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The 2018 Monaco Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2018)[1] was the sixth race of the 2018 Formula One season, and the sixty-fifth time the Monaco Grand Prix was held on the Formula One calendar. It was held between 24 May and 27 May 2018.

In qualifying, Daniel Ricciardo took his second pole position overall, scoring his and Red Bull's first pole since the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix, although his teammate Max Verstappen failed to set a qualifying time after crashing his car in FP3. Sebastian Vettel joined Ricciardo on the front row while championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified third.

In the race, Ricciardo kept the lead at the start after Vettel went alongside him before the first corner. On lap 28, Ricciardo's car started to lose a small amount of power, but he kept it ahead of Vettel for the rest of the race, while a virtual safety car was deployed on lap 73 after Charles Leclerc's brakes failed and he crashed into Brendon Hartley. With none of the front runners pitting under the virtual safety car, Ricciardo led every lap and took his seventh victory, also Red Bull's first win in Monaco since 2012. Vettel settled for second, while Hamilton completed the podium after fending off Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas.


Background[]

The race marked the first time the hypersoft tyres were used in a Grand Prix. Ultrasofts and supersofts were also used.[2]

After they were used at the previous race in Spain, the winglets placed above Ferrari's rear-view mirrors on their halos were banned for further use.[3]

In the Spanish Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean was involved in a crash caused by him spinning into the paths of Nico Hülkenberg and Pierre Gasly. Therefore, he was given a three-place grid penalty for the Monaco Grand Prix.[4]

Entry list[]

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Mercedes W09 EQ Power+ Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Germany Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Mercedes W09 EQ Power+ Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari SF71H Ferrari 062 EVO P
7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari SF71H Ferrari 062 EVO P
3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Austria Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB14 TAG Heuer TAG Heuer P
33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB14 TAG Heuer TAG Heuer P
11 Mexico Sergio Pérez India Sahara Force India F1 Team Force India VJM11 Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
31 France Esteban Ocon India Sahara Force India F1 Team Force India VJM11 Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
18 Canada Lance Stroll United Kingdom Williams Martini Racing Williams FW41 Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin United Kingdom Williams Martini Racing Williams FW41 Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ P
27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg France Renault Sport Formula One Team Renault R.S.18 Renault R.E.18 P
55 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. France Renault Sport Formula One Team Renault R.S.18 Renault R.E.18 P
28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Italy Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda Toro Rosso STR13 Honda RA618H P
10 France Pierre Gasly Italy Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda Toro Rosso STR13 Honda RA618H P
8 France Romain Grosjean United States Haas F1 Team Haas VF-18 Ferrari 062 EVO P
20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen United States Haas F1 Team Haas VF-18 Ferrari 062 EVO P
14 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren F1 Team McLaren MCL33 Renault R.E.18 P
2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne United Kingdom McLaren F1 Team McLaren MCL33 Renault R.E.18 P
9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Switzerland Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team Sauber C37 Ferrari 062 EVO P
16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Switzerland Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team Sauber C37 Ferrari 062 EVO P
source

Practice Overview[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

FP3[]

Practice Results[]

No Driver Team FP1 FP2 FP3
Time Pos Time Pos Time Pos
2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 1:14.291 15 1:13.077 8 1:12.874 11
3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 1:12.126 1 1:11.841 1 1:11.786 1
5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Ferrari 1:13.041 4 1:12.413 3 1:12.023 3
7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 1:13.066 5 1:12.543 5 1:12.142 4
8 France Romain Grosjean United States Haas-Ferrari 1:13.943 9 1:13.763 18 1:13.881 18
9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.206 19 1:14.173 20 1:14.221 20
10 France Pierre Gasly Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:14.240 14 1:13.410 14 1:12.761 8
11 Mexico Sergio Pérez India Force India-Mercedes 1:13.717 8 1:13.370 12 1:13.025 13
14 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 1:14.637 17 1:13.115 9 1:13.279 15
16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 1:14.521 16 1:13.575 17 1:13.644 17
18 Canada Lance Stroll United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 1:14.782 18 1:14.011 19 1:13.595 16
20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen United States Haas-Ferrari 1:18.801 20 1:13.572 16 1:14.192 19
27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg France Renault 1:14.134 13 1:13.047 7 1:13.112 14
28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 1:14.034 12 1:13.222 11 1:12.752 7
31 France Esteban Ocon India Force India-Mercedes 1:14.000 11 1:13.382 13 1:12.940 12
33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 1:12.280 2 1:12.035 2 1:11.787 2
35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 1:13.962 10 1:13.547 15 1:12.854 10
44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes 1:12.480 3 1:12.536 4 1:12.273 5
55 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. France Renault 1:13.456 6 1:13.200 10 1:12.850 9
77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Germany Mercedes 1:13.502 7 1:12.642 6 1:12.356 6
Source: [5][6][7]

