F1 2018: Monaco GP Driver Ratings - Ricciardo top, Verstappen impresses and more

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Ricciardo enjoyed another of his shoes

This Sunday saw Daniel Ricciardo gain redemption by winning the Monaco Grand Prix, two years after losing out to Lewis Hamilton, after a failed pit stop strategy.

The victory for Ricciardo places him joint first for most wins (2) in 2018 alongside Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.

The streets of Monte Carlo is one of the most brutal challenges for an F1 driver and last weekend proved to be that case yet again.

As there were very few overtakes and three retirements of Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc, and Brendon Hartley, late on denied all 20 drivers from bringing their cars home safely.

Let's take a look at how all 20 drivers did in Sportskeeda's Monaco Grand Prix driver ratings...


#10 Williams

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco - Qualifying
Williams

Sergey Sirotkin - 16th

The Russian was having a very impressive weekend by out-qualifying his teammate Lance Stroll and reaching Q2.

Circuit de Monaco looked to be a track Sirotkin could get used.

That was until Sirotkin would face some unfortunate penalties from race control.

Just a few laps into the race, Sirotkin was told to go to the pits for a 10 second stop, and go after his car didn't have all four wheels on at the three-minutes-to-go point as required in the rules.

This, of course, dented his chances of a top 10 finish and would instead finish three places below where he started.

Driver rating: 4/10


Lance Stroll - 17th

Lance Stroll had all sorts of problems from the moment the race was lights out in Monaco.

You can tell how frustrated the Canadian was during the race when he displayed his anger to his engineers on the team radio: "What is the point in me racing right now?"

This was moments after Stroll noticed the blue flags meaning he had to give way for the likes of Ricciardo and Vettel to be able to overlap the Williams driver.

Driver rating: 3/10

#9 Sauber

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco
F1 Grand Prix of Monaco

Charles Leclerc - DNF

It was the biggest weekend of Charles Leclerc's career so far by taking to the streets of his habitat.

Despite all the hype for the 19-year-old before qualifying, it ended badly when Leclerc crashed into the back of Brendon Hartley's Toro Rosso.

This took place after both cars had exited the tunnel and Leclerc had braking problems and could not steer his car out of Hartley's path in time.

A race to forget for the local.

Driver rating: 1/10


Marcus Ericsson - 11th

It's fair to say Marcus Ericsson had a quiet race on Sunday.

The only moments he really had was trying to defend his lead from the rapid Max Verstappen who eventually took over the Swede.

But Ericsson was able to finish ahead of ex-Sauber driver Sergio Perez who couldn't find any answers in his Force India.

Driver rating: 5/10

#8 Haas

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco - Qualifying
Pressure was on Grosjean this weekend

Romain Grosjean - 15th

The pressure was really on Romain Grosjean over the weekend, after his previous retirements in Spain and Azerbaijan.

The Monaco Grand Prix was the perfect opportunity for the Frenchman to get the Haas crew to put faith back in him.

Unfortunately for Grosjean and the Haas team, Monaco was pretty much a complete disaster as both drivers failed to score any points.

Driver rating: 3/10


Kevin Magnussen - 13th

Kevin Magnussen didn't do too badly after starting the race second from last on the grid with Max Verstappen behind him.

From starting 19th to finishing 13th it is arguably acceptable when you are racing for a team outside the top three of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

But it will be a weekend for Haas to put behind them missing out yet again on improving their points tally in the Constructors' Championship.

Driver rating: 4/10

#7 Toro Rosso

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco
Toro Rosso

Pierre Gasly - 7th

It was another fantastic performance from Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly who has at the moment taking every opportunity with both hands.

It's fair to say Gasly has been performing better than his teammate Brendon Hartley after the opening six races of 2018.

Gasly started the race in 10th position and climbed up to 7th place at the chequered flag just staying ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Max Verstappen.

The three drivers had many battles for seventh on Sunday afternoon, but the Frenchman came out on top.

Driver rating: 7/10


Brendon Hartley - DNF

No thanks to Sauber's Charles Leclerc crashing into the back of the Toro Rosso, Brendon Hartley would have finished the race without a DNF next to his name.

Hartley had started the race in 16th position and was 13th at the time of his incident with Leclerc.

The New Zealander has now failed to finish a race for the second time this season adding to his retirement from the Chinese Grand Prix.

Driver rating: 1/10

#6 Force India

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco - Qualifying
F1 Grand Prix of Monaco - Qualifying

Esteban Ocon - 6th

Esteban Ocon had a very strong weekend performance in Monte Carlo.

His weekend was consistent from start to finish as the Frenchman qualified in 6th position on Saturday and went onto to finish in the same place.

Eight points for Ocon and Force India which could be very vital in their bid for fourth place in the Constructors' Championship.

Driver rating: 7/10


Sergio Perez - 12th

As well as Ocon making it into Q3 on Saturday, so did his team mate Sergio Perez.

