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Monaco F1 Grand Prix 2019 Results: Lewis Hamilton Wins Dramatic Race
May 26, 2019
Lewis Hamilton nursed his car home to narrowly win a dramatic 2019 Monaco Grand Prix.
The Mercedes man struggled with his tyres for much of the race, but defended his lead from Max Verstappen's attacks until the finish line. The Dutchman was penalised for an unsafe release and also made late contact with the Brit.
Sebastian Vettel was promoted to second place due to Verstappen's penalty, with Valtteri Bottas taking third after an early puncture. Charles Leclerc caused an early safety car with a crash and retired.
Mercedes have now won all six races of the season.
Here are the results from a tumultuous race:
Monaco's narrow streets tend to deliver dramatic races, and with the threat of rain hovering over the race and Leclerc bound to be aggressive from the start, fans knew they were in for a special treat.
The local favourite went out of qualifying in the first session but started his comeback early on Sunday, moving past Lando Norris into 13th place. He took far too many risks to make his next move stick, however, passing Romain Grosjean but making contact with Nico Hulkenberg in one swoop.
The contact led to a ton of debris and a safety car, but former Formula 1 star Jolyon Palmer had no issues with Leclerc's aggression:
The first-year Ferrari man indirectly caused even more carnage with his move, however, as the resulting pit stops under the safety car led to drama. Verstappen snuck ahead of Bottas in the pits, but the release was not safe. It led to contact and a puncture for the Mercedes man:
Bottas had to pit again, dropping him to fourth behind Vettel. Verstappen's punishment was a five-second penalty, lenient considering the damage he did to the Silver Arrows' plans:
It did have the potential to ruin the Dutchman's race:
Leclerc retired after a second pit stop, bringing his home race to an early end.
The light rain eventually arrived, adding an additional wrinkle to what was already a dramatic race. Hamilton had the lead on medium tyres, but both he and Verstappen struggled with graining:
With Hamilton nursing his tyres, an entertaining battle developed at the front, while farther back a train started to form. Toro Rosso's Alex Albon clocked the then-fastest lap at one point, highlighting the difference in pace between the leaders and the midfield.
The world champion kept complaining over the radio, with his race engineers opting not to bring him in. The situation started to look desperate:
The stretching train eventually saw the leaders catch up to the midfield and start to lap them, with Verstappen and Vettel waiting for their chance. The Ferrari man struggled the least with his tyres, but Hamilton did a fine job of keeping the duo behind him.
With 10 laps to go, Red Bull made their move:
Verstappen tried to get on the power early and had a few good looks, but Hamilton kept his cool under pressure. The two made contact in the chicane, leading to a late investigation:
The investigation was still ongoing when the race finished, but the stewards decided not to change the final result.
The next race will be the Canadian Grand Prix on June 9.