Qualifying[]

It proved to be a warm Saturday afternoon in Monte Carlo for the qualifying session, with the air temperature hovering around 29°C.[8] Furthermore, the high air temps, and beating sunlight, meant that the track temperature was approaching 50°C, the highest it had been all weekend meaning that the new "Hypersoft" Pirelli tyres would be under maximum stress.[8] Elsewhere, there were doubts over Max Verstappen's participation after his crash in FP3, with suspected gearbox damage to add to the Dutchman's woes.[8]

Q1[]

Indeed, Verstappen was fated not to make an appearance in the first qualifying session, immediately eliminating him from the proceedings.[8] That reduced the danger zone down to four, although all of the field would head out onto the circuit within the first two minutes.[8] Indeed, Pierre Gasly, Sergey Sirotkin and Charles Leclerc were so eager to get out on circuit that they queued up at the end of the pits prior to the start, hoping that heading out early would buy them some space on track.[8]

As ever it would be a traffic dominated session, with almost every driver losing a tenth or two as they passed slower cars.[8] Regardless, it would be Daniel Ricciardo whom dictated the pace throughout, becoming the first man to record a sub-1:13.000 in the session, before settling at the midway point with a 1:12.013.[8] The closest driver to the Australian would be Sebastian Vettel, three tenths back, while Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas requiring two separate runs after their first efforts were blocked.[8]

With so many early efforts blocked the fight to escape the elimination zone effectively became a lottery, as demonstrated by Charles Leclerc who found enough space, mid-session, to claim a 1:12.829.[8] That put the Monegasque's Sauber safely into the top ten, while teammate Marcus Ericsson failed to impress at all.[8] Indeed, Ericsson would affect the last minute charge of Brendon Hartley in the final seconds, causing the Kiwi to fall shy of the mark, although Leclerc caused a brief yellow flag when he ran down the escape road at Saint Devote.[8]

Elsewhere, Lance Stroll endured a difficult session, outpaced by teammate Sirotkin throughout as he struggled to cope with an unstable rear-end.[8] He was therefore powerless to avoid joining Ericcson, Hartley and Verstappen in the elimination zone, as was Kevin Magnussen in his Haas.[8] It was unclear why the Dane had struggled so much, although teammate Romain Grosjean was only a few tenths ahead, suggesting that the Haases simply lacked pace.[8]

Q2[]

Into the second qualifying session and the two Mercedes seemed to have decided they were not in the fight for pole, and so pursued an alternative strategy.[8] Both Hamilton and Bottas emerged with "ultrasoft" tyres bolted to their cars, while rivals Vettel, Räikkönen and Ricciardo all headed out on "hypersofts".[8] Only time would tell as to whether the Mercedes gamble would work, particularly as the time loss between "hypers" and "ultras" was around the same as the gap between the top ten in Q1.[8]

Ultimately the Mercedes gamble failed, with Hamilton on the bubble in ninth and Bottas eleventh after the initial runs, meaning they had to switch to "hypers" after simply lacking grip.[8] This fact was proven by the outright pace out front, with Ricciardo setting a new circuit record of 1:11.353, before improving to a 1:11.278 at the end of the session.[8] Vettel recorded a safe 1:11.518 early on, while Räikkönen needed to attempts on different "hyper" sets to book his place in Q3.[8]

Into the closing stages and the Mercs did indeed rejoin the fray with "hypersofts", and duly booked their places in the final session.[8] Their improvements knocked Carlos Sainz, Jr. and Pierre Gasly into the drop zone, although Sainz instantly responded with a strong time to make it through.[8] Gasly, meanwhile, would just sneak through despite having had his warm-up lap ruined by Grosjean, with the Haas itself finishing fifteenth.[8] He was joined on the sidelines by Leclerc, Sirotkin, Stoffel Vandoorne and a very disappointed Nico Hülkenberg.[8]

Q3[]

