re allowed to do whatever you want on the grid to the cars but only if the punters have decided that it would make for a more exciting race.”

            Talk about artificial rulings!

            1. Sure, in this case it would make it more exciting, but I think it would just makes sense to not allow tyre changes anyway.

        2. Repairs on the car should be banned too: if Hamilton had a broken rear wing he would have lost places/retired, but the red flag helped him a lot.

          1. I think that would probably be fair. Even if it isn’t his fault, if he sustains damage during the normal race distance (before any countback if that were to occur) it should not be allowed to be repaired at any point, probably even in the evnt of a sudden and destructive downpour.

          2. I think a good compromise would be to allow the car to go to the pits and be repaired, and then roll out after all the cars on the grid have passed on the restart (parc ferme on the grid, but not in the pits). This could be the same rule for changing the tyres, except as stated to change from wets to inters etc. It could create an interesting racing further down the grid, with some cars electing taking the free pit stop and going to the back. But there is a problem, how you get the cars into the pits?

    2. Keith – great work

      Can you do me a favor though and try and explain how Kobayashi and Sutil ended up in 4th and 5th after the safety car? I couldn’t and still can’t work it out, despite having the live timing, bbc, star sports and your live blog open at the same time!

      All I can think of is that the safety car must have picked up Webber and Hamilton and allowed Kob and Sut to race around at race speed and get to the pits well before Hamilton and Webber got back round.

      1. Look at the lap chart, that’s the best way to see it. They were both steadily working their way up as drivers ahead of them pitted early in the race. They had basically already made it up that far before the SC, so when most drivers pitted under the SC, they held those positions.

        1. but thats what i don’t understand.

          Neither Hamilton or Webber pitted under the safety car. When it came out, Webber was no more than 2 seconds behind Kobayashi, yet, Kobayashi was able to stop, change tires and get out ahead of Webber??

          How?

          1. Kobayashi made only one stop mate. Webber made multiple stops. The problem is when you stop you may feed back into traffic.
            After Webbers first stop, he dropped back to 14th place by this time Kobayashi was running 9th or so. kobayashi then went on to do many more laps and found some clear air to run at a consistent pace.
            Sutil did the same. In Monaco, track position is king.

            1. yes, i get that.

              Webber made 2 stops, same as Hamilton (excluding drive thru). However neither stop was made at the safety car period for Massa.

              Before the safety car came out Webber is 2 seconds behind Kobayashi (according to the above charts). After the safety car he was still behind, despite the fact Kobayashi made his pit stop during this period when Webber stayed out. HOW? How do you do a pitstop in less than 2 seconds?? :)

          2. Once the safety car comes out the drivers have a set delta time they have to drive to, which is much slower than a flying lap. I aasume KOB and SUT were close to the pits and ducked in, while WEB etc., were driving slower to the Delta.

    3. F1-flabmatics
      30th May 2011, 0:36

      One of jensons best drives completely outclassing vettel and 3 people comment on it versus 600+ on a joke made by hamilton. F1 fanatics for sure lol

      1. lol I think that has more to do with the fact that the Hamilton article has been up all day where as Keith only posted this about 30 mins ago

      2. Perhaps, Button out classed the field. But who gets glory for dribbling the entire field, then scoring an own goal.

      3. I don’t see why people think Button had such a good race. He didn’t make any mistake, but did Alonso do that? No. Did Vettel do that? No.
        They all drove a brilliant race, but I don’t see why Button was better then the others I just don’t.

    4. As Button said, Fernando was prepared to attack Vettel. He had 6 more clear chances at St Devote.

      We could’ve seen a brilliant fight for the lead. Up to that point of the race, I didn’t care if Vettel won or not. I wanted to see what Alonso had in mind, and how Button could gain from the situation.

      I also wonder why Mclaren fitted super-soft tyres on Button’s car instead of Softs in his second stop.

      1. I’m not convinced Alonso would have risked enough to get past even an ailing Vettel. But I was hoping Button could time a clever pass, when they we reaching back-markers say.

