Hamilton wins at the end of the suspense in the Principality

Despite worn tires and contact at the end of the race, the Briton from Mercedes resisted Max Verstappen throughout and increased his lead in the championship.

Published on 26/05/2019 à 17:08

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Hamilton wins at the end of the suspense in the Principality

Images of the legendary duel between Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell come to mind in 1992 when the Brazilian McLaren had resisted the Briton to the end at the wheel of a Williams yet much faster.

The same configuration presented itself this Sunday in the Principality between Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull). For 67 laps which must have seemed interminable, the five-time world champion contained the attacks of the Dutchman whose Honda-powered RB15 was equipped with hard tires more resistant than Hamilton's mediums.

Verstappen tried his luck on the 77th pass at the exit of the tunnel, without success. The two touched, with Verstappen catching Hamilton's left-back who shot straight at the Port chicane. The two men were able to continue to cross the finish line in that order but the Red Bull nugget will be demoted to 4th position due to a time penalty for a dangerous exit from the pits. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) complete the Top 3.

After an uneventful start where Hamilton retained his pole position advantage against Bottas, everything accelerated on the 9th lap with the intervention of the Safety Car, the result of a collision between Charles Leclerc et Nico Hulkenberg at the Rascasse in the peloton. The incident led to a double puncture, forced the Monegasque to crab into the pits, and littered the track with debris.

The top six in the standings rushed into the pit lane. Cleverly, Bottas held the pack behind him and let Hamilton go in front so Mercedes could perform a double pit-stop as they did brilliantly in China. The German team came very close to pulling off the same maneuver but it was without counting on that devil Verstappen, who came out of his box a bit earlier. The Dutchman found himself at the same height as Bottas and pressed Bottas slightly on the right. Victim of a puncture, the Finn had to return to the pit box the following lap, without losing too much ground since he found himself 4th.

Hamilton still led the race but the Briton had swapped his soft tires at the start for a set of mediums when Verstappen and Vettel just behind opted for hard ones. Mercedes realized its mistake by passing the tough guys on Bottas' W10 during its second visit to the box. The German team evaluated the possibility of stopping Hamilton again but the Englishman ultimately resisted until the end without returning to the pits.

Bad strategic pick for Daniel Ricciardo et Kevin Magnussen. The Australian, who had stolen 5th place from his Danish rival thanks to a good start at Ste-Dévote, stopped at the same time as the leading men, just like the pilot Haas. Problem: the two men did not enjoy the same time advantage as the representatives of the big cars and found themselves stuck in the peloton.

McLaren and Toro Rosso did not make the same mistake and thus allowed Carlos Sainz to finish 6th, behind the Red Bull of Pierre Gasly and ahead of the STR14s of Daniil Kvyat and Alexander albon. Small consolation for Renault and Haas: Daniel Ricciardo saved the two points for 9th place, while Romain Grosjean, despite starting 13th, won the last unit put into play. Even greater disappointment for Leclerc, trapped in qualifying because of a blunder by Ferrari then forced to retire after his collision with Hülkenberg. No one is a prophet in his own country.

By snatching the 77th victory of his career, his 4th of the season, Hamilton increases his lead in the Drivers' standings and offers a superb tribute to Niki Lauda, who passed away at the start of the week.