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Rosberg wins in Moncao

Alex ChafferMay 24, 2015

Nico Rosberg has won his second straight race of the season and third Monaco Grand Prix in a row. The win came after a Mercedes miscalculation caused teammate Lewis Hamilton to pit late and forfeit a clear advantage.

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Monaco Formel 1 Grand Prix Nico Rosberg
Image: Getty Images/B. Horvat

Starting from pole position, Lewis Hamilton led almost the entire race in Monaco. But, on the 67th lap, he was given a poor call to pit whilst the safety car was out. That gifted his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg an unlikely victory.

"I know that I got lucky today, but that's the way it is in racing," said Rosberg after the race. "I'm very happy to have won again."

Mercedes took the extraordinary step of apologizing to their own driver via social media site Twitter.

On the back of a poor start at the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, Hamilton began the race superbly and stayed well clear of Rosberg. He appeared to be cruising to victory until lap 66 when a crash involving Romain Grosjean of Lotus and Max Verstappen of Toro Rosso slowed down the race.

Not realizing that the safety car was out, Mercedes ordered Hamilton to pit. As the pack behind the British driver bunched up, Hamilton came out behind Rosberg and level with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

In the remaining ten laps, after full racing re-started again, Hamilton was unable to overtake Vettel and Rosberg streaked clear to clinch victory. The result cut Hamilton's lead over Rosberg at the top of the drivers' championship in half to a mere ten points.

"I'm sure we'll sit down and think of ways we can improve," said Hamilton after the race. "That wasn't the easiest race, but I know that all I can do is come back and win next time."

Monaco Grand Prix
The stunning setting of the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco remains a season highlightImage: Getty Images/P. Gilham

Alonso struggling, Verstappen unlucky

It was another difficult day for McLaren driver Fernando Alonso. Having quit his home Grand Prix two weeks ago early due to brake issues in the pits, a gear-box problem meant that the former Spanish World Champion retired from the Monaco race for the first time since 2004.

Rookie Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen was having the drive of his life with just over 12 laps to go. But, as he pressed to finish inside the top-ten for the first time, the teenager clipped his front-left tyre onto the rear of Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, and crashed into a tyre wall. "I'm okay," was the call immediately after from the driver.

The next Formula One Grand Prix takes place in Montreal, Canada, over the weekend of June 5-7.