        One thing I didn’t get was why McLaren didn’t stick Button on softs for the third stint and maybe try running to the end.

      2. As for the super softs, same reason Red Bull were going to put Vettel on another set of reds at that stop.
        Only with the confusion they messed up and put him onto yellows, enabling this one stopper (well almost, see red flag)!

        Call that luck, after first a bit of help in Q3. Vettel did a very good job of making that work it seemed. Really a shame about the red flag allowing them to change to new tyres.

    5. I have to say, this pretty well ruined the race for me. Everything leading up to the red flag was exciting and action packed. Then, park the cars during the red flag, change tires, fix damage, make adjustments which just resulted in a procession for the final six laps.

      Alonso and Button deserved the opportunity to fight Vettel for the win, and they were robbed of that chance. Why didn’t they just call the race at the red flag like the announcers thought they were going to? What did we gain from having them run the six remaining laps – in my opinion, absolutely nothing.

      1. “Alonso and Button deserved the opportunity to fight Vettel for the win, and they were robbed of that chance. Why didn’t they just call the race at the red flag like the announcers thought they were going to?”

        I think you’re contradicting yourself there! By restarting the race, they gave Alonso and Button a chance that they certainly wouldn’t have done had they not restarted. Less of a chance than before the red, certainly, but in those 6 laps anything could have happened, Vettel could have hit a barrier…

    6. We forgetting that Vettel did 56 laps on those soft tyres. That is a huge feat by itself!!!!!!!

      1. +1 Everyone’s got so tired of him winning pole and the races, it’s hiding the fact he’s becoming quietly very impressive. I’d have liked to see the top 3 battle to the end, but even so Vettel’s improving all the time. Much as I sympathize with Hamilton’s frustation at Monaco, Vettel’s lead is well deserved and Hamilton has never shown the same deadly consistency. It’s an awesome achievement of concentration.

        1. +1, good point David BR

        2. Atanu (@ilovevettel)
          30th May 2011, 7:37

          Excellent point David… Thats an remarkable achievement with this year’s Pirelli tyres.

      2. Could not agree more. People over-look that. He managed to defend in Barcelona.

        Vettel was never looking at anything less than a podium and 1st spot was well deserved in my opinion.

        By the very nature of consistency it is the lack of disparity in performance that turns people off. For me, that’s one of the most exciting things about the sport. That level of dominance will always impress me.

    7. Great analysis Keith.
      On paper, Button was going to win the race. But what ?!!!! 3 stops!!! Who stops 3 times at Monaco without having an accident.
      Mclaren or Button made the wrong call. I was just laughing in my head when Brundle was calling him a genius for stating the obvious, when he could see that the cars ahead didn’t stop for tyres.
      Even in Bacelona, having a faster car doesn’t guarantee you an overtake. Then you want to overtake while racing inside a straw?

      Mclaren keeps bring upgrades to the cars while their pitwall keeps makind a downgrade.
      Mclaren didn’t want this win. Their focus is being a clothing company.

    8. Had Button come back directely behind Vettel, with his fresh tyres, then perhaps he had a chance. But bringing him behind Alonso also? Come on.
      HRT is maybe 7 seconds slower on race pace, even while on worn tyres, if they don’t give way, you can’t lap them. Then you want Button to overtake Alonso, in real life?!!!

    9. People seriously need to take a closer look at their own perception of Vettel.
      Here he is – driving on tyres that are more than 50+ laps old and defending against two very highly rated World Champions and still people think Button drove outstandingly and Vettel was lucky?
      Mind you, Button is considered to be the king of tyre preservation and Vettel is trumping him at his own game. Not only this lad the quickest driver, he is also the one taking most care of his tyres. Kudos to him! He will have deserved the title which he is going to win in 2-3 races.

      1. And I would be thrilled for him if he does do that. I will always respect anyone who deserves a WDC and this lad certainly does.

