Glamour and controversy in Monaco

Great work Jake. You guys and gals at the Beeb are real professionals.

How do McLaren keep shooting themselves in the foot when it comes down to tactical decision making? They've done it so often recently that practice seemingly makes them perfect at it.

Both Button and Hamilton have been frustrated by their own team in recent weeks, so I'm wondering wheter Red Bull have a mole installed in the McLaren backroom.

Did I watch F1 at the weekend or was it actually "The Red Bull Show"?

It's nice that Red Bull provided such excellent hospitality, but it is completely hindering the BBC's ability to provide balanced coverage.

The frolics might have been 'new' and exciting last year, but we don't need to keep seeing the same things over and over again. Especially not when the camera is focused on the Red Bull logos plastered around that swimming pool.

At #3

Total nonsense - its always been the case that they hang out afterwards with the winning team pretty much. I remember countless Mclaren wins where the BBC crew hang out in their area instead, getting into the spirit of the stupid orange t-shirt wearing etc.

Just have a can of red bull and chill out.

Great Blog Jake. The coverage the BBC is able to get us as fans is excellent, we could only dream of getting access to behind the scenes at the 'floatahome' a couple of years ago. Spot on about Lewis and its good to see some sense with some reality of the pressure on Hamilton when those comments were made. A refreshing bit of honesty from a world class driver, one of at least 7 or 8 this year. Thanks to everyone both on and off the screen at the BBC for the coverage, a BAFTA well deserved!!

Coverage for Monaco was great but I think we need a little more Ted Kravitz and Lee McKenzie on the F1 forum. Having watched FP1,2,3 and qualifying and the race and then the forum I think there is much more time available for their talents to be shown. Congrats on the Bafta - hope that it means the BBC don't choose to can F1 coverage when its contract is up?
Still not sure about DC and MB together - sometimes too much of the same side of the coin and it gets a little flat. Individually they are fine,unfortunately the sum is not always greater than the parts.
I hope Montreal is a stunner.

I think Ben Gallop should consider giving Lee McKenzie a break from the interviews, how about giving Sarah Holt a chance? It would be nice to see a fresh face bring some new and much needed perspectives to the driver interviews.

Why didn't Lee McKenzie ask Button what happened at the restart? He should have been right behind Alonso, was he caught off guard? That's a question viewers wanted the answer to. Well done Lee McKenzie for not asking it (notable sarcasm intended).

Lee knew that Lewis was upset (she admitted that to Jake on the forum) and she still asked her question in such a way as to provoke Lewis into giving the answer he did (even if he was joking).

It's time for Lee McKenzie to move on. Many of us feel that her time in the F1 paddock has come to an end.

this weekend was spoiled by Mister Hamiltons childish behaviour. Yes he is a former F1 title holder but his actions have made me change my mind about him.At 26 he is already a multi millionaire but just looking at him now leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Come on Jenson !!!

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Firstly I must say I loved Coulthard's comment about Eddie's wig holding well in the swimming pool :D

Anyway, I was on the edge of my seat as the race was on it's final laps, only top be disappointed that a red flag would stop the race and allow the cars, in particular Vettel, to have new tyres. That red flag robbed us to a dramatic conclusion. Hopefully it won't also rob us of a legitimate challenge to Vettel for the driver's title. Right now he looks unstoppable.

I think that it seems fairly ridiculous to complain that too much coverage is given to Red Bull. Given their dominance during this season, it seems a perfectly sensible approach to take, and before anyone says anything, I'm a life-long McLaren fan.

The coverage from start to finish is top notch; I guess some criticisms here are relevant in terms of questions asked etc, but I would imagine that trying to edit all the driver interviews together quickly and them present them post race is extremely difficult, especially when the race time is extended due to safety car periods as we saw in Monaco. This is where the red button forum should come into play.

Anyway, keep up the good work, and congratulations on the Bafta.

Formula90210 couldn't disagree more - we are only just getting to see what Lee is made of. Great Schumi interview last time out and again with Lewis. Like she said, she's a journalist and she's trying to get a story. As for asking JB - what would he have said. "I made a mistake" end of. Not that interesting really.
Hamilton has a bad temper and needs to learn to control it - Like EJ said, Jenson was a great world champion and ambassador for the sport. Contrast Lewis...

Hi Jake,

Wonderful programme and I love the red button!!..

Couple of things...
1. Thanks for putting things in perspective with Lewis....He had no possible answer to the question....And it's good to see someone wear their heart on their sleeve....
2. MB should know, drivers will never ever take the blame for accidents...
3. I loved the fact that no one knew the rulebook on changing tyres during the red flag..I'm sure they have now scribbled it in!!...
4. And I don't care whose after race party you go to, it was thoroughly enjoyable...And EJ trying to dive down in the water to retrieve his glasses was priceless!!!.....I have fallen in love with F1 once again!!!

I agree with comment 11, I think the coverage/bias is fine considering a Red Bull winner won this weekend. It would have been a bit odd had Button won, though. I wonder how that would have affected the format?

Forum was a lot better this week, glad MB was with you. I hope this is a sign of things to come. This week was the first time I couldn't be bothered to watch the Forum as it has been so disappointing, but I heard a lot of praise for it this week so watched on iPlayer which I'm glad I did.

Just hope the Forum doesn't go back to being as boring as it was for the beginning of the season.

Clearly Lewis was frustrated, but he would have been better to do a quick exit, rather than create these sort of headlines. In my view McLaren cocked up twice this weekend, once not sending Lewis out on a banker hot lap, and secondly not fitting soft tyres (as apposed to supersoft) to Jenson's car on his first stop so he could cover Vettel and most probably won the race because of Red Bull's poor pit stop. - Tried to be too clever and mucked things up big time! That aside I have two problems with the race. Extra time should have been given in qualifying after the re-start to help tyre warm up. - The rules that no account of physics for these things which is bad. Secondly I'm with Pirelli in that tyre changing under red flag conditions should not be allowed as it changes the character of the race, and robbed us of a great finale.

