HONDA WIN BIG IN MONACO
CHAOS BEHIND AS DRIVERS PENALISED
1st. James Chant
2nd. Alexander Macdonald +31.861
3rd. Omer Said +37.172
The Monaco Grand Prix offered excitement for those who attended, in hindsight there was never really a chance that was going to happen. James Chant and Alexander Macdonald combined for the first 1-2 of the season. But while on paper it looked easy, notable exception here being that Chant was never in any position of not winning, the simple fact is that it was by no means "easy" for the Heineken sponsored team.
Chant started well, Macdonald close behind while they were followed by Omer Said and Sig Man up the hill. While the first few laps were close, little difference was made. Ben Utzer had a big look up the inside of Old Wolf but decided better off that it was not particularly good idea into the chicane. As pit stops started and strategy became apparent, a miraculous safety car appeared as Thomas Hackel lost control of his Honk coming out of the tunnel, the resultant collision with the barriers not enough to stop the veteran, but enough to see the barriers needing a fixing. Upon the restart, the red mist descended. Numerous drivers had not yet pitted, as the old saying goes, safety cars breed safety cars. In Monaco this is true, and the pile up that was caused will surely be remembered for a while.
Macdonald was running second, but a poor getaway saw him under pressure from Rami Saidy and Utzer. With Herbert and Said behind him, Utzer was sandwiched, and a small touch from the Red Bull car saw him continue through the second part of the swimming pool and ahead of Saidy. The Jordan driver attempted to duck up the inside in the next section, resulting in a large collision with Utzer. Herbert continued through, while Said baulked Fred Owen at the pit entry as the Renault attempted to pit. Saidy continued onwards while Utzer, with heavy damage, limped to his garage where some fine work saw him soon continue.
The race continued, Chant in control, Macdonald in no-mans land between Chant and Said, while championship leader Florin Diaconescu was travelling in 8th with a car that was struggling through the corners. Very soon the stewards had their word on the events, deeming that Herbert was responsible for an unsafe manoeuvre, Saidy for the same in the second collision, and Said for unfairly blocking Owen's route to the pits. These penalties came late on in the race, Said kept his position from Sig and Wolf by mere seconds, the two Honda powered drivers having a clean race before this, but could find no way past the German, while Saidy and Herbert, Herbert right on Saidy's gearbox, were swept up by a dashing Diaconescu up the hill. It became apparent though that Saidy was several meters ahead of Herbert by pit exit, a subsequent investigation deemed Saidy was over the speed limit in the pits by a margin of 5%, and a second drive through was handed to the now furious Jordan driver. Jordan immediately protested against these penalties, but they were ultimately upheld by the RDFIA as there was no doubt in either incident.
Thus, Diaconescu held out Herbert for 2 extra spots while Utzer battled with Owen and Jednak, both sporting scars of the incident, and won to take ninth. In another note, Gary Ludlum's week went from bad to worse, as his Honk wouldn't start before the race, and Gary was forced into a DNS, off the back of his separate racing team having their car retire from the lead in The Netherlands earlier on.
Results
1st. J. Chant (Honda)
2nd. A. Macdonald (Honda) +31.861
3rd. O. Said (Online Racing-Ferrari) +37.172
4th. S. Man (McLaren-Honda) +37.743
5th. O. Wolf (Jordan-Honda) +37.779
6th. F. Diaconescu (McLaren-Honda) +43.090
7th. B. Herbert (Red Bull Racing-Renault) +43.532
8th. R. Saidy (Jordan-Honda) +46.901
9th. B. Utzer (Online Racing-Ferrari) +51.852
10th. T. Hackel (Honk-Ferrari) +2 laps
11th. S. Jednak (Ferrari) +2 laps
12th. F. Owen (Renault) +3laps
DNS G. Ludlum (Honk-Ferrari)
Standings
. But will be more careful next time as when i posted, it was 6 past for my PC and mobile phone's clock, yet 3 past for the forum it seems
![Luca [OT]](https://overtake-data.community.forum/avatars/s/3235/3235113.jpg?1697196734){kind=avatar}
