So, if you analyse it the right guy, namely
Fernando Alonso, won on the day because of his performance on the circuit. I think the things that were said afterwards were construed to be something other than what went on. You are always going to get difficulties though when you are running two parallel championships’ alongside each other with the constructors’ and the drivers’. It is a tough one to try and manage.
Returning to this weekend I don’t think
McLaren will enjoy that same advantage as they did in Monaco. Monte Carlo just suited the MP4-22 more than any of the other cars and I believe we will be back to where we were for Barcelona.
That’s not to say Ron Dennis’ team won’t be right up there because its car is obviously very good and will go well, but I would anticipate that Ferrari will be much stronger than it was two weeks ago.
Monaco was probably one of the weaker races for the Scuderia because of the long wheel base of its car and because of the effect of trying to use it around a close proximity circuit.
McLaren and Ferrari will again be the main contenders then and I think that will be the case throughout most, if not all, of the season.
Within those teams there is a good fight going on between the drivers and Alonso and
Lewis Hamilton are having a great battle. They are really making each other step up when they get in the car at each event and it is clear the team is getting the best out of both of them.
Alonso has to dig very deep to keep Lewis at bay, while Lewis is learning all the time. The new experiences he is encountering are creating hurdles that he maybe didn’t anticipate but that has been brought about by his overall performance so far, which for a rookie, has been sensational.
At
Ferrari,
Kimi Raikkonen seems to be struggling some what and I am a bit surprised that he hasn’t been stronger. That is not to say I am writing the guy off though.
