Street race sets up a rat race...

Now that the street race is over and all the glamour and the haze surrounding Monaco has settled, its time to ponder about the performance of drivers and more importantly the constructors since the beggining of the season.

With Kimi Raikkonen, the young Finn clinching the cup at the most glamorous event in the Formula One calendar, Monaco, McLaren have proved in style that they still are among the top constructor's in the world. The team, which boasts of the maximum number of Grand Prix victories by any constructor in the world including Ferrari finally seems to have put the finger on the knot after a disasterous 2004 season. The MP4-20 seems to have leap-frogged quite a bit in terms of Chassis design, aerodynamics and engine power in comparison with its predecessors, the MP4-18A and MP4-19 which rarely completed a race without problems.

A special mention must go to Ron Dennis, the McLaren team boss who struck the right cord in choosing the softer tyres for his cars. Neither of the drivers had any problems related to oversteering, thus enabling Kimi to keep the lead and an unlucky Montoya who started at the back of the grid to take his chances inspite of a slightly fuller fuel tank.

The BMW-Williams combine, which took a two podium positions was the surprise package of the race, considering the maneuverability issues that the FW27 seems to have had over the past five races. Webber must be a little dissapointed after standing a step lower than his less celebrated team mate Heidfeld. Being wiser in choosing the harder tyres to strike a balance with their unrelenting chassis, the two sledge-hammers powered their way ahead of the Championship leader Alonso who could do nothing but nurse his wheels to a respectable fourth finish. Fissichella was not as lucky, taking to the fag end of the train and not landing in the points. Renault, which swept away at break-neck speed at the beggining of the season now have to ponder about their chassis design and tyre choice, considering the fact that neither of their machines were kind to their rear tyres during the past two races.

Monaco did not go the right way for the high-flying Toyota team, losing its second position on the Constructor's table to the ebbing McLaren's. Trulli, the defending Monaco champion, made a daring move on Fissichella and ran as high as second after the Albers accident, but lost momentum and soon found himself at the end of a long chain of cars. Young Ralf Schumacher came from the back of the pack to get a respectable sixth after being chased right upto the finish line by his brother Michael.

Talking of the Ferrari's, the race did not go well for them with band-leader Michael Schumacher just edging out comrade Barichello at the finish line for a seven-eight finish. Ferrari though, have a point to ponder. Afterall Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap of the race, managing to go even faster than his own qualifying lap. And this inspite of the fact that he was carrying a lot more fuel on lap 40 than when he was during the qualifying. What the Maranello team and their Japanese tyre maker must be doing right now is to strike a balance between their car, which seems to be faster when it is heavy, and the tyres which seem to work better when in warmer conditions and in the longer run.

A dissapointing day for the Saubers and the Red Bull's with Sauber losing a potential fourth or fifth position after an ambitious move from Villeneuve on his own team mate at Sainte Devote. For the Red Bull's, they had no luck with Michael Schumacher crashing into David Couldhard's rear after the Albers' spin which caused a road block leading to a traffic jam of Formula One cars. Liuzzi faced problems right from the start with his tyres succumbing to the heavy fuel load. Liuzzi eventually retired at the fag end of the race after hitting a barrier.

As for the Minardi's, they had a promising set up with both their PS05's ahead of the Jordan's. But they soon lost track positions with Albers' spinning out and Monteiro taking advantage of the situation and landing ahead of him.As for the Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan, the race couldnt have gone worser. The Indian damaged his hydraulics after brushing the wall early in the race. A last position start that failed to improve and ended with a retirement. Surely, he must get out of his Monaco mood and try to impress at Nurburgring and edge out his team mate Monteiro who seems to have gained the upper hand after Monaco.

The Championship seems to have gotten tighter after Monaco, with heavy weight McLaren clawing their way up the ladder. With 51 points, they are closing in on leaders Renault who are on 63. Williams' have taken a huge jump and are now closer to Toyota with the difference between them reduced to eight now. The Ferrari's donot seem to have moved any where, failing to improve their constructors' tally and must be consoling themselves that there still are thirteen races to go.

Overall, a mouth watering set up for the next four or five races which should be exciting with Kimi Raikkonen closing in on Alonso for a possible championship summit clash, with tough competition expected from a ressurgent Williams' team and the mercurial Toyota's and possibly a darker prancing horse if the Maranello's manage to unlock the potential of their undelivering F2005. Waiting for Round 7 - the European clash.