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@ #2 - spot on. McLaren seem to be writing the a new guide on how to ruin a driver's race with bad pit stops and bad strategy. I thought they were experts? DC was right in saying track position is everything in Monaco and McLaren were completely stupid to bring Button in and go to a 3 stop strategy. I couldn't believe it, especially as they put another set of Option tyres on his car. Have to agree with the red flag too and I believe Pirelli are looking into ensuring the rules are changed with regards to putting on fresh tyres in this situation.

I always love seeing the motorhomes for the European races (and 'flotahomes' in Monaco) but would really love to see a feature on how the construction of these huge things works. For the next European race can we see, for example, the McLaren motorhome right from being transported to the track all the way through to its contruction being completed in time for the race weekend?

Great coverage as always and, although overtaking was limited with DRS being pretty ineffective in this race, I think it was still a good race by Monaco's usual standards. Really cannot wait for Montreal and TWO DRS ZONES!! Should make for lots of excitement on a track which is amazingly fast already.

Amazing work yet again Jake. Slight criticism is that I would rather see less Red Bull. Yes they are the team at the top and where the main stories are but what happened to interviews with other team personnel other than Christian Horner and co? I'd love to have seen more of what Ross Brawn had to say about Mercedes disastrous race yet in all honesty we hardly see him interviewed despite the great opinions and analysis he has to offer. I'd love to have seen more reaction on what Domenically, Whitmarsh, Sauber and co have to say on their drivers races.

Other than that your work is fantastic. But please - a bit less Red Bull!

Loved EJ being thrown in but a shame that viewers' emails and tweets weren't read out during the forum (well, hardly).

I am surprised at some of the hysterical reactions - Maurice Hamilton's response to the apparent "outcry" was concise and fitting.

I have never driven a F1 (or any racing) car but I was stuck in a traffic jam for nearly 2 hours a couple of weeks ago. I was absolutely fuming at the end as through no fault of my own I'd been delayed for work and missed an important meeting.

Yet for Lewis it was much worse, first McLaren made a stupid decision to keep him in until the closing moments of Q3 (wouldn't have happened under Ron Dennis). Then when he did get out to qualify he was caught up in the red flag (glad Perez is ok).

For him to see Button start in 2nd and to hear Alonso say that Hamilton should've been on pole, and to actually start so far down the grid can not have been easy for him.

He made several daring moves that if Senna/Prost had made they'd have been applauded as brilliant. Senna used to place his car beside competitors and either let them move out of the way or crash.

Yet what Lewis did was nowhere near as daring, so why did the stewards pick him up on it? Do they want to see dramatic and exciting racing? Clearly the F1 fans do, so why are they penalising him for giving fans what they want?

It is clear Maldonado turned in on Hamilton early to block him. That is not Hamilton's fault. Yet Hamilton got a penalty.

Hamilton was hit from behind by Alguersari leading to a broken rear wing - was Alguersari called before the stewards for causing an avoidable accident? Oh how interesting...

When Massa held Hamilton up in qualifying, there was no penalty. It doesn't matter that Perez had an incident afterwards - Massa clearly failed to get out of the way for Hamilton on a hot lap and should be penalised so he learns from his error and doesn't do it again.

One really does have to wonder what is going on when other drivers seem to get away with flouting the rules but Hamilton is always picked up on them.

Lee McKenzie shouldn't have taken advantage of Hamilton when he was clearly very angry.

Why didn't Lee ask Jenson Button about the restart? A few weeks ago she didn't want to talk about him entering the Red Bull pit box. Only when Button mentioned it himself did she say, "I wasn't going to mention it" - why?

Why would she ask Lewis tough questions but try to supress the difficult issues for Button? That is not what a competent and impartial journalist would do. Perhaps she should consider her position, I would like to see Ted do the driver interviews as he asks much better questions than Lee does...

I'd like the production team to pay more attention to the whole field and not just Ferrari, RB and McLaren. A couple of years ago I vividly Brundle doing his now-traditional grid walkabout starting at the back and interviewing some of the back markers. I think they were Arrows from memory. All they wanted probably was to finish with a single point, but they happily chatted away with him. Instead all you get is Brundle wading through hordes of people at the business end, having a right mission to interview the lead drivers and the odd tussle with the lady from Sky Sports. Any chance he could have a chat with the chaps at the back at Canada?

post 18

*Domenicali

F1 on the beeb is truly brilliant. Just one thing would make my weekend complete. That is a little bit of coverage of the GP2 and GP3 races (preferably - full races on the red button). Just look at how many former GP2 drivers are now on the grid. Getting to know a little about the likes of Perez and Maldanado before they enter the main series would be just the best. This weekend was really difficult as even Eurosport didn't cover the sprint race live. so come on guys, please spend my licence fee and give me Grand Prix weekend heaven.

P.S if you want a pit lane reporter to help cover this then I will have my passport at the ready.

Keep up the great work Jake and the boys.

2 weeks now I have held my breath in the last 20 or so laps (I am a Vettel fan) and I think it the season keeps going this way I will have to have a doctor on standby when I am watching the GP.. I don't have a red button so enjoy that it is posted up on the BBC site. Keep up the good work.

By the way, a good feature for BBC F1 may be to look at the management of McLaren since Ron Dennis left.

It looks like the team is on a downward spiral. Let's be honest, Button doesn't have much of a shot at the drivers title and if we're being perfectly frank neither does Lewis given the large gap between him and Vettel, unless Red Bull suffer some serious problems for several races.

McLaren need to pull up their socks and get things right otherwise they risk going the same way as Williams.

#7 Formula90210

Couldn't disagree more.

