Lewis Hamilton blew off his frustration after finishing second in the Monaco grand prix by picking up a microphone.
The McLaren rookie would soon be at the centre of the team orders storm, but on Sunday evening he headed to Monte Carlo’s VIP nightclub Amber Lounge, which is the brainchild of former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine’s sister Sonia.
The Spanish newspaper Diario As published a photo of Hamilton, 22, ‘rapping’ on stage during a stint as a DJ.
After attending the most recent Spanish and Monaco grands prix, Michael Schumacher this weekend switched his attention to the two-wheeled world of MotoGP.
The German, now an ‘advisor’ for the formula one team Ferrari following his sixteen year driving career, was spotted on the grid prior to motorcycling’s Italian grand prix at Mugello.
The Autodromo Internazionale di Mugello, occasionally used for formula one testing, is owned by Ferrari.
Jean Todt said on Monday that he thought the recent Monaco grand prix had been a “rare negative episode” for the Ferrari team in 2007.
The Italian squad, which is led by the 60-year-old Frenchman, finished a minute behind the leaders in the Principality, despite Felipe Massa winning the preceding Bahrain and French grands prix with superior pace to the McLarens.
Referring to Monaco, Todt said: “It was one of those rare negative episodes that inevitably occur during a season.”
Ralf Schumacher’s former manager says he was “shocked” by the Toyota driver’s performance in the recent Monaco grand prix.
The 31-year-old, who is currently the subject of wild speculation concerning his immediate future on the grid, hit a new low in 2007 when in Monte Carlo he was outqualified by a Spyker and then struggled to overtake the orange cars in the race.
But Willi Weber, who negotiated Ralf’s expiring $20m per-year Toyota contract before they split, told Bild newspaper: “He finds himself in a downward spiral that continues to get worse.
Lewis Hamilton is aiming to build on a 'dream result' scored at the Monaco GP when he takes part in his very first Canadian Grand Prix next weekend.
The Montreal race is the first in a double-header of transatlantic races in the coming fortnight, with the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis set to follow a week later.
Both will be breaking new ground for the young Briton, but with five podium finishes from his maiden five outings in the top flight, Hamilton has shown that he is anything but a slow learner.
Formula One champion Fernando Alonso has praised the start to the season made by his team-mate Lewis Hamilton after the furore over the McLaren team allegedly issuing team orders during the Monaco Grand Prix.
The FIA, the sport's governing body, investigated the race after Alonso and Hamilton finished first and second, with claims being made that the young British driver was ordered to back off so he did not put his stablemate under pressure.
But the Spaniard, whose team escaped punishment by the FIA, has welcomed the impact made by Hamilton.
Alonso said: "We need to wait and see how the championship develops but it has been a very good start for the team and Lewis as well."
Formula One’s Monacco Grand Prix on May 27 gave one expected answer and asked a lot of unexpected questions.
As many predicted, McLaren Mercedes scored a double win in Fernando Alonso’s first place and Lewis Hamilton’s second.
After the finish, the time for questions came.
Is there a number one driver in McLaren’s team?
Did Ferrari concede the defeat in Monte Carlo even before the start of the race?
Is Ferrari’s top driver Kimi Raikkonen still a contender for the title?
Lewis Hamilton has declared his second-placed finish in Monaco a "dream result", but has now turned his focus to the Canadian Grand Prix.
The young Briton finished behind team-mate Fernando Alonso in Monte Carlo and admits he was satisfied with the race, despite his initial disappointment.
And he is now looking ahead to the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend as he bids for his maiden race win.
Having claimed the 1-2 in Monaco, which saw Alonso and team-mate Lewis Hamilton lap all the runners except third-placed Felipe Massa, Alonso's confidence is at an all-time high.
And the Spaniard firmly believes that, combined with McLaren's continuous development programme, his Monaco win has given him the advantage ahead of the next race in Canada.
"We have a great momentum in the team right now after such a fantastic result in Monaco, which is a positive way to be going into the North American double-header," he said.
Ralf Schumacher's days with Toyota seem to be numbered after reports in the German press yesterday suggest his employers are considering other options for next season.
After his 16th-placed finish at last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, German daily newspaper Bild reported Toyota team president John Howett is looking for a possible successor to the 31-year-old brother of seven-times world champion Michael.
In his three years with Toyota, Schumacher, who earns 17 million euros a year, has only finished in the top three on three occasions.
Ron Dennis almost certainly did not lose a wink of sleep over the three nights it took the FIA to conduct their investigation into Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix - just as he said he wouldn't.
Dennis and his McLaren team emerged with reputations intact after being cleared of issuing team orders which resulted in the one-two processional finish for Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton around the streets of Monte Carlo.
The 59-year-old insisted immediately after the race his conscience was clear, maintaining that his team "are scrupulously fair at all times".
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Q: It was you first time in a Formula One car in Monaco. Racing there has produced many famous analogies - riding a bicycle in your bathroom, etc - but how would you describe it?
RK: I was not a complete Monaco virgin as I did the Friday sessions last year - and in ‘98 was racing a kart, although it was not the complete track that F1 uses - so I knew pretty well what to expect. I like street circuits – I’ve always performed well there and Monaco is a hell of a task. Of course they are not as safe as purpose-built tracks, but nothing can compare to the atmosphere. And with some more street circuits in the planning I am sure they will find the right balance between safety and urban character.
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Lewis Hamilton sacrificed personal glory for team points at the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Formula One sensation from Tewin was second around the challenging Monte Carlo street circuit.
He crossed the line four seconds behind team-mate Fernando Alonso as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes claimed their second one-two finish of the season.
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The FIA has announced that it has launched an investigation into incidents involving the McLaren Mercedes team at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix, in light of a possible breach of the International Sporting Code. This is based on claims made mainly in the media that the team played its race strategy in such a way as to help Fernando Alonso to win the race, rather than Lewis Hamilton.
The FIA will now review all the available evidence, including any radio calls between the cars and the pits and whatever other data is available. The FIA says it is simply doing its job and if that makes it unpopular that is an unfortunate part of the role of being the regulator. The FIA says that the rules were changed in 2002 after the mess in Austria when Rubens Barrichello backed off to allow Michael Schumacher to win the race.
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In the aftermath of a processional race in which the two McLaren drivers finished first and second with ease, but without fighting each other, Dennis said that McLaren did not favour the 25-year-old Spaniard against the 22-year-old British rookie.
He spoke out after being questioned strongly on the team's strategy and team orders, particularly as Alonso, on pole position, began the race in a car that carried five laps less fuel than Hamilton.
This meant that Alonso was not only in a lighter car for qualifying on Saturday, but also in a lighter, faster car for the first part of the race.
Hamilton accepted this after the race with a long face when he said: "I am in car number two so I am the number two driver."
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Gambling will only get you so far. It is nice to win but a lot of the time luck has nothing to do with it. You win by working at it, doing the homework and not because the cards fell in your favour.
Monaco is a city built on a casino, on the foundation that luck can bring you everything you need. But on Sunday in Monte Carlo luck had nothing to with it. McLaren won the event because the team has worked for it. T
he fact that Fernando Alonso took victory in the event meant that Lewis Hamilton was second. He seemed happy with that. When you are in your fifth Grand Prix and have finished on the podium in all five, you are still excited to be there but there was something about the smiles and the body language involved that hinted that Lewis would have been happier to have won.
Everyone likes to win but there are times when luck has nothing to do with it.
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