Vettel continues to set pace in F1

MONACO — Sebastian Vettel beat his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen to win the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday and comfortably extend his lead at the top of the standings to 25 points.

It was the four-time F1 champion’s third win of the season and 45th of his career, as well as Ferrari’s first in Monaco since Michael Schumacher — Vettel’s childhood idol — in 2001.

“Unbelievable. It was a very tense race,” Vettel said. “It’s very, very special to win here. We’re going to have a very fun night.”

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished third, ahead of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas.

Montreal’s Lance Stroll continued to struggle in his inaugural F1 season. The 18-yearold Williams driver retired for the fourth time in six races.

It was also a bad weekend for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton — who is second behind Vettel in the standings — finishing seventh after starting from 13th following a poor qualifying session.

Vettel let out a whoop of delight and thanked his team in Italian after crossing the finish line with bright sunshine gleaming off the famed red of Ferrari. As the German national anthem played, Vettel stood atop the podium with his eyes closed as he sang along.

“Monaco’s always something special, a lot of attention, a lot of people, a lot of support,” he said. “With the season we’ve had, the Ferrari fans and the Ferrari flags are increasing.”

Some change from last year when Vettel didn’t win a race.

“We had a lot of hard times this year, but this year it seems to be upside down (the other way around). We must make sure we keep the momentum up in the next couple of races,” Vettel said. “When you see the guys singing the national anthem it’s impossible not to get goosebumps.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fifth, ahead of Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr.

The race was held up for a few laps near the end after German driver Pascal Wehrlein crashed near the tunnel.

British driver Jenson Button appeared to cause the clash, edging his McLaren too close to Wehrlein’s Sauber as they turned toward the tunnel entry.

The nose of Button’s car flipped Wehrlein’s car onto its side. The German driver appeared unharmed.