Hhhmm , I must agree re the RedBull thing , You all do seem a tad fixated with them , I bet their PR people cannot believe their luck .
With regards to Lewis's comments he just gets wound up ( a bit like Rubens ) ,
Good race , Best Monaco for a long time ,( tho big shame about the end ) .
BUT Jake i had to laugh at one of your tweets recently , the comment "

Great job as always Jake, can we look forward to you three wearing the orange t-shirts in canada then? :) After Lewis storms to victory!

Fantastic as always Jake, shame the red flag spoiled what would have been a great finale to the race. The coverage was second to none again, and the forum was fantastic, its great to get behind the scenes with that coverage. Can't wait for Montreal!

Well done Jake. You are a great talent and the BBC are very luck to have you. Superb coverage. However not so impressed with your colleague DC. No charisma and no talent - complete turn off for me. No sure what he is doing there with you guys. EJ is wonderful and hilarious and I am a big fan. He brings so much to the show and he is a compelling viewing. The MB and DC partnership is really not working. DC is really not up to it. For the last 2 races I have been listening to the radio 5 live commentary. David Croft, Anthony Davidson, Maurice Hamilton and Karun Chandok are out of this world. Fantastic commentary and I would urge the BBC F1 team to look at these superb talents and bring to the BBC1 coverage. It is time DC spends more time at the pool so that we can all enjoy the fantastic BBC F1 coverage. Well done to the team for the Bafta - well deserved and I am sure more to come.

Looks like Lewis is trying to engineer his way out of MCLaren.

Jake your Tweet recently " F1 is a sport that listens to its fans " , You ARE joking arnt you ? , Really please say you are ? , I hope you havnt been taken in by Bernies PR , F1 has NEVER listened to its fans , You only have to look at the hated new Hermann Tilke tracks to see an example of that ( and their are many , many others )
.
Anyway still lovin your work , And big kudos to all with the BAFTA ( And the increase in people watching , long may it continue ) . .

#7 Formula90210

Lee McKenzie actually knows what she's talking about, as opposed to Sarah Holt who knows nothing about anything.

I am mainly unhappy with the bias in what is said rather than about whom they are saying it. The commentators are always keen to talk up the chances of Hamilton getting penalised, on almost every single race, as if he's the only driver that makes contact with others in what is supposed to be motor-racing. If it were Vettel, i'm absolutely certain Coultard will quickly bring up two or more explanations why that was just a racing incident that should not even be investigated by the stewards, let alone punished.

@19 lewis was reckless plain and simple, yes we love a bit of aggression but think back to last year when schumi nearly ran rubens into the wall at hungary, lewis pretty much did the same on maldando, maldando couldnt see him and was going for the line,lewis was lucky he didnt cause a serious accident. in qualy massa was miles away not literally but far enough to not be blocling hamilton. algusuirai hit hamilton when he had nowehre else to go simple as that. clearly your a blinkered hamiton fan who sees what you want to see but if you watch the replays over and over youll maybe take a step back. and lee mckenzie is great, as it was said why would we want to hear button say i made a mistake, hardly headline news is it? or do we just want men to do the interviews cos they are so much better at it than the women? i personally feel the bbebs coverage is perfect. the commentry is great only second to the brundle/walker partnership so keep it up beeb and thanks for the great work

Sorry Jake, I can't agree with this comment, it's very short-sighted:

"I'm sure you've had bad days at the office. Imagine leaving your desk and having a microphone being shoved under your nose. Not easy to deal with."

You can hardly compare a day at the office with a multi-million pound so called "job" that most people would bite your hand off to have a chance of having. I don't think it's unreasonable for these ridiculously wealthy men to show a bit of calm and grace in front of the media. Lewis could have vented his anger through different expressions and we would have received the same honesty. His arrogance beggers belief sometimes. He is a spoilt child that has been mollycoddled in that McLaren team for who knows how many years. He needs to show some appreciation and put things in perspective. Having said that, he is a very good driver and did get a bit unlucky this weekend. It's just a shame he can't handle it very well.

Here we go again, Again the aftermath is more exciting and talked about than the race.

Monaco GP, What a joke, A race where even if you are 3, 4 or more secounds a lap faster you can't over take! Whats the point in that? Before anyone starts I am not a hamilton fan but at least he had a go and was fair, gave room at the hairpin for schuey to overtake and did not turn in on him. All the others turned in on him thou.
I liked Hamilton for his comments, shame he apologized afterwards. Was It a real apology from hamiliton thou? No of course not, a request from whitmarsh and mclaren. I bet.

can I just say a big thank you to the Stewards guide dogs for all thier hard work. Its not easy for them in that heat. lol.

Yes we was all robbed of a possible rare and thrilling end to A Monaco GP, the last eight laps could have been awesome, But the FIA dont want that.

I think monaco should either be scrapped or the track changed even if it means knocking down some buildings and giving it some run offs. Lets face it they can afford it. They aren't poor.

Imola's Tamburello corner shouldn't have ever been changed, just move the wallback 100 meters and it would have become safe.

If they done that for 94 senna would be alive today.

When will people and the BBC realise that Webber is having a terrible season. The main reason why Vettel is running away with the title because Webber is not very good. The only car that can compete with Vettel Red Bull is Webber's Red Bull. They are the same car and so Webber should be at least getting close to Vettel in Qualifying i.e P2 and should be taking those 2nd places. Yet we have Webber down in third place but with only 1 2nd place. Come on Webber, at least Rubens gave Jenson a run for his money.

What we will see is another era of German domination where Vettel will win title after title as red bull will keep Webber as his wing man. In 5 years time, Vettle will be on his 7th title with a 40 year old team mate.

Hamilton was letting off steam in response to months and months of frustration with McLaren.

It seems like every race there is a mistake of some sort, with Monaco being a series of calamities.

Q3 where they held him back when everyone knew tyres weren't as important and safety cars are out all the time, and then no one in the box when he arrived for tyres after calling him in. This follows many other strategy and pit stop howlers in the races before.

Because Red Bull have a superior car, Hamilton knows he has to drive well, the strategy has to be right, the pit stops perfect and maybe a bit of luck just to have a chance at the moment. He seems to do his bit but the team are letting him down too often and need to improve.

