Hamilton sparks debate with 'boring' Monaco jibe
Reigning Formula one champion Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have sparked a big debate on social media after labelling the Monaco Grand Prix “boring.”
Hamilton finished behind race winner Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, with his championship lead over the German trimmed to 14 points.
Fernando Alonso had been seventh before retiring his McLaren with transmission problems on lap 48.
The top six finishers remained in grid position, with Ricciardo winning for Red Bull from pole despite having to manage problems with his car’s power unit for nearly two thirds of the distance.
Hamilton was scathing in his assessment of the race afterwards.
“It was a super-unexciting race for everyone,” the Englishman declared.
Hamilton then went one step further after agreeing with a fan who described the Monaco Grand Prix as the “most boring race ever.”
“Thank God you said it,” Hamilton shot back.
“I thought I was the only one. Wow, it was intensely boring. Oh my God, yes.
“We are driving at high speed, there is not a lot of action, you’re just trying to bring it home, for 56 laps. Oh my God, it was long.
“Forty laps to go, I was like, Oh God, please. When it finished, I was like, ‘thank goodness’.”
Alonso echoed Hamilton’s sentiments in a similarly scathing assessment of the race.
“This is probably the most boring race ever,” Alonso told reporters.
“Without a safety car, without yellow flags, I think the sport needs to think a little bit about the show because this is very disappointing,” said the Spaniard, who missed last year’s race to compete in the Indianapolis 500.
“I think we probably need to give something to the fans at the end of the race just to pay the ticket back a little.”
The controversial views of the multiple world champions were met with mixed responses from fans on social media.
Is it boring because Hamilton didn’t win ????
— Chris Moseley (@ChrisMoseley77) May 27, 2018
There’s a lot of races like it. Suck it up and move on. I bet it wasnt boring when they won it.
— SEUN (@Dan_Onas) May 27, 2018
Wasn’t really that boring tbh… I rather enjoyed it, Danny Ric leading with 30 km/h less and still held on. The midfield battle and MV33 climbing to pts from P20 were all fun to watch. #MonacoGrandPrix
— Cody Doucet (@Doucet3) May 27, 2018
When’s the last time Monaco was even interesting? No action at all. You get pole and you’re sure to get the win. Ricciardo won it even after losing power 25 laps in or so. Says it all!
— Jay Ali (@rayjayali) May 27, 2018
Totally agree.. any other race would get booted off the calender if that happened year on year. Just because celebs turn up to race thats why its kept.
— Ashraf Ali Patel (@ap94707) May 27, 2018
Agree, so boring I watched on Fast Forward but still nothing happend!! Poor, Very Poor
— Nick E (@RealNickE) May 27, 2018
I fell asleep for about 20 laps. When I woke up everyone was still in the same positions! @LewisHamilton
— Vankstein (@Vankstein) May 27, 2018
Hamilton, a four-times world champion and Alonso’s former teammate, said it had been the “longest 78 laps ever”.
Last year he had managed only seventh as Mercedes struggled around the tight and twisty layout while Ferrari enjoyed a dominant one-two.
But the Briton, still a big fan of the glamorous location and pre-race build-up, was frustrated by an afternoon spent at reduced speed to save the tyres on a one-stop strategy and with no chance of overtaking.
“Formula One needs to apply a different schedule here. It should not be a one-stop race, for example,” said Hamilton, a two-times winner in Monaco, who said he would have been asleep on the sofa if watching on television.
One man who was celebrating, and not complaining of boredom either, was Ricciardo.
At any other track, with his engine problems, he would have been overtaken and forgotten.
The Australian performed a jubilant “shoey” celebration on the podium, quaffing champagne from his sweaty racing boot and making Red Bull’s technical head Adrian Newey share the experience.
The magnum of champagne was then handed to Monaco’s Prince Albert and Princess Charlene to drink straight from the oversized bottle.
With agencies