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| Ricciardo's win in Canada came thanks to Mercedes hitting trouble (Copyright: Infiniti Red Bull Racing) |
Ricciardo had got ahead of team mate Vettel at the pit stops in Montreal, then passing the Force India of Sergio Perez for 2nd, before closing on Rosberg. Whilst he was obviously quicker, the Mercedes being hobbled, he had to work hard to get to the front and pass Rosberg, so the element of luck wasn't massive.
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| Alonso's victory in Valencia in 2012 was an emotional one. |
Alonso had fought like a lion to get into 2nd place, from a lowly grid position of 11th, but he was gifted the lead when Vettel's Red Bull retired from the race, so never had to pull of an overtaking move. He had fought hard, however, to get into that position, but was really gifted the lead, so a higher element of luck was involved Valencia than with Ricciardo in Canada.
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| Victory was handed to Hamilton and McLaren on a plate in 2010 in Istanbul. |
Hamilton's victory in Istanbul yielded the highest amount of luck of all three races. Having ended up behind both Red Bull's after the first pit stops, Hamilton got lucky when the two 'Bull's collided. He hadn't quite got the pace of them, and had not had to fight his way up into the top positions. He had though done a good job of running his own race and he had a bit of a dice with Webber, but ultimately had not been able to pass the Australian. So the luck factor here was very high. And it was that kind of luck that Nico Rosberg picked up in Monaco.
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| Rosberg got lucky in Monaco (Copyright: Mercedes AMG) |
Rosberg had not had the pace of team mate Lewis Hamilton all race. At the start he was almost passed by the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel into St Deveote, but just held on. Throughout the race he was under immense pressure from the Ferrari, and ended up twenty seconds behind Hamilton. However, thanks to a collision between Max Verstappen, and a bodged strategy call from Mercedes, he took the lead with only a handful of laps to go, and never looked back, taking his third straight win in Monaco and the first back to back win of his career after his win in Spain.
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| There was plenty of action at the start of the race (Copyright: Mercedes AMG) |
Hamilton had lead the race from the moment the lights went out. Vettel almost got Rosberg for 2nd into turn one, but Nico held on. Behind the top three, Daniil Kvyat pounced on his Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo to move up into 4th place. Kvyat then could only watch as the top three ran off into the distance. Hamilton left Rosberg and Vettel for dead, but Vettel wasn't letting Rosberg get out of his sights. He harried the Mercedes all the way to the firs pit stops, keeping him within two seconds. Ferrari attempted to undercut Rosberg at the pitstops, but Vettel was to far back on his in-lap to pass the Mercedes.
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| Hamilton dominated the race...until just a few laps from home (Copyright: Mercedes AMG) |
As all this went on, Hamilton steadily built up his advantage at the front, and had amassed a lead of over 19 seconds before lap 64. It was on that lap that Verstappen and Grosjean collided, which resulted in F1's first ever Virtual Safety Car. This didn't last long though, as the full Safety Car was deployed when Race Director Charlie Whiting realised that the medical car was needed. It was here when the race unraveled for Hamilton.
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| Rosberg and Vettel jumped ahead of Hamilton after Mercedes bad strategy call |
Mercedes brought Hamilton in for a second pitstop, thinking he had enough of a lead to come in, bolt on another set of supersoft tyres, then come out of the pits in the lead. However, they got it wrong. Not only did Hamilton emerge behind team mate Rosberg, but he was behind Vettel's Ferrari as well. "We've lost this haven't we guys?" he said on the radio. On the face of it yes, he had lost it. But he had much fresher tyres than Rosberg and Vettel, plus he was on the supersofts, not the softs that Rosberg and Vettel were on.
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| Vettel fended of Hamilton for 2nd place |
However, this is Monaco, and passing is nearly impossible. Hamilton tried his best to get past Vettel but he couldn't manage it. "I don't think there has ever been a more bittersweet feeling than this one. We have won the Monaco Grand Prix and we have lost the Monaco Grand Prix all at the same time" said Toto Wolff after the race. It could have been worse for Mercedes. Had Vettel got the undercut on Rosberg earlier on, it so easily could have been a victory for the Scuderia.
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| Ricciardo almost took 3rd from Hamilton (Copyright: Infiniti Red Bull Racing) |
Hamilton couldn't just focus on Vettel either. Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull had closed right up to the Mercedes, Ricciardo himself pitting during the safety car for a fresh set of supersoft tyres. During the last few laps, there was a very real chance that Ricciardo could take Red Bull's first podium of the year, but with it being Monaco, he never quite got the opportunity to pass Hamilton. "I had some fun in the last few laps trying to get close to Hamilton and Vettel to fight for a podium position" said Daniel. He certainly did have fun, even if he couldn't get past.