Having said that, he may well wish he had expressed things differently.

I hope they do introduce a rule saying the teams can't change tyres after a red flag (unless its raining) as it did ruin the end of an otherwise enthralling GP.

I don't understand people's criticisms of the BBC coverage - it makes sense to focus on the winners.

I think Lewis' comments are being a bit overblown. I think it just shows his competitive streak and as you pointed out the Ali G comment was clearly in jest.

Good to see Button won driver of the day though - he deserved it.

great race finish building up, end ruined by tyre change on grid. Sutil had to change tyres, one shredded, but not leaders. If race is red-flagged cars wanting to change tyres should maybe have to head for the pitlane and start from there, same with cars with broken front or rear wings as in the rest of the race.

This was very much monaco. 'common sense' driving can keep anyone at bay. well possibly not

8. At 16:36 30th May 2011, robinyatesquezon wrote:
this weekend was spoiled by Mister Hamiltons childish behaviour.

===============================

Oh get over yourself.

Hamilton's attitude is regrettable, no doubt - but spoiled the weekend? For goodness sake, talk about an overreaction.

He'll regret his comments in the post race interview - the team will make sure of that - but as Jake rightly says, he is being forced to give answers while still buzzing with adrenaline and extremely irritated with how his weekend has gone.

Yet another interesting weekend.

Yesterday, we saw the best of Lee. That interview was great. We need to see her a lot more. Also, with Ted sweeping up after the race, why was he not allowed back onto the Forum?

To those complaining at Red Bull dominance, all I can say is SOMEONE ELSE, JUST WIN SOMEWHERE. This is a great season, but the WC is looking like it is already sorted.

Finally, anyone else want to see Martin and Tanya both in the pool? ;-)

@ #34 (matthewbcfcwilkinson)

You're SO not on point with your comparison of Schumacher/Barrichello and the incident involving Hamilton/Maldanado....

The main difference being was that the MS/RB incedent was at a much greater speed, where-as the LH/PM was just after a braking zone carriying much less speed.

Your example for comparison is Very..very Poor indeed...

The rule allowing Red Bull and Ferrari (amongst others) to change tyres during the red flag period at Monaco is rediculous and needs to be changed in the interest of fairness & exciting racing for the fans. If Vitaly Petrov had not had his unfortunate crash then Vetel and Alonso would have either had to come into the pits for another set of tyres or struggled to the end on rapidly degrading tyres. The pit stop option would have undouptedly handed the race win to Jensen Button. If they had struggled on, it would have led to an exciting climax to the race with a real chance of Button passing them both. By giving them both a fresh set of rubber in Red Flag conditions, it effectively compromised Button's strategy.

@ #19 Alastair

I so totally agree with your comments about Lewis and Lee McKenzie's interview. She tiptoed around Button's pit stop error in China, but knew she was interviewing a clearly upset Lewis about why the stewards targeted him, knowing she would get a reaction. This is typical though, the bias pro-Button and anti-Lewis on the BBC coverage is despicable. I remember there were no intrusive questions to Button about what happened in Turkey 2010 despite Jake's shocked tweet when he heard the F1 race edit. I really feel for Lewis when everything seems to conspire against him. Those penalties WERE a joke and the stewarding is ridiculously inconsistent - anyone would be frustrated and wondering why.

I thought the interview with lewis was one of the best i've ever seen, so refreshing to finally see someone actually say what they think rather than speaking the corporate monotonous dross that they usually do. It shouldn't matter if we don't agree with what he said, it was just great that we could see how he felt in that moment, even if he has changed his opinion since. It is this honesty and passion that creates the most inspiration.

Also the F1 Forum was brilliant this week, helped by the lewis hamilton interview, but also i thought showing the redbull party really helped to bring the monaco atmosphere to the living room. I don't care what sponsors are shown, it was exactly what F1 Forum should be about, great to see DC and EJ getting involved with redbulls party celebrations.

One improvement could be to get closer to the stewards, find out how they come to their decisions etc. Annoying having to wait so long for their decisions after the end of the race.

Wouldn't it be more sensible if mechanics could only work on the cars in the pits? That way, after a red flag, any teams wishing to change tyres or wings could bring their cars into the pits instead of lining them up on the grid. They could then re-join the race at the back of the pack. Working on the cars on the grid should be outlawed.

Stop making excuses for Hamilton, that was a cynical bit of opportunism yesterday.

He was obviously annoyed that he was out of the limelight all weekend. He needs to stand up and be counted, surely he has input into his practice and race strategy? He was out of control during the race, hence the involvement of the stewards, and his quickest lap time was only 5th ranked, so not that quick.

I think that if he was really angry he would have used the full expletive, it is interesting that while most people mature with age, Lewis becomes more of a brat.

@hornette169

Before coming to McLaren, Button was a has-been with a playboy attitude that exceeded his ability as a driver. That has now changed - probably as a result of seeing Hamilton's professionalism despite his age - but he hasn't had to face racism from certain "fans" like Lewis did in Spain the other year, or obstruction from the sport's governing body like Hamilton did on the way to his World Title. Everything possible was done to try and prevent him from succeeding, but he did it anyway. And in the interests of full disclosure, I am white.

The race was awesome, JB was nearly in there for a few safety cars. It was awesome seeing Alonso dice with Vettel, whilst Button catches them at over a second a lap.

I don't care about anything else, it was exciting, and that's all that matters to me. The forum was funny, and informative at the same time, and it's always a little crazy at Monaco, as we who watched the forum could see.

Fair play to Hamilton, what we saw was frustration, real emotion. Move forwards now, as always.

