Lights Out: Ricciardo hits the jackpot in Monaco

Once the elation and emotion subsides, Daniel Ricciardo's steely determination will surely come to the fore. As ruthless as he can be under braking, now is time for the Australian to get his elbows out and put his demands on the table to Red Bull, or whoever will pay him the most.

Comparisons between Ricciardo's Monaco Grand Prix drive and Michael Schumacher's fifth-gear-only second place at the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix are perhaps a little generous to this weekend's winner, but the way he managed the loss of his top two gears - and two-and-a-half-seconds per lap according to Christian Horner - was hugely impressive.

It made for a tense race rather than a thriller, but that's about as much as a viewer can hope for at Monaco these days when there is not assistance from the clouds.

Ricciardo's victory in Shanghai this year was him at his attacking best - and highlighted just how much more polished he is than team-mate Max Verstappen - whose impatience cost him the win.

In Monte Carlo, Ricciardo delivered an altogether different display, picking his moments wisely to make his car too wide for Sebastian Vettel to get beyond, as well as managing the early pace well to negate any potential strategy gains for his rivals.

Verstappen's practice shunt, which made him start from the back of the grid, will surely have Red Bull scrabbling around for all the last loose millions down the back of Dietrich Mateschitz's couch.

The Dutchman might be Dr Helmut Marko's "project", but Ricciardo is the team leader they need here and now if they want to muscle in on Mercedes and Ferrari's title fight.

Quite simply... pay the man!

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• A great day for Daniel Ricciardo, but not for Liberty Media. F1TV once again crashed worldwide, preventing many fans from watching the Monaco GP.
• The message is clear from Red Bull: Verstappen has to change.
• And the weekend's race wasn't without its detractors. Lewis Hamilton said he would have fallen asleep if watching at home, while Fernando Alonso called for fans to be refunded over the lack of on-track action.

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Monaco in a minute...?#MonacoGP pic.twitter.com/CmBwExcARB — Formula 1 (@F1) May 28, 2018