Lewis Hamilton's driver's championship hopes took a bit of a hit this afternoon, with the Brit dropping to second place in the overall standings after a disappointing showing in Monaco.
Max Verstappen would win the Monaco Grand Prix, moving to the top of the world championship table in the process. He now sits four points ahead of Hamilton, who limped to seventh in F1's flagship event.
It was a bad day overall for Mercedes, who also gave up their lead in the constructor standings. Red Bull now sit atop that chart for the first time since 2013.
Their main driver was not happy with the team's overall performance, exchanging some choice words over the radio after a slow pit stop during the 33rd lap moved him down two spots in the race. Their logic of using the pit stop at this stage was to put on hard tires that would last for the remainder of the race.
Mercedes attempted to undercut AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly with their pit stop, but the Frenchman still emerged ahead of Hamilton. He certainly was not happy.
A 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 frustrated Lewis Hamilton over team radio today 📻#SkyF1 | #F1 | #MonacoGP 🇲🇨 pic.twitter.com/9Psqm16J3v
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 23, 2021
How am I still behind him (Gasly) man? What just happened guys, I lost two places.
I don't understand guys. I saved the tires to go longer, you made me stop before everyone.
Sergio Perez and Sebastian Vettel also benefitted from this error, with both drivers ultimately finishing ahead of Hamilton. In the end, it cost him three places.
Commentator Martin Brundle explained the error on Sky Sports during the race:
Basically what happened was Pierre Gasly in-lap on his old tyres was better than Lewis Hamilton's out lap on soft tyres.
To cap it all, Aston Martin did make the longer stint work. That is why Lewis Hamilton is livid.
Mercedes will be eager to avoid any more slip-ups in what looks set to be two hotly contested championships over the coming months.
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