Ricciardo screwed for second week running

Without taking anything away from Lewis Hamilton’s fine drive, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo also proved he would have also been a worthy winner in Monaco.

The Australian had taken pole position on Saturday morning and had used a strategy in Q2 which would have enabled him to start the race on a compound of tyre that could well have seen him go further in his first stint than his rivals.

It should have been a position where the Aussie could have controlled the race from the start, however mother nature had other ideas, making it a wet race and his previous dry tyre strategy had become irrelevant.

Unperturbed, Ricciardo led the field away behind the safety car and showed his class by not only controlling the race from the front, but by dominating Nico Rosberg who was in second place.

Despite Rosberg driving the far superior car, the German had no confidence around the streets of the town where he resides in the rain.

By the time Mercedes opted to switch their drivers, the decision looked like it had become too late as Ricciardo had a dominant lead.

Tyre strategy from Red Bull Racing however gave Hamilton the chance to snatch victory away from Ricciardo.

The first gamble for Hamilton paid off, he remained on full wet tyres, whilst everyone else switched to Intermediates. The intermediates were the faster tyre, but track position enabled Hamilton to close the gap to Rosberg.

Both drivers then switched to slick tyres, but Red Bull Racing were not prepared for the Aussie’s arrival, with Ricciardo waiting an age for his tyres to arrive.

The delay proved to be enough to cost Ricciardo a Monaco Grand Prix victory.

‘How do I feel? Without swearing it’s difficult, Like I’ve been run over by an 18-wheel truck for the second weekend in a row.

‘I think I took Barcelona as well as I could; but for me to be positive this time, I can’t. I actually hate being like this, being miserable – I got a podium in Monaco, I should be happy and grateful. Ricciardo told formula1.com immediately after the race.

He continued: ‘But I have no idea what to say – and nothing good to say. We saw the rain this morning and I saw it as another chance to prove myself. I was quick and I pulled away. [As for the pit stop] – they called me in, it wasn’t a late call.

‘From the outside, we put on a show but it shouldn’t have been as exciting as it was – two weekends in a row I have been screwed.’