Rosberg dominates in Monacoposted in F125 | 05 | 2014
WARRING MERCEDES DUO Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton locked out yet another 1-2 as they pair took the top steps on the unique Monaco Grand Prix podium, 24 hours after their fallout in the wake of the qualifying controversy.
It was Rosberg's second successive Monaco win and highlighted the reasons many feel his controversial 'error' at the end of qualifying to ensure he retained his pole position was done on purpose.
The German's win also eased him ahead of Hamilton at the head of the championship: Rosberg heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix in a fortnight with a four-point advantage.
And while the German led from start-to-finish, outpacing Hamilton with a perfect launch away from his front place on the grid, the Englishman had to overcome a piece of grit in his eye which at one stage looked like causing him to lose second to the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo.
"I had quite a bit of wind coming in, I got close to Nico in one stage and I got some debris or dirt in my eye," Hamilton explained.
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"I was driving with one eye which is virtually impossible to do. Through low speed corners I had to close eye which made it worse, but five laps to go it cleared up and I was able to stay ahead of Daniel."
Aware of the problems Hamilton was enduring over the closing laps, Red Bull urged Ricciardo to try to take advantage of Mercedes driver's issue. The Australian — third last time out in Spain — caught the Mercedes at a rate of 1.5 seconds per lap towards the flag before falling just short.
"I pushed and didn't need to save tyres, and we got close to one of the Mercedes in the end but it is quite hard to pass," the ever-beaming Aussie explained.
"I tried to put a bit of pressure on but third was the best we could do. I knew the team felt I had to catch him, I knew I would get on to him, and I was waiting to see what happened. I wasn't going to settle for third but if there was a clean move to be taken I would have taken it."
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While double world champ Fernando Alonso brought his Ferrari home fourth, there were problems too for two other former world champs, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
Initially four-times champ Vettel ran third in his Red Bull, but reported a loss of power shortly after the first restart, which came after Sergio Perez damaged his Force India.
Before the race, Vettel's crew had replaced parts of his car's Energy Recovery System unit, following the ERS issue that hampered Vettel in qualifying. But as the power-drop continue as he rejoined the race, the team ordered him to retire the car.
Raikkonen, meanwhile, them found himself in third, but the Ferrari driver's race was undone by an inexplicable contact with Max Chilton's Marussia during the second safety car period. The damage by Chilton — who was trying to un-lap himself — caused a puncture to the Finnish driver's car. The pitstop resigned him to a comeback drive and he eventually finished a distant 12th.
DRIVERS' QUOTES:
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP:
"It was a tough race out there today but I am absolutely delighted to have won my second Monaco Grand Prix in succession. It's an amazing feeling and I'm proud to have done it at home, in front of my family and friends who were all here this afternoon.
"The race started well and I was comfortable but then we had to manage my fuel consumption and Lewis was pushing really hard behind me. We were able to be in control of the fuel with a few laps of lift and coast. It was important for me to break Lewis' momentum of winning the last four races this weekend. That worked out very well, but it was a really tough weekend. I'm so happy for the team that we had another one-two finish and look forward to the party tonight!"
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes GP:
"I felt very strong out there today and I really drove with all my heart, giving everything that I could to improve my position. This just hasn't been my weekend, but I can leave today feeling happy that we have achieved another one-two finish for the team. We have such a great car and everyone who has worked on it deserves the incredible results that we are getting at the moment.
"Back to this afternoon: this is such a difficult circuit to overtake. I was following Nico as close as I could and had great pace but I just couldn't get past. Towards the end, I got some dirt in my eye through the visor which made it very tough for a few laps but thankfully it cleared up and I was able to hold off Daniel and keep second place.
"This hasn't been the greatest of weekends but I'll go into the next race with even more energy and determination. The team are working so hard and we're determined to keep the momentum going."
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull:
“The race really came to life towards the end. It started off not so well and it’s a really short run to Turn 1, so that was frustrating. Then we got Seb due to his reliability and Kimi had a puncture and we sort of got back to where we were hoping to be. After the re-start we were just saving the tyres to the point that we could get to the end and then, with 20 laps to go, I thought they would be okay so I pushed. It was the first time in the whole race that I felt like I was really driving the car and we caught Lewis. It was fun but I couldn’t get him, so I have to say the race finished better than it started.”
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull:
“It’s disappointing. I had a good start and then we lost boost pressure from the turbo, so I had no power and had to retire. The team did everything they could. I felt quite helpless in the car, so I was asking for an answer of what we could do, but there wasn’t anything at that stage. We fixed some problems yesterday with the ERS, but some more came today with the turbo, but we will move forwards and it will be good for us soon.”
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari:
“Finishing just off the podium today was a good result, especially after a difficult start and the various incidents during the race. At the start, something in the motor didn’t work, but even if I’d had full power, there was no room to overtake. The three cars ahead of me deserved to be there as they were really uncatchable. I am pleased with fourth place, because we were able to manage a race in which you had to always maintain the highest level of concentration as there were plenty of tense moments.
"Our pace was good and that means that, bit by bit, we are improving. Sure, the gap to the leaders is still significant, because like us, they are still moving forward on the development front. Therefore we must always try to do better, starting with the next race in Canada.”
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari:
“This was a very unlucky day for me, a real shame after getting a good start and managing to move up to third place. The car was handling well and had a good pace. Unfortunately, in a Safety Car period, my car was hit by Chilton’s Marussia and I had to make an unscheduled stop as my right rear tyre was damaged and that meant the end of any chance of getting a good result.
