Monaco. Vettel wins again. His first ever win at Monaco. And it IS Groundhog day but at least the 2011 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix wasn't a procession of cars like it usually is year after year. Sebastian Vettel's win for Red Bull Racing wasn't a walk in a park. It was a race filled with the very good looking SLS Safety Car, red flags, stoppages and a lot of accidents. It is Monaco, but with a slightly different tinge to it.

Vettel's win was quite unexpected. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso's second place was unexpected too. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was penalised for dangerous passing even though he finished sixth (and then post-race he started blaming the stewards for wrongly penalising him because of his color – amazingly immature for an ex-world champion). Kamui Kobayashi was taken at the very last minute by Mark Webber for Fourth and third went to someone who could have actually won the race instead of Vettel – Jenson Button. But tactics and luck basically made him lose the position. The several safety car stints, stops and incidents caused a lot of team strategy to go completely haywire. So basically Monaco was fun!

My last article on the Spanish Grand Prix nearly made me decide to stop watching this race but I am glad I did. I mean Monaco, a super tight track with hardly any overtaking. But this time havoc ruled the race. But unbelievably, the outcome, or the winner is the same person as it has always been for the last couple of races.

Can anyone stop Red Bull? Yes, Red Bull and not only Sebastian Vettel as I believe with a grid full of past world champions (Button, Hamilton, Schumacher) there are actually drivers on par of better than Vettel. I do believe it is the car that adds to the equation more than you think.

Other interesting incidents worth mentioning was that Renault's Vitaly Petrov was sent to hospital following a multi-car crash on lap 69. He was sent for observation after complaining from leg pains as he was trapped in the car for a while. The incident caused the race to be red flagged and basically everyone could fix up their cars. Lewis Hamilton was involved in that crash even had time to fix up his car and as I mentioned earlier, finishing the race in a points position. I think that too long a stop actually made life so much easier for some of the teams that were struggling and it ultimately changed the outcome of the race.

Michael Schumacher also lost out after starting fifth. He ended up having to restart several safety procedures in his car at the start causing him to lose places and ultimately not finishing the race. Imagine the complicated start up procedures in a Formula 1 car if a re-boot of the procedure could cause you positions. A start button should have been enough. Formula 1 cars are too complicated.

But Monaco was filled with thrills and spills. Surprising, truly surprising indeed.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2h09:38.373
02. Alonso Ferrari + 1.138
03. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 2.378
04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 23.100
05. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 26.900
06. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 27.200
07. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
08. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap
09. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps
13. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
14. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
15. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
16. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
17. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
18. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 5 aps

DNF
Petrov Renault 68
Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 68
Massa Ferrari 33
Schumacher Mercedes 33
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 31
Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1

photo credit: planetf1

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