Formula 1 2016 Race Report: Lewis Hamilton Bags Dramatic Win at Monaco GP

By Sameer Contractor

1 mins read

Published on May 30, 2016

Highlights

Mercedes' decision to stick to wet tyres for longer paid off well
Ricciardo was brought down by his unprepared crew which cost him time
The surprise entrant to the podium was Sergio Perez having started 7th

Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton bagged his first podium finish for this year's Formula One season at the Monaco Grand Prix, but much to the disappointment of Daniel Ricciardo who was led down by his team Red Bull after a pitstop blunder. While the day certainly belonged to Hamilton, Sergio Perez of Team Sahara Force India made it to the podium after a surprise third place finish, also the first podium for his team this season. The cloudy morning ensured that rains at the start of the Grand Prix de Monaco were much expected with teams bringing out wet tyres. After a successful stint during the qualifying rounds, Daniel Ricciardo led the race with a podium start and managed to maintain his lead during the initial laps. However, when Ricciardo was called in to change from intermediates to slick tyres, an unprepared crew cost the Australian driver precious seconds at the pitstop, which eventually decided his fate at the end of the race. In a way, Red Bull handed over the first place to Hamilton on a platter, even though Ricciardo had an impressive lead for most of the race. Mercedes-AMG's strategy paid off as Hamilton held on to the wet tyres for longer despite the initial struggle. After the rain stopped with the track moving from wet to intermediates, drivers moved to the pit lane for a tyre change by lap 20, while Ricciardo stopped at relatively later on lap 22. The Mercedes driver eventually moved to the pits on a late lap 30th, when the Red Bull driver was back to the pits progressing to slick tyres after setting strong times on his final intermediate lap. From hereon, Hamilton ensured to defend his lead, while also protecting his ultra soft tyres for the remaining 48 laps. Ricciardo barely managed to keep the difference less than a second behind Mercedes with Monaco's tricky bends adding to the time difference. The Red Bull driver did get close at two Virtual Safety Car restarts, but Hamilton's strong defence helped him cross the chequered flag first. Even though Hamilton and Ricciardo's fight to the finish was worth the watch, Sergio Perez ended the race with a magnificent finish at the third place after starting at the seventh place on the grid. Perez managed to hold off Sebastian Vettel who finished fourth for longer, after deciding to run on soft tyres instead of ultra soft. The move resulted in Sahara Force India driver putting out some best times on the firmer compound. Daniel Ricciardo Monaco GP 2016 Coming in fifth was the deserved Fernando Alonso of team McLaren benefitting from his pit-stop strategy and running longer on the tyres and ensured to fend off competition from Nico Hulkenberg of team Sahara Force India. Leading the current season in terms of points, Nico Rosberg, who won the last three races at Monaco faced issues with the rising brake temperatures in the wet. Hamilton was then asked to pass Rosberg by the team and chase Ricciardo for the lead with the former chasing a gap of 12 seconds. With the changes in the equation, Rosberg's lead in the total standings has reduced to 24 points from the previous 43, as the season moves to round 7 and the Canadian Grand Prix next month. The adrenaline packed race also saw some serious crashes with Max Verstappen crashing out on lap 35 after a pit-lane start and battled it to the top 10. Jolyon Palmer lost control of his Renault after turning sharp right into the wall, while Kimi Raikkonen slid off at Lowes damaging his car, and eventually retired on lap 11.