After an exhilarating Monaco Grand Prix, Press Association Sport looks at five talking points from Sunday's race.
LEWIS HAMILTON GETS CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE BACK ON TRACK
Lewis Hamilton celebrated one of his finest victories with all the relief of a man who had come to forget what winning feels like. It had been more than seven months, some 217 days, since Hamilton's last victory, but the Briton is now well placed to finally get his championship charge up and running. Following Nico Rosberg's abject display at the Principality, Hamilton is within one win (24 points) of his fiercest rival, and you have to wonder whether their contrasting displays on Sunday will be a turning point in the championship.
A RACE TO FORGET FOR NICO ROSBERG
While Hamilton had cause for celebration, Rosberg will do well to forget a race which will surely rank as one of the worst in his career. In wet conditions, it becomes less about the machine, and more about sheer bravery and talent. But where Hamilton displayed all the credentials which have made him a three-time world champion, Rosberg proved just why he is yet to open his account. Daniel Ricciardo, desperately unfortunate not to win, opened up a mighty 10-second lead over Rosberg in just four laps, and when Rosberg was told by Mercedes to get out of Hamilton's way, Hamilton scampered off into the distance with similar ease. "We're looking into it and trying to understand it," said Rosberg, who crossed the line 93 seconds behind his team-mate. Many observers in the paddock however, believe he was just simply not up to the task.
MAX VERSTAPPEN WILL COME BACK STRONGER
Like Rosberg, Max Verstappen will also be keen to move on from a Monaco Grand Prix weekend which saw him crash on three occasions. The 18-year-old, who became Formula One's youngest-ever winner in Spain a fortnight ago, started Sunday's race from the pits after binning his car in qualifying. And while he made fantastic progress to scythe his way through the pack - he was ninth at the time of his crash - his gung-ho approach made some sort of incident seem almost inevitable. "He is balanced and intelligent and he'll learn from this," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said.
RENAULT'S JOLYON PALMER CRASHES OUT EARLY ON
Jolyon Palmer's troubled start to life in Formula One showed few signs of abating in Monaco after he crashed out of the race no sooner than it had started. The Briton, whom some have predicted may not last the season at Renault, said: "I had wheelspin in fifth gear on the white line that crosses the track and there was nothing I could do. I was just a passenger and went straight into the wall."
TROUBLE BREWS AS SAUBER DUO COLLIDE WITH EACH OTHER
Palmer was just one of a number of victims in Sunday's incident-packed race, but there would be none more dramatic than the Sauber pair of Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr who managed to take each other out of the race. Nasr had been ordered by his team to let Ericsson through, but the Brazilian refused. A frustrated Ericsson attempted to get past, but crashed into his team-mate. "It was unacceptable behaviour by both drivers," said Sauber boss Monisha Kaltenborn. "Such an incident will not happen again."
Source: PA