Having had to wait until the final moments to make it into Q3 there was little surprise that Gasly and Sainz queued up at the start of the session.[8] They were joined early on by the two Mercedes, Fernando Alonso and the Force Indias, while Ricciardo and Räikkönen waited a while before joining the fray.[8] Last out would be Vettel, who waited until the rest of the runners had started their flying laps before leaving the pits.[8]

First blood in the fight for pole would ultimately go to Ricciardo, who recorded a stunning effort of 1:10.810, smashing the circuit record he had set a little over ten minutes earlier.[8] Bottas had briefly topped the time sheets with a time in the 1:11.500s, before Hamilton hit the top of the table with a 1:11.261.[8] Ricciardo was next and blitzed their efforts with his aforementioned time, while the two Ferraris of Vettel and Räikkönen ended the first run 0.002s and 0.005s behind Hamilton respectively.[8]

After a brief pause the field once again poured out onto the circuit, although there was no chance of anyone beating Ricciardo's first run.[8] Hamilton briefly challenged by setting the fastest first sector of the day, only for a mistake in the final sector to cost him half a second.[8] That gave Vettel a shot of getting onto the front row, which he duly took by claiming a 1:11.039, while Räikkönen asserted his dominance over Bottas in the fight amongst the Finns.[8]

Elsewhere, the Force Indias looked to be the best of the rest of the first runs, with Esteban Ocon in sixth and Sergio Pérez seventh.[8] However, only Ocon would improve during his second run, meaning he retained sixth, while Pérez slipped down to ninth, just ahead of Gasly's under-powered Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda.[8] In their place came the Spaniards Alonso and Sainz, the former seemingly happy given his McLaren was at least ahead of Sainz's Renault.[8]

Qualifying Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos Time Pos Time Pos Time
1 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 1 1:12.013 1 1:11.278 1 1:10.810 1
2 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Ferrari 2 1:12.415 3 1:11.518 2 1:11.039 2
3 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes 4 1:12.460 4 1:11.584 3 1:11.232 3
4 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 6 1:12.639 2 1:11.391 4 1:11.266 4
5 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Germany Mercedes 3 1:12.434 5 1:12.002 5 1:11.441 5
6 31 France Esteban Ocon India Force India-Mercedes 14 1:13.028 6 1:12.188 6 1:12.061 6
7 14 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 7 1:12.657 8 1:12.269 7 1:12.110 7
8 55 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. France Renault 13 1:12.950 9 1:12.286 8 1:12.130 8
9 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez India Force India-Mercedes 10 1:12.848 7 1:12.194 9 1:12.154 9
10 10 France Pierre Gasly Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 12 1:12.941 10 1:12.313 10 1:12.221 10
11 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg France Renault 15 1:13.065 11 1:12.411 11
12 2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 5 1:12.463 12 1:12.440 12
13 35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 8 1:12.706 13 1:12.521 13
14 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 9 1:12.829 14 1:12.714 14
15 8 France Romain Grosjean United States Haas-Ferrari 11 1:12.930 15 1:12.728 18*
16 28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 16 1:13.179 15
17 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 17 1:13.265 16
18 18 Canada Lance Stroll United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 18 1:13.323 17
19 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen United States Haas-Ferrari 19 1:13.393 19
107% time: 1:17.053
NC 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 20 No time 20
Source: [9]
  • * Grosjean was given a three-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision at the previous race in Spain.[4]
  • Verstappen did not set a time within the 107% rule, but was given permission from the stewards to race. He was also given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change,[9] as well as a ten-place grid penalty for using his third MGU-K.[10]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Daniel Ricciardo
Sebastian Vettel ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Lewis Hamilton
Kimi Räikkönen ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Valtteri Bottas
Esteban Ocon ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Fernando Alonso
Carlos Sainz, Jr. ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Sergio Pérez
Pierre Gasly ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Nico Hülkenberg
Stoffel Vandoorne ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Sergey Sirotkin
Charles Leclerc ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Brendon Hartley
Marcus Ericsson ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Lance Stroll
Romain Grosjean* ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Kevin Magnussen
Max Verstappen ______________

Source

  • * Grosjean was given a three-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable collision at the previous race in Spain.[4]
  • Verstappen did not set a time within the 107% rule, but was given permission from the stewards to race. He was also given a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change,[9] as well as a ten-place grid penalty for using his third MGU-K.[10]

Race[]

