Ricciardo battles for Monaco revenge ahead of Vettel

Daniel Ricciardo clung on to a redemptive Monaco Grand Prix win, despite spending almost three quarters of the race battling a loss of power in his Red Bull. Ricciardo had to race 50 laps with a lack of horsepower, but the narrow streets of Monte Carlo helped him hold off Sebastian Vettel.

Victory was richly deserved for Ricciardo, who had topped the timesheets in every practice and qualifying session as Red Bull enjoyed a 250th grand prix to remember.

The Australian sounded crestfallen as he reported a loss of power - memories of his awful 2016 disappointment surely flooding back to him - however, he was able to manage the pace impressively, with Vettel unable to mount a late charge as his tyres fell away.

A late crash between Charles Leclerc and Brendon Hartley only brought out a Virtual Safety Car, helping Ricciardo ease to a seventh grand prix victory.

His performance conjured memories of the likes of Michael Schumacher in Barcelona in 1994 when stuck in fifth gear, or Ayrton Senna's ability to hold off a charging Nigel Mansell in Monte Carlo in 1992.

The issue could have ruined a race of mixed emotions for Red Bull, who saw Max Verstappen crash out of FP3 and start last on the grid, however the Dutchman pulled off an impressive recovery drive to take ninth place, sandwiched by the Renaults of Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr.

Though given a sprinkling of excitement with Ricciardo's need to manage his car, the race was typically Monaco - Lewis Hamilton completed the podium, with Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas unable to make a move for the top three.

Vettel was also unable to make a real go of taking P1 from Ricciardo, but he closes to within14 points of Hamilton in the driver's standings - the Australian's second victory of 2018 moves him third.

Fernando Alonso's run of points-scoring finishes ended with a gearbox failure in the McLaren.

YESSSSSSSS! Signed. Sealed. Delivered. @danielricciardo wins the #MonacoGP! ???? #Monaco250 pic.twitter.com/PzsUCrvtnJ — Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 27, 2018

TOP 10

1. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
2. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) + 7.366 seconds
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) + 17.013secs
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) + 18.127secs
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) + 18.822secs
6. Esteban Ocon (Force India) + 23.667secs
7. Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) + 24.331secs
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) + 24.839secs
9. Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault) + 25.317secs
10. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) + 69.013secs

GOOD DAY

Verstappen was ridiculed once more after he was forced to sit out qualifying due to his FP3 shunt, but a calm performance proved his race-craft and he goes home with the official lap record to boot.

BAD DAY

After failing to convert poles in Shanghai and Baku, and being outperformed in Barcelona, Vettel may come to rue an inability to get truly close enough to Ricciardo over the 50 laps in which the Red Bull was underpowered.

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

• Ricciardo's overtaking is rightly lauded, but this was a defensive masterclass, keeping Vettel at arm's length and trusting the Red Bull chassis through the tighter moments. There could be no sweeter feeling for the Red Bull star, who might have put yet another zero on his next contract.
• Lance Stroll is suffering as Williams continue to struggle but his petulant claim of "What's the point?!" early in the race point to a driver who is focused more on his own prospects than the team's recovery.