A perfect birthday gift for Sir Frank Williams

Five races and five different winners. Who could have scripted that at the beginning of the 2012 Formula One season? It has been a truly remarkable start to 2012 and one hopes that the trend will continue.

Will Monaco see a sixth different winner this year? With the way things are going, I wouldn’t back against it. The Pirelli tyres are once again playing their part and one would have to be a very brave person to predict who would come out on top at Monaco.

Considering how dull previous Spanish Grand Prix’s have been, this year’s race was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. Before I talk about Pastor Maldonado’s excellent win, my thoughts are with the mechanics who were injured in yesterday’s horrific fire accident that occurred in the Williams pit garage.

Three Williams team members were taken to a local hospital with one of them believed to have suffered from severe burns. It was great to see team personnel from different teams helping each other to put the fire out and it just shows how everyone stands united in Formula One.

All the teams may be competing against one another on the track but off the track they are united and yesterday’s incident was a perfect example of that. I speak for everyone in Formula One and hope those injured in the pit fire make a speedy recovery. We are all behind you.

An Eight Year Wait

Williams’ eight year wait for a race win came to an end on Sunday with Pastor Maldonado putting in a brilliant performance to take his maiden victory in Formula One. Pastor became the first Venezuelan to win a Grand Prix.

The last time Williams tasted race victory was back in 2004 in Brazil when Juan Pablo Montoya came out victorious in his last race for the team. No doubt Maldonado’s victory in Spain will be one that the Williams team personnel will remember for many years to come.

Pastor’s win was also a perfect birthday present for Sir Frank Williams. It was obvious from observing the paddock that everyone was delighted for Williams.

Although he lost the lead in the opening lap, Pastor kept his cool and was able to get past Fernando Alonso during the second stage of pit stops.

The Venezuelan went on to win the race and was able to hold off Alonso to claim his first ever victory in Formula One. Thoroughly deserved and it was great to see Williams back on the top step of the podium.

To bounce back as they have done this year is a pretty incredible feat. However there is a long way to go and everyone at Williams will be looking to stay on their feet and not get too carried away.

If Lewis Hamilton was not stripped off his pole position, perhaps we would have had a different result on Sunday. But take nothing away from what Maldonado and Williams have achieved.

Ferrari and the Rest

Finishing second in front of his home crowd might have felt like a win for Fernando Alonso. The start he made to this years race was reminiscent of the one the Spaniard made in last years’ race at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Fernando was overtaken in the second stage of pit stops by Maldonado and lost the lead. He was not quite able to get past the Venezuelan but Alonso shouldn’t be disheartened as he claimed second place in the end.

It is ironic that Ferrari don’t have the best car and yet Alonso is tied on 61 points with Sebastian Vettel, leading the Drivers Championship. The great thing about Alonso is that he is always consistent and has always been able to get the best out of a car even if it’s not among the best.

The pressure must be building on Felipe Massa after the Brazilian could only manage a 15th place finish. Massa needs an upturn in form and if things do not improve, he might not even last the entire season.

Lotus had yet another solid weekend with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean finishing third and fourth. Eric Boullier should be delighted with the way both his drivers have performed this season and I would not back against them on picking up another strong result in Monaco.

The Enstone based team could have won in both Bahrain and Spain but they should not be disappointed as they have performed up to their standards. I’ve been very impressed at how well Raikkonen has performed on his return to the sport. But at the same time I have also been equally impressed with Grosjean.

Romain has been given a second chance and the Frenchman has so far done himself proud. Ending up on the podium in Bahrain and finishing fourth in Spain would have delighted Grosjean and he has every right to be pleased with how his season has gone so far.

Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi had a great day at the office as the Japanese driver finished in fifth place. Again, I’ve been impressed by the start Sauber have made to the 2012 season and both Kobayashi and Sergio Perez have done a great job. Could Sauber spring a surprise in Monaco? You never know.

After Free Practice on Friday one would have backed Red Bull to score big points in Spain. But on Sunday, Sebastian Vettel could only claim sixth spot while Mark Webber finished outside the points in 11th place.

I really cannot put my finger on what went wrong for Red Bull and I guess the only saving grace for them was McLaren not scoring big points either. Red Bull have enjoyed recent success at Monaco and it would not surprise me if they were to bounce back in Monaco. But based on what we have seen this season it is hard to predict who would win the next Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg finished seventh for Mercedes with team-mate Michael Schumacher retiring from yet another race. Schumacher not surprisingly received a five place grid drop for causing a collision and hitting the back of Bruno Senna’s car. I totally agree with the stewards decision and there is no arguing that Schumacher was at fault for the collision.

Had Lewis Hamilton not been stripped off his pole position, I reckon the Brit would have gone onto win the race. To be forced to start at the back of the grid was harsh in my view. Having said that the McLaren pit crew should take responsibility for what happened on Saturday.

But one should give credit where it is due. Lewis was able to make his way through the field from 24th to finish the race eighth. Hamilton did a great job and it was a shame he was not able to hold off Vettel for seventh.

Jenson Button must have been in a buoyant mood after being quickest in the second Free Practice session on Friday. Button is one of those drivers who is able to make his strategy work well and look after his tyres. But for some reason he was not able to do that this time round in Spain.

Finally Nico Hulkenburg defended brilliantly from Mark Webber to finish tenth and pick up a point for Force India. It has not been a strong start to the season for Force India but yet they are picking up points.

Paul di Resta did a great job at Bahrain coming home in sixth position. We are yet to see the best of Force India and the way they have started this season reminds me of how they started last season.

2011 was a slow start for the team but in the second half of the season they started putting in more consistent and stronger performances. I genuinely believe Force India have been surprised by how well the likes of Sauber and Williams have done in this season. But there is still a long way to go and there are plenty of points to play for.

I am looking forward to Monaco and I really cannot predict who will come out on top. But I’m loving this season’s Formula One and long may the unpredictability continue.