Lewis Hamilton was able to hang for a nervy yet thrilling victory at the Monaco GP and with this, he has entered his championship lead following his epic battle against Max Verstappen.
Hamilton was delivering frantic messages to his Mercedes team from radio but still was able to last his tires for little over 60 laps to keep Verstappen in check and win his third title at the famous F1 race.
Hamilton and Verstappen both made a small contact near the closing stages when the Red Bull driver tried to move into the chicane.
Hamilton said as he dedicated his recent victory to Late Nicki Lauda, “That is probably the hardest race I ever had yet. I was using the fighting spirit of Lauda in this race.”
Verstappen was pushed all the way through the race by Hamilton to finish at 2nd place. However, he did receive a 5 seconds penalty for him making an unsafe release at the pit stop as he collided with Bottas during their first stop.
With this 5-seocnd penalty, Verstappen is now held at 4th place which means that now Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas hold the places at the podium. This is the first time that Mercedes has failed to secure 1-2 for the first time at Monaco GP.
Currently Hamilton is leading Bottas by 17 points in the standings.
As for Vettel’s 2nd place, it is his best finish for the season as the German driver never looked troubled by either Hamilton or Verstappen.
For Charles Leclerc, this race was a nightmare at home after he started 15th. He made the great first few laps but then he crashed into the barriers when he tried to make an identical move on Nico Hulkenberg.
The damage from the crash caused Leclerc to retire from the race early on.
Next, the season now continues with the Canadian GP that is going to take place from June 7th to June 9th.
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