Monaco: Daniel Ricciardo brought back memories of Formula One great Michael Schumacher in his prime Sunday as the Australian nursed a wounded Red Bull to Monaco Grand Prix victory in the team’s 250th race.
Winning from pole position for the first time in his career, Ricciardo drove for nearly two thirds of the race- some 50 laps with a car down on power due to problems that emerged on lap 28. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, last year’s race winner, finished second easing off towards the finish to save the tyres to cut Lewis Hamilton’s overall lead to 14 points after six of 21 rounds. Hamilton, the reigning World Champion, was third for Mercedes.
Ricciardo’s only previous pole had been in Monaco two years ago, when he lost out to Hamilton on strategy and finished runner-up. Schumacher won in Belgium in 1995 with a famously defensive drive on dry tyres in the wet.
Ricciardo had made a clean start and, controlling the race, looked as much of a nailed-on certainty for victory as ever exists on Monaco’s treacherous metal-fenced streets. From then on, Ricciardo with Vettel looming in his rearview mirrors was a model of consistency on a track where overtaking is a challenge for even the greatest of talents. For lap after lap, he kept the gap.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth, ahead of fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas for Mercedes. French driver Esteban Ocon took his Force India to sixth place, ahead of compatriot Pierre Gasly in a Toro Rosso and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Ricciardo’s Dutch teammate Max Verstappen, who started last after crashing in Saturday’s final practice, stayed out of trouble and stood out for the right reasons with impressive overtakes to finish ninth.