Nico Rosberg managed to hold off a feisty Lewis Hamilton to win the illustrious Monaco Grand Prix. It was another perfect race weekend for Mercedes who dominated from start to finish. Despite a hard-fought challenge, Hamilton had to settle for second and still looked decidedly unhappy with his German team-mate after yesterday's controversial qualifying result. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo made it back to back podium finishes after crossing the line in third. Sebastien Vettel only lasted five laps before retiring from the race whilst Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished in fourth. The race result means that Nico Rosberg replaces Lewis Hamilton at the top of the driver's standings and has taken a 4 point lead over his team-mate.
My Opinion:
Mercedes - Rosberg (Winner), Hamilton (2nd). Mercedes have dominated five out of the first six races this season but it was Rosberg who held on to win the race today. Their was some bad blood between the two drivers after yesterdays controversial result and it spilled over today. Hamilton gave it a real go to pass Rosberg but it just wasn't meant to be. The German now takes a minor lead over Hamilton in the standings and it could start the beginning of a very frosty team atmosphere.
Red Bull - Ricciardo (3rd), Vettel (dnf - 5 laps). Mixed emotions at Red Bull as Ricciardo finished on the podium for the second time in two races but Vettel only lasted five laps of the race before retiring. It could have been a much better weekend for the team had Vettel finished in the top four as well but Monaco belonged to Ricciardo who continues his great season so far.
Ferrari - Alonso (4th), Raikkonen (12th). Alonso improved his position by one place after finishing in fourth but it was a really disappointing race for Raikkonen whose car suffered technical faults early on in the race. He couldn't recover the situation and failed to bring home any points. Ferrari are still a work in progress but they surely can't keep settling for sub-par results throughout the season.
Force India - Hulkenberg (5th), Perez (dnf - 0 laps). A mixed result for Force India who will be delighted that Hulkenberg climbed six places up the grid to equal his best finish of the season in 5th. However, Perez's day was over before the first lap ended after a crash with Maldonado. Things are looking optimistic for the team and they should continue to enjoy a good season.
McLaren - Button (6th), Magnussen (10th). Decent result in the end for McLaren as both cars finished inside the top ten. Button impressively moved up six places to finish in sixth but Magnussen lost two places and fell down to 10th. Still, it was a decent result considering their car but McLaren want to achieve podiums.
Williams - Massa (7th), Bottas (dnf - 55 laps). After a torrid day of qualifying yesterday, it was at least a little more positive after the race. Massa managed to move into the top ten and restore some of the teams pride but Bottas failed to finish a race for the first time this season. Despite lasting 55 laps, the car let Bottas down and forced him into retirement from the race. I'm sure we will see a much better result in Canada.
Toro Rosso - Vergne (dnf - 50 laps), Kvyat (dnf - 10 laps). It was a really strong qualifying result for the team but it was a horror show in the race. Kvyat only managed 10 laps whilst Vergne was out there until the 50th before both cars retired from the race. A massively disappointing result in the end after what could have been a very strong result for the team.
Lotus - Grosjean (8th), Maldonado (dnf - 0 laps). Lotus equalled their highest race finish of the season as Grosjean made up six places to finish in 8th. However, Maldonado was involved in a crash on the first lap which ended his race early on.
Marussia - Bianchi (9th), Chilton (14th). Jubilation for Marussia who scored their first ever points in Formula 1. It was a real fight between Bianchi, Magnussen and Ericsson for those last couple of points but the Frenchman held on in what was a historical day for Marussia. Chilton was the last car to cross the line in 14th.
Sauber - Gutierrez (dnf - 59 laps), Sutil (dnf - 23 laps). A poor qualifying result turned into a terrible race weekend as both cars failed to finish the race. Sutil was out after 23 laps whilst Gutierrez retired after 59 laps in what was a truly torrid Grand Prix for Sauber.
Caterham - Ericsson (11th), Kobayashi (13th). Caterham came so close to scoring their first ever points in Formula 1 but just missed out as Ericsson was beaten to 10th by Magnussen. Still it was an impressive performance from the team whilst Kobayashi claimed his best result of the season so far after crossing the line in 13th.
Race Result:
Winner: Rosberg (Mercedes) 25pts
2. Hamilton (Mercedes) 18pts
3. Ricciardo (Red Bull) 15pts
4. Alonso (Ferrari) 12pts
5. Hulkenberg (Force India) 10pts
6. Button (McLaren) 8pts
7. Massa (Williams) 6pts
8. Grosjean (Lotus) 4pts
9. Bianchi (Marussia) 2pts
10. Magnussen (McLaren) 1pt
11. Ericsson (Caterham)
12. Raikkonen (Ferrari)
13. Kobayashi (Caterham)
14. Chilton (Marussia)
15. Gutierrez (Sauber) DNF 59 laps
16. Bottas (Williams) DNF 55 laps
17. Vergne (Toro Rosso) DNF 50 laps
18. Sutil (Sauber) DNF 23 laps
19. Kvyat (Toro Rosso) DNF 10 laps
20. Vettel (Red Bull) DNF 5 laps
21. Perez (Force India) DNF 0 laps
22. Maldonado (Lotus) DNF 0 laps
Fastest Lap of the Race: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1.18.479
Driver of the Day: Jules Bianchi moved up ten places to take Marussia's first ever points in F1.
Team of the Day: Mercedes dominated the race and sealed the top two positions.
Driver Standings
1. Rosberg (Mercedes) 122pts
2. Hamilton (Mercedes) 118pts
3. Alonso (Ferrari) 61pts
4. Ricciardo (Red Bull) 54pts
5. Hulkenberg (Force India) 47pts
Constructor Standings
1. Mercedes 240pts
2. Red Bull 99pts
3. Ferrari 78pts
4. Force India 67pts
5. McLaren 52pts
Follow me on Twitter @mattaylott
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