Event Features
The Iconic Races
By by: Anooj Shah
Jun 10, 2006, 18:17

From the most glamorous venue to the most historical, the F1 circus goes from twisty street circuit of Monaco to the fast sweeping corners of the Silverstone circuit in England. Both venues have been host to some of the most famous drivers in all of racing, from Juan Fangio to Jim Clark to Nigel Mansell.

But let's get back to Monaco. A great race full of excitement was overshadowed by the 'scandal' involving Michael Schumacher; which was a shame. The incident has been discussed to death so there's no point in discussing it now. However what is worth discussing is the performances of the mid-field teams. Williams, for example, showed stunning pace throughout the race. Mark Webber probably drove his best race yet, managing to keep up with the Renault and McLarens, until he retired with mechanical failure of course. The speed of the FW-28 was most likely due to the focus of mechanical grip and overall balance of the chassis that is required by the tight circuit of Monaco. Aerodynamics does not play such a big role here, as it would in Silverstone for example. This is probably the same reason why David Coulthard managed to reach the podium. Apart from the retirements that helped him out, DC showed great race-craft despite the overall lack of pace in the RB2 . It's interesting to note that DC's fastest lap was over a second slower than the front runners, but his experience made up the difference. Imagine if the RB2's aerodynamics was a 100% Adrian Newey design, how fast would DC be then?

We are in some luck as the RB2 is receiving a significant aerodynamic upgrade in time for Silverstone, courtesy of Adrian Newey. It should provide an improvement in cornering speeds on those fast sweeping corners that characterize Silverstone. Look for Red Bull to finish in the points.

Williams probably won't be as fast in Silverstone as they were in Monaco as they are still weak in the aerodynamic area and they don't have any significant updates yet. Which is a shame as there is a lot of potential to be unlocked in the FW-28. Of course, they have to make it finish the race first. Reliability seems to be a problem for the Willaims' boys. Until they figure that out, they won't make in-roads into the WCC standings.

Expect the regulars, Renault and Ferrari, to be the front-runners. McLaren may have caught up, we'll find out if their Monaco pace was real. They had a great run last season with Juan Pablo Montoya making his debut win for McLaren at Silverstone last year with a ballsy move on Alonso on the first lap. Of course the McLarens face the same problems as Williams, making it to the finish line. Honda, well they don't seem to confident. Jenson Button already went on the record of saying he doesn't expect a podium finish, and will be happy if he finishes in the points. It's not exactly the statement you want to hear at their home race. They may be sandbagging, but I doubt it.

If Monaco had some brilliant overtaking moves, courtesy of Fisichella, imagine the excitement at Silverstone with its many overtaking spots! I should give credit to Fisico, who swept the demons of his back and produced a stunning drive and pulled some very aggressive moves on JV and DC. If he continues his current form into the rest of the season, I bet we will see him next year at Renault.

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