A wet start to the day couldn’t dampen Lewis Hamilton’s positive attitude which helped him blaze to a thrilling victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, won thanks to his bold tyre management, and a helping hand from teammate Nico Rosberg.
The rain-hit race was started behind a safety car, but when the track started to dry Lewis opted to stick on the wets, and still managed to eek out similar lap times to his rivals, despite them being on intermediate tyres. The brave strategy meant he was able to make one less stop than his opponents, allowing him to go all the way to the top podium position, winning this race for the second time in his career.
The world champion’s 44th victory of his F1 career comes at a crucial time, when he could have been forgiven for thinking this year’s championship was already over. Reliability issues and bad luck had seemed to be conspiring against him, yet the 31 year-old kept faith that his fortune would turn around.
Lewis said: “I just can’t believe it. Being able to brush off the negative feeling of the season so far…
“Knowing that we’re that far down. When you keep falling it’s hard to always come up with innovative ways to keep yourself motivated; to keep believing.
“You have those demons and thoughts in your mind and then coming out with a result like today, it just confirms the positive thoughts I had.
“To never give up. It’s the same thing my Dad told me when I was seven years old in the boxing ring with some kid punching the lights out of me.
“Never give up, keep pushing and eventually you get there. I think today’s just proved again that my Dad was right. So I’ll continue to go with that motto.”
Rosberg struggled with tyre and brake temperatures, making it difficult for him to contend with pole-sitter Daniel Ricciardo. So, when the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team asked him to move aside and allow Lewis through, he obliged, giving Lewis a chance to fight for the lead. The move proved crucial for the team and Lewis was quick to thank Nico, who, although disappointed, didn’t hesitate in making the decision.
Nico said: “It was a painful feeling that I had a lack of confidence in the car and knowing that I was unable to fight for a win. We need to look into it and try to understand it but first of all, it was pretty simple. We have a rule and it was pretty obvious that I had to give up the place to Lewis. And the final result made it worthwhile for the team. That decision got the team the win in Monaco. It’s simple, but also very painful, as I wanted to win the race.
“But I am not looking at the championship. There have been days like this before. There have been ups and downs and, after all, I had no expectation of winning every race this year. I was ready for the down and by tomorrow I will be on it again and ready for Canada.”
Credit: Monster