It proved to be an overcast afternoon on the Mediterranean coast ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, with temperatures hovering around 25°C.[11] Indeed, there would be a few spots of rain as the field assembled on a celebrity heavy grid, although as the non-driving talent was waved away the few drops that were falling ceased, having barely graced the tarmac.[11] Regardless, the 20 qualifiers were ready for the start, although a troublesome wheel nut for Sergey Sirotkin almost caused him to miss the start.[11]

Report[]

There was a split on tyre choice between the top and bottom halves of the grid, with the top ten all starting on "hypersofts", while the rest were starting on "ultras".[11] That fact, however, would have no impact on the start, with the field arriving into Sainte Devote in grid order, Daniel Ricciardo having hooked his get away from pole beautifully.[11] Behind, Sebastian Vettel fended off a half-hearted challenge from Lewis Hamilton, while Max Verstappen lunged past the two Haases at the very back of the field.[11]

The run up to Massanet saw the field quickly sort itself into a long, stable crocodile, although as the field hit the brakes into the tight Loews hairpin there would be some minor contact in the middle of the field.[11] In the middle of the organised melee Brendon Hartley managed to damage his front wing, although he was able to continue on without issue in fifteenth.[11] It was unclear as to whom the Kiwi had managed to nudge, having happened "off camera".[11]

At the end of a rather uneventful opening lap it was still Ricciardo leading from Vettel, Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas, with Esteban Ocon best of the rest.[11] The Frenchman was seemingly untroubled by his pursuers Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, Jr., while Sergio Pérez and Pierre Gasly completed the top ten.[11] At the back, meanwhile, Verstappen would come around in eighteenth having not had any clear opportunities to pass, with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen set to endure a miserable afternoon in his wake.[11]

There was little action in the early stages either, with the top five, plus Ocon, pulling steadily clear of Alonso, who was himself safe from attack from Sainz behind.[11] It was therefore up to the man at the back of the field, Verstappen, to provide the entertainment, although the Dutchman would need a few laps to pass Marcus Ericsson, diving past the Swede into Mirabeau.[11] Two laps later and the Red Bull was sent scything past Lance Stroll into the Nouvelle Chicane, before being waved past by the wounded Hartley on lap eight.[11]

As Verstappen caught and passed Hartley for fifteenth there would be various minor dramas around Monte Carlo, with the insignificant rain drops briefly returning, while Magnussen complained of debris at Loews.[11] This may have just been a ploy by the Dane to get a safety car out on circuit to catch the field, although when Stroll appeared with a punctured front left tyre at the Swimming Pool it seemed as if this was the case.[11] Yet, the punctured Pirelli was not the result of stray carbon fibre, rather an optimistic lunge by Stroll at Ericsson into Sainte Devote after the Swede had passed him on the previous lap.[11]

As this had been going on the top five had sprinted clear of Ocon in sixth, with Riccardo and Vettel having enough advantage over the Frenchman to stop and rejoin ahead.[11] Sensing this, it was Mercedes who blinked first, pulling Hamilton at the end of lap eleven to change to a set of ultrasofts.[11] The Brit would, however, rejoin behind the Force India, and duly went charging off after him while Mercedes, potentially, went to speak to their customer team about letting the Brit through.[11]

Hamilton's stop would begin a slow trickle into the pits throughout the field, while the Brit himself went charging past Ocon on the brakes into the Nouvelle Chicane, Ocon having opted not to defend.[11] Elsewhere, Sirotkin had been made to serve a ten-second stop/go penalty for having work carried out on his car after the three minute signal before the start, only to get slapped with an identical penalty when work was reportedly done to the car during the penalty.[11] Williams, however, would challenge the decision and get it overturned, although with Stroll last, and a lap down, and Sirotkin nineteenth, it seemed as if there was little point in the former Champions continuing.[11]

Back with the leaders and Vettel made his stop on lap fifteen, rejoining ahead of Bottas with a fresh set of ultrasofts.[11] The Finn would stop on the following tour, getting a set of "supersofts" bolted to his car, while race leader Ricciardo had a new set of "ultras" fitted to his charger.[11] That left Räikkönen with the lead of the race ahead of the Australian, while Bottas rejoined a few seconds behind Alonso further down the order.[11]

Räikkönen would come in on lap seventeen, fitting "ultrasofts", followed on subsequent laps by Alonso, Stoffel Vandoorne and Pérez, all fitting "supers".[11] Ocon was next and also stopped for the red walled Pirellis, while Stroll, still at the back of the field, complained about his car.[11] His comments were not particularly helpful to Williams, although they were immediately overshadowed by the fact that Räikkönen had pulled right onto the back of Hamilton.[11]