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| Hamilton was devastated after the race (Copyright: Mercedes AMG) |
Hamilton held onto third but he was devastated by the result. An easy victory had slipped through his fingers completely, with his team mate halving the gap in the championship and no doubt growing in confidence. Rosberg had put in stellar drives in both Bahrain and Spain, and whilst Monaco had been a lucky win, he had won back-to-back races for the first time in his career, surely boosting his confidence. Rosberg will know of course how quick Hamilton was, so can now try to make it three in a row in Montreal. Now wouldn't that spice up the title battle?
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| Vettel kept up his impressive 2015 podium record |
After putting pressure on Rosberg, Vettel withstood the pressure from Hamilton in the latter stages of the race to maintain his fine podium record this year. Vettel has been very impressive this year, especially with his win in Malaysia and he will surely add another win to that one later this year.
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| Raikkonen didn't have the best of weekends in Monaco |
Kimi Raikkonen has driven well this year to, but his sloppy qualifying sessions have worked against him. Despite his initial move up to fifth after the pitstops, he again dropped back behind Ricciardo in the race. Had he qualified in the top four where by all rights, he should have been, that wouldn't have happened. Once Raikkonen nails qualifying, he will no doubt be even stronger and be able to convert those qualifying results into podium positions, maybe even a win.
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| Daniil Kvyat drove brilliantly in Monte Carlo (Copyright: Infiniti Red Bull Racing) |
Red Bull had their most competitive showing of the year, highlighted by Ricciardo almost taking 3rd from Hamilton. He had been running 5th during the first stint before dropping to 6th after Raikkonen passed him during the pitstops but regained that position with an aggressive move into Mirabeau.
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| Ricciardo couldn't quite get past Hamilton, conceding his 4th place back to Kvyat (Copyright: Infiniti Red Bull Racing) |
He was then allowed to pass team mate Daniil Kvyat and fight the top three but he couldn't get past, so dropped back behind Kvyat to allow the Russian to take his best result of the year in 4th. The team had ordered Ricciardo to do so as Kvyat had been ahead of Daniel since the start, Kvyat being mighty impressive around the Monaco streets. Red Bull say they managed to fully exploit the RB11 chassis, and it is clearly a good one. If only they could get a bit more power...
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| Serigo Perez had a great weekend with Force India |
Force India had a great race...well, with Sergio Perez. The Mexican took a fine 7th place in a car that will soon be replaced by the upcoming B-spec version, possibly at the Austrian Grand Prix in June. Perez qualified in 7th and maintained that position during the race, with a perfect drive. Perez said after the race "I’m very happy right now. As a team we’ve done a fantastic job all weekend and seventh place is the result of all this hard work." Drive of the day? Could well be!
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| Luck wasn't coming for 'The Hulk' in Monaco |
His team mate Nico Hulkenburg on the other hand, had a nightmare race. He qualified just outside the top ten but with the speed the VJM08 was showing around Monaco, should have climbed into the points but was punted off into Mirabeau on lap one by McLaren's Fernando Alonso, earning the Spaniard a five second stop/go penalty, Nico remarking after the race "Fernando more or less pushed me into the wall on the first lap and from that moment I basically had to play catch up." He did a great job in recovering to 11th place, but there are no points for 11th. Keep thinking about that new car Nico...
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| There were mixed fortunes for the McLaren duo (Copyright: McLaren Honda) |
It was a case of mixed fortunes for McLaren as well. After nearly making Q3 before Rosberg caused a yellow flag by locking up into St Devote, Jenson Button took a solid 8th place for the team, their first points of the season. "It’s been a positive day for us. We were hoping to score a point today, and we scored four. I certainly didn’t expect to finish eighth." Alonso was on for at least 9th place despite having served his stop/go penalty, but his MP4-30 overheated, got stuck in neutral as he headed into St Devote and he pulled off the track into retirement.
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| Alonso was running in 9th place before his car let him down (Copyright: McLaren-Honda) |
Fernando's words after the race said it all. "It's a pity we couldn't finish the race today. The car started to upshift in a really strange way on the lap before I stopped; then, on the first corner, I had no braking. The car stayed in neutral and I couldn't put it in gear." A strange issue that robbed the team of another two points. Things are slowly looking up though for McLaren, although don't quite expect the same result for the team in Canada.
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| Nasr had a great race for Sauber (Copyright: Sauber F1 Team) |
It was a bit of a mixed bag for Sauber as well. Both cars qualified way down the order but Felipe Nasr drove a fine race to finish in 9th place and bag a couple of points for the team, his first points since the Chinese Grand Prix three races ago.
