Race Report – When things go wrong

F12016 Monaco GP Thursday Press Conference Friday Practice 1 Results Practice 1 Report Practice 2 Results Practice 2 Report Quotes Press Conference Photos Saturday Practice 3 Results Practice 3 Report Qualifying Results Qualifying Report Quotes Press Conference Photos Sunday Race Notes Race Results Race Incidents Race Report Quotes Press Conference Photos When things go wrong

Lewis Hamilton, Monaco GP 2016 

 © The Cahier Archive

 

BY DAN KNUTSON IN MONACO

All sorts of things have been going wrong for Lewis Hamilton this season, including a fuel pressure problem during qualifying for Monaco which put him third on the grid. All sorts of things have been going wrong for Daniel Ricciardo such as the wrong strategy call by the Red Bull team that cost him the victory in Spain. Things went wrong for Ricciardo in the Monaco race as well as a botched pit stop by his team cost him the victory once again. The benefactor was Hamilton whose streak of bad luck ended with his 44th Formula 1 victory.

“Just when you feel it can’t get worse, it gets better,” Hamilton said. “I think the message to everybody is to just never give up.”

A dejected Ricciardo finished second.

I don’t even want to comment on the race,” he said. “Two weekends in a row I have been screwed now. I was called into the pits…they should have been ready. It hurts. It hurts. I don’t have anything else to say to be honest.”

A delighted Sergio Perez took third place in this Force India.

“I am extremely happy,” he said. “The team did an amazing job, and my third podium with this team. It’s even more special at Monaco.”

On Saturday, Ricciardo had earned his first ever F1 pole and set a new lap record to get it. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg admitted he just did not have the speed to match Ricciardo and lined up second.

Hamilton might have had the speed but he did not have the reliability as fuel pressure problems hampered his running. Still, he posted the third fastest time.

Sebastian Vettel qualified fourth in his Ferrari, while his teammate Kimi Raikkonen was 11th on the grid after getting a five-place grid penalty for a new gearbox.

The Force Indias looked strong in qualifying, with Nico Hulkenberg fifth and Perez seventh. The Toro Rossos also looked strong, with Carlos Sainz sixth and Daniil Kvyat eighth. Fernando Alonso (McLaren) and Valtteri Bottas (Williams) rounded out the top 10 on the grid.

At the back of the grid were Max Verstappen, who had crashed his Red Bull in Q1, and Felipe Nasr, who had an engine blow up in his Sauber in the same qualifying session. Both elected to start from the pits.

It was raining lightly but steadily as the drivers did their reconnaissance laps. Had it been dry, Ricciardo was going to start on the super soft Pirelli slicks whereas the rest of the top 10 would have started on the ultra soft Pirelli compounds. But now it was extreme rain tires all around.

Ten minutes before the start, officials announced that the 78-lap race would begin behind the safety car. As per the rules, the lap leaving the grid counted as lap 1 of the race.

Even though the rain was easing off, the cars were kicking up plenty of spray as they continued to circulate behind the Safety Car.

Finally, at the end of lap 7, the Safety Car came into the pits and the racing got underway. Jolyon Palmer crashed his Renault on the main straight, and the Virtual Safety Car was deployed for three minutes.

At the end of lap 10, Ricciardo had a 3.3 lead over Rosberg who was being attacked by Hamilton. Then Raikkonen tangled with Romain Grosjean (Haas) after the Finn first hit the barriers at the hairpin.

Several of the drivers in the lower ranks had already pitted for intermediate tires, and Vettel did the same at the end of lap 13.

The key to this race was when to change from extreme wet tires to intermediate wet tires (or straight to slicks) and then which of the three – ultra soft, super soft and soft – compounds to choose.

Lap 15: Ricciardo led Rosberg by 13.1 seconds. And Rosberg had a string of drivers behind him: Hamilton, Hulkenberg (who pitted), Sainz, Perez, Bottas, Felipe Massa (Williams) and Vettel. But Hamilton had had enough and he passed Rosberg, who had been told to let him by, and quickly pulled away on the drying track.

Rosberg pitted at the end of lap 20 for the inters as did Massa. The sun was now shining as Magnussen and Kvyat crashed at Rascasse Hairpin, and more drivers were pitting.

Ricciardo pitted at the end of lap 23, giving Hamilton …

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