Canada next, Hamilton country? Or Red Bull with Vettel cementing a well laid lead in the Championship...Or anything else could happen for that matter, as the place is very harsh on tyres...=]

Hi Jake,thanks for the great show yesterday.I thought it was the best Monaco G.P. for ages.Hope injured drivers are doing well.The swimming pool with E.J. and D.C.was really funny.You all work so well together brilliant.Kath,x

The f1 coverage is superb,As far as the race goes i was on the edge of my seat all afternoon .Felt a bit sorry for maldonado but thats racing i suppose ,I think hamilton was a bit too fired up ,Bad qualifying session !At least his comments added to the excitement of the weekend ,Stick him in a red bull and he would have 150 points!

@ chris_Page

Before coming to McLaren, Button won the world championship, incase you missed it?
Also, Almost the entire grid are playboys... that's part of the whole image of F1, just think Graham Hill and James Hunt... And Jenson may not have faced racism, but it's not as if he hasn't had his fair share of bad press over the years...
And if you can't take the Button comparison, how about the way Paul DiResta reacted to similar questions from Lee after a similar race to Lewis? True he is not fighting for the title, but just shows you can still have a good attitude even when things aren't going your way.

The "obstructions" to Lewis are almost not even worth a comment, first season in f1 he is within 1 point of the title, top team, great car... yes his misfortunes were great indeed...

Lewis went up in the estimation of my girlfriend this weekend. She doesn't really like him, she prefers Webber, and Button (because he did a shampoo add!) but she loves a good racing incident. She'd been getting bored with the way the season had been going, with next to no retirements or cars coming together, but it seemed like Lewis was responsible for, or at least involved in, nearly every incident on Sunday.

As a change to next years racing, how about once the cars finish - they line up on the red flag lines. All those on the same end lap as the first car require their pit crews to drag all their kit out from the pitlane and plug it into their cars - the first is the winning team.

Great blog Jake.
I watched the forum and thought it was hilarious watching EJ fish for his specs.
Shame the last few laps of the race were neutralised by the red flag incident but it was a great race until that point.
On a more serious note I've been disappointed by the reaction of the British media towards the comments made by Lewis.
I realise some elements of the media see his outburst as the petulant whining of a superstar who has tried to play the race card in order to seek an advantage.
However, since the beginning of his F1 career in 2007, he has been consistently hauled in front of the stewards.
Some situations he deserved to be penalised but there have been many situations where the stewards decisions against him have been marginal.
Racism is still part of the world we live in and it is important these very serious issues are not ignored or dismissed as the expressions of a frustrated racing driver because they are uncomfortable to discuss.
Although Lewis allegedly made his comments in jest, referring to the Ali G character, there appeared to be a more serious inference to his feelings of victimization, perpetrated by alleged racism existing within the FIA.
Whether right or wrong, Lewis should have the right to express his views if he sincerely feels he is being victimized, so a thorough investigation can take place in order to determine if there is any foundation to his allegations.
It is important F1 can be transparent about these issues and recognise the sport operates within the confines of a liberal democracy, and not a dictatorial regime, where everybody fears saying anything which is not politically correct.

Hi Jake. Just want to say I think F1 coverage is the best its ever been. Obviously MB has been brilliant since he started and since teaming up with DC the show has provided more technical commentary and argument which is what we all want. DC is born for his new role and I hope he's permanent. EJ's first season had me hiding behind a cushion sometimes, but bringing him in has been a master stroke and I really look forward to watching him. In fact I love the guy. The opening scene at Monaco with you guys in the lift and EJ getting up close had me in stitches!
This GP was fantastic fun to watch and the forum is the cherry for an F1 fan. Its so good to see what goes on afterwards, I just wish I could witness it for myself. Even if Vettel streaks away with the crown early you can always ensure I'll watch every minute of coverage so pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
My girlfriend is a weekend F1 widow and because she loses me for hours at a time she goes to the gym. I get peaceful BBC F1 coverage and she gets a nice bum .. I win both ways. In short, thanks to you and your whole F1 team for making my life better and congratulations on the Bafta. 5 stars.

Hi Jake,

Excellent coverage of F1 so far this season, it was the most compelling Monaco GP for ages.

Was so exciting up until the red flag, with Button hunting down Alonso & Vettel although I am sure he would have got past both of them for a well deserved win. McClaren need to buck their ideas up on strategy if either of their drivers have any chance of challenging for the title. Red Bull made a mistake on Vettell’s tyres in the pit stop yet still managed to come up smelling of roses.

The FIA needs to change the rule about changing tyres or any other work on the grid after a red flag because when the race was restarted it was effectively over due to everyone having fresh rubber! If a team insists on changing tyres or any other type of work then they should start at the back or from the pit lane.

A few suggestions for future shows

• A behind the scenes tour of how the Motor homes are garages are set up, especially on the European GP’s
• A day in the life of pit lane reporter (big fan of Ted & Lee) on race day
• What would be good if you get access to the drivers briefing to see what actually goes on as we hear so many comments from DC & MB about it.

Counting down to Silverstone as it will my first visit there, hopefully we will get British winner or even better a 1, 2, 3 (Button, Hamilton & Di Resta or is that a fantasy)

As professional as ever and a joy to watch and listen to; thanks.

@19. Some well made points. Not a massive Hamilton fan but would have been much more interesting if he was tucked up behind Vettel and then Alonso and Vettel. Hamilton a racer and would have attempted to pass whereas Button sat there passively and didn't try anything.

Did anyone else feel really sorry for the Mclaren mechanic trying to carry that front wing down the pit lane....bless him...He was shattered when he finally had some help!!..

'I'm not condoning what Lewis said specifically, in the heat of the moment, but I will say I'm always pleased to see drivers speaking their mind and being honest.''

Ah the old 'race card'. Not sure this sentence really has any credibility, Jake. This type of unsubtantiated inverted racism has no place in any arena, its just as offensive as racism itself. If I was a member of the stewarduiing team I would be extremely insulted - jest or not.

If you invoke honesty as your caveat for these tyoe of responses then thats just them same as giving a free-pass to any racing driver who takes it upon himself to resort to racism itself, because he felt like confessing his honest feelings.

