German Formula One driver Nico Rosberg (right) of Mercedes AMG celebrates on the podium with second placed compatriot Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing after winning the 2013 Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco at the Monte Carlo circuit in Monaco, on Sunday.
MONACO: Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel likened Nico Rosberg’s Monaco Grand Prix-winning Mercedes to a silver bus on Sunday.
Red Bull’s championship leader came second behind his fellow German in a race that ran like a procession through the Monaco streets in the early stages as drivers sought to manage the tyres to make a one stop strategy work.
“I was a bit surprised by the slow pace in the opening laps,” Vettel, who had started behind the two Mercedes of Rosberg and 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton on the front row, told reporters.
“Usually you expect two silver arrows in front of you and there were two buses today going for a cruise - at least in the first couple of laps. But obviously the strategy was clear and they did a very good job.
“They were going quite slow and trying to obviously make the one stop happen. And fair play, they were in the lead, around here it’s very tricky to pass.”
Australian team-mate Mark Webber agreed that the pace “wasn’t electric” and the race “not super-exciting” until crashes wrecked the pre-race planning by forcing the introduction of the safety car as well as halting the race for 25 minutes.
Most drivers re-started the race on supersoft tyres and made them last for the remaining 32 laps.
“It was just basically saving tyres and making the one-stop work. It was completely predictable that if the race was going to stack up then the two-stop was not really an option to come back into traffic,” said Webber.
“So we had to go very long, all the drivers were nursing the cars very aggressively...it was measured, controlled aggression, if you like, trying to nurse the tyres as best you can.”
REUTERS
