Monaco Grand Prix 2015

It seemed to be a clear thing for Lewis Hamilton
After a successful start, things seemed to be going according to plan for Lewis Hamilton. He distanced himself from his opponents lap by lap. On lap 12, he was 2.675 seconds ahead of Rosberg. He was followed by Vettel (+ 4.618 sec.), Kvyat (+ 8.95 sec.), Ricciardo (+ 11.3 sec.) and Raikkonen (+ 13.11 sec.). 10 laps later, Hamilton's driving skills already extended his lead over Rosberg to 4.1 seconds. On lap 28, he already lapped Ericsson (Sauber), Sainz (Toro Rosso) and Hülkenberg (Force India), who were running in positions 14 to 16. Behind him, the pursuers were struggling to overtake the car in front. Raikkonen was close behind Ricciardo but failed to find the gap. On lap 32, Hamilton set another fastest lap and was 8.5 seconds ahead of his first pursuer Rosberg.

Now it was time, as strategic means were used. Fernando Alonso made up 1.5 seconds in one lap and therefore retained his place in the points after the tire change ahead of Felipe Nasr (Sauber). Max Verstappen's crew bungled and couldn't get the rear wheel tight, which cost him his position in the points. On lap 37, Vettel tried to trick Rosberg with a fast lap and a standing time of 3.1 sec. But he also came in for a tire change a lap later, also switching to soft and getting back on track just ahead of Vettel. Raikkonen, on the other hand, was successful in this way and overtook Ricciardo. On lap 41, Hamilton was unchallenged ahead of Rosberg, Vettel, Kvyat, Raikkonen and Ricciardo. Two laps later Alonso had to retire due to gearbox problems. Too bad about the points, but his teammate Jenson Button was driving in 8th position at the time. Maybe he would drive home the points for McLaren-Honda.

Verstappen's crash and the safety car changed the course of the race
It seemed to be a perfect race Sunday for Lewis Hamilton when, on lap 64, Max Verstappen was unable to avoid Romain Grosjean in front of him and drove over the latter's right rear wheel, taking off and thundering almost unbraked into the tire chicane at turn one after the start-finish straight. The Dutchman got out uninjured, but the safety car was then brought into the race. Hamilton, Button and Nasr immediately pitted to change to supersoft tires again for the final laps. But this proved to be Lewis Hamilton's undoing, as Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel stayed on the track and inherited the lead position in that order. On lap 72, the race continued without a safety car and Hamilton tried to overtake Vettel by hook or by crook, but Vettel blew him off ice-cold and fought like a world champion for his second place, which he was able to defend to the end. Undeterred by this, Nico Rosberg pulled away and, with a bit of racing luck, became Monaco's third winner.

Ranking from the Monaco Grand Prix
1st Nico Rosberg Mercedes
2nd Sebastian Vettel Ferrari + 4.456 sec.
3rd Lewis Hamilton Mercedes + 6.053 sec.
4th Daniil Kvyat Red Bull + 11.965 sec.
5. daniel Ricciardo Red Bull + 13, 608 sec.
6th Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari + 14.345 sec.
7th Sergio Perez Force India + 15.013 sec.
8th Jenson Button McLaren Honda + 16.063 sec.
9th Felipe Nasr Sauber + 23.626 sec.
10th Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso + 25.056 sec.
11th Nico Hülkenberg Force India + + 26.232 sec.
12th Romain Grosjean Lotus + 28.415 sec.
13th Marcus Ericsson Sauber + 31.159 sec.
14th Valteri Bottas Williams + 45.789 sec.
15th Felipe Massa Williams + 1 lap
16th Robert Mehri Manor Marussia + 2 laps
17.W. Stevens Manor Marussia + 2 laps
18 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso accident
19 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda failure gearbox problems
20th Pastor Maldonado Lotus failure defective engine brake