Drivel, absolute drivel.

Jake, stop cosying up to racing drivers and for once urge them to take responsibility for an ill-thought out and offensive remark, such as this.

@ Alex, far from overtaking being limited, there were actually the highest number of overtakes at this year's Monaco Grand Prix since 1993 https://bit.ly/m7CZEo

1) Typical blokes - why don't you remember to use suntan lotion!
2) Where was Mark Webber while all the celebrating was going on
3) Why did you have to show all the Lewis interview if you knew it was 'a bad day at the office' blip? I can just picture your producers getting all excited about it and shouting in your ear that they've got something 'special' to broadcast. I thought your measured response afterwards was very professional but you must have all known you were brewing a very big storm in a teacup by showing it all.
Still enjoying the coverage however, particularly the guys doing the practice sessions.

I really think people didn't get the Ali G reference made by Hamilton. He was laughing when he made the joke, and to me it was pretty obvious he was being ironic. But anyway...

The F1 forum was a blast! EJ and DC being dragged into the pool was hilarious! However I sometimes miss the interviews with Martin Whitmarsh, Christian Horner, Ross Brawn and so on...

I think it would be interesting if you, Eddie and DC had a look at Canada's F1 Forum from last year. I remember you guys interviewing Hirohide Hamashima the Director of Motorsport Tyre Development from Bridgestone, EJ, DC and MB praising the fact that particularly the soft compound grained a lot easier at the Canadian track (Christian Horner even called the tyres cheese) which was good for the excitement of the race with several pit stops, and he didn't quite understand the praise. And you guys even discussed issues that suggested that tyres that degraded easily was better for Formula 1. Which is something that Pirelli took to a whole new level this season.

Congratulations with the work you guys are doing! Loving it!

Great coverage as usual.

People shouldn't complain about getting access to the winning teams celebrations, we never used to get that before and it is great! It is only repetitive because Red Bull KEEP winning!

However people have to stop making excuses for Hammi, especially Jake. Many people in the world suffer from discrimination and racism that seriously affects their life and success. Hamilton has has the stupidity to use this as a joke on the world stage in front of millions of people and children! He may have thought it was a joke but it is obviously something he has thought about, he feels he is a victim of some grand scheme to stop him from winning the WDC. As shown by his attacks on Torro Rosso, Schumacher, Massa, Mclaren and now the stewards.

Senna is lauded as being the man who wore his heart on his sleave, said what he believed and was perhaps a victim of stronger, larger forces that worked against him. Unlike Hamilton (who is often compared to the great man) Senna acted with carefully planned actions and words that had a strong affect on the world and became a hero with the public. He is now considered a great of the sport. Hamilton sounded more like an american teenage girl obsessed with Hannah Montana, than an F1 great!

Dealing with the media, while important, is not the best way for an F1 driver to express himself. The best do their talking on the track, Hamilton may had poor luck in qually (he can't say that it was wrong for the team to tell him to do just one run because had there been no safety car he could have won with an extra pair of super softs!) however his racing in monaco was poor, whether the contact was his fault or not, while racing for a championship, he didn't seem to realise his role on Sunday was damage limitation, he could not possibly win the race from 10th on the first lap! Senna would have let his driving do the talking, or at least sit in a nearby flat and cool off instead of make a fool of himself!

Not once this weekend, as far as I know did he wish Petrov or Perez well.

Finally there is a lot of talk that there is too much Red Bull bias. Yet when Vettel made hand gestures at Turkey and Hungary 2010, made an awful overtake attempt at Spa 2010. He was slated by the british media as petulent and immature as well as someone who is completely incapable of any clean overtakes. Hamilton makes a dreadful (and dangerous) overtake on Maldonado, gives quite frankly a foolish interview after (don't forget he also called maldonado stupid), however all this is excused by the media as frustration. Please can people stop protecting a man who has the possibly the best race car on the grid and rather a lot of money,plus a stunning girlfriend!

I'm afraid his actions since Barcelona, have been a disgrace in my opinion.

I totally agree that tyre changes should be banned from red flag restarts as well as all other repairs, the cars should start in the same condition they stopped in.

Jake and all the team including the back room guys and girls are doing a great job! keep it up!

Oh yes, this is interesting Hamilton/Maldonado on the left. Hamilton/Schumacher on the right:
https://img10.imageshack.us/img10/3530/6a42e56c4c.jpg

"48. At 18:04 30th May 2011, Glen Haig wrote:

"Wouldn't it be more sensible if mechanics could only work on the cars in the pits? That way, after a red flag, any teams wishing to change tyres or wings could bring their cars into the pits instead of lining them up on the grid. They could then re-join the race at the back of the pack. Working on the cars on the grid should be outlawed."

This is exactly what I think. If it were a yellow flag or safety car, it's the only recourse the drivers would have, after all.

Hope Petals 'bruised ankle' is ok for Canada so he can get in the way of someone else and ruin another race (his team mate for example). Having said that, it was disgraceful and an insult to the fans to let the tyres be changed for the last few laps, the whole point of this season is about how the teams cope with rubber that won't last, giving an exciting spectacle... what happened?

Well i respect hamilton for saying something interesting. He clearly wasn't implying the stewards are racist it was more just to emphasise the point he didn't know why the stewards keep penalising him. Anyone who interpreted that otherwise is a moron. The massa incedent was his fault massa had nowhere to go to avoid him, Maldanado on the other hand turned in on him hamilton had the car alongside before the braking area and Maldanado must have known he was there because he went into the corner wider than the racing line he couldn't just expect Lewis not to be there when he reached the corner. Other than that a great race slightly marred by Vettel lucking out on the tyre. I know the rules in place so they can change to wets if the race is stopped by rain but i think it needs to be looked at.

one last thing Jake, so your the one responsible for the terrible music at the end of the show, F1 should be classic rock all the way. Thats why we have the chain as the F1 theme.

Are BBC personnel banned from using the word tyres since you all say Pirellis like it was a generic term?

