Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton was the first to cross the finish line on Sunday at the 2019 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.
As is normally the case in Monaco, it was a tightly fought race, one in which Hamilton, who started on pole, was constantly battling with rivals to hold the lead spot, particularly Aston Martin Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen.
Although Verstappen finished the race right on Hamilton's tail, he was classified fourth due to a 5-second penalty for an unsafe pit stop release. It meant Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was classified second, 2.6 seconds back, while Mercedes' other man, Valtteri Bottas, was classified third, 3.1 seconds behind his teammate.
Hamilton had a clean start, with Vettel and Bottas right behind and Verstappen maintaining fourth place. Those positions were maintained until an incident between Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Renault's Nico Hulkenberg saw the safety car come out on lap 11. Leclerc was fighting his way up from 15th on the grid due to Saturday's poor qualifying result and during a passing attempt on Hulkenberg on lap 9, he clipped his right rear tire, scattering debris that required the safety car out. There was further damage to his Ferrari that later saw him retire.
2019 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix
The top four drivers all went into the pits at this point but upon exiting, Verstappen came into contact with Bottas while still in the pits, resulting in his penalty. Bottas had to return to the pits with a suspected puncture, but was fortunate that the safety car allowed him to slot back into his previous position behind Vettel.
A second incident, this time between Williams' Robert Kubica and Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi, would hold things up again but fortunately both drivers could continue, albeit with Giovinazzi later being served a 10-second penalty for causing the event.
The race was now able to get into a rhythm, though Hamilton toward the end started to suffer from worn tires. Verstappen remained right on the tail of the Mercedes driver and just one lap from the end made an attempt down the inside into the seafront chicane. Hamilton managed to block Verstappen, with the rear of his Mercedes coming into contact with Verstappen's Red Bull. The stewards later looked at the incident but took no further action.
Hamilton's lead in the 2019 Drivers' Championship has extended to 137 points while Bottas remains in second with 120 points. Vettel is third with 82 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes leads with 257 points versus the 139 of Ferrari and 110 of Red Bull. The season now moves to Canada in a fortnight’s time for round seven.
2019 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2019 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix:
1) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG
2) Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari +2.602 seconds
3) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG +3.162 seconds
4) Max Verstappen, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing +5.537 seconds
5) Pierre Gasly, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing +9.946 seconds
6) Carlos Sainz, McLaren +53.454 seconds
7) Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso +54.574 seconds
8) Alexander Albon, Toro Rosso +55.200 seconds
9) Daniel Ricciardo, Renault +60.894 seconds
10) Romain Grosjean, Haas +61.034 seconds
11) Lando Norris, McLaren +66.801 seconds
12) Sergio Perez, Racing Point +1 lap
13) Nico Hulkenberg, Renault +1 lap
14) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
15) George Russell, Williams +1 lap
16) Lance Stroll, Racing Point +1 lap
17) Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
18) Robert Kubica, Williams +1 lap
19) Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo +2 laps
Ret) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
