2015 F1 Round 6 – Monaco Grand Prix race: Rosberg takes third straight win, Hamilton drops to third after pitting under the safety car

The Monaco Grand Prix on 24 May was contested over 78 laps. Rosberg won in 1 hour 49 minutes 18.420 seconds, taking victory in Monte Carlo for the third consecutive year; Vettel finished second, 4.486 seconds behind, with Hamilton third.

Hamilton, who started from pole, led for much of the race and at one point held a lead of around 25.7 seconds as the race entered its closing stages. On lap 64, Verstappen suffered a heavy crash at Sainte Dévote while trying to overtake Grosjean. Race control first deployed the virtual safety car, then sent out the safety car itself.

During the safety car period, Mercedes brought Hamilton in for fresh supersoft tyres, but Rosberg did not pit, and Ferrari also kept Vettel out on track. Hamilton rejoined behind both of them, and the lead changed hands as a result.

After the safety car came in, Rosberg remained in the lead. Despite having newer tyres, Hamilton was unable to pass Vettel on the narrow streets; the trio ultimately crossed the line in the order Rosberg, Vettel and Hamilton.

Kvyat finished fourth and Ricciardo fifth, giving Red Bull a double top-five finish at this race. Ricciardo had passed his team-mate in the closing stages but ultimately handed fourth place back under team orders; Räikkönen was sixth and Pérez seventh.

Button finished eighth to score the first points of McLaren’s renewed partnership with Honda. Nasr was ninth; Sainz climbed to tenth after starting from the pit lane, still earning a point for Toro Rosso.

Alonso received a five-second penalty for a first-lap collision with Hülkenberg and later retired on lap 41 with a gearbox problem. Verstappen had completed 62 laps before his crash, while Maldonado ran only five laps because of brake problems; all three were listed as non-finishers.

After this round, Hamilton still led the drivers’ standings on 126 points, with Rosberg on 116 and the gap down to 10 points. Mercedes led the constructors’ standings with 242 points, Ferrari had 158, and Red Bull’s total rose to 74 points.