Heading into today’s race, the end result was a foregone conclusion after qualifying. In what feels like the first time this season, things played out exactly as expected.
Daniel Ricciardo took charge behind the Red Bull to score his second win of the season. There was no answer to Ricciardo’s drive around Monaco. From start to finish he led the race in convincing fashion without a single mistake. A redeeming effort then, two years after a dreadful pitstop robbed him of the win around the same venue.
Ricciardo’s victory is even more impressive when an issue with the MGU-K factors in. He reported a loss of power around lap 17 and it was here panic may have begun to settle in. Red Bull notified the Aussie the problem wouldn’t get better and he’d have to tolerate it for the rest of the race.
While Sebastian Vettel closed in with the Ferrari, he was unable to make the pass. Ricciardo maintained the race lead, albeit at a slowed pace, and took the victory. With that Ricciardo secured his seventh career win.
Moreover, it placed him in rarefied air. He stands alongside Lewis Hamilton as the only other driver with a perfect race weekend. Meaning, the Australian dominated every single session and won the race. A redeeming drive, indeed.
Vettel tucked behind the Red Bull driver for a solid second place finish. With it, he continues to close the gap to points leader Hamilton — 110 to 96. The pressure is on as the battle between the two demands neither driver make a mistake. Adding to this is the fact Ricciardo is working his way up the order. Are we in for a three-way title fight throughout the season?
Lewis Hamilton crossed the line in third for Mercedes. While both he and Vettel looked to close in on Ricciardo, it wasn’t enough. The Briton remarked he wasn’t expecting to take the fight to Red Bull as the team looked strong all weekend. Kimi Raikkonen takes fourth in the second Ferrari. This marks the first time the Finn hasn’t finished a race on the podium in 2018.
Valtteri Bottas finished the race in fifth in the second Mercedes. Early on, Bottas looked to be a potential saving grace for the Brackley team. Pitting early on in the race, he took on supersofts at a time where the top four were still using ultrasofts. The Finn was much faster in clean air, but ended up behind fellow countrymen Raikkonen.
Esteban Ocon, again, claimed sixth place for Force India ahead of his teammate. Pierre Gasly secured seventh place for Toro Rosso ahead of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg. Gasly has helped the team to its third top eight finish in as many years. To say he’s making an impact at the team would be a gross understatement.
Hulkenberg takes eighth behind the Toro Rosso. The result hands the team its first points finish at Monaco since Robert Kubica took third in 2010. Max Verstappen brings the second Red Bull home in ninth in an impressive race. While overtaking may be next to impossible, Verstappen made it happen several times.
He wrestled his way up the order from dead last on the grid. Failing to set a time during qualifying thanks to a gearbox swap, he too drove a redeeming race. Unfortunate then, as if it hadn’t been for the crash, today’s results likely would have been a Red Bull 1-2.
Carlos Sainz rounds out the top 10 in the second Renault, 44 seconds off the pace of Hulkenberg. While the Virtual Safety Car reared its head, Monaco was Safety Car-free; a first since 2009.
It’s interesting to note the first six race wins of the season are equally split among the top three with two apiece. In two weeks time the circus heads to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix.
See more articles on F1 2018 Season and Monaco Grand Prix.