F1 2019: Lewis Hamilton wins Monaco Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton endured a frantic afternoon in Monaco to secure the 77th win of his career, and his third in Monaco, finishing ahead of Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton, wearing a special Niki Lauda tribute helmet, enjoyed a near race-long battle with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, as he struggled to extend the life of medium tyres put on during a Safety Car period caused by a puncture for Charles Leclerc that would eventually force Ferrari’s local driver intro retirement on Lap 18. Despite finishing just behind winner Hamilton on the road, Verstappen was eventually classified fourth, having been given a five second penalty for an unsafe release earlier in the race.

Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly finished 10 second behind the front four in fifth, while McLaren’s Carlos Sainz drove a fantastic race to finish ahead of the two Toro Rosso’s of Daniil Kvyat and Alex Albon, with 2018 Monaco winner Daniel Ricciardo and the Haas of Romain Grosjean completing the top 10.

Verstappen crossed the line second but fell to fourth thanks to his penalty, despite having driven a brilliant race that earned him the Driver of the Day accolade. That meant that Vettel and Bottas – who’d both played bit parts to the action at the front during the race – got promoted up to second and third, Vettel thus effectively being the driver to end Mercedes’ five-race streak of one-two finishes.

Gasly took useful points in fifth, plus an extra one for fastest lap, while Sainz held on to take sixth – maintaining his 100% point’s record in Monaco with a sensational drive – ahead of a fine showing for Toro Rosso, with Kvyat holding off Albon. A late surge for Daniel Ricciardo in the Renault, meanwhile, saw him benefit from a five-second penalty for Romain Grosjean for crossing the pit lane exit line, meaning that last year’s winner ended up in a strong ninth place, to claim just his second point’s finish of the year, as Grosjean came home 10th.

Further back, meanwhile, George Russell drove a brilliant race to finish 15th for Williams, keeping the likes of Racing Point's Lance Stroll and Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen at bay to give the Grove team something to cheer about.

F1 2018: Daniel Ricciardo wins Monaco Grand Prix

After an impeccable performance in which he brilliantly overcame being restricted to just six of his eight gears, Ricciardo crossed the line just 7.3 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton completing the podium to retain his championship lead.

Raikkonen crossed the line fourth, ahead of Bottas with Esteban Ocon converting a strong qualifying into a 'best-of-the-rest' sixth place for Force India. Pierre Gasly threw his hat into the ring for Driver of the Day - an honor that ultimately went to Ricciardo - with a stunning drive in the Toro Rosso. The Frenchman made the hypersofts last, at a good pace, for nearly half the race, allowing him to move up to seventh. He then drove brilliantly on the supersofts to defend from Hulkenberg to maintain that position. Sainz completed the top 10.

Fernando Alonso failed to see the chequered flag for the first time this season when he pulled up at Ste Devote with smoke emanating from the rear of his car on Lap 53 of the 78. It was a miserable day for Williams, too. Sergey Sirotkin ran 12th early on but picked up a 10-second stop-go penalty for a wheel infringement on the grid, while Lance Stroll suffered two punctures, one of which was caused when he collided with Marcus Ericsson on the opening lap. They were the last classified finishers, more than a lap down.

But the day belonged to Ricciardo and Red Bull, who banished the memories of 2016, when a pit stop error cost the Australian victory here. He still hasn’t had an easy win – each of his now seven F1 triumphs have been challenging – but he won’t care. The Monaco victory is finally his. 

Sebastian Vettel wins Monaco Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel beat Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen to victory in Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2017, boosting his title advantage to 25 points over Mercedes Lewis Hamilton, who finished a distant seventh. Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium for Red Bull.

A longer first stint for Vettel enabled him to get ahead of polesitter and early leader Raikkonen as he emerged in front of the Finn following their first and only pit stops. It was Ferrari’s first win in the Principality since 2001. Ricciardo similarly made use of the ‘overcut’ to pass Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and his less-than-impressed Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen, who duly took the chequered flag in fourth and fifth respectively. Toro Rosso were ‘best of the rest’ with Carlos Sainz in sixth, as Hamilton behind him climbed from 13th on the grid. Completing the top ten were Haas’s Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, separated by the Williams of Felipe Massa.

The most dramatic moment of the race came on Lap 60 when an ambitious passing attempt from McLaren’s Jenson Button on Sauber Pascal Wehrlein went awry, tipping the latter’s car on to its side against the Portier barriers, its mercifully unharmed driver unable to escape his cockpit until help arrived. And as the safety car emerged, Button got as far as the chicane before suspension damage forced him to halt his one-race comeback. Raikkonen had won the start, and soon the two Ferraris cleared off, though there was a period in the middle of the race when the pursuing Bottas and the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo were running quicker as the red cars’ tyres started sliding.

But it was Vettel stop, on the 39th lap, which put him ahead of Raikkonen, who had made his pit call five laps sooner. That settled the race in his favor, extending his championship points score to 129. For Ferrari the race marked a big step towards not only the drivers’ championship, but also the constructors, as they move back ahead of Mercedes with 196 points to 179 as they scored their first 1-2 since Germany 2010.

Lewis Hamilton wins Monaco Grand Prix

The Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco started behind the safety car in wet conditions, but was run mainly in glorious sunshine with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton narrowly defeating Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo after an epic battle around the streets of Monte Carlo.

As the early rain eased, pole sitter Ricciardo pitted first for intermediate tyres, while Hamilton chose to stay out until conditions improved enough for slick rubber. Ricciardo had enough time in hand to make a further stop and regain his lead, but when he arrived at his garage, a miscommunication meant Red Bull had no tyres ready for him and the Australian was stationary for a very costly 13.6s. He rejoined just behind the world champion, a position on which he was never able to improve.

Sergio Perez took his sixth career podium with third place, after an inspired decision from Force India to switch him early to the hardest of the dry tyres. That allowed Mexican to finish just ahead of Ferrari Sebastian Vettel. Fernando Alonso secured McLaren best result of 2016 to date with a distant fifth place, while a very cautious Mercedes Nico Rosberg lost sixth place on the final straight to Force India Nico Hulkenberg with his championship lead over Hamilton reduced by 19 points as a result.

Toro Rosso, Carlos Sainz, McLaren Jenson Button and Williams Felipe Massa completed the top ten. Max Verstappen went from Spain hero to Monaco Zero with his third crash of the weekend, putting his Red Bull into the wall at Massenet on lap 35. Next race will held in Canada on 12^th June 2016.