      2. To be honest I don’t see it such an achievement when you realise that he was doing this preservation by losing 2-2,5 seconds per lap to Button and Alonso at one stage of the race. That’s something to be done only in Monaco this year (with DRS), when you can effectively block cars behind you. See that when Button is engaging his preservation skills, it don’t affect his tempo as much as Vettels. And Jenson’s yesterdays drive was stunning, one of the best of his career imo, he deserved the chance to take it.

        1. His tyre preservation hasn’t been a one-off case lecho.

          He did one pit-stop less than Webber in each of the first 3 races. He did only a precautionary stop in Turkey too. If you rewind back to 2010, he was the driver who did an entire race on soft tyres and pitted only on last lap, he also gained 2 places by doing that. In current F1, tt is rare that a driver gains positions by staying out on worn tyres but Vettel did it.
          The media does not choose to highlight this aspect of Vettel’s driving concentrating only on his poles and amateur wheel-to-wheel racing.

        2. “he was doing this preservation by losing 2-2,5 seconds per lap to Button and Alonso at one stage of the race. That’s something to be done only in Monaco this year (with DRS), when you can effectively block cars behind you.”

          And this was the situation they were in! Why shouldn’t he drive that way? If he’d driven like that at, say, Turkey, then criticism of his tactic would be completely justified. Running your race according to the characteristics of the circuit is hardly something you can begrudge a driver.

    10. Easy to say Button would this and Alonso would that with aftermath in hands. What stopped them to overtake Vettel before the red flag then? They waited for Vettel to make mistake or DNF from him, other than that they wouldn’t do anything.

      1. Yes, but it is the fight we missed – had Vettel been able to hold his lead with his 60 lap old tyres, after a fight for over 10 laps at the end, that would have been much better than the 5 laps of qualy run we got. With the new tyres, he certainly had it much easier.

      2. Perhaps they were told to wait a couple of laps as their teams were predicting Vettel’s tyres were about to ‘go over the cliff’

      3. People have short memories, Button was told via the radio that Vettels tyres would fall of the cliff i.e wait you’ll have your chance. That was either the lap before the red flag or the lap of the red flag. Personally I think barring a mistake or easy overtake Alonso was going to do it on the last lap. The last two laps before the stoppage Alonso had a couple of sniffs, looking very much like it was only a matter of time.

    11. Why was Alonso not penalised for cutting the chicane when all four wheel went off the track as he defended to Button ???

      1. Somehow the chicane cutting only counts if you do it trying to overtake, not when defending. I guess that’s because it is much harder to know if you would have lost the position than to see that you gained a position while going off track. It’s another effective way to make overtaking harder in F1, for me.

    12. It must have been a boring suspension for Sutil, he was the only one who didn’t take new tyres!

      Petrov seemed to be doing well with his tyres but I guess we will never know whether or not he planned on a pit-stop. He most certainly would have changed had he not brought out the red-flag himself.

      I’ve said it before but i’ll say it again. I couldn’t see Alonso getting past Vettel. I believe Button catching Alonso put him under more pressure to defend, allowing Vettel a bit of breathing space. Alonso seemed a bit sloppy just before the red-flag, he was losing grip. Howver, the more exciting thing is that we will now never know and it makes for a wonderful ‘what if’ moment for years to come!

      1. Sutil’s right rear came off in the big crash and he pitted right away for a new set. There probably was more pressing work to be done on the car than changing 2-lap old tires which had only seen action under the yellows.

    13. What really disturbed me concerning the suspension was that Vettel and the Red Bull effectively made one big and one smaller mistake during the race – and still they got away with it.

      The big was that they didn’t call him in during the first SC, the small was the quite long first pit stop.

      Compare this to Monaco 2010. Alonso made a slight error, losing the rear for a moment on the bump towards Massenet (on FP3!) – and that tiny mistake cost him the championship in hindsight! He had such a good setup on his car back then for Monaco – like Lewis had yesterday, similar outcomes.

      So overall while I acknowledge Vettel’s feats you have mentioned above (e. g. tyre preservation), I feel that this win is somewhat.. unjust. Or at least needed a major slice of luck.

      And I don’t like it when luck plays this big part.

