It may have been the first time on the podium for Mark Webber in 2012, but he scored his eighth win in style; the sort of considered class you need to finish first at Monaco.
The first six cars were covered by just 6,1 seconds at the end of 78 laps. While this may not have been a gripping race if you want overtaking, it was a Monaco classic where victory went to the driver looking after his tyres, running the best strategy available in the evolving conditions – and staying cool despite relentless pressure from Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. Perfect territory for Webber to score his second win in this unique event.
This was similar to Webber’s dominant pole-to-flag drive in 2010. Except that he didn’t actually win pole this time.
Schumi's run of bad luck
That honour went to Michael Schumacher with a lap reminiscent of the man in his pomp. Unfortunately, that was to be the highlight of the weekend for Michael. A five-place penalty for an indiscretion in Spain meant Schuey found himself in the middle of a nasty moment at the start when Alonso, faced by a slow getaway for Hamilton, moved left, touched Grosjean, forcing the Lotus into the Mercedes. Schumacher was lucky to get away with a whack on the right-front but Grosjean found himself sideways and fortunate to avoid being T-boned.
Nursing the SuperSofts
Meanwhile, the field was racing into the unknown insofar as the softest tyre – the ‘SuperSoft’ – had not been run for any meaningful distance because of wet practice on Thursday.
The talk was of stopping twice; a one-stop seemingly out of the equation. But the shape of the race was to dictate otherwise as the field, certainly at the front, remained close. If you chose to stop twice and the rest didn’t, you’d be history. It was immediately apparent to Webber that this race needed to be all about winning as slowly as possible and nursing the SuperSoft to as close to 30 laps as possible.
As if that was not difficult enough, strategy calculations received the enormous complication of rain perhaps arriving at that crucial point. Hanging on and not stopping until as late as possible became not just desirable; it was essential.
Hamilton leapfrogged
Rosberg, lying second, set the ball in motion at the end of lap 27. Webber came in two laps later – and didn’t lose the lead because of an unexpected phenomenon that would help Alonso, running behind Hamilton, leapfrog the McLaren. Instead of enjoying the expected advantage of fresh rubber, those who had come in first found it difficult to get temperature into the harder of the two tyres (the ‘Soft’). This is what played into Webber’s hands and also allowed Alonso to use a faster in and out lap to seal the deal on Hamilton.
Lewis’s troubles didn’t end there. Running what you might call a reverse strategy, Sebastian Vettel started from ninth on the ‘Soft’, ran very long and led for some time before stopping on lap 46, a move which leapfrogged him into fourth, just ahead of a very disgruntled Hamilton.
As the race reached the closing stages, the first six were more or less running line astern, Webber controlling the pace and looking after his tyres. Alonso, stacked up behind Rosberg, was hoping the dark clouds would bring rain and give him a chance. But when a few drops began to fall, Alonso suddenly wished he hadn’t entertained the thought as the greasy surface – so typical of Monaco – made this race even more of a lottery. It was a tribute to the top six that they avoided collisions while probing each other’s defences during the tense final laps.
Not a great race but, if you love Monaco and respect this Grand Prix for what it is, it was another classic of its unique kind.
Driver's championship
1. Fernando Alonso – 76 points
2. Sebastian Vettel – 73
3. Mark Webber – 73
4. Lewis Hamilton – 63
5. Nico Rosberg – 59
6. Kimi Raikkonen – 51
7. Jenson Button – 45
8. Romain Grosjean – 35
Constructor's championship
1. Red Bull-Renault – 146 points
2. McLaren-Mercedes – 108
3. Ferrari – 86
4. Lotus-Renault – 86
5. Mercedes – 61
6. Williams-Renault – 44
7. Sauber-Ferrari – 41
8. Force India-Mercedes – 28