"I am sorry I still haven’t managed to get a good result because we are working very hard. We know there is a lot to do as our rivals are still a long way ahead, but I am sure that if we continue down this path the results will come, maybe with a bit more luck.”
Roman Grosjean, Lotus:
“It’s good to finish the race here for the first time in my career and it’s good to get some points too. It started as a pretty bad Sunday for us with a puncture for me on the first lap after Adrian (Sutil) drove into me. We swapped to the soft tyres but it was impossible to overtake on these, so we came back in for the super softs. The safety car timing didn’t help us as we’d just gone out on the new tyres, but that’s Monaco. You can have thousands of misfortunes in the race, but still be in the points at the end!"
Jenson Button, McLaren:
“This was a typical Monaco Grand Prix – it was messy out there; people were making mistakes; there were cars all over the place; you had to stay focused; keep up with the pack, and look after the tyres, using them when necessary.
“For the entirety of my final stint, I looked after my tyres and dropped back into the clear air behind Kevin. Then it was just about pacing myself to the end. I couldn’t quite get past Nico (Hulkenberg) at the end – he was struggling with his tyres, but whenever I pushed, I struggled as well, so I couldn’t make it stick.
“In the closing laps, we had a good little battle, but it’s so tough when you’re shoved up behind another car. It’s difficult enough as it is, but when you can’t really see anything because there’s a car in front, it’s even more difficult.
“This wasn’t a bad result for us – I just wish I could have picked off Nico at the end. It’s just a pity that Kevin’s late-race problem meant we couldn’t get more points for both cars at the finish.”
Kevin Magnussen, McLaren:
“Despite a lot of things going against us today – the long hold due to traffic at my pitstop, the unsafe release in front of me in the pitlane, and the engine issue – I can draw a lot from the fact that our car felt really good. That’s a real positive: it might be hard to see from the outside, but things are moving forward within the team.
“There were lots of little issues – Jean-Eric’s team probably didn’t calculate his release properly – it’s never the driver’s fault – it’s just one of those things that happens. And it was a pity I didn’t get to finish the battle with Nico (Hulkenberg); I’d been saving my tyres in the expectation that Nico would struggle, but then I had a problem with my power-unit, which dropped me back.
“I’m still not really sure what happened with my car at the end of the race. And I didn’t see what happened with Kimi – I went to the inside to block his entry into the hairpin, but he chose to make a move anyway. It’s hard to overtake here, but he tried and it didn’t work. That’s racing.”
Nico Hulkenberg, Sahara Force India:
“Ten points today is a great reward after such a difficult race. The last 20 laps were really tricky because my supersoft tyres were at the end of their life and it was hard to hold off the cars behind me and stay away from the barriers. There were a few close moments when I kissed the wall, but I survived and managed to hold on to fifth place.
"Fortunately my car was quick in the right places – going into the tunnel and also through the final corner. There were some enjoyable moments in the race, especially my move on Magnussen. He had to let the Toro Rosso back through and he lost a bit of momentum so I saw my opportunity to stick my nose down the inside of turn eight. On a track like Monaco it gives you a big smile to make the move stick.”
Felipe Massa, Williams:
"I'm very happy with seventh, after starting 16th on the grid. I took some risks when I changed strategy at the safety car and had to make my tyres last, which they did. I made the most of the opportunities I had with other cars making mistakes or retiring. Many things could have happened so I am pleased they worked out for the best. A tough weekend turned into a positive one."
Valtteri Bottas, Williams:
"We had an issue with the power unit which is frustrating. There are some investigations to do to find out exactly what happened. After the start I was quickly in the points so it could have been a good weekend. Felipe finished seventh so the team can walk away with something. We now look towards Canada where we hope to be strong due to the nature of the track."
F1 Monaco Grand Prix — Result:
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1h49m27.661s;
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +9.210s;
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault +9.614s;
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +32.452s;
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes -1 lap;
6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes -1 lap;
7. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes -1 lap;
8. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault -1 lap;
9. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari -1 lap;
10. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes -1 lap;
11. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault -1 lap;
12. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari -1 lap;
13. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault -3 laps;
14. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari -3 laps;
Retirements:
Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 59 laps
Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 55 laps
Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 50 laps
Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 23 laps
Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 10 laps
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 5 laps
Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 0 laps
Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 0 laps
Championship Stanings (After 6 of 29 grands prix):
Drivers':
1. Nico Rosberg 122
2. Lewis Hamilton 118
3. Fernando Alonso 61
4. Daniel Ricciardo 54
5. Nico Hulkenberg 47
6. Sebastian Vettel 45
7. Valtteri Bottas 34
8. Jenson Button 31
9. Kevin Magnussen 21
10. Sergio Perez 20
11. Felipe Massa 18
12. Kimi Raikkonen 17
13. Romain Grosjean 8
14. Jean-Eric Vergne 4
15. Daniil Kvyat 4
16. Jules Bianchi 2
Constructors':
1. Mercedes 240
2. Red Bull-Renault 99
3. Ferrari 78
4. Force India-Mercedes 67
5. McLaren-Mercedes 52
6. Williams-Mercedes 52
7. Lotus-Renault 8
8. Toro Rosso-Renault 8
9. Marussia-Ferrari 2
10. Sauber-Ferrari 0
11. Caterham-Renault 0
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Jim McGill