Assessment: McLaren Disappoints on Its Favorite Circuit

McLaren leaves Monaco with regrets. Certainly, nobody was watching Lewis Hamilton because starting 20th in the streets of the Principality makes it impossible to achieve a good race result. The Briton finished 12th at the checkered flag.

Expectations were focused today on Heikki Kovalainen, who was supposed to bring points home. Unfortunately, fate decided otherwise. He lost control of his car and hit the safety barriers. A real disappointment, especially for team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who is turning gray for his first year at the head of the Woking team!

Lewis Hamilton – 12th:

« It was an extremely difficult race. I raced with all my heart and I am satisfied with my performance today. I damaged my front wing right at the beginning when I cut off a BMW at the entrance to Ste Dévote. That meant I had a lot of understeer throughout the race. Putting on a new wing made it a bit better, but it wasn’t enough. I gave my maximum throughout the race. Congratulations to Jenson Button and the entire Brawn team. They are clearly doing a fantastic job this year. »

Heikki Kovalainen – Retirement:

« A disappointing result for this weekend. During my first stint, I had some trouble with the tires. Nonetheless, I was able to pass Sebastian Vettel. My second stint was much better and I managed to overtake Nico Rosberg in the pits. I hit the curb at the fast chicane and the car spun out from the rear. It’s my fault and I’m sorry for my team who worked so hard to give me a competitive car. We will keep working on developing the car and continue to make up for lost time. »

Martin Whitmarsh – Team Principal:

« Leaving Monaco without having scored a single point in the world championship is clearly disappointing, especially since our car was very competitive here: Our pace in both practice sessions, on Thursday and Saturday morning, showed it very clearly. Lewis [Hamilton] with his qualifications couldn’t do much today. Monaco is a track where it is very difficult to overtake. »

« Nevertheless, he pushed hard all afternoon, which truly reflects a positive and fighting attitude. As for Heikki [Kovalainen], he was having a solid race that could have brought him points at the finish. He went back to the pool a bit too quickly… In the end, this 2009 Monaco Grand Prix was a race that could and should have been much more successful. The reality is that both our cars showed genuine pace, so there are still positives for us. »