Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain embraces second placed Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia after winning the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco, Sunday, May 29, 2016. It was like all his bad luck came on one day and the result was P7.
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The switch to intermediate tyres left Ricciardo behind a slower Lewis Hamilton, the Brit had chosen to stay out on worn wets.
Unfortunately, miscommunication at Red Bull over a change of tires later in the race meant Ricciardo was stuck for 14 seconds at a pit stop instead of coming out in front of Hamilton.
Speaking to reporters after the race, Horner said they were simply unable to be ready for the Australian before he arrived in the pits.
“Then I started to push”. It is a figure which has been special to Hamilton ever since.
I think this will be a boost for my mechanics, who have been nervous all year.
Hamilton said his 44th victory – his favourite number – had special significance for him. It’s not just going to happen. I was going to take him on Turn three, on the outside, which not many people do.
The 18-year-old Red Bull driver, who two weeks earlier in Spain had become Formula One’s youngest race victor, crashed in both Saturday’s first qualifying and Sunday’s race around the metal-fenced street circuit. According to Hamilton, “I said ‘thanks for being a gentleman'”. “I’m not sure where we go from here, what to do”.
“In the past I would have been p***** off all night long and I would not have enjoyed it”.
With Hamilton and his teammate Nico Rosberg swapping crews in the off-season, the World Champion understood that it was probably daunting for them to move to his side of the garage.
Conditions appeared to worsen in the minutes leading up to the start, and it seemed a wise move to start the action behind a safety vehicle.
He looked poised to finish a lowly sixth but a miserable afternoon was completed when he was pipped on the line by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg.
In a rain-affected race of numerous twists and turns, Hamilton emerged victorious while his Mercedes team-mate finished only seventh – meaning the German’s advantage was cut to 24 points with 15 races to go.
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“That’s where we have to fight again and try to score good points or get to the podium”, he said of Montreal, a race that also has a notorious wall at the exit to the final chicane.