    14. Mark (@marlarkey)
      30th May 2011, 10:39

      They have to look at the whole safety car situation… how safety car deployment interacts with other rules.

      There have been too many cases where a driver/team making perfectly correct and advantageous tactical decisions have found themselves worse off as a result of a safety car.

      Deployment of the safety car should have a neutral effect on the race. It should neither give advantage too nor disadvantage a driver/team.

      This tyre change situation is simply the latest loophole exposed… the whole piquet-gate situation was another… closing the pitlane was another…

      Instead of waiting and fixing safety car related loopholes they should have a wholeseale review of the rules in relation to possible effects of safety car deploymnet.

    15. box this lap
      30th May 2011, 12:04

      Button was really really quick in that McLaren, and Vettel! so long on those tyres. Nice to see this all.

    16. I have to agree with the general consensus. Hamilton needs to shut his mouth and let his driving talk. he also needs to take more responsibility for making his own decisions. he’s no Rookie now and should be telling the team what he wants to do.

      I also agree with the race being red flagged and being allowed to change tyres. What a stupid idea and robbed us completely if an exciting finish to the race. Rule should be changed so that tyre changes can only be allowed if a wet race is declared and Inters or Full Wets are being fitted.

    17. Although I can understand people’s frustration at being denied a 3-way fight in the final laps, I think the negative backlash is more a result of the fact that the result was a continuation of Vettel’s domination, rather than the bare facts.
      Vettel was indeed lucky with the timing of the red flag, but the rules are the same for everyone. They all had new tyres on after the restart; he was able to pull away because his car is the fastest. If it’s unjust that the fastest car wins, then I don’t see the point of motorsport!
      He also had a good slice of bad luck – a botched first pit stop that lost him track position which was no fault of his own, but which he fought back from, perhaps knowing that if there’s anywhere you can hold off faster cars on worn tyres at, it’s Monaco. He and the strategy team used their heads.
      He also managed to avoid a multi-car pile-up in front of him. He could have run into Alguersari or one of the others, but he didn’t.
      Had it been Button who had been in front, having done a long stint on tyres that were not expected to last that length of time and holding off the faster Alonso and Vettel, people would probably be praising him for his tyre preservation skills, his ability to keep calm under pressure. If we consider Vettel’s victory in this light, it was fully deserved.

    18. Conspiracy theory of the race: Perhaps Petrov was instructed to request removal, subsequent red flag, to clinch the race for Renault powered Vettel, and protect from the faster Ferrari and McClaren.

    19. I disagree with the title regarding Button’s charge being “halted” due to the red flag. Button’s charge was halted by Vettel not the red flag.
      Button was within one second of the lead for the 15 laps before the red flag. Did he look like he could make a pass to get ahead of Alonso / Vettel? No. No reason to believe that the last 6 laps would have been any different. Button lost the chance to win when he decided to pit.

      I don’t get the talk that Vettel’s tyres would fall off the cliff in the last 6 laps. I think they had already fallen off the cliff, he was lapping 2-2.5 seconds slower than Button. But he decided to stay on-track and try defending. Wise move considering the track was Monaco.
      Bottom-line: Vettel trumped Button at his own game – opportunistic strategy, tyre preservation.

      1. I disagree with the title regarding Button’s charge being “halted” due to the red flag.

        The word “halted” does not appear in the title.

        1. ohh! my bad.
          Either ways, Vettel had everything under control on a slow car.

      2. he was lapping 2-2.5 seconds slower than Button.

        That is not off a cliff, Mclaren were expecting the tyres to be undrivable in the last 6 laps, 6+ seconds slower, I guess we’ll never know, which is a shame. I personal thing Alonso would of won on the last lap.

        1. personally think*

    20. A bit late to comment but…

      I’ve just rewatched the race. What an epic. Button was absolutely magnificent. It was going to be his win, in my eyes, even after the first SC period robbed him of his 14 second lead.

      What a shame! You saw his face on the podium. He knew exactly what had happened to him.

      Was this the drive of his life (so far)?

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