DHL Fastest Lap Award: FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2016

Lewis Hamilton is the new king of Monaco! His Silver Arrows team-mate Nico Rosberg had been the winner in the Principality for the past three years. This time, though, it was to be the reigning champion who claimed a second win in his adoptive home. Initially, however, the prospects for Hamilton did not look good...

Only third place in the most important qualifying session of the year! On Saturday afternoon, the disappointment was plain to see on Hamilton's face. A technical issue with his car cost him the first run in Q3. A single hot lap was then enough to secure P3 behind surprise pole-sitter Daniel Ricciardo and second-placed Nico Rosberg. But Hamilton did not give up hope. After all, his first victory in Monaco eight years previously had also come after a start from third on the grid. 

But the road to victory was going to be a long one. The race got going under difficult conditions behind the safety car, because the rain was far too heavy for a standing start. Then Hamilton got stuck behind his team-mate whose car was being slowed by technical problems. A tactical move then decided the race in the British driver's favor. He made a direct switch from wet weather tires to slicks and then defended the lead through to the end against a persistent Ricciardo. 

"I knew that Daniel was behind me on the super soft tires that last a lot longer," said Hamilton. "I had to get the maximum out of the tires. There were many ups and downs. Sometimes I had to push, sometimes ease off. Daniel would drop back, then he would step up the pace. It was incredibly exciting, like a game of chess against a great opponent."

It was during this phase of the race on Lap 71 - seven before the end - that Hamilton set the fastest lap of the Monaco Grand Prix. The amazing aspect of this was that Hamilton's ultra-soft tires were already 40 laps old by that stage! With a time of 1:17.939 minutes, he was 0.066 seconds faster than Sebastian Vettel who achieved the second-fastest lap of the race. Ricciardo took third place in this extra classification with a deficit of 0.355 seconds. 

The 2016 DHL Fastest Lap Award is thus finely balanced at this stage of the season, with five different drivers having set a fastest lap in the first six races. Nico Rosberg is the only one to have done so twice. 

The next opportunity comes in the FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2016 (10th - 12th June 2016). This means that the team logistics specialists will once again be loading freight for an overseas destination, as each team prepares to take around 35 tonnes of equipment across the Atlantic. A large consignment has already been at sea for several weeks now. This includes the garage equipment, of which the teams have several parallel sets. So from a logistics perspective, the Canadian Grand Prix has already begun.

Fastest race laps: FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2016

01 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 01:17.939 - on Lap 71
02 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 01:18.005 - on Lap 62
03 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 01:18.294 - on Lap 67
04 Sergio Pérez (Force India) 01:18.446 - on Lap 64
05 Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) 01:18.519 - on Lap 70
06 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 01:18.763 - on Lap 74
07 Esteban Gutiérrez (Haas) 01:19.131 - on Lap 69
08 Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 01:19.170 - on Lap 72
09 Felipe Massa (Williams) 01:19.213 - on Lap 69
10 Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 01:19.223 - on Lap 66