Rosberg handed Monaco win after Mercedes blunder

Nico Rosberg took his third consecutive victory in Monaco – the first driver since Ayrton Senna – following a huge strategic error by Lewis Hamilton’s side of the garage, which essentially handed victory to the German.

Hamilton led from the start and opened up a 21 second lead ahead of Rosberg. However with just 12 laps remaining, an incident involving Romain Grosjean and Max Verstappen brought out the Safety Car.

Mercedes chose to pit Hamilton, which turned out to be a huge strategic error when Hamilton rejoined behind Rosberg and alongside Sebastian Vettel, who he was forced to concede second too before the restart.

With eight laps left, he could find no way past, eventually settling for third ahead of Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

RelatedPosts

Can Max Verstappen force F1’s hand to change its direction by threatening to retire?

10 hours ago

Max Verstappen prioritises Nürburgring running over F1 test

11 hours ago

Kimi Raikkonen lost out on fifth in the final few laps after Ricciardo muscled his way past with a little contact to the Finn’s dislike. A subsequent investigation into the move decided it was simply a racing incident.

Jenson Button secured McLaren’s first points finish of the season in eighth, to take home four points. It was however a mixed day for McLaren when Fernando Alonso retired with overheating issues. He was running ninth at the time.

Felipe Nasr and Carlos Sainz Jr claimed the final points paying positions.

Nico Hulkenberg, 11th, recovered well after dropping to the back when he and Alonso collided on lap one. Whilst the latter escaped, Hulkenberg was forced to pit for a new nose after ending up in the barrier.

Verstappen escaped unharmed from a high-speed impact into the barrier at Sainte Devote. The Dutchman misjudged the gap to Grosjean and made contact with the rear of the Lotus.