Motorsports Mondial

Photo: caterhamf1

Red Bull Racing-Renault wins Monaco Grand Prix

Red Bull Racing-Renault’s Mark Webber took victory in today’s Monaco Grand Prix, the second win for the Australian around the streets of the Principality. Mark started from pole position and finished the 78 lap race ahead of Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso, making it six different winners in as many races. The win is Red Bull Racing-Renault’s third consecutive win at Monaco, Renault’s sixth in Monte Carlo and the third consecutive win for a Renault-engined car this season.*

Webber’s Red Bull Racing team-mate Sebastian Vettel finished in fourth position after a long stint on his first set of tyres allowed him to jump ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Lotus F1 Team-Renault’s Kimi Raikkonen was the sole finisher for the team in ninth position after Romain Grosjean was involved in a start line accident that eliminated him on the spot. The same accident also put paid to Williams F1 Team-Renault’s Spanish GP winner Pastor Maldonado’s hopes as he lost his front wing and retired. Williams’ team-mate Bruno Senna however scored one point for tenth position.

Caterham F1 Team’s Heikki Kovalainen finished the race in 13th position, moving the team to 10th in the constructors’ title race ahead of Marussia. Unfortunately Vitaly Petrov retired with an electrical problem on lap 15.

The results today extend Red Bull’s lead at the top of the constructors’ championship ahead of McLaren and Ferrari. Lotus is fourth overall with Williams sixth and Caterham tenth. Alonso takes the lead of the drivers’ title race, but Vettel and Webber are just three points behind.

* 1995 (Schumacher, Benetton-Renault), 2004 (Trulli, Renault F1 Team), 2006 (Alonso, Renault F1 Team), 2010 (Webber, Red Bull-Renault), 2011 (Vettel, Red Bull-Renault), 2012 (Webber, Red Bull-Renault)

Rémi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 head of track operations

Monaco is a massive challenge for an engine manufacturer as it is completely unique on the calendar so to get the win here and a further three points’ scoring positions is a really good result. A huge congratulations to Mark to have secured his first win of the year. He was under pressure all race long and completely deserved the victory. The win gives Red Bull-Renault the last three wins in Monaco; a great result for Renault so close to our home!

It was unfortunate for Lotus that the results do not reflect the pace of the engine-chassis package this weekend, but accidents such as Romain’s can happen as the first corner is so tight. Pastor also got caught up in the aftermath, but fortunately Bruno kept clear and was able to score one point to keep the team ahead of Sauber. Congratulations to Caterham as well for taking 13th position and moving into tenth in the constructors’ championship

However we have not been without issues this weekend, so we need to continue to work hard with our partners. Canada is next on the calendar and a very different type of track, requiring good top end power but also response out of the hairpins – we will work hard to improve on form and deliver the best possible package we can to all our teams to make the most of the opportunities in this very competitive field.