Lewis Hamilton wins rainy Monaco Grand Prix after Daniel Ricciardo pit stop gaffe

Lewis Hamilton captured his first victory of the 2016 F1 season, but the talk will be about how Daniel Ricciardo didn’t win it.

Daniel Ricciardo was in prime position to win the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix from the pole after going winless in 2015. One bad pit stop later, his chances were gone.

Lewis Hamilton claimed the victory instead, claiming his first Formula One victory of 2016 in a Monaco Grand Prix that began in the rain and saw more precipitation fall before it was all finished. Hamilton was a deserving winner, starting third on the grid and turning in the day’s fastest lap as well.

But it’s quite possible he wouldn’t have caught Ricciardo were it not for a mystifying slow pit stop for the Australian’s Red Bull Racing team. When Ricciardo pitted on lap 32, his team didn’t have tires ready, and it took 13 seconds to get his car back on the track.

That proved to be a blunder that Ricciardo couldn’t overcome, especially given the weather conditions, and he didn’t hide his displeasure while speaking to The Telegraph after the race:

"I don’t even want to comment on the race, to be honest. I guess we put on a show – it shouldn’t have been that exciting. Two weekends in a row I’ve been screwed. They should have been ready.We had the speed, we pulled away, pitted for inters .. .and then the pit stop was the pit stop. 2nd place doesn’t show much."

It’s the second career Monaco Grand Prix win for Hamilton, who also topped the podium in 2008. Nico Rosberg, who won the last three Monaco races and the first four races of the 2016 F1 season, finished seventh after being passed by Nico Hulkenberg right near the end of the race.

Rosberg still leads the series standings, but his points lead over Mercedes teammate Hamilton is down to 24.

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