Also on the Hamilton-Maldonado incident. How could the stewards not see Maldonado was weaving and blocking? He is allowed 1 move not 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYiNKYaviZI

#50 Thought Button was World Champion, who arrived from Braun? LH could learn a lot from JB when it comes to interviews.

63. At 19:54 30th May 2011, jerd16 wrote:
Jake, stop cosying up to racing drivers and for once urge them to take responsibility for an ill-thought out and offensive remark, such as this.

====================================

Oh please. I would love to hear who he genuinely offended.

You're taking offence for the sake of taking offence. If it was truly racist, The 11 o' clock show would have been axed long before Ali-G got 2 TV Series and a feature film out of it.

Loved the racing, loved the show, loved the forum, excellent blog Jake :D keep up the good work. Please take EJ shopping, the outfit he had on yesterday (i hope it shrunk) :D :D :D

See you in Canada!!!!!!

Absolutely loved the Grand Prix this weekend, great coverage, the forum was superb, I have watched the whole thing twice now

Canada next

I have a few questions...doesn't Hamilton realise that the stewards investigate every collision/yellow flag/etc. If he doesn't want to get called to the stewards he shouldn't speed under yellow flags, and shouldn't collide with other cars. I'm not saying the collisions were necessarily his fault, but he's implying that it's no coincidence he gets called in right? The reason it's no coincidence is because it's no coincidence he's involved in more collisions than others (I'd say him, Kamui and Schumy probably the most, as they are the most aggressive). I'm not knocking it but that's how it works. I'm assuming Maldonado got investigated too? That's why they say the incident between cars x AND y is being investigated, and why it happens multiple times throughout a race.

I'm a big LH fan. he's exciting and super talented. But the argument about 'it's entertaining so it should be allowed' is stupid. If he just wants to entertain, then fine. But it's analogous to Roger Federer going for a through the legs winner off almost every shot, or Lionel Messi trying to take on every single player and never passing the ball. It's fine if you want to entertain, but if you want to win then you need to know when it's best to be aggressive, and when it isn't.

Great blog again Jake. Ignore the haters

Jake, you say "I promise you, standing outside a different motorhome with nothing to see but the crews packing up after a frustrating day wouldn't make such great TV." - that's exactly what you've been doing in the forum these past few races.

The old style forum was better.

I agree that your job must look glamorous on the face of it, but there is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes that we never see. I am sure that those last few miles to getting home must be the longest.
Re Lewis - I think we would all say things in the heat of the moment and then regret them, I am just thankful that I am not in the limelight, think I would have flattened a few photographers by now LOL.
Like the blog and I am also following you on Twitter.

Lewis is free to say how he feels, full stop. I suppose the FIA has to be democratic in allowing anybody involved in the sport to say how/what they feel about any treatment they endure, unless they chose to go the Kaddafi way of a dictator where freedom of speech is no-existant....then we shall send some Nato soldiers to the FIA to make sure the house is clean for more democracy in the sport?:-) Formula 1 is a racing sport, then it is only normal that a racer like Lewis will go racing with all what racing entails. if he feels he is aggrieved by the stewards'decisions or any other driver, he is totally free to put out his point of view even when it is a sensitive issue such as the color of his skin. Nobody, the press included, should fall into victimising him as this leads into the "racism trap"! having said that, why on earth would any press dare calling him "foolish"? I definitely think it is not right. Good luck for Canada Lewis!
As for mclaren, the strategists need to up their game as soon as possible. It is unacceptable for a team such as them to call in a driver and not be there for tyre change! also why change Jenson's tyres 3 times, him being so gentle on tyres (so they say!!), when Vettel made a set last for more than 40 laps?????Come on Mclaren. M Witmarsh will soon need to give answers for those terrible mistakes.

I think Jake and all the BBC have are and will continue to bring us the best coverage possible great job keep it up.

As for getting on the Lewis shouldn't have said what he did is rubbish and sports person that stride to be the best is gona be raging when they don't win that's the nature of the best that is sport. This is the only sport that talks to the none winning drivers right after the race, other sports talk to the losing side players after they have been in the showers and got change which gives them time to get things off their chest in private.

Yes I am a mclaren fan but I have experienced the pressures of professional sports and things go against you alsorts are flying through your head and all you want to do ist get back to your changing room and get it out in private.

Jake. Just got back from Monaco today. Not sure if you were able to say a 'get well soon' to my friend Fran's son on air but thanks for being a legend and taking the information. We could see it in your back pocket while you were on air! Haven't watched the forum as yet although I do have some cracking photos of DC clinging for dear life to the railings of the Red Bull motorhome only to be dragged off and reappear shortly after soaking wet!

As the BBC is meant to be impartial I would like to think that Lewis got the criticism he rightly deserved for frankly appalling driving and then his reaction afterwards. The pasting that Schumacher got after Turkey where his 1 error cost him and no one else was totally over the top. Lewis drove like a maniac and then acted like a spoilt child. I am off to watch the forum now to see what EJ and DC made of it.

Hi Jake

Thanks for the great show yesterday, I thought you might want to know that leading up to the start of yesterday's race we were shown a run down of the starting grid as per usual, however at the start of which I had noticed that the BBC had shown this was the Australia Grand Prix grid positions and not the Monaco grid positions. Did anyone else pick up on this error. Rod

Hi, I must say that Lewis's new management don't appear to have helped much in the pr department. But remember that the best drivers always had a unfaltering belief in their own abilities, Senna in his own eyes was never wrong and upset alot of people at the time, a fact that seems to be forgotten with time. Schu also was always right in his own eyes, now he seems to be a more reasonable person but seems also to have lost his competitive edge. Red Bull are a team that will stay at the top for a while, they have a team spirit that has been built up so well by Christian Horner that the best people will want to be involved no matter how much money Ferrari offer. It's a great philosophy that I just cant see Mclaren being able to copy.

