2015 Monaco Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Nico Rosberg won Monaco for the third year running after a late strategic error cost Lewis Hamilton a near-certain victory. Sebastian Vettel finished second, leaving Hamilton third despite having controlled most of the afternoon.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Pole time	1:15.098
Fastest lap	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:18.063 on lap 74
First	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Second	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari
Third	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
21 May 2015	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
21 May 2015	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
23 May 2015	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
23 May 2015	Qualifying	14:00
24 May 2015	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived at round 6 leading the 2015 F1 World Championship on 111 points, with Nico Rosberg on 91. Mercedes headed the constructors’ standings with 202 points.

Race entries

The 10 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Free Practice

A damp track after overnight rain meant the opening installation laps were run on intermediates before conditions improved enough for slicks. Lewis Hamilton finished quickest, but Max Verstappen made an immediate impression by placing second on his first Monaco Grand Prix weekend. Nico Rosberg brushed the barrier at Tabac and damaged his front wing. Red Bull and Toro Rosso looked competitive, while Williams struggled to find the same confidence in the cool conditions.

The afternoon offered little representative running. Roberto Merhi crashed at the tunnel exit early in FP2, and rain arrived during the resulting stoppage. Most drivers waited in the garage until the final ten minutes, when a damp surface prevented improvements on the early times. Lewis Hamilton therefore remained comfortably quickest, while Toro Rosso‘s strong Thursday continued and Fernando Alonso‘s eighth place gave McLaren reason to hope for points.

Sebastian Vettel put Ferrari ahead in FP3, but the team’s hour was disrupted when Kimi Räikkönen crashed at Sainte Dévote. Lewis Hamilton reported handling difficulties, with tyre pressures suspected, and finished behind Nico Rosberg. Both Red Bulls and both Toro Rossos again reached the top ten. Their consistency through practice suggested the tight street circuit offered the Renault-powered cars a better opportunity than the preceding events.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2015 Monaco Grand Prix FP1, 21 May 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:18.750	49
2	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+0.149s	42
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.336s	27
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.384s	31
5	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+0.495s	40
6	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+0.704s	35
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+0.770s	33
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.929s	31
9	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.012s	47
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+1.016s	32
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.041s	28
12	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.452s	15
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.524s	34
14	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.869s	35
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.034s	34
16	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.107s	24
17	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.167s	36
18	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.469s	25
19	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	+4.484s	28
20	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	+4.654s	31

Free Practice 2 Classification

2015 Monaco Grand Prix FP2, 21 May 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:17.192	12
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.740s	16
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.103s	14
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.351s	15
5	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+1.356s	16
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.467s	14
7	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.590s	12
8	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.714s	18
9	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.959s	13
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+2.074s	13
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+2.108s	13
12	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.368s	15
13	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.374s	14
14	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+2.385s	13
15	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.414s	14
16	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+2.447s	13
17	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+3.071s	10
18	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	+4.825s	9
19	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	+5.751s	13

Free Practice 3 Classification

2015 Monaco Grand Prix FP3, 23 May 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:16.143	27
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.218s	31
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.562s	31
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.977s	26
5	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.113s	39
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+1.258s	11
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	+1.328s	28
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.624s	28
9	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+1.645s	23
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.663s	28
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	+1.689s	30
12	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	+1.813s	28
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.959s	32
14	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.054s	26
15	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.069s	29
16	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	+2.099s	32
17	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+2.624s	38
18	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.126s	37
19	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	+4.950s	31
20	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	+6.082s	30

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Nico Rosberg second and Sebastian Vettel third.

Lewis Hamilton secured his first Monaco pole ahead of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. Fernando Alonso stopped with an electrical problem in Q2, while Valtteri Bottas was eliminated in the opening segment.

Qualifying Classification

2015 Monaco Grand Prix Qualifying, 23 May 2015

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:16.588	1:15.864	1:15.098	28
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:16.528	1:15.471	1:15.440	25
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:17.502	1:16.181	1:15.849	24
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:17.254	1:16.706	1:16.041	28
5	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	1:16.845	1:16.453	1:16.182	26
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:17.660	1:16.440	1:16.427	23
7	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:17.376	1:16.999	1:16.808	22
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:17.246	1:16.762	1:16.931	29
9	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	1:17.630	1:16.775	1:16.946	30
10	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:16.750	1:16.546	1:16.957	29
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:17.767	1:17.007	—	22
12	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:17.492	1:17.093	—	20
13	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:17.552	1:17.193	—	16
14	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:17.679	1:17.278	—	22
15	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:17.778	1:26.632	—	11
16	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:18.101	—	—	11
17	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:18.434	—	—	10
18	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:18.513	—	—	11
19	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	1:20.655	—	—	9
20	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	1:20.904	—	—	10

Romain Grosjean received a five-place grid penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.

Carlos Sainz was made to start from the pit lane for bypassing a weight request following Q1.

