Hamilton ends long wait with Monaco win

MONACO: Lewis Hamilton celebrated his first win of the Formula One season at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday after Mercedes told team mate Nico Rosberg to move aside and Red Bull wrecked Daniel Ricciardo’s chances.

While fortune finally favoured the triple world champion after a run of bad luck, championship leader Rosberg finished seventh — 93.2 seconds behind — and saw his lead cut to 24 points after six of 21 races.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo was runner-up, a botched second pitstop destroying his chances after he started on pole position for the first time, with Mexican Sergio Perez third for Force India.

Hamilton made the right call on the tyres, with a late change to slicks, and got more mileage out of the ultrasofts than expected.

His jubilation contrasted with Ricciardo’s sense of shock, the Australian feeling robbed of a likely victory by his own team whom he said had called him in for a pitstop and then did not have the tyres ready.

“Two weeks in a row I’ve been screwed,” said the driver.

“It sucks. I was called into the box. They should have been ready.”

Ricciardo had built up a tidy lead at the start before Mercedes told Rosberg, then in second place, to let Hamilton through on lap 16 because the German was suffering from high brake temperatures.

The race had started with seven laps behind the safety car in wet conditions, dried out and then ended with more rain threatening and cloudy skies.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished fourth, while Finnish team mate Kimi Raikkonen retired with his front wing wedged awkwardly under the car after clouting the barriers on the 12th of the 78 laps.

Raikkonen continued through the tunnel with sparks coming from his car before parking up at the exit.