Great blog as usual, Jake! I really enjoy reading them. Both my daughter and I rated the Forum as 10/10 for entertainment. My younger daughter has now learned NOT to visit or phone on F1 day for at least an hour before the start and up to 3 hours afterwards, as I watch the Forum and replay various bits! Amazing season so far!

Brilliant coverage once again. The only sour note concerns the EJ/DC relationship. Now DC with MB in the commentary box works really well. Either Red Flag EJ or put him with another partner. However Karun Chandhok has been superb as a guest commentator imho

ibw

I first want to say that i am really enjoying this season so far and that is largely thanks to the BBC team, i love the presenting line up (DC & MB especially)
Now to Monaco, what was a fantastic race was marred by Lewis's comment for him to even think it has enraged me beyond belief, I have always been a big Mclaren Fan and I have tried to warm to Lewis, but I am afraid I have to agree with comment 83, Lewis has just proved himself to be spoilt and bitter, well my dear Lewis that is life you win some you lose some and throwing your toys out of the pram is not going to change the fact that Vettel is a better driver than you, and can i just say that Jenson is a real dream to watch and that maybe Lewis should take a leaf from his book, I do hope all of this does not ruin what is shaping up to be a Fantastic season, bring on Canada and lets have more overtaking without the tantrums!!

'Oh please. I would love to hear who he genuinely offended.

You're taking offence for the sake of taking offence. If it was truly racist, The 11 o' clock show would have been axed long before Ali-G got 2 TV Series and a feature film out of it.'

Hamilton didn't engage his brain before his mouth and in a vain attempt to mask the severity of the remark, pointed to Ali G as the get-out clause.

Ali G was a character who used the race card ironically and amusingly - initially anway. Hamilton on the other hand, last time I checked, collects pay cheques for his driving ability not for his stand-up comedian routine.

This reeks of a persecution complex and one that MANY find utterly despicable and offensive. In the office today, of those that had heard the remarks the majority found it petulant and indefensible.

I'm sorry but unless you have your head firmly buried in 'the Guardian' this is inexcusible and offensive to recklessly use race as negatively contributive factor.

Who would have bet on Webber being the one to raise the checkered and reveal the entrance to the tunnel?!

I was glued to my armchair on sunday until the last 7 laps, when the FIA'S wisdom allowed cars to have a free tyre change at no time cost during the red flag. Being a ferrari fan i just wanted to see the first three cars slug it out on knackered tyres slipping and sliding to the last lap and hopefully seeing Alonso pass vettel. I feel sorry for Jenson as he lost 20-21 seconds taking a pit stop that the others didnt have to do. Shame for formula 1 as the race finale hinted at being something rather special.

Lewis is a true racer that's why he is so passionate about sport he is involved with, he will not sit behind other cars and follow but try and make his way past them. EJ made me laugh so much bought tears to my eyes seeing him looking into the pool and then being pushed in again a fantastic days entertainment !!!

People, cut the bull, Hamilton is a racing driver, he races, as the late great Ayrton Senna once said, "we are racing for a win, if you no longer go for a gap, then you are no longer a racing driver" Too many 'racing drivers' these days seem to scared to drive like they should, they want to be wrapped up in cotton wool, and just parade around a track in single file till the flag drops, and pick up a couple million pound in wages, WORK FOR IT BOYS!!! Lewis does and gets it in the neck each time he races, make your minds up people, do you want to watch racing drivers, or parade boys????

I haven't watched the race yet, I am going to see it on iPlayer tomorrow, but I have to wonder, why was the race restarted?. I'm not taking issue with a red flag, but in my fifteen plus years of watching F1 there have been two other races that were red flagged past 75% distance and weren't restarted.

In the 1997 Canadian GP the race was red flagged because of Panis's accident and they declared a result, and in the 2003 Brazilian GP the same thing occurred after Webber and Alonso reduced their respective cars to component form in the same piece of track

I understand in the regulations a result is declared 'if the race cannot be restarted'. With a restart called in Monaco, why couldn't the two GP's I've just mentioned by restarted also

Guys - awesome coverage this weekend. Keep up the good work. The forum is the next best thing to being there (probably better than being there as i don't think it would be too easy to get onto the floatahome). As for the commentary team - putting DC & MB together was a masterstroke - great technical knowledge and banter. Love F1 on BBC - LOVE IT. Looking forward to Montreal.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

I love the forum, best show on tv!! EJ trying to find his glasses funniest thing Ive seen in ages, hes a good sport!

Great coverage by all... Lee McKenzie rocks, without here coverage F1 would not be the same !!!

I was puzzled why the race was restarted, why we was just a few laps away and to restart it was bizzare and a anti-climax.
Martin and David were great, best weekend they have had and getting better and better, I wish that someone other then Vettel is winning, im getting bored and deflated that he keeps winning and ruining the Sport like Schumacher did.
Also, the Podcasts from the Radio 5 Live Guys is great, Crofty, Ant and Natalie bring an extra dimension as does the forum...if only we can send tweets during the race would be great but I bet Martin and David have more things to be keeping their eye on....as Martin was showing! Martin caught on his phone...has the twitter bug!
Good weekend all around, cannot wait for Montreal, my favourite track alongside Silverstone and Monte-Carlo.

the red button coverage(forum) was incrediable,simply amazing,you and RJ,DC and MB do a fabolous job ,so funny it was easily the highlight of the weekend for me (hamilton fan)

norbert vettel is my new hero,pushed into the pool and he dive bombs into it again,would anthony hamilton do the same thing ?

ej you are the best thing that bbc f1 coverage has,honest,fact teller,straight and hilariously funny

i hope the beeb dont cut the f1 rights out of their spending i will be happy to spend more on the licence,only if you cut rubbish like,world bowls championships,diving,smimming,horsejumping/racing and the rest of the trash that only 0.0001% of the uk watches without pleasure

hamilton hold youre head up,you own montreal.vettel is only good in front and has the quickest car by a mile