MONACO, MONTE CARLO – It seems like old times. Controversy at the Grand Prix of Monte Carlo was sparked by former teammates Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello has been faulted for throwing his $50,000 steering wheel onto the race line following an incident on lap 31 while climbing the Beau Rivage. It appears that a technical problem caused his Williams to impact the Armco barriers on both sides of the track. Karun Shandock and Bruno Senna both ran over the wheel during the race. Some argue that Barrichello recklessly endangered his fellow drivers by throwing the wheel in frustration. Rubens’ commented “I threw the steering wheel because I wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible… After the shunt I was facing the wrong side of the track and the car was on fire," Williams co-owner Patrick Head defended his driver, "If you are standing in the middle of a 120mph corner, you tend to think 'let's get out of here as quickly as you can'." William’s driver Hulkenberg also crashed out of the race following a failure. No champagne at Williams this weekend! 
Seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher appears to be back in the swing of things in F1. Never mistaken for a milquetoast driver, the German was penalized for an aggressive pass of Fernando Alonso in the final corner immediately after the safety car exited the track. The move placed him in 6th place. The stewards deliberated for four hours on Sunday deciding to drop the German out of the points to 12th position. Mercedes reserve driver Nick Heidfeld told Sky television: "The move was very clean… The rules are different this year. In the past you could only overtake from the start/finish line, now it is from the safety car line. Alonso was a little bit asleep," As of the time of this writing, Mercedes has not decided if they will proceed with an appeal of the decision.
What was not controversial this past weekend in the Principality was the utter dominance of The Red Bull car driven by Mark Webber. Though the race was marred with crashes, with 4 appearances of the safety car, Webber kept his cool and the performance of the Red Bull did the rest. What makes the win extra sweet for Webber is that it is the first time in 52 years that an Australian has won at Monte Carlo and it moves Red Bull in the lead in the Constructor’s title. The last Aussie to win at Monaco was the great Sir Jack Brabham. “To win in Monaco is a dream for any Formula One driver. It is a very, very special event and every Formula One victory is special but to win on the streets here fair and square off the pole, no attrition again, that’s nice and control the race from the front. To join such great winners here is a real special moment for me. I was reminded yesterday that Jack Brabham won here in 1959, so it has been a while for the Australians. A special day.” Webber is certainly in good company.
Seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher appears to be back in the swing of things in F1. Never mistaken for a milquetoast driver, the German was penalized for an aggressive pass of Fernando Alonso in the final corner immediately after the safety car exited the track. The move placed him in 6th place. The stewards deliberated for four hours on Sunday deciding to drop the German out of the points to 12th position. Mercedes reserve driver Nick Heidfeld told Sky television: "The move was very clean… The rules are different this year. In the past you could only overtake from the start/finish line, now it is from the safety car line. Alonso was a little bit asleep," As of the time of this writing, Mercedes has not decided if they will proceed with an appeal of the decision.
What was not controversial this past weekend in the Principality was the utter dominance of The Red Bull car driven by Mark Webber. Though the race was marred with crashes, with 4 appearances of the safety car, Webber kept his cool and the performance of the Red Bull did the rest. What makes the win extra sweet for Webber is that it is the first time in 52 years that an Australian has won at Monte Carlo and it moves Red Bull in the lead in the Constructor’s title. The last Aussie to win at Monaco was the great Sir Jack Brabham. “To win in Monaco is a dream for any Formula One driver. It is a very, very special event and every Formula One victory is special but to win on the streets here fair and square off the pole, no attrition again, that’s nice and control the race from the front. To join such great winners here is a real special moment for me. I was reminded yesterday that Jack Brabham won here in 1959, so it has been a while for the Australians. A special day.” Webber is certainly in good company.
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