...the more they stay the same.
Or as I've previously noted, as sung gloriously by that Canadian rock trio Rush in their chorus for "Circumstances" Plus ca change, Plus c'est la meme chose. Curious how intellectual points sound better in French, Latin or German. Those cheeky Germans at Mercedes are certainly making a point right now. Long gone are the days when we could joke about "FIA" standing for "Ferrari International Assistance".
Here we are after another Monaco GP, and there is more licking of wounds up and down the pit lane than ever. V. Max's engine let-go at the get-go. Poor man didn't race a lap. Bottas lost his brakes, with brakes being a common complaint across teams for the weekend. Bearman, Leclerc and Stroll all managed to collect terminal accident damage, while blaming all sorts of evil forces for said impact. Then poor old Norris - remember him of last years' championship fame? - had his battery cease caring about automotive power and fade away.
So Monaco gave us a mostly processional race, a high rate of retirements, and the pole-sitter as winner. Indeed, the more things change the more they stay the same! Plus, for added continuity, it was Kimi Antonelli who took his fifth consecutive win of the season to ensure there was no alarm over a new face on the top step. So kind of Mercedes and the FIA to save us all from situational trauma!
So the "greatest rule changes in a generation" have delivered another season of Mercedes dominance, and, even in the age of yo-yo overtaking, another processional Monaco with the pole-sitter dominating. If one could make the cars all look the same from 1980 until now and replayed people segments of each race from all those years I think they would have difficulty telling one race from the other... larger yachts in the harbour and improved safety barriers aside.
Antonelli on 156 points is now 66 points clear of Hamilton who has moved into second in the championship on 90 points. He is followed by luckless Russell in third on 88 points. So Hamilton and Russell combined have a grand total of 178 points. Meaning two of the finest drivers on the grid combined are only 22 points clear of Kimi all on his lonesome. It is a similar story over on the team ladder, where Mercedes lead Ferrari by 244 points to 165. That gap only being so "small" because poor George has been cursed by the racing gods this season, or that gap would be many points wider. One small joy of Monaco is Fernando scoring his first point for this season, moving Aston into 10th place clear of Cadillac by that sole point. At least Cadillac did not beat them to the points table. I'm sure Alonso is going to be dining out on that one for... well... actually...
Kimi joins a remarkable list of great drivers by winning five races in a row. V. Max leads on ten in a row. Then Vettel on 9, Ascari on 7 (remarkable for the day), Schumacher on 7. Nico Rosberg also on 7. Then Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Nigel Mansell, and Lewis Hamilton all on five. Which is to say that in only his second season Kimi is now one of only ten drivers in the history of the sport to claim five or more wins in a row. I think we are past the point of asking is he "...the real deal?"
As for Mercedes? Toto, and James Allison, who has been technical director since 2017, (with a brief break for the America's Cup) have once again delivered a masterclass in technical design and implementation. Once they lift the curse, I mean fix the reliability issues on Russell's car, they are as untouchable as any season since Sir Lewis first hammered it home in 2014. That's 12 years of mastery. Indeed, the more things change the more they stay the same!
So, what of all the poor spanner wielding folk in all the other teams? Hang out with a smile for the next rule change? So far this season it would appear so. Yet fear not dear reader! The FIA has 1,001 black art moves yet to pull, sneaky catch-up rule changes, potential changes to engine manipulation, fuel use, battery size, fuel load, fuel flow rates, maximal energy recovery, and maximal energy discharge. More variables than a herd of kittens on crack in a sardine canning factory. Who wants to guess at Mercedes handling these changes with the same smooth race winning capabilities we've seen repeatedly for the past 12 years? If one considers Mike Tyson at the remarkable peak of his powers it is like tweaking the weight of the gloves, the size of the ring, the height of the ropes, or the length of the shorts to try and get the other guy to win. It would simply make no difference to Iron Mike. So it is for this generation and Mercedes.
Until Toto, James, and several handfuls of other key people all retire or leave, and the Mercedes board reduces funding to boost shareholder return one rainy reporting season, they will keep winning. The FIA can try to tilt the playing field toward Cadillac, Ferrari, Aston, and yet the top teams, with Mercedes usually leading, will still fight to the top of the table.
Monaco was a coming of age for Kimi. He really is a title contender. He really can handle pressure. He really can win on any style of track. By a mix of good fortune, planning, and obvious sheer talent, he is in the right car, in the right team, at the right time. Unless those cheeky gods of racing are dislodged from George's side of the garage to Kimi's I expect Kimi to simply keep winning. Or at worst being on the podium, race after race.
So thank you FIA for giving us a massive, complex, barely rational rule change. Thanks for engines more strangled than ever. Thanks for making hybrid power look like a joke. Thanks for irritating the drivers, teams, and fans all at the same time.
Thanks for another Monaco race that looked just like any other dry Monaco of the last 40 years. Plus ca change, Plus c'est la meme chose. Let's go do it all again, totally different yet all the same, next week in Barcelona. Kimi for the win...
Max Noble
Learn more about Max and check out his previous features, here
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