Yet, even with DRS, the Finn could find no way past the Brit, and soon found himself in the sights of Bottas, charging up from behind.[11] Out front, meanwhile, it seemed as if Ricciardo was cruising to an easy victory, until a sudden loss of power cut his three-second gap back to Vettel in half.[11] The Australian had suffered a total failure of his MGU-K, causing a 25% power loss for his TAG Heuer engine, leaving him vulnerable to the German at the end of Monaco's short straights.[11]

However, a power advantage was by no means a guarantee of a pass and so, like teammate Räikkönen, Vettel was subjected to lap after lap of staring at the back of the car ahead.[11] Behind, Bottas had got onto the back of the #7 Ferrari, allowing Hamilton to escape, although all three were beginning to draw onto the "fight" for the lead.[11] Elsewhere, Gasly finally made his stop from sixth place on lap 37, switching his rather second hand "hypers" for a set of "supers", while Stroll suffered his second left-front puncture of the afternoon, just managing to get out of the way of Ricciardo and Vettel as they charged through the Swimming Pool.[11]

That left Verstappen and Nico Hülkenberg as the only drivers yet to stop, running tenth and sixth respectively, while Hamilton, up front, complained of graining.[11] Indeed, the pace was now so slow from the leaders that it seemed as if the "ultras" were not the tyre to use, prompting calls from Hamilton to stop for another set of tyres to try and force the others into stopping.[11] Indeed, his calls would become stronger once Verstappen headed to the pits, for the Dutchman rejoined on a fresh set of "hypers" on lap 48 and duly set fastest lap after fastest lap.[11]

The Dutchman rejoined down in eleventh, with Hülkenberg stopping a lap later to rejoin just ahead of the #33 Red Bull.[11] They quickly caught onto the back of Sainz, who, after a radio call, duly waved his German teammate through at Beau Rivage, meaning the Renaults blocked in Verstappen.[11] Indeed, Verstappen would have to wait another couple of laps before throwing a move at the Spaniard as, up ahead, Alonso's quiet race came to an end with a gearbox failure.[11]

Unfortunately, given the rather quiet nature of the race, Alonso was able to get his car safely off the circuit on the escape road at Sainte Devote, meaning the safety car was still not required.[11] As his car was pushed a little further clear, Verstappen launched an ambitious dive inside Sainz into the Nouvelle Chicane, getting alongside at the apex but forcing the Spaniard off the road.[11] He instantly complained on the radio but, in truth, there was little Sainz could do other than cause an accident.[11]

A lap later and Verstappen was again diving on the brakes past Sainz into Nouvelle, although this time he was on the racing line.[11] Sainz, on the inside, gave the Dutchman room, although the Red Bull still had to cut across the inside of the chicane to make it past, scraping across the big inside kerb as he did so.[11] He duly scrambled clear on the exit, having come to a near stop on full steering lock to make it around, and sprinted clear, although it was dubious as to whether he had cut the chicane or not.[11]

Regardless, Verstappen was clear to launch his final assault to get further up the order, setting a series of fastest laps before getting onto the back of Hülkenberg once again.[11] Out front, meanwhile, the top five had got very close and then drifted apart, with no signs of anyone stopping for fresh tyres.[11] Indeed, with fifteen laps to go the chance to stop had all but disappeared, with Ocon charging towards them in the Force India, dragging Gasly, Hülkenberg and Verstappen with him.[11]

Into the closing stages and it was clear that Hamilton was out of the fight for victory, the Brit falling back at half a second a lap with horrible graining on his front tyres.[11] Vettel, meanwhile, was going through a routine of slow and quick laps to try and catch Ricciardo out, although the Australian was calmly controlling his pace to keep his wounded Red Bull ticking over.[11] Behind, Bottas was copying the German's moves on the back of Räikkönen, with Ocon latching onto the back of them with eight laps to go.[11]

Suddenly it seemed as if there would be a late twist, for home hero Charles Leclerc had gone right into the back of Hartley at the Nouvelle Chicane, removing the Kiwi's rear wing, and destroying his own front left corner.[11] In truth, a brake failure had been the cause of the Leclerc/Hartley accident, with the Monegasque racer throwing his car into the barriers on the outside of the braking zone to try and avoid the innocent Kiwi.[11] Regardless, Leclerc now found himself climbing out of his cockpit down the escape road, while Hartley dragged his wounded car into the pits to retire.[11]

