2015 Monaco Grand Prix Sunday - Monaco Grand Prix
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Bottas has had enough and pits for new tyres - it's a poor race for Williams, they'll leave with nothing.
Up front, Hamilton's lead is still growing. He's 14.2s ahead of Rosberg now, and it's really not been a contest between the two silver cars today.
Oh, very smart from Verstappen - nice work!
After passing Sainz while his team-mate was being lapped by Vettel (and while Sainz backed off to let him through) Verstappen then pulls a genuine move off on Bottas while the Finn moved aside for the Ferrari.
Excellent stuff. That's P11. Grosjean and the final point-paying position are 8.8s up the road.
After passing Sainz while his team-mate was being lapped by Vettel (and while Sainz backed off to let him through) Verstappen then pulls a genuine move off on Bottas while the Finn moved aside for the Ferrari.
Excellent stuff. That's P11. Grosjean and the final point-paying position are 8.8s up the road.
Those problems for Raikkonen in traffic cost him half a second to Kvyat.
Some colourful language from Raikkonen as he complains about backmarkers.
More gains for Raikkonen, closing to 2.4s behind Kvyat.
So if Perez's chance of sixth has gone, Button's prospects of gaining another place have improved.
With the Mexican having to lift and coast to save fuel, Button's edging closer - he's 6.3s behind now.
With the Mexican having to lift and coast to save fuel, Button's edging closer - he's 6.3s behind now.
Raikkonen still closing on Kvyat, he's now 3.0s behind the P4 Red Bull.
LAWRENCE BARRETTO: "Max Verstappen, on the super-softs, is the fastest driver on the track at the moment. His last lap was a 1m19.369s and is now 5.8s adrift of Toro Rosso team-mate Carlos Sainz."
Rosberg is keeping Vettel at arm's length; +2.0s right now.
EDD STRAW: "This isn't going to go down in history as one of the most dramatic Monaco GPs - although anything can happen in the last 25 or so laps. But this track is a unique test of drivers. The precision of every driver - even the ones not regarded as among the best - and the astonishing speed they can carry through the corners is breathtaking. It's a classic example of a circuit where the driver challenge is sky-high, but the actual wheel-to-wheel stuff is not usually that plentiful."
Raikkonen has got a little closer to Kvyat, so the gap between the two is down to 3.7s in the battle for fourth.
Felipe Massa's race was ruined by contact on the opening lap when he suffered a puncture. He's currently 16th.
Massa, Monaco GP
Perez is told: "We think Ricciardo was managing [his pace]. We just need to manage OUR race now."
LAWRENCE BARRETTO: "Lewis Hamilton has lapped everyone up to Felipe Nasr in ninth place. The Sauber is seven seconds up the road and lapping around a second slower than Hamilton."
EDD STRAW: "McLaren-Honda should score its first points since the 1992 Australian Grand Prix, won by Gerhard Berger, with Button comfortable in eighth place. He's not close enough to Perez ahead to do anything about him, and is a country mile ahead of Nasr."
Lead gaps:
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg +10.6
3 Vettel +12.3
4 Kvyat +24.5
5 Raikkonen +28.6
6 Ricciardo +34.7
7 Perez +39.9
8 Button 48.2
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg +10.6
3 Vettel +12.3
4 Kvyat +24.5
5 Raikkonen +28.6
6 Ricciardo +34.7
7 Perez +39.9
8 Button 48.2
Hamilton asks if everything is OK, and the team says yes. "Keep doing what you're doing." He leads by 11.2s now.
Raikkonen is finding more pace in his pursuit of Kvyat. He's taken half a second out of him and is now 3.9s behind the Red Bull. Quite what he can do when he gets there, given that he had no answer for Ricciardo in the first stint, is another question.
EDD STRAW: "So where are the battles of note? Near the front, Vettel is just 1.5s behind Rosberg, but it will take a miracle to have an opportunity to pass. After that, you have to look down to the battle for 10th, with Grosjean just over a second ahead of Bottas."
Verstappen pits again from 12th, relieving Bottas of all that pressure - now the Williams can focus on nicking 10th from Grosjean.
Hamilton is now 10s clear out front. Rosberg leads Vettel by 1.5s.
Merhi is getting angry on the radio, he doesn't want to be told about faster cars catching him until they are "much closer".
"Copy that, Roberto, we have to tell you when we get the message from race control," is the response to the rookie.
"Copy that, Roberto, we have to tell you when we get the message from race control," is the response to the rookie.
Perez is given the message that Ricciardo is struggling and on the same strategy - translation: he's there for the taking.
The Mexican is 5.2s behind as it stands. Button's 7.5s back.
The Mexican is 5.2s behind as it stands. Button's 7.5s back.
Raikkonen would have hoped to set about Kvyat after passing Ricciardo, but so far he's not been able to make many inroads. The gap is hovering just under five seconds.
Quote
Button asks: "What happened, what happened?"
The team replies by telling him "we don't think it affects us".
The team replies by telling him "we don't think it affects us".
Alonso reported on the radio that it was a gearbox issue.
Grosjean, though, has Bottas and Verstappen for close company.
LAWRENCE BARRETTO: "I put the kiss of death on Fernando Alonso, who parks his McLaren at Sainte Devote. That's his third retirement in five races this season. Romain Grosjean now into the points."
Yellow flag
And Alonso's off! He locks up at Sainte Devote, runs straight on - and parks the car. Looks like a mechanical issue has ended the Spaniard's run in the points.
Stopwatch
Hamilton turns things up on lap 42/78 - extending his lead to 8.6s with a new fastest lap of 1m18.676s.
A very slow lap from Alonso - six seconds off the pace. That's left him with Nasr right behind him.
Rosberg closes by half a second on Hamilton, gap is 7.6s.
Vettel is complaining about traffic, as he falls to 2s behind Rosberg.
Vettel is complaining about traffic, as he falls to 2s behind Rosberg.
EDD STRAW: "Good to see Kvyat on course for a career-best result. He's had a tough time at the start of his career with the Red Bull team in difficult circumstances. But he's showing what he's capable of today. Couldn't do more than what he's doing right now really."
LAWRENCE BARRETTO: "McLaren is on course for its first double points finish since last year's Brazilian Grand Prix, with Jenson Button eighth and Fernando Alonso ninth."
Raikkonen was closer to Kvyat, but he went off at the chicane and fell back into Ricciardo's clutches.
Gaps after stops:
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg +8.2
3 Vettel +9.9
4 Kvyat +20.7
5 Raikkonen +25.9
6 Ricciardo +26.4
1 Hamilton
2 Rosberg +8.2
3 Vettel +9.9
4 Kvyat +20.7
5 Raikkonen +25.9
6 Ricciardo +26.4
Stopwatch
Fastest lap for Rosberg - 1m19.716s. He's still 8.2s adrift of Hamilton, but he's put nearly a second on Vettel behind him.
More on Hamilton's brakes: "The temperatures are under control now we're in free air."
Vettel is closer to Rosberg than he was, but that doesn't mean much around Monaco unfortunately.
By: Scott Mitchell, Edd Straw, AUTOSPORT staff, Glenn Freeman, Lawrence Barretto
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