Sebleaves Lewtrailing
IN the land of millionaires and their playthings Sebastian Vettel toyed with the opposition.
The German championship leader passed team-mate Kimi Raikkonen on a pit-lane stoppage as Ferrari locked up a one-two finish on the streets of Monaco.
Not only did it lay down a marker that Ferrari are serious title challengers – Vettel’s drive also saw the Prancing Horse take the chequered flag in Monte Carlo for the first time since Michael Schumacher in 2001.
It moved him 25 points clear of Lewis Hamilton although the Brit managed to limit the damage by finishing seventh from his 13th position on the grid.
Hamilton said: “It is clear to me Ferrari have chosen their No.1 driver. They are pushing everything to make sure Sebastian will maximise on all of his weekends.
“On strategy that just does not happen in Monaco. It is very hard for the leading car on track to get jumped by the second car unless the team decide to favour the other car. What they’ve done is very clear.”
Raikkonen, who said second spot “doesn’t count a lot in my books at least”, lost the lead after pitting five laps earlier than Vettel.
But Ferrari denied instructions were issued while Vettel said: “From the team point of view there was no plan of any team orders or anything. I can understand Kimi’s not happy – I would feel exactly the same, 100 per cent the same.
“The rule is pretty clear when you qualify ahead and you are ahead in the first stint – you get priority on the first stop and that’s what happened. As it turned out today it worked in my favour.”
Following his qualifying nightmare on Saturday Mercedes driver Hamilton did well to rise six places on a circuit renowned for being so difficult to overtake.
And he added: “The team said in the strategy meeting this morning I could only get 10th so I’m happy.”