Lewis Hamilton wins the Monaco Grand Prix for the third time

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) wins the Monaco Grand Prix, the sixth round of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship. For the reigning F1 champion, it’s his fourth win this year, 77th Grand Prix victory in a career and the third triumph at the Monaco Grand Prix, which celebrated its 90th anniversary.

Hamilton started from pole and managed to defend the lead for the entire race, holding off Max Verstappen (Red Bull) behind. There was a slight contact with one lap to go when Verstappen attacked Hamilton at the exit from the tunnel but both cars survived without damage. Behind them, Sebastian Vettel (Scuderia Ferrari) finished the race in the third place.

However, Verstappen was handed 5sec penalty after the race which put him on P4, promoting Vettel to P2 and Valtteri Bottas to P3. Bottas started from the front row but dropped to P4 after an incident in the pits, where he was pushed into the wall by Verstappen, suffering puncture and rim damage, so he had to visit pit stops once again. His third place means the end of the fantastic streak of five 1-2 victories for Mercedes.

Monaco Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Max Verstappen

Hamilton resisted all attacks of Max Verstappen

Behind the leading four, Pierre Gasly (Red Bull) finished in the fifth place and earned an additional point for the fastest lap. The other point scorers are Carlos Sainz (McLaren), Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso), Alexander Albon (Toro Rosso), Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) and Romain Grosjean (Haas). The eleventh-placed Lando Norris (McLaren) was the last driver in the same lap as the winner.

The greatest victim of Monaco Grand Prix was Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who was screwed up by his team in qualifying and started from P15 on the grid. Then, he gained several places in the opening laps of the race but his aggressive style resulted in a contact with Hulkenberg, causing damage on Leclerc’s car and retirement from the race.