What happened in the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix?

Hamilton led away and gradually built a substantial advantage over Rosberg and Vettel. Daniil Kvyat passed Daniel Ricciardo for fourth, while the narrow circuit limited opportunities for the chasing pack to change the order.

Max Verstappen lost time at his pit stop and later attacked Romain Grosjean for tenth. Their collision at Sainte Devote sent Verstappen into the barriers, bringing first a virtual safety car and then the full safety car.

Mercedes called Hamilton in for fresh tyres, believing his lead was sufficient. The calculation proved wrong: he rejoined behind both Rosberg and Vettel, and the remaining laps offered no way back past the Ferrari.

Rosberg took an unexpected victory, with Vettel second and Hamilton third. Kvyat finished fourth after Ricciardo returned the position following an unsuccessful attack on Hamilton. Jenson Button‘s eighth place delivered the renewed McLaren–Honda partnership’s first points.

Further down the points places, Sergio Pérez, Jenson Button, Felipe Nasr and Carlos Sainz completed the scoring positions. Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2015 rules.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 126 points, followed by Nico Rosberg on 116. Mercedes led the constructors’ table on 242, with Ferrari on 158.

2015 Monaco Grand Prix race results

The 2015 Monaco Grand Prix was held on 24 May 2015, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	78	1:49:18.420	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	78	+ 4.486	18
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	78	+ 6.053	15
4	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	78	+ 11.965	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	78	+ 13.608	10
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	78	+ 14.345	8
7	11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	78	+ 15.013	6
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	78	+ 16.063	4
9	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	78	+ 23.626	2
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	78	+ 25.056	1
11	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	78	+ 26.232	0
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	78	+ 28.415	0
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	78	+ 31.159	0
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	78	+ 45.789	0
15	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	77	+ 1 Lap	0
16	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	76	+ 2 Laps	0
17	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	76	+ 2 Laps	0
Ret	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	62	Collision	0
Ret	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	41	Gearbox	0
Ret	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	5	Brakes	0

2015 Monaco Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	74	15:47:03	1:18.063	153.891
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	76	15:49:34	1:18.599	152.841
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	42	14:59:34	1:18.676	152.692
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	75	15:48:20	1:18.854	152.347
5	33	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	49	15:10:31	1:18.873	152.310
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	74	15:47:34	1:18.944	152.173
7	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing	75	15:48:25	1:19.130	151.815
8	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	75	15:48:44	1:19.285	151.519
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	76	15:49:50	1:19.490	151.128
10	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	74	15:47:08	1:19.651	150.822
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	74	15:47:08	1:19.657	150.811
12	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	72	15:45:57	1:19.764	150.609
13	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	48	15:09:03	1:19.816	150.511
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	46	15:06:35	1:19.921	150.313
15	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	76	15:49:53	1:20.017	150.133
16	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	36	14:52:29	1:20.459	149.308
17	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	40	14:58:02	1:20.483	149.263
18	98	Roberto Merhi	Manor Marussia	47	15:09:54	1:21.715	147.013
19	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus F1	3	14:07:13	1:22.271	146.019
20	28	Will Stevens	Manor Marussia	58	15:26:02	1:22.693	145.274

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded. Time of Day is local.

2015 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix.

2015 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	Mercedes	126
2	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	116
3	Sebastian Vettel	German	Ferrari	98
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Ferrari	60
5	Valtteri Bottas	Finnish	Williams	42
6	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Williams	39
7	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Red Bull Racing	35
8	Daniil Kvyat	Russian	Red Bull Racing	17
9	Felipe Nasr	Brazilian	Sauber	16
10	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	16
11	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Force India	11
12	Carlos Sainz	Spanish	Toro Rosso	9
13	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	6
14	Max Verstappen	Dutch	Toro Rosso	6
15	Marcus Ericsson	Swedish	Sauber	5
16	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	4
17	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	McLaren	0
18	Roberto Merhi	Spanish	Manor Marussia	0
19	Will Stevens	British	Manor Marussia	0
20	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Lotus F1	0
–	Kevin Magnussen	Danish	McLaren	0

2015 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	242
2	Ferrari	158
3	Williams	81
4	Red Bull Racing	52
5	Sauber	21
6	Force India	17
7	Lotus F1	16
8	Toro Rosso	15
9	McLaren	4
10	Manor Marussia	0

2015 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2015 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	15 March
2	2015 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	29 March
3	2015 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	12 April
4	2015 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	19 April
5	2015 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	10 May
6	2015 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	24 May
7	2015 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	7 June
8	2015 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	21 June
9	2015 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	5 July
10	2015 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	26 July
11	2015 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	23 August
12	2015 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	6 September
13	2015 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	20 September
14	2015 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	27 September
15	2015 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	11 October
16	2015 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	25 October
17	2015 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	1 November
18	2015 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	15 November
19	2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	29 November