F1 Paddock Notebook – Monaco GP Sunday

- Lewis Hamilton swept to the 77th victory of his Formula 1 career on Sunday in Monaco, leading every single lap for Mercedes. It was his fourth win of the season, and saw him extend his drivers’ championship lead to 17 points over Valtteri Bottas.

- Hamilton paid tribute to the late Niki Lauda by wearing a special tribute helmet mirroring the Austrian’s design for raceday in Monaco after a last-minute design from supplier Bell. “I definitely feel like he was with me racing today,” Hamilton said. 

- Mercedes missed out on a record-breaking sixth straight one-two finish after Bottas lost two positions in the pits under the Safety Car following a run-in with Max Verstappen. Bottas finished third after Verstappen was hit with a time penalty for an unsafe pit release, with Sebastian Vettel finishing second for Ferrari.

- Verstappen finished second on-track, and spent all but five laps between the Safety Car coming in and the chequered flag within one second of Hamilton ahead. Verstappen attempted a move for the lead with three laps to go, resulting in contact. The stewards investigated the move after the race, but took no action against Verstappen or Hamilton.

- P2 marked Ferrari’s best result of the season so far, with Vettel saying after the race that the team’s car was better than it had looked in the early part of the season. His result lifted him above Verstappen to P3 in the drivers’ championship.

- Home driver Charles Leclerc suffered his first retirement of the season after hitting the wall when trying to make his way up the order. Leclerc hit the wall at La Rascasse when attempting a squeeze past Nico Hulkenberg for P12, leaving him with a puncture. The subsequent damage forced him to retire, as well as leaving debris all over the track, reasoning the Safety Car. 

- Pierre Gasly picked up his second fastest lap bonus point of the season, as well as recording his best result for Red Bull in P5. Adrift from the front runners, Gasly was able to pit late on for a set of Softs and take the fastest lap away from Valtteri Bottas. Lewis Hamilton was eagerly asking after the race who got the fastest lap.

- Carlos Sainz Jr. won the midfield fight by finishing sixth for McLaren, aided by teammate Lando Norris. Norris had a slow restart and backed up a number of drivers who had already pitted, allowing those who stayed out – namely Sainz, Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon – to jump ahead once they came into the pits mid-race. Norris confirmed after the race he had been working with McLaren to create the gap and help Sainz.

- Romain Grosjean missed out on P9 by just 0.1 seconds. The Frenchman crossed the line ninth, but was hit with a five-second penalty for crossing the white line at pit exit. This allowed Ricciardo to edge ahead and take ninth away.

- Sergio Perez was left angry after the race after nearly hitting two marshals at pit exit under the Safety Car, with video footage showing just how close he got. Perez was also annoyed by Kevin Magnussen’s chicane cut in their fight, with the stewards giving Magnussen a five-second penalty after the race for the incident. This dropped him from P12 to P14, promoting Perez and Nico Hulkenberg up a position.

- George Russell said he enjoyed fighting with drivers other than just Williams teammate Robert Kubica in Monaco as he finished ahead of Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, Alfa Romeo drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, and teammate Kubica. Russell matched his best finish in F1 with P15.

- Alfa Romeo went against Kimi Raikkonen’s wishes to cancel all celebrations for his 300th grand prix and organised a small gathering in its garage a couple of hours before the race. A number of key figures from Raikkonen’s career were present, including ex-Ferrari chief and current FIA president Jean Todt, and F1 managing director Ross Brawn. After arriving 15 minutes late, Raikkonen was given a specially-designed cake. Alfa Romeo also produced badges for all the teams to wear.

- A minute’s silence was held on the grid before the race in memory of Niki Lauda. All 20 drivers were given red caps with ‘Niki’ written on the front in big letters, while every Mercedes team member also wore a red cap in honour of Lauda.

- The 2019 Formula 1 season continues with the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, with opening practice taking place on June 7 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.