Gauthier Survives Monaco Massacre

Qualifying:

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Report:

Anyone who knows F1 knows that Monaco is both its crown jewel and its greatest challenge to man and machine. This proved true again in the 1987 season, when both drivers and cars failed. Survival was the name of the game in the microstate and the world champion was the last man standing, taking his first win with Lotus-Honda, retaking the lead in the championship he won in 1986.

Obviously, this was not the expected result after qualifying. Williams once again were the team setting the pace in qualifying. The British team was again virtually half a second ahead of the competition. Ayrton Senna took his second pole of the season, with Brendon Cassidy not too far behind. The two drivers continued their battle into the race, being on different strategies. Cassidy had the edge in that regard, which pushed Senna into trying too hard, losing the car.

Brendon’s joy about an incoming victory made him sloppy, causing an incident later down the road. Monaco had proven its destructive capabilites against drivers, cars were next. The dreams of world title contenders and pretenders alike were dashed: Gerhard Berger, Alain Prost, Michele Alboreto and Thierry Boutsen were famous names amongst the 15 retirements.

This left the door open for the lower teams and they did jump at the opportunity. Chris Dagnall brought his Arrows home in second, his best Formula One career result. Behind him, for third place, an epic duel ensued after Nicchi had to pit with electrical issues, dropping behind Pierluigi Martini in the Minardi. A brave move on the third-to-last lap enabled Zakspeed to take in all of that podium glory. Minardi-Motori Moderni can still be happy with their performance, the same applies for Robert Kagan and Martin Brundle, scoring despite lacking turbo engines.

Race:

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Fastest Lap:

Brendon Cassidy – 1:27.394

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Valentino Nicchi – He became Zakspeed’s hero, a great run for the former star of motorcycle racing.

Reject Of The Race:

Williams-Honda – Two miserable driver errors make their team look bad.