Monaco: The F1 Grand Prix Seen from the Pits

Mercedes

Nico Rosberg – Winner

Lewis Hamilton – 2nd

Toto Wolff, Executive Director: « A fantastic result for the team after a weekend where we needed to demonstrate the car’s potential here in Monaco. Six wins in six races, and five consecutive one-two finishes, is a really special achievement at the start of this season. Congratulations to Nico for a faultless race and to Lewis for accompanying him to the finish despite some unexpected challenges this afternoon. We were controlling the race well when the safety car forced us to pit earlier than we had planned for our single stop of the afternoon. After that, both drivers pushed hard, which resulted in them managing worn tires in the final laps. When Lewis had an issue with his eye, Daniel Ricciardo closed in. It just shows that we must never stop attacking because our rivals are just behind us – and working hard to catch up. We have absolutely no margin for error because if we make a small slip, our rivals are right there. We will enjoy this moment – but the hard work will continue tomorrow at the factory. »

– Read the drivers’ statements

Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo – 3rd

Sebastian Vettel – Retirement

Christian Horner, Team Principal of Red Bull Racing: « First of all, we need to apologize to Sebastian for the issue with his power unit. It’s frustrating because after having a good start, his race ended prematurely. Then, Daniel benefited from Kimi [Räikkönen]’s puncture to have some space and was able to run his own race. We closed the gap to Mercedes at the end and were very close to Lewis, but in the streets of Monte Carlo, it’s always extremely difficult to overtake. We have never been closer to Mercedes this year and it’s the first time we can really fight with them this season, so there are signs of progress and we are closing in. Finally, congratulations to the Marussia team for their first points in Formula 1. Scoring points in this business is never easy and for a new team it’s complicated, and today they deserve a lot of recognition for having achieved it. »

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso – 4th

Kimi Räikkönen – 12th

Marco Mattiacci, Team Director: « Historically, Monaco is an unpredictable Grand Prix, and we know well that there are thousands of variables to consider here. If we had managed to hold onto third place, it would have been a boost for the whole team, but events beyond our control prevented it. We are all working tirelessly, and I am sure that thanks to the great professionalism of the people around me, we will manage to improve day by day and become competitive again soon. But above all, we must find a way to reach the ambitious goals that Ferrari should be fighting for. »

– Read the drivers’ statements

Force India

Nico Hülkenberg – 5th

Sergio Pérez – Retirement

Vijay Mallya, Owner of Sahara Force India: « Today’s race equals our best result in Monaco, so I am obviously delighted with Nico’s performance. He had a very clean and strong race and was able to withstand incredible pressure in the last 20 laps to finish 5th despite very old tires. He also made one of the best overtakes of the season, so I think he will remember this day for a long time. Unfortunately, today we also had disappointment because Checo was pushed into the rails on the first lap. I am convinced he could have fought for big points too, but I am also sure he will bounce back. Our pace seemed good, which is a good sign for preparing for the next race in Canada. »

– Lire les déclarations des pilotes

McLaren

Jenson Button – 6th

Kevin Magnussen – 10th

Eric Boullier, Racing Director: 6th and 10th is not what we wanted, but we need to be realistic and acknowledge that it was a great performance – both from the team, who worked brilliantly, and from our two drivers, who drove tenaciously this weekend. Finishing 10th is tough for Kevin to accept – he seemed on track for at least 6th place until the last laps, when an issue with his power unit caused him to lose some positions. Fortunately, we were able to fix the problem so he could continue, although the incident with Kimi didn’t help. As usual, Jenson showed his flair and experience to climb up from 12th place on the grid. He was always well-positioned to take advantage of the incidents and action ahead of him and judged the second safety car intervention perfectly, choosing to dive into the pits at the right moment. Finally, I would like to congratulate Jules Bianchi, John Booth, Graeme Lowdon, and the entire Marussia team for scoring their first points in the world championship.

– Read the drivers’ statements

Williams

Felipe Massa – 7th

Valtteri Bottas – Retirement

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance at Williams: Felipe’s race went well; he started 16th and finished 7th, staying clear of trouble and driving smartly. The strategy was risky but it paid off as we didn’t have to make a double stop. Valtteri could have scored good points today, but unfortunately, there was an issue with his car. We look forward to Canada and consider where we can make progress to continue scoring points.

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Lotus

Romain Grosjean – 8th

Pastor Maldonado – Abandon

Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Director of Lotus: « We scored some lucky points today, but overall our weekend was disappointing. It’s been very frustrating that Pastor couldn’t start the race, and we need to identify the cause. Romain stayed focused and did a great job bringing important points to the team. We know there’s still work to do, and Monaco didn’t play in our favor. »

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Marussia

Jules Bianchi – 9th

Max Chilton – 14th

John Booth, Director of the Marussia Team: Naturally, we are delighted with today’s result and it’s a fantastic reward for all the hard work and determination, not just this year, but over the last four and a bit seasons. My congratulations to the team here in Monaco, and at the factory in Banbury and to our new colleagues at Scuderia Ferrari. Our power unit partnership is young, but we saw the potential from the start of our relationship and we’re already beginning to see the results of a real integration. Most of the progress seen here is due to the testing in Barcelona. We were cautiously optimistic about the performance gain, but we really needed to translate that with a good race here in Monaco before we could feel confident. We are a young team, but we have every reason to believe in ourselves and in a positive future.

Clearly, today we benefited from the circumstances, but throughout, we had a good pace that allowed us to stay with the other cars around us. It is clear that we are now able to race with the midfield. The penalty was a concern and the way it was handled with Jules produced unusual circumstances, but we understood and accepted the decisions. Fortunately, the second penalty was not the determining factor as it could have been. A tough day for Max; today things did not go his way, but we are pleased that he continues his streak of finishes.

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Caterham

Marcus Ericsson – 11th

Kamui Kobayashi – 13th

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: « Everyone knows that Monaco can be a crazy race, and that was the case today. It’s a strange feeling because it matches our best result ever, but we keep the impression that we had the opportunity to score our first point like Marussia did today, but it was taken away from us despite the very good work of both drivers and the whole team today. We had the right strategy, perfectly timed the pit stops, and the mechanics were efficient in a tense race. I am proud that both cars were there at the finish of the race even with Kamui’s damaged car, and we must take the positives to help us fight back with the improved performance of the car. »

– Read the drivers’ statements

Sauber

Esteban Gutierrez – Retirement

Adrian Sutil – Retirement

Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber Team Principal: « It was a very unfortunate way to finish this race. We clearly had a chance to score points, but we leave Monaco empty-handed. Adrian and Esteban were doing good laps and were able to fight with their rivals. This shows that the car was competitive today, and it’s important for the team to know that. Obviously, it’s very regrettable to miss such opportunities in this way. »

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Toro Rosso

Jean-Eric Vergne – Retirement

Daniil Kvyat – Abandon

Franz Tost, Team Principal: Starting today’s race in 7th and 9th positions and seeing both our cars retire is clearly not the result we wanted. Both our cars suffered from an exhaust problem. Jean-Eric and Daniil both put in a fine performance today and all weekend, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to provide them with a car capable of finishing where they deserved to be. We will now investigate the reasons for this problem and hope to be stronger for the next race in Canada.

– Read the drivers’ statements