Ultimately, the stewards decided to throw a Full Course Yellow to remove the debris, for there was a large gap in the field between Ricciardo in first and his next lapping victim Vandoorne.[11] Indeed, the Belgian stop during the FCY to bolt on a set of "hypers", a ploy to try and clinch fastest lap, only to rejoin in between Ricciardo and Vettel.[11] The Belgian's appearance therefore seemed to settle the matter for victory, with Ricciardo making a perfect restart with five laps still to run to pull more than five seconds clear of the Ferrari.[11]

Indeed, it would be the last piece of significant action in the race, allowing Ricciardo to claim a superb maiden victory in Monte Carlo with his wounded car.[11] Vettel was still a clear second ahead of Hamilton, who had Räikkönen and Bottas glued to his gearbox at the finish.[11] Ocon was next with Gasly, Hülkenberg and Verstappen under his rear wing, while Sainz just scrambled across the line ahead of Ericsson with some very abused tyres on his Renault.[11]

Results[]

The full race results for the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 78 1h 42m 54.807s 1 25
2 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Italy Ferrari 78 +7.336s 2 18
3 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes 78 +17.013s 3 15
4 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 78 +18.127s 4 12
5 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Germany Mercedes 78 +18.822s 5 10
6 31 France Esteban Ocon India Force India-Mercedes 78 +23.667s 6 8
7 10 France Pierre Gasly Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 78 +24.331s 10 6
8 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg France Renault 78 +24.839s 11 4
9 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 78 +25.317s 20 2
10 55 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. France Renault 78 +69.013s 8 1
11 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 78 +69.864s 16
12 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez India Force India-Mercedes 78 +70.461s 9
13 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen United States Haas-Ferrari 78 +74.823s 19
14 2 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 77 +1 Lap 12
15 8 France Romain Grosjean United States Haas-Ferrari 77 +1 Lap 18
16 35 Russia Sergey Sirotkin United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 77 +1 Lap 13
17 18 Canada Lance Stroll United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 76 +2 Laps 17
18* 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 70 Brakes/Accident 14
19* 28 New Zealand Brendon Hartley Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 70 Accident damage 15
Ret 14 Spain Fernando Alonso United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 52 Gear Selection 7
Source: [12]
  • * Leclerc and Hartley were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

A second victory of the season for Daniel Ricciardo propelled the Australian racer into the top three in the Championship, although he remained a dark horse rather than serious contender. Indeed, with Championship leader Lewis Hamilton finishing third, and Sebastian Vettel second, the gap between the leading duo and the rest of the field had, in reality, grown. However, the gap between themselves was down to fourteen points, although with the next race in Canada being one of Hamilton's strongest races historically, that gap was set to expand.

Mercedes saw their gap over Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship reduced to 22 points in Monte Carlo, a healthy but by no means unbreachable advantage. Behind, victory for Ricciardo had dragged Red Bull-TAG Heuer marginally closer to the fight, while Renault solidified themselves in fourth. Elsewhere, another strong result for Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda put them ahead of Haas-Ferrari, with Force India-Mercedes also heading up the table towards McLaren-Renault in fifth.

Drivers' World Championship
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 110
2 Germany Sebastian Vettel 96
3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo 72 ▲2
4 Finland Valtteri Bottas 68 ▼1
5 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 60 ▼1
6 Netherlands Max Verstappen 35
7 Spain Fernando Alonso 32
8 Germany Nico Hülkenberg 26 ▲2
9 Spain Carlos Sainz, Jr. 20
10 Denmark Kevin Magnussen 19 ▼2
11 France Pierre Gasly 18 ▲1
12 Mexico Sergio Pérez 17 ▼1
13 France Esteban Ocon 9 ▲4
14 Monaco Charles Leclerc 9 ▼1
15 Belgium Stoffel Vandoorne 8 ▼1
16 Canada Lance Stroll 4 ▼1
17 Sweden Marcus Ericsson 2 ▼1
18 New Zealand Brendon Hartley 1
Constructors World Championship
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Germany Mercedes 178
2 Italy Ferrari 156
3 Austria Red Bull-TAG Heuer 107
4 France Renault 46
5 United Kingdom McLaren-Renault 40
6 India Force India-Mercedes 26 ▲1
7 Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda 19 ▲1
8 United States Haas-Ferrari 19 ▼2
9 Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 11
10 United Kingdom Williams-Mercedes 4
Only point scoring drivers are shown.

