Rosberg ends Mercedes win drought

27May 2013

Mercedes were being tipped for victory in Monaco almost as soon as the chequered flag dropped in Spain. James Frankland reports on how Nico Rosberg delivered on pre- race expectations to score his second career victory...

Nico Rosberg secured victory in the Monaco Grand Prix with a measured but dominant performance, delivering Mercedes' first win of the season. The team had taken pole position in the last three races but failed to convert any into a win, but Rosberg was able to hold off the threat of teammate Lewis Hamilton in the first stint and then the pursuing Red Bull duo in the latter stages to win what he affectionately calls his 'home' race, having grown up in the Principality as a young boy.

There was an extra-special edge to the victory as it was 30 years ago that Nico's father Keke won here for Williams, the Rosbergs now on their own as the only father- son duo to win in Monte Carlo.

There were mixed fortunes for the championship challengers. Sebastian Vettel made up a place at the expense of Hamilton, who dawdled too long on track when coming in for his stop under the safety car and allowed both Red Bulls to jump him, demoting him to fourth.

Kimi Raikkonen looked set for fifth place until the erratic Sergio Perez tried an optimistic pass at the exit of the Tunnel, cutting Kimi's left rear tyre and forcing him into the pits. Raikkonen recovered to 10th at the chequered flag but lost ground to Vettel, dropping to 21 points behind the German.

Fernando Alonso had a quiet afternoon, unable to make significant progress on track and in the end finding himself passed by two cars that qualified behind him - Adrian Stuil, who had an excellent afternoon for Force India, and Jenson Button in the McLaren.

Perez' actions were ironically responsible for two of my pre-race tips going awry. I had Perez down for a Top Six finish which, had he held station behind Raikkonen, he would have achieved with ease. He didn't need to try and pass him and someone at McLaren will hopefully be explaining the term 'damage limitation' to the young Mexican - no pun intended.

At the same time, Nico Hulkenberg was running 11th but moved into the points when Raikkonen dropped back, then losing out to the Finn on the last lap as the Lotus was creaming through the field with new tyres.

In the Driver's Championship Vettel 1.92 now stands a little clearer ahead of Alonso 3.3, reflecting the 29-point gap between them. Raikkonen is longer at 8.4 but there's a way to go yet before we can truly tell if Kimi can deliver a championship challenge over the full length of the season. Perhaps he's saving it all up for that mooted move to Red Bull in 2014...?

I'd back him in the Top Three market at 1.52.

Red Bull strengthened their position in the Constructor's Championship with a 33-point haul in Monte Carlo and now lead by 41 points from Ferrari. They've notched 11 points finishes from a possible 12 in comparison to Ferrari's nine and if that form continues, 1.65 might be as good as it gets.

Ferrari's 2.86 is appealing but I'd wait to see if they can claw back some of Red Bull's advantage over the next couple of races before placing your bet.