Clear runway for Sebastian Lewis dig after Vettel gifted victory
Vettel moved 25 points clear of Hamilton in the title race after he recorded his third win of the season while the British driver finished seventh in Monte Carlo.
Vettel’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who started from pole position for the first time in nine years, appeared on course to win by holding off Vettel in the opening phase of a processional race.
But Raikkonen lost the lead after he pitted five laps earlier than his Ferrari team-mate.
With track position imperative and overtaking virtually impossible at this most narrow and twisty of circuits, Ferrari’s decision to call Raikkonen in before Vettel raised more than a few eyebrows.
But much of the paddock had been in agreement before the race that the Italian team would ensure Vettel, rather than Raikkonen, who is a distant fourth in the championship, would receive the winner’s trophy from Prince Albert of Monaco here yesterday. And so it proved. Raikkonen, who last won a race in 2013, cut a dejected figure during the podium celebrations as he settled for second place.
“It’s clear to me that Ferrari have chosen their No1 driver,” said Hamilton. “They’re pushing everything to make sure Sebastian will maximise on all of his weekends.
“On strategy, that just doesn’t happen in Monaco. It is very hard for the leading car on track to get jumped by the second car unless the team decide to favour the other car. So what they have done is very clear.”
Vettel, who claimed Ferrari’s first victory on the Cote d’Azur in 16 years, now holds the cushion of being the equivalent of a race win clear of Hamilton in FERNANDO ALONSO’S attempt to capture the Indianapolis 500 at the first attempt ended in frustration as his engine failed in the 179th lap.
However at least he avoided the fate of Scott Dixon whose car was sent flying in a spectacular crash. The New Zealander was not seriously hurt in a week in which he was also robbed at gun point at a drive-thru after landing pole last Sunday.
It was a one-off for Formula One’s Alonso, who said: “I feel competitive and if I come back I’ll know what to expect.”
The race was won by former Formula One driver Takuma Sato. this year’s see-saw title battle. Hamilton put a brave face on what had been a weekend to forget. He was only 13th on the grid after a disastrous qualifying session, and although he will take comfort from progressing to seventh – by virtue of being the last driver to stop for tyres – it marked his second sluggish grand prix in his last three outings.
“Of course I can’t afford another weekend like this,” said Hamilton. “But just because you can’t afford something, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen.
“There’s no point dwelling on the fact that you can’t afford it. You just work towards trying to rectify whatever issues you have and hope that you don’t come across it again. It’s not like we came here unprepared. We will regroup. The Ferrari car seems to work everywhere – they have had arguably the strongest car all year – and the next 14 races are going to be very, very difficult.
“But the more races we do, the more we learn and the stronger we get. I was devastated yesterday but to come away with some points is better than nothing. I’d like to think that at the end of the season those points are going to be valuable.”