24 May 2015 – Nico Rosberg claimed a third successive Monaco Grand Prix victory after Mercedes controversially opted to pit team-mate and long-time leader Lewis Hamilton for fresh tyres under a late Safety Car phase.
Hamilton had dominated proceedings until the closing stages, when Max Verstappen launched over the back of Romain Grosjean's car.
As the Safety Car came out, Mercedes pitted Hamilton from a comfortable lead, and he rejoined in third, behind Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
This handed Rosberg the win, while Vettel – who narrowly got the better of Hamilton as the latter exited the pits – held on for second.
At the start of the race, Hamilton pulled away cleanly to hold on to his pole position advantage, while Rosberg managed to keep Vettel at bay.
The trio gradually pulled away from the remainder of the pack as the opening stint developed, with Hamilton dictating the pace in clean air.
Hamilton then overcame brake temperature concerns and managed the traffic better than Rosberg and Vettel to edge his lead towards 10 seconds
Vettel was the first of the front-runners to pit for Soft tyres shortly before the halfway mark, with Rosberg covering the undercut a lap later.
Hamilton followed next time around, emerging comfortably clear of Rosberg and Vettel, and continued to build up his advantage as the laps ticked by.
But the race took a dramatic turn on Lap 64, as Verstappen, pushing to recover from a botched pit-stop, hit Grosjean's rear and slammed into the wall at Sainte Devote.
Mercedes responded by pitting Hamilton for a new set of Super Soft tyres, but Rosberg and Vettel crucially remained out on track, and Hamilton dropped behind.
Despite his best efforts, Hamilton was unable to make up lost ground at the restart, and he had to settle for third, for which Mercedes apologised over the radio.
Daniil Kvyat marked his best Formula 1 finish in fourth, just ahead of Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who returned the position after being released earlier on.
Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen and Force India's Sergio Pérez finished where they started, while Jenson Button scored the first points of the new McLaren-Honda partnership.
Felipe Nasr added to Sauber's points tally in ninth position, ahead of Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz Jr., who impressively recovered from his pit lane start.
Fernando Alonso was hit with a five-second penalty by the stewards for clashing with Nico Hülkenberg on the opening lap, before his car gave up midway through.
The only other retirement was Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado, who returned his car to the pits from a points-paying position after just five laps amid technical trouble.
Hamilton had dominated proceedings until the closing stages, when Max Verstappen launched over the back of Romain Grosjean's car.
As the Safety Car came out, Mercedes pitted Hamilton from a comfortable lead, and he rejoined in third, behind Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
This handed Rosberg the win, while Vettel – who narrowly got the better of Hamilton as the latter exited the pits – held on for second.
At the start of the race, Hamilton pulled away cleanly to hold on to his pole position advantage, while Rosberg managed to keep Vettel at bay.
The trio gradually pulled away from the remainder of the pack as the opening stint developed, with Hamilton dictating the pace in clean air.
Hamilton then overcame brake temperature concerns and managed the traffic better than Rosberg and Vettel to edge his lead towards 10 seconds
Vettel was the first of the front-runners to pit for Soft tyres shortly before the halfway mark, with Rosberg covering the undercut a lap later.
Hamilton followed next time around, emerging comfortably clear of Rosberg and Vettel, and continued to build up his advantage as the laps ticked by.
But the race took a dramatic turn on Lap 64, as Verstappen, pushing to recover from a botched pit-stop, hit Grosjean's rear and slammed into the wall at Sainte Devote.
Mercedes responded by pitting Hamilton for a new set of Super Soft tyres, but Rosberg and Vettel crucially remained out on track, and Hamilton dropped behind.
Despite his best efforts, Hamilton was unable to make up lost ground at the restart, and he had to settle for third, for which Mercedes apologised over the radio.
Daniil Kvyat marked his best Formula 1 finish in fourth, just ahead of Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who returned the position after being released earlier on.
Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen and Force India's Sergio Pérez finished where they started, while Jenson Button scored the first points of the new McLaren-Honda partnership.
Felipe Nasr added to Sauber's points tally in ninth position, ahead of Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz Jr., who impressively recovered from his pit lane start.
Fernando Alonso was hit with a five-second penalty by the stewards for clashing with Nico Hülkenberg on the opening lap, before his car gave up midway through.
The only other retirement was Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado, who returned his car to the pits from a points-paying position after just five laps amid technical trouble.
Race results - 2015 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:49:18.420 | |
| 2. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | +4.486 | |
| 3. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | +6.053 | +1.567 |
| 4. | D. Kvyat | Red Bull | +11.965 | +5.912 |
| 5. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | +13.608 | +1.643 |
| 6. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | +14.345 | +0.737 |
| 7. | S. Perez | Force India | +15.013 | +0.668 |
| 8. | J. Button | McLaren | +16.063 | +1.050 |
| 9. | F. Nasr | Sauber | +23.626 | +7.563 |
| 10. | C. Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso | +25.056 | +1.430 |
| 11. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | +26.232 | +1.176 |
| 12. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | +28.415 | +2.183 |
| 13. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | +31.159 | +2.744 |
| 14. | V. Bottas | Williams | +45.789 | +14.630 |
| 15. | F. Massa | Williams | +1 Lap | |
| 16. | R. Merhi | Manor | +2 Laps | |
| 17. | W. Stevens | Manor | +2 Laps | |
| Did not finish | ||||
| 18. | M. Verstappen | Toro Rosso | +16 Laps | |
| 19. | F. Alonso | McLaren | +37 Laps | |
| 20. | P. Maldonado | Lotus | +73 Laps |
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