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| Ericsson didn't have the best of weekends (Copyright: Sauber F1 Team) |
Nasr's team-mate Marcus Ericsson didn't have quite the same race. He could only manage 13th from a lowly grid position of 17th. Ercisson himself hasn't scored since China, a chance of points being thrown away in Bahrain thanks to a bodged pitstop and never being in contention in Spain. Another disappointing race for the Swede.
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| Sainz went from the pitlane to the points |
Before we discuss the hero to zero antics of Max Verstappen, we mustn't forget that Carlos Sainz drove a stormer to finish in 10th after starting from the pitlane, thanks to him missing the weighbridge in qualifying. After starting from the pitlane, a finish anywhere in the points is a good result in Monaco. Another good performance from the Spanish rookie.
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| Verstappen was impressive...until lap 64 |
Max Verstappen of course ended his race in the barriers at St Devote. Before that he had driven brilliantly. A brave move into St Devote a few laps into the race took 9th from Maldonado, but a 31 second pitstop dropped him way down into 13th place. He then clung onto Vettel's Ferrari and used the blue fags Vettel created to pass his team-mate Sainz as well as Valtteri Bottas in the Williams. However, Romain Grosjean was wise to this and blocked Verstappen, and we all know what happened after that...
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| Grosjean and Verstappen had a bit of an altercation |
Heading into St Devote, Verstappen jinked to the inside of Grosjean and clipped the right rear of the Lotus, ripping off Verstappens front left and sending him straight into the barriers, Grosjean having to spin back onto the track and dropping down the order. The stewards have Verstappen a 5 place grid penalty for Canada, judging him to be at fault. Whoever's fault it was, it was a nasty crash.
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| Grosjean was in the points until Verstappen hit him up the rear (Copyright: Lotus F1 Team) |
After taking a 5 place grid penalty for a gearbox change, Grosjean was having a decent race. He had got himself into the points, before the collision with Verstappen. He kept on going but could only finish in 12th place.
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| Maldonado has yet to find some luck (Copyright: Lotus F1 Team) |
Pastor Maldonado cannot seem to get a break right now. He qualified strongly and was running well in the early stages of the race before brake issues force him into retirement. Maldonado has effectively retired from every race of this year, despite being classified at the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Things are just not going his way, despite him having the pace.
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| Massa and Williams had a horrible weekend (Copyright: Williams Martini Racing) |
Williams had a nightmare weekend. The FW37 did not dial in to the circuit, Felipe Massa the highest qualifier for the team in 14th place. There was a chance he could grab a few points, but first lap contact with Hulkenburg meant he went a lap down after just one lap, and he never recovered. "We tried the two-stop strategy which never really came to us, with the safety car coming at just the wrong time. There are not too many positives from the weekend but plenty we can learn from as to why we struggled" said a clearly disgruntled Massa after the race. Not a good day at all for the Brazilian.
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| Bottas didn't have a great weekend for Williams either (Copyright: Williams Martini Racing) |
Valtteri Bottas didn't have much luck either. He didn't even make Q2, qualifying only 17th and progressed only to 14th, two stop strategy failed to pay off. "We tried the two-stop strategy which never really came to us, with the safety car coming at just the wrong time. There are not too many positives from the weekend but plenty we can learn from as to why we struggled" said Valtteri after the race. Williams though didn't go well at Monaco last year and the team say it was a Monaco specific slump. With the car strong everywhere else, that is no doubt the case. Expect them to be back at the front in Canada.
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| Stevens leads Merhi...and no, this wasn't how it stayed! (Copyright: Manor Marussia F1 Team) |
This years race was never going to yield a points finish for the Manor team, with them using an updated 2014 car. However they got both cars to the end of the race again, with Roberto Merhi beating team-mate Will Stevens for the first time this year after the Brit picked up some front wing damage early on, Merhi finishing 16th and Stevens 17th.
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| Merhi beat Stevens for the first time in 2015 (Copyright: Manor Marussia F1 Team) |
With a strong performance like that, It is looking increasingly likely that Merhi will finish the season with the Manor team, after the pressure was really on,for him to deliver a good result against his team-mate. Despite it not being on the level of 2014, it was another decent weekend for the Manor team.
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| Rosberg takes his third straight win in Monaco (Copyright: Mercedes AMG) |
Three in a row in Monaco and back to back wins for the first time in his career. Nico Rosberg is no doubt feeling pretty good right now, with the gap in the championship coming down bit by bit. It may have been all handed to him on a plate with a very high level of luck, but at the end of the day, a win's a win. After triumphing in Spain and Monaco, can he make it three consecutive wins in Montreal? Until next time folks. Ciao.
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| Massa in his FW37...roll on Canada eh Felipe? (Copyright: Williams Martini Racing) |
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