Hamilton extends F1 lead; Pagenaud just dandy in Indy
One of the busiest days in motorsports got underway on the French Riviera.
Formula One kicked it all off with the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday with the dominant Mercedes team picking up a sixth straight win this season.
Lewis Hamilton won the Monaco Grand Prix to extend his Formula One championship lead over Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton was under constant pressure from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, but held on.
Verstappen picked up a five-second time penalty earlier, so he was bumped down to fourth place behind Bottas in third and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in second.
Hamilton had a good start from the pole position.
Drivers wore red caps and a minute’s silence was held before the race in memory of three-time F1 champion Niki Lauda, who died on May 20. Fans watching from the stands and those on yachts in the harbour were also encouraged to express their support.
In Indianapolis, Simon Pagenaud took an unconventional route to victory lane, stopping his car on the front stretch at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to celebrate his dramatic Indy 500 win with fans.
Once he arrived, he said: “Sorry, that took a little while.”
Pagenaud proceeded to dump the traditional milk right over his head, leaving nothing in the bottle when he tried to take a sip. The veteran French driver called it a “dream come true” to win the 103rd running of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Pagenaud said his car was “on rails” down the stretch, when he duelled with Alexander Rossi for the win. Pagenaud wound up leading 116 laps in a dominant Chevrolet from Team Penske.
Pagenaud’s victory completes a sweep of the month of May for him. He came into the season trying to hang onto his job with Team Penske and a brazen move near the end of the Indianapolis Grand Prix gave him a win two weeks ago.
His latest win gave team owner Roger Penske his 18th victory in his 50th year at the track.
Takuma Sato was third, Josef Newgarden fourth and defending champion Will Power was fifth.