Sebastian Vettel Extends Lead Over Lewis Hamilton after Monaco Grand Prix Victory

Sebastian Vettel Extends Lead Over Lewis Hamilton after Monaco Grand Prix Victory

Ferrari‘s Sebastian Vettel won the Monaco Grand Prix to extend his championship lead over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to 25 points.

According to BBC Sport, Vettel led home team-mate Kimi Raikkonen after passing the Finn by running longer to their only pit stops.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won a slow-burning Monaco Grand Prix to extend his championship lead over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to 25 points.

Vettel led home team-mate Kimi Raikkonen after passing the Finn by running longer to their only pit stops.

There was suspicion that the strategy was a deliberate move by Ferrari to get their leading driver into the lead but the team denied that was the case.

Hamilton finished seventh after a difficult race from 13th on the grid.

A largely dull race was enlivened by a late safety car after a collision involving McLaren’s Jenson Button, on his one-off return to F1 in place of Fernando Alonso.

It closed up the field and led to a series of crashes and collisions among the backmarkers.

Reports say the strategy was planned by Ferrari to get their leading driver into the lead but the team denied that was the case.

Hamilton could only finish seventh after a difficult race from 13th on the grid.

Mercedes knew they would always struggle to make up too much ground with Hamilton after starting 13th because of a messy qualifying session, including a series of driving errors and problems with tyres.

They decided to run him long and hope to gain from his speed once he got some clear air, as cars pulled in to make their pit stops.

He ran until lap 46 before stopping, by which time he was sixth and lost only one place, to Toro Rosso‘s Carlos Sainz by finishing the race seventh.

“The battle’s not over, boys, We’ll take these points.” Hamilton said over the radio in the closing laps.