Nico Rosberg wins 2014 Monaco GP

Nico Rosberg won his second Monaco Grand Prix in succession overnight with a pole to flag victory that impressed everyone except his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

The Mercedes pair finished one-two yet again and for the most part enjoyed clear air to their inferiors fighting for third place. The form guide remained consistent with Daniel Ricciardo the best of the rest and for the last few laps he was right on Hamilton’s tail but as you night expect on the tight streets of Monte Carlo he was unable to find a way past.

Fernando Alonso managed to somehow find a space between P3 and P5 that meant he barely saw anyone else on track. It’s pretty hard to be unnoticed on this track, but Fernando managed to do that. He’s now gone 20 races without a win, his longest dry spell in the red team.

The so far unflattering return to Ferrari for Kimi Raikkonen looked set for some champagne after he made a banzai start from P6 and found himself in P4 at the first turn and P3 not long after. Alas for the Finn his race went south after the first pit stop when he suffered a puncture and was forced back in almost immediately for new tyres. His next highlight was gently stuffing his car into the tyres at Loews hairpin while attempting to pass Kevin Magnussen. Aside from inconvenience and pride no serious damage was done and he was able to continue on his not so merry way to P12, after a quick stop for a new nose cone.

Sebastian Vettel made a great start, too, and was quickly past Ricciardo, pushing his teammate down to P5. Soon, though, Vettel would be crying into his beer after the engine in his RB10 got hungry for cylinders. It sounded very rough and Vettel’s mood was not helped by seeing how many cars could pass him on a single lap and his race soon came to an inevitable conclusion.

Aside from that the race was a typical Monaco affair. Lots of attrition and the highlight was Jules Bianchi who picked up a couple of points for finishing ninth. He finished eighth on track, but didn’t line up on the grid correctly and was given a five second penalty. No matter, both he and Marussia were overjoyed at earning their first points in Formula 1.

The narrative for the immediate future in Formula 1 is going to be the rift between Rosberg and Hamilton, real or imagined. While understanding how desperate both men are to fight for the championship we’d like to think that both could keep a healthy dose of persepctive and enjoy the position of privilege they are in and find it within themselves to smile from time to time when they don’t get the chocolates.

2014 Monaco Grand Prix final placings

1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG – 78 Laps (25 pts)
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG – +9.2 secs (18 pts)
3. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing – +9.6 secs (15 pts)
4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari – +32.4 secs (12 pts)
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India – +1 Lap (10 pts)
6. Jenson Button McLaren – +1 Lap (8 pts)
7. Felipe Massa Williams – +1 Lap (6 pts)
8. Romain Grosjean Lotus – +1 Lap (4 pts)
9. Jules Bianchi Marussia – +1 Lap (2 pts)
10. Kevin Magnussen McLaren – +1 Lap (1 pt)
11. Marcus Ericsson Caterham – +1 Lap
12. Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari – +1 Lap
13. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham – +3 Laps
14. Max Chilton Marussia – +3 Laps

Retired/Not classified
Esteban Gutierrez Sauber – +19 Laps
Valtteri Bottas Williams – +23 Laps
Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso – +28 Laps
Adrian Sutil Sauber – +55 Laps
Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso – +68 Laps
Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing – +73 Laps
Sergio Perez Force India – 0 Laps
Pastor Maldonado Lotus – DNS

Notes: Ericsson qualified 22nd, required to start from pit lane for causing a collision. Bianchi qualified 19th, drops 5 after gearbox change.

Fastest lap
Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari – 1:18.479 (Lap 75)

2014 F1 world championship – Drivers (Top 10)

1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG – 122
2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG – 118
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari – 61
4. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull – 54
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India – 47
6. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull – 45
7. Valtteri Bottas Williams – 34
8. Jenson Button McLaren – 31
9. Kevin Magnussen McLaren – 21
10. Sergio Perez Force India – 20

2014 F1 world championship – Constructors

1. Mercedes – 240
2. Red Bull Racing – 99
3. Ferrari – 78
4. Force India-Mercedes – 67
5. McLaren-Mercedes – 52
6. Williams-Mercedes – 52
7. Lotus – 8
8. STR-Renault – 8
9. Marussia – 2