Ocon out qualified Perez as the Mexican started the race three places below in ninth position.

Perez may recall the 2016 Monaco race when he snatched third place and got himself on the podium in the royal box but two years later the Force India driver struggled to score points.

Driver rating: 5/10

#5 McLaren

Fernando Alonso of Spain  and McLaren F1 Team   returns to...
Fernando Alonso of Spain and McLaren F1 Team

Fernando Alonso - DNF

Last year's Monaco Grand Prix had Fernando Alonso nowhere to be seen as he was across the pond representing McLaren at the Indy 500 in Indianapolis.

12 months on and Alonso had to suffer his first retirement of the 2018 season, after the car suffered from a gearbox problem.

It was rumoured the Spaniard would do well and some believed he could win the famous race for a third time in his career but it looked unlikely from lights out.

Alonso started the race in 7th position and stayed in the top 10 until the remaining 20 laps or so.

Driver rating: 1/10


Stoffel Vandoorne - 14th

If 2018 has taught us a couple of things so far, one is the obvious of Stoffel Vandoorne being McLaren's number two driver and the Dutchman has so far been forgotten on the track.

Vandoorne is no doubt a respectable driver at the McLaren garage, but this season so far has been a quiet one for the 26 year old.

It probably doesn't help that Fernando Alonso is his team mate.

Sunday's race was quite a dull one for Vandoorne as he finished outside the points and was overlapped.

Driver rating: 3/10

#4 Renault

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco
F1 Grand Prix of Monaco

Nico Hulkenberg - 8th

Despite Nico Hulkenberg failing to catch Pierre Gasly up ahead throughout most of the race, eighth place was a strong finish by the German.

Hulkenberg will be relieved to finally finish a full race after the retirements he conceded in Spain and Azerbaijan over the last month.

He had Max Verstappen on his tale over the last few laps but was able to stay ahead for the chequered flag.

Driver rating: 6/10


Carlos Sainz - 10th

It wasn't such a bad weekend for Carlos Sainz on and off the track.

Before Sunday's race had begun, Sainz was delighted to see his favourite football team Real Madrid beat Liverpool to win the UEFA Champions League on the night before the race.

It was something to be upbeat about before going behind the wheel for Sunday's showdown.

There was a nice teamwork moment when Sainz let Hulkenberg through to give the German an opportunity to close down Pierre Gasly. Hulkenberg responded: "Thank you," on the team radio.

Driver rating: 5/10

#3 Mercedes

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco
Hamilton found the race rather boring

Lewis Hamilton - 3rd

Lewis Hamilton failed to make it three race wins in a row after finishing third on Sunday.

But, Hamilton grabbed the headlines after himself and his ex-teammate Fernando Alonso claimed the race was boring.

Throughout Sunday's race, Hamilton struggled to keep up with Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel's pace and looked to accept third place early on in the race.

Hamilton now leads the driver's championship by 14 points.

Driver rating: 6/10


Valtteri Bottas - 5th

No real ups and downs for Valtteri Bottas who finished where he started in the race.

Bottas was having an uneventful race until the last 10 laps or so when himself, Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton, Vettel, and Ricciardo were in contention for the first spot.

Driver rating: 5/10

#2 Ferrari

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco
Vettel had to settle for 2nd

Sebastian Vettel - 2nd

The runner-up from Sunday's race 12 months after he won the Monaco Grand Prix for Ferrari.

Vettel was on Ricciardo's tail but couldn't do anything more to pass the Australian.

The German may see Monaco as a missed opportunity but will be happy to know his championship rival, Hamilton, finished below him in the standings.

Driver rating: 6/10


Kimi Raikkonen - 4th

Another to not improve his starting grid position.

Kimi Raikkonen did not have much to shout about from Sunday's race.

The only real moments the Finnish had to worry about was keeping away from fellow countryman Valtteri Bottas and so he did.

Driver rating: 5/10

#1 Red Bull

TOPSHOT-AUTO-PRIX-F1-MON
Redemption

Daniel Ricciardo - 1st

Daniel Ricciardo's victory has put him right back in contention for the World Championship and for sure reminded Red Bull's rivals why they sure should throw at the table for the Australian.

Ricciardo's future is unclear, but one thing we do know is that the Red Bull driver won't give up this year's championship without a fight.

The Australian was voted Formula 1's Driver of the Day for his sheer determination to finish the race in first place after what he went through two years ago at the same track.

Driver rating: 9/10


Max Verstappen - 9th

After failing to make qualifying with his damaged Red Bull car, Verstappen's weekend looked doomed.

We all knew the young Dutch was never going to win the race from 20th unless something miraculously happened.

But despite the tight corners and the very few opportunities to overtake, Verstappen got the best out of what he had.

And that was by finishing in the points with one of the best cars on the grid.

It could have been a more successful weekend for Verstappen and his team but he'll be happy to have rewarded the team with a couple of points.

Driver rating: 8/10

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