Notes[]

  1. "Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2018". formula1.com. Formula One Administration. https://www.formula1.com/en/championship/races/2017/Monaco.html. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  2. Cooper, Adam. "Sainz: F1 Monaco GP qualifying will be 'madness' on hypersoft tyres". https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/136235/hypersoft-will-make-monaco-qualifying-madness. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  3. Cooper, Adam (12 May 2018). "FIA tells Ferrari it can't run halo mirror winglets after Spanish GP". autosport.com (Motorsport Network). https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/135972/ferrari-told-halo-winglets-not-allowed-after-spain. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Coch, Mat (14 May 2018). "Grosjean penalised for Spanish GP shunt". speedcafe.com. https://www.speedcafe.com/2018/05/14/grosjean-penalised-spanish-gp-shunt/. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  5. "2018 Australian Grand Prix – Practice 1 results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 24 May 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/984/monaco/practice-1.html. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  6. "2018 Australian Grand Prix – Practice 2 results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 24 May 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/984/monaco/practice-2.html. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  7. "2018 Australian Grand Prix – Practice 3 results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 26 May 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/984/monaco/practice-3.html. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  8. 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.16 8.17 8.18 8.19 8.20 8.21 8.22 8.23 8.24 8.25 8.26 8.27 8.28 8.29 8.30 8.31 8.32 8.33 8.34 8.35 8.36 '2018 Monaco Grand Prix: Qualifying Highlights', youtube.com, (YouTube:Formula 1, TBA), TBC, (Accessed 2018)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 "2018 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying results". Formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 26 May 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/984/monaco/qualifying.html. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "FIA Stewards Decision — Document No. 36". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 27 May 2018. https://www.fia.com/file/68658/download?token=wOwUye7W. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  11. 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 11.19 11.20 11.21 11.22 11.23 11.24 11.25 11.26 11.27 11.28 11.29 11.30 11.31 11.32 11.33 11.34 11.35 11.36 11.37 11.38 11.39 11.40 11.41 11.42 11.43 11.44 11.45 11.46 11.47 11.48 11.49 11.50 11.51 11.52 11.53 11.54 11.55 11.56 11.57 11.58 11.59 11.60 11.61 11.62 Placeholder>
  12. "Monaco Grand Prix 2018 Race Results". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 27 May 2018. https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2018/races/984/monaco/race-result.html. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
V T E 2018 Formula One Season
Teams Ferrari • Force India • Force India (Racing Point) • Haas • McLaren • Mercedes • Red Bull • Renault • Sauber • Toro Rosso • Williams
Engines Ferrari • Honda • Mercedes • Renault • TAG Heuer
Drivers alphabetically Alonso • Bottas • Ericsson • Gasly • Grosjean • Hamilton • Hartley • Hülkenberg • Leclerc • Magnussen • Ocon • Pérez • Räikkönen • Ricciardo • Sainz • Sirotkin • Stroll • Vandoorne • Verstappen • Vettel
Drivers by number Vandoorne • 3 Ricciardo • 5 Vettel • 7 Räikkönen • 8 Grosjean • 9 Ericsson • 10 Gasly • 11 Pérez • 14 Alonso • 16 Leclerc • 18 Stroll • 20 Magnussen • 27 Hülkenberg • 28 Hartley • 31 Ocon • 33 Verstappen • 35 Sirotkin • 44 Hamilton • 55 Sainz • 77 Bottas
Other Drivers AitkenBuemiCalderónDennisGelaelGiovinazziGutiérrezKubicaKvyatLatifiMarkelovMazepinNorrisRowlandRussellTurveyWehrlein
Cars Ferrari SF71H • Force India VJM11 • Haas VF-18 • McLaren MCL33 • Mercedes AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+ • Red Bull RB14 • Renault R.S.18 • Sauber C37 • Toro Rosso STR13 • Williams FW41
Tyres Pirelli
Races Australia • Bahrain • China • Azerbaijan • Spain • Monaco • Canada • France • Austria • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Singapore • Russia • Japan • United States • Mexico • Brazil • Abu Dhabi
See also 2017 Formula One Season • 2019 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Monaco Monaco Grand Prix
Circuits Circuit de Monaco (1929–present)
Circuit Monaco 2007
Races 19501951–1954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Non-F1 races